Vibration measurement has come of age in the last 20 years. While the practice of continuous on-line monitoring of critical machines in the oil, gas, and petrochemical industries has been commonplace for several decades, it is only recently that companies who had been using intermittent data collection techniques are now embracing continuous monitoring. This session will discuss that the new horizon for continuous monitoring is mobile equipment; draglines, shovels, bucket-wheel excavators, stacker-reclaimers, heavy haul trucks, are all equally important to production and just as critical as a gas compressor. Participants will learn that, unlike stationary machinery, monitoring mobile equipment brings substantial challenges that must be addressed to ensure accurate, repeatable, and reliable data acquisition. Rapid speed and load variations are just one element of the application. The logistics of sensor mounting, cabling, network communications, and general serviceability bring unique complications to the task of monitoring these machines. Ron will discuss these obstacles and present new solutions that have the potential to bring significant reliability improvements to large mobile equipment.
Ron is a MIBoC (Mobius Institute Board of Certification) CAT III Vibration Analyst, accredited BSc, and has been involved in machinery vibration and acoustics for 35+ years. Beginning with IRD Mechanalysis (now Rockwell) in 1977, he spent 4+ years providing sales and consulting field services to Ontario industries. After a short time with Schenck-Trebel, where he gained intimate knowledge of dynamic balancing applications, Ron spent 23 years with Bruel & Kjaer, a world leader in sound and vibration measurement. Throughout his career he has provided formal training seminars and workshops, and served as a part-time instructor of sound and vibration at the BCIT. Currently, through a partnership between PRUFTECHNIK and the Mobius Institute, Ron acts as senior instructor for CAT I, CAT II and CAT III courses in Canada. Ron has presented Dynamic Balancing, Rolling Element Bearing, and Machinery Resonance webinars/workshops through the Reliability Web and has written articles in trade magazines.
