Equipment health monitoring (EHM) system detectors intended specifically to monitor industrial equipment for operating condition variances that can lead to breakdowns, increased maintenance costs and production stoppages, have been developed by Honeywell Sensing and Control, Freeport IL, part of the Automation and Control Solutions group of Honeywell International Inc., Morris Township NJ.

The devices monitor steady state temperature, vibration and other characteristics of equipment and sound an alarm automatically when operating values drift from pre-defined settings.

A maintenance engineer alerted to the condition can respond and attempt to correct the condition before it becomes an equipment failure. Ten detectors are available to monitor temperature loss, fluid flow, temperature rise, mechanical noise, fluid leak, mechanical wear, audible noise, vibration, tilt (slope change) and mechanical insertion.

According to the manufacturer, by alerting operators to possible problems early, EHM detectors may help prevent essential equipment from shutting down and might help reduce associated maintenance and repair costs.

“The EHM-D-COOL temperature loss detector monitors a steady state temperature and provides an alarm if the desired temperature measurement drops below a set point,” Leslie Neill, Honeywell Global Industrial Market lead, says. This is particularly useful as an independent monitor of the state of a control system or machine. For example, if the temperature of a chimney drops, it may indicate a boiler has failed.”

Another product in the series, EHM-D-VIBRATION detector, monitors a steady state of vibration. Virtually every piece of industrial equipment has some level of vibration. In many cases, a significant increase in vibration level may indicate that something is wrong. Rising vibration may be a sign of loose mountings, worn bearings or a faulty motor.

EHM detectors are easy to install, Honeywell says. They are ready to be attached directly to equipment and once set up, will begin monitoring for faults immediately. For most intended applications, all of the circuitry and know how to monitor equipment is built into the components.