Cameco Corp. has recently deployed approximately 1,500 wireless asset condition monitoring sensors across four of its operations. This presentation will explore all aspects of this project, from initial identification of business pain, all the way through to deployment and management of the system. Condition-based monitoring of rotating assets typically involves a route that is executed at a fixed interval to collect asset condition data. This data can include vibration, temperature, acoustic emissions, and others. This data is then downloaded into software and analyzed for faults and trends. This method has many shortcomings that can be solved with remote sensing technology. This presentation will take you through Cameco’s journey of identifying the limitations of traditional data collection and why an alternative was investigated. Some of the key topics will include problems and inefficiencies with the current system, methodology used to determine which sensor company to partner with, potential cost savings and benefits, deployment strategy and execution, and some screen captures of actual asset detections. Finally, we will conclude with lessons learned and benefits realized from deploying a sensor solution.
Brad Owen is a member of the asset management and reliability team in Cameco’s operational excellence group, where he leads the researching, trialling, implementation, and execution of predictive maintenance and asset inspection technologies for Cameco’s Saskatchewan mining and milling operations. Brad joined Cameco in 2006 and has had various roles within the company all related to maintenance engineering and reliability. Previous to his current role with Cameco, he served as a specialist, lubrication and industrial fluids, where he was responsible for implementing and maintaining lubrication programs at Cameco’s operations. Brad holds the following designations: Applied Science Technologist (A.Sc.T.), Maintenance Management Professional (MMP) through PEMAC, and Machine Lubrication Engineer (MLE) through the International Council for Machinery Lubrication