Lapses in Navy Condition Monitoring causing Premature Asset Failure

In a recent report, several aspects of the United States Navy Surface fleet, including the main propulsion systems, electrical systems and Aegis combat systems, have been declining in overall asset health within the past 5 years. In the report, there is a 20% drop in the health of main propulsion plants and electrical systems, a 10% drop in the Aegis combat system function, and a 9% drop in aviation systems.

This decline in performance is not due to a lack of testing. In recent years, the Navy has been increasingly focused on readiness as opposed to expansion, and the ships have undergone several in-depth inspections over time. However, the issue lies not in whether or not testing had occurred, but in the manner in which the testing was carried out.

The maintenance checks occurred once every 3 years, and usually at the end of a typical “maintenance cycle” at which all of the crewmates were informed well in advance of when the testing would occur. This allowed for the crewmates to know exactly what and when they needed to test, creating large lapses in monitoring as the assets were not routinely monitored between maintenance checks. This lack of consistency and frequency in monitoring allowed for . Since the testing of the equipment would take place inconsistently based on testing dates rather than procedure, the equipment was operating despite the fact that there could have been potential issues detected.

This decline in operational efficiency and asset health shows the stark difference between predictive maintenance and preventative maintenance. Predictive maintenance, typically involving ultrasound technology, allows for proactive and corrective maintenance to be carried out early enough so that any damage to the asset can be mitigated. Preventative maintenance occurs later in the deterioration process of an equipment and is an incredibly timely operation, as asset failure can happen almost instantaneously.

In addition to providing extremely valuable preventative maintenance measures, Ultrasound technologies are also less expensive than the potential repairs needed for preventative maintenance and other means of finding asset failure. By detecting and correcting the potential leak, loose machinery, or electrical failure early on, firms can save thousands on their machinery, downtime, and energy costs.

CTRL’s Acoustic Ultrasound technology has already been vetted by various government organizations such as Military Sectors and NASA have also been utilizing CTRL’s solutions and achieving superior results for many years, which include decreased man-hours, decreased parts swapping, improved production and readiness, and much more. To make the switch from preventative maintenance to predictive maintenance, contact one of our ultrasound experts today!