Vibration analysis

Vibration is measurement of the periodic motion of equipment (I.e. the ‘shaking’). Vibration is measured in units of inches/second (in/sec, IPS).

All equipment vibrates, but if this vibration becomes too severe, it indicates problems. Use vibration levels to prioritize repairs.

Some Rules of Thumb to judge the condition of your equipment:
less than 0.050 IPS Excellent
0.050 - 0.100 IPS Good
0.100 - 0.200 IPS Acceptable
0.200 - 0.400 IPS Unacceptable
greater than 0.400 IPS Failure Likely

The technician takes a simple hand held instrument out each piece of equipment to be tested.
He then attaches a magnetic accelerometer to several specific places and records readings electronically.
These readings are then downloaded to a computer and analyzed with a software program purchased with the hand held instrument.

Costs to set up your own on-site program
Approximately $40,000 for software and hardware
One week training for your technician
Your technician must work on vibration monitoring at least 3 days/month to stay fluent in the technology and analysis

Costs to contract out
Approximately $7,000 per year (depends on number of pieces of equipment and accessibility)