RFID TAGS USED IN PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE PROGRAMME FOR MOTORS AND GENERATORS

In modern plant operations, a well-planned preventive maintenance programme is vital to reliable and long-life operation of motors and generators. Many companies lack such a programme due to the high cost and intricacy associated with employing major sensing techniques for monitoring live equipment status. This paper presents the findings of a pilot project that was to design a low cost Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) based system paired with the Internet of Things (IoT) communications to create a preventive maintenance programme that could provide real-time updates for installed motors and generators at a particular site. The basic system would incorporate ultra-high frequency RFID sensor tags for monitoring vibration and temperature, fixed RFID readers with antennas, and a based unit (built around a personal computer) with access to the internet. This is an on-line RFID-based monitoring system. The RFID tags would allow the connection of the physical assets to the digital world having a direct effect to a company’s business drivers such as cost savings, greater operational efficiency, and increased productivity. Installing the basic system on a trial basis is recommended. It is anticipated that, the RFID based system could provide a long-term solution to the current problems of complex and expensive data collection