Condition monitoring system to be installed at Heathrow

Last week, thousands of passengers at Heathrow's Terminal 5 were left stranded after a mechanical fault on the baggage system meant they were unable to check in luggage. During the opening last year, similar problems plunged Terminal 5 in to chaos, and to add to the problems a set of escalators, which had worked perfectly for six months before the opening, broke down. Reliability and minimum breakdown of passenger moving equipment is crucial to the successful operations at Heathrow and this deal secures Artesis as BAA's leading supplier of condition monitoring solutions. Following successful testing and evaluation trials at Heathrow's Terminal 1, Motor Condition Monitor (MCM) devices have been installed on the most critical escalators and passenger conveyors in the first phase of the project, providing predictive maintenance and crucially preventing downtime of the equipment. Modified to be accommodated in tight, restricted space under escalator systems, the compact MCM units are extremely easy to install. Incorporating intelligent GPRS modem technology provides wireless communications back to the maintenance management nerve centre where engineers can monitor and be alerted to potential faults in the machinery, allowing them to make a judgement on when best to perform corrective maintenance. MCM uses unique mathematical modelling to capture diagnostic information within the motor currents and detect faults in machinery. An intelligent signal processor automatically 'learns' the fingerprint of the machine and continuously monitors and compares new measurements against the established norm to indicate and diagnose any electrical problems. The technology is compatible with most motors and is used when ever continued and reliable operation is a necessity across multiple industries including the chemical and petrochemical, metal processing, power generation, pulp and paper, water, utilities, cement, food and beverage, automotive, textile, and maritime sectors.