Lost in Technology

Technology provides us lots of positives. We're able to do more things in shorter time with less effort. Technology gives us a chance to foster our creativity; if we let it.

Are there perils to be wary of as technology creeps into every corner of our world? I believe the answer is yes.

Take the GPS as an example (Garmin or Tom Tom for example). This valuable piece of technology has become an ubiquitous fixture in the lives of the well traveled. On a recent family trip there were no less than 6 such devices in the vehicle that could have helped guide us to our summer cottage rental. Wow! Didn't we just invent the fax machine a couple decades ago? I never owned six fax machines total, never mind six at the same time! And technology marches on...

I remember the first time I used a GPS. It was great. I needed to find a conference hotel in Detroit. My Tom Tom saved me from getting lost and I arrived at my destination on time. But I was in a strange city and I had no idea how I got to where I was going. I realized that I probably could not find my way back again without a GPS. I could not even point to where I was on a traditional paper map of Detroit city. Technology solved the mystery of navigating a strange city but it didn’t make me any smarter for the experience. I just blindly followed the voice prompts.

So there is a real life example of how technology sometimes enables us without making us smarter. Anyone can relate to that. I mean, it does the work for us and makes us stop using our brain. At SDT we want our ultrasound inspectors to do more than just blindly follow the technology.

It is a fact that in most cases where we set up an ultrasound assisted lubrication program a large percentage of the bearings we encounter are already over-lubricated. How do we know? Well, we have our senses and experience that partially guide us when we listen to the heterodyned output of the SDT270. But we also have four condition indicators that help us complete the picture.

A high RMS dB value taken with a 3 second acquisition time, combined with a low crest factor (< 4cf for example) tells us there is a problem. If we give it one shot of grease and the dB level goes higher we can conclude from this first reading that this bearing is over greased. Now to set an alarm to benchmark future alarms. I certainly do not want to set a Reference Alarm to this FIRST measurement if the bearing was already over greased. Instead I will create a reference alarm to the last observed reading. This will guide me much better, and avoid missing the next stage of bearing failure.

The lubrication condition in a bearing is constantly changing. We can never work in absolutes. We have certain guidelines when we use ultrasound. We have our senses, both visual and audible. And, thankfully we have Condition Indicators. They give us deeper meaning about the state of a bearing. Not just using a single point in time dB measurement to react. In terms of advanced technology features we can really use, SDT's Four Condition Indicators fit the bill.

I know some people want an easy solution that doesn’t require any artistic interpretation. I don’t believe it exists. There's no magic pill in the world of condition monitoring and asset management. I wear a seat belt because common sense tells me to, not because Johnny Law says so. Likewise, I want my SDT users to use a combination of technology data, personal knowledge and experience, and the support of our mentors to make logically informed decisions. Not just read a number and react.

May you all be found, not lost in technology! Good luck to my fellow ultrasound friends.