At the SAIMC Johannesburg technical evening held on 12 February 2025, Jozua Joubert from TANDM gave a presentation on wireless condition monitoring.
He said that critical plant equipment is typically well maintained. These high-cost high-speed machines may be few, but they require continuous monitoring as they are normally critical to the process but also have a short lead time to failure. Online monitoring and protection systems can ensure immediate response, shutting machines down safely within seconds in the event of a failure.
API 670 has long guided the selection of these protection systems, but cost constraints have limited their use to critical machines. For other plant rotating machinery, ISO 10816-compliant 4-20 mA transmitters provided basic trending via PLC/SCADA/DCS, but had limitations. These devices only monitored frequencies from 3-1000 Hz, sufficient for detecting unbalance, misalignment and looseness, but ineffective for early bearing and gear fault detection, which require higher frequencies.
Advances in IoT have enabled the widespread use of sensor technology, addressing previous monitoring gaps. Wireless condition monitoring systems can now transmit high-frequency spectrum and time-wave data, overcoming ISO 10816’s shortcomings. However, careful evaluation is crucial before implementation. Key considerations are:
• Wireless protocols impact battery life, and Bluetooth and LoRaWAN offer long battery life and adequate data rates.
• Wireless signals have interference from walls and structures, requiring careful network planning.
• ISO 10816 values alone are insufficient − triaxial sensors with FFT, time-wave data and enveloping values are preferred.
• For balance-of-plant machines, hourly data updates are enough to extend sensor battery life.
• Stud-mounted sensors ensure better vibration transmission.
• Battery maintenance is a necessary evil of wireless systems. Opt for sensors with standard, locally available batteries.
• Wireless signals extend beyond plant boundaries, so stringent cybersecurity is essential.
• The gateway is the heart of your monitoring system. An open API, standard protocols (Modbus TCP, OPC, MQTT) and onboard memory for network outages make it easy to access and distribute data.
Choosing the right wireless system ensures reliable monitoring, maximising both efficiency and machine longevity. We should consider the final solution carefully.
The Johannesburg Branch thanks TANDM and Jozua for a fantastic and insightful technology event.
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