You are on brand new ship , superintendent give you 300 equipment and said separate these equipment on basis of PMS and Condition monitoring. On what basis will you separate these?

Answer

To categorize a large list of machinery on a new vessel, you should prioritize equipment criticality, failure modes, and the availability of analytical tools.

                                     [300 New Ship Equipments]

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[Planned Maintenance System - PMS]                                                 [Condition Monitoring - CM]

- Time or running-hour based intervals.                                    - Real-time or periodic parameter trends.

- Regulated/statutory gear.                                                       - Heavy rotating continuous machinery.

- Non-measurable/static items.                                                - Measurable failure modes (vibration/temp).

Criteria for Planned Maintenance System (PMS) Allocation

Allocate equipment to time- or running-hour-based intervals if they meet these profiles:

• Statutory or Class Regulated: Safety and emergency gear mandated by Class or Flag state to undergo fixed calendar intervals (e.g., emergency fire pumps, lifeboats, oily water separators, quick-closing valves).

• Non-Measurable Failure Modes: Equipment whose internal wear cannot be actively measured or trended without physical open-up inspections (e.g., air receiver internal inspections, sea valves, plate heat exchanger cleaning, static filters).

• Low Criticality / Run-to-Failure: Minor auxiliary items where a sudden breakdown causes zero operational risk to the ship or environment (e.g., galley equipment, minor transfer pumps, sanitary fans).

Criteria for Condition Monitoring (CM) Allocation

Allocate machinery to Condition Monitoring if its operational health can be measured through non-destructive, repeatable diagnostic metrics:

• Heavy Rotating Machinery: Continuous running equipment where open-up inspections introduce human error or risk damage to seals and bearings (e.g., main engine turbochargers, large alternator engines, high-speed centrifugal purifiers, main ballast pumps).

• Measurable Degradation Signals: Equipment where clear parameters can be actively measured and trended over time:

  • Vibration Analysis: Bearings on large electric motors, cargo pumps, and ventilation fans.

  • Thermography (IR): Main switchboard busbars, electrical breaker contacts, and exhaust manifold insulation jackets.

  • Tribology (Oil Analysis): Main engine system oil, stern tube oil, and main thruster gearboxes.