Reliability & Maintenance
Reliability methods, condition monitoring, and predictive maintenance — fed by the control system.
Modern maintenance runs on data the control system already collects. This hub covers the reliability methods (FMEA, RCM, root cause analysis), the condition-monitoring techniques (vibration, thermography), and the strategy decisions — all framed around the bottom-up view where PLC and sensor data drive the program.
Reliability Methods
What Is FMEA?
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, the RPN, and a worked example.
Reliability Centered Maintenance
The 7 questions, the four strategies, and the RCM process.
Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
The process, methods, and a worked manufacturing example.
5 Whys Analysis
Find root cause iteratively, with examples and pitfalls.
Fishbone (Ishikawa) Diagram
The 6M categories and how to build one.
Strategy & Metrics
Condition Monitoring
Vibration Analysis Basics
Reading the spectrum, fault signatures, and PLC integration.
Acceleration vs Velocity
Which parameter to measure at which frequency.
Industrial Thermography
Infrared inspection for electrical and mechanical faults.
Shaft Alignment Explained
Misalignment types, methods, and why it matters.