What do squealing pigs, riding mowers, and preventive motor maintenance have in common? Hint: More than you think!
Electric motors are undoubtedly marvels of modern manufacturing innovation and engineering. These workhorses can be the efficient, effective, and powerful beasts that keep your industry chugging along. However, as the old saying goes, "the bigger they are, the harder they fall." Although these powerful electric motors can take some abuse and beating, even the biggest, and toughest are not immune to wear and tear, occasional malfunction and the deterioration that comes with time and exposure to harsh environments. Fortunately, you can keep your DC motors strong and healthy with a little thing called preventive maintenance.
What is preventive maintenance? We're glad you asked, let's break it down below.
What is preventive maintenance?
Preventive maintenance, also called preventative maintenance (yes, they are the same thing, though "preventive" is more common), is a strategy or framework for performing routine maintenance on critical equipment through regularly scheduled inspection and upkeep to avoid or postpone motor failure. It is often confused with predictive maintenance (check out these three easy ways to tell the difference between predictive and preventive maintenance) but never confused with reactive maintenance.
How can preventive maintenance keep your motors motorin'?
Preventive maintenance works as a method for keeping your electric motors healthy through scheduled check-ups on your critical equipment.
Much like a regular physical with your doctor, which can help you prevent health problems in the first place and catch health issues before they get out of control, preventive maintenance works to identify issues with your electric motors, monitor the potential problem, and solve it before things get out of hand.
Simply put, preventive maintenance helps you:
- Monitor the health of your electric motors,
- Identify potential problems, and
- Take corrective measures to fix problems before they get worse.
A lesson about preventive maintenance from our friend Moe
We've got a story to tell you about a friend we’ll call "Moe Torres." Moe learned the hard way what happens when you choose to ignore the wisdom of preventive maintenance.
Moe was a plant engineer at a major steel mill. He was the main man when it came to managing and looking after the mill's critical equipment and motors. The guys on the floor had been complaining that a particular motor had been making an awful sound when it ran for more than a few minutes. As one mill worker described it, the motor would kick on just fine, but after about five minutes it would emit a noise "like a pig getting run over by a riding mower." (How he knew what that sounded like, we'll never know.)
When Moe finally got around to having a look himself, it was too late. The motor had gone unloved and uncared for, for far too long. What would have been a simple fix (just greasing the damn thing!) lead to a full plant shut down when the motor finally kicked the bucket. We were able to save the poor thing, but by that time, the damage was already done. Lost work and lost time are big no-nos in today's competitive market.
After a stern talking to, Moe now realizes the error of his ways. Today he's the biggest cheerleader for preventive maintenance. He even uses our DEAM tracker to help him keep an eye on his critical motors! Moe knows the importance of preventive maintenance. Be like Moe.
If you want an in-depth look at the ins and outs of preventive maintenance and how it can save your ass, check out our FREE guide by clicking the button below!
