Its a very common scenario: Property management companies pitching potential clients with promises to reduce operating costs and maintenance staff - while at the same time improving building services. On the opposite side - tenants with rents exceeding $100 per square foot demanding everything they are paying for, and more.

     Ultimately, for property owners who want to improve their bottom line, it's a question of finding a management agent or individual capable of providing the best building operating services at the very least overall expense. For plant operations personnel, its a question of assuring uninterrupted production.

     Survival in today's competitive commercial real estate market place therefore demands individuals with higher quality management skills, and with the ability to deliver greater equipment reliability at lower operating costs. For these reasons, property owners and managers are turning to individuals not only knowledgable of innovative, proven, and practical solutions - but solutions that can be implemented quickly to produce real cost savings.

     Given these difficult demands, it is easy to see why vibration analysis is fast becoming the number one choice among all non-destructive testing programs implemented by building owners, managers and operating engineers. Vibration analysis offers the highest level of predictive maintenance available - which stands in sharp contrast to "Run-To-Failure" style maintenance, still employed today.

     Independent studies have shown that the vibration signature of a machine under load provides far more information about the inner workings of that machine than any other type of electrical, infrared, or other non-destructive testing method.

     Substantial savings are realized obviously if equipment is shutdown for repairs before a major failure occurs. Repair costs can very well triple if, for example, a pump is permitted to run to failure - versus a planned replacement of bearings found to be worn prior to that same failure. A minor outer bearing defect at a condenser water pump, left unaddressed, can result in the need to replace the shaft, impeller and casing - and in extreme examples, may result in the need to replace the entire pump.

     Since vibration analysis addresses all moving parts of any type of rotating equipment, it can identify not only specific machine faults, but can also simplify repairs by identifying the root cause of the problem. Most importantly, vibration analysis is capable of identifying problems long before they become noticeable. This early warning of emerging equipment faults allows the engineering staff to plan for repairs, to order parts, and most importantly - to conduct those repairs at convenience, rather than under emergency conditions.

     Such a predictive and pro-active style of building management not only avoids the unnecessary high costs involved with emergency repairs, but prevents potentially disruptive failures in critical building or plant production services.

     The implementation of a vibration analysis program allows a reduction in spare part inventory, and to establish "Just-In-Time" inventories without adding risk. Parts can then be ordered when problems first arise - instead of maintaining an expensive and redundant parts inventory, and without the risk of installing new replacement parts whose shelf life may have been exceeded.

     Energy savings are another welcome by-product of a vibration analysis program. The Electrical Power Research Institute (EPRI) reports that the average facility or plant wastes between 5 - 15% of its energy usage. This loss is often attributed to the misalignment and imbalance of rotating machines - with energy being converted into heat rather than horsepower. Once again, both conditions can be easily diagnosed via the spectral analysis of vibration data.

     A thorough vibration analysis program will provide the following benefits and applications:

• Transition from "Run to Failure" to pro-active style maintenance
• Acceptance testing of new equipment installations
• Increased operating reliability
• Increased mean time between failure (MTBF)
• Improved tenant services and relations
• Implement "Just In Time" spare parts inventory
• Elimination or lessen unscheduled equipment downtime
• Improve maintenance management
• Lower utility bills

     Vibrational testing is designed to compliment and enhance any existing building maintenance program, and will provide months to possibly years of advance warning of future equipment problems. Vibration analysis directly benefits any building operation by reducing major repairs, by reducing repair costs overall, and by improving the reliability of critical tenant services - all of which are primary interests of any property owner or production plant operator today.

     Vibration analysis is ideally suited for:

• Motors
• Pumps
• Fans
• Refrigeration machines
• Cooling towers
• Gear boxes
• Emergency generators
• Steam turbines

     For further information on vibration analysis and other nondestructive testing services, please contact East Coast Industries, Inc.

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