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CASE STUDY Waites Prevents Critical Fan Failure at Water Utility Facility

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INDUSTRY

Water and Utilities

EQUIPMENT TYPE
Industrial Fan
IMPACT
  • Detected and resolved a critical bearing issue before failure
  • Prevented unplanned downtime
  • Protected system reliability
  • Reduced repair costs
THE CHALLENGE

A leading water utility partnered with Waites to strengthen reliability across essential rotating equipment, including fans, pumps, blowers, and gearboxes. Shortly after implementation, Waites AI-powered condition monitoring flagged an anomaly on a critical facility fan well before any manual inspections were scheduled.

The system's real-time vibration analysis alerted Waites’ analyst team to abnormal activity on the fan shaft, enabling the facility to respond before the issue escalated.

PROBLEM IDENTIFIED

Waites vibration analysts investigated the alert and discovered elevated vibration levels in specific harmonic frequencies, indicating an emerging bearing issue. Further FFT analysis revealed patterns consistent with bearing wear and looseness. The severity of the signal indicated a risk of mechanical failure if the fan continued running in this state.

Without intervention, the customer faced the risk of unplanned fan failure—threatening uptime, repair costs, and plant-wide efficiency.

QUICK SOLUTION

Based on the Waites analysts' recommendation, the facility maintenance team investigated the issue and found that the fan's bearing required additional lubrication. They promptly greased the bearing, which resolved the vibration problem.

Post-maintenance vibration measurements confirmed that the lubrication was successful, with the RMS acceleration levels returning to normal.

EARLY DETECTION

Waites AI detected vibration harmonics associated with bearing issues before any physical symptoms were evident, eliminating the need for manual checks.

RECOMMENDED ACTION

The on-site team lubricated the bearing to stabilize performance, and Waites continued trend monitoring to ensure the issue was resolved and didn’t recur.

COST SAVINGS

Early detection and timely intervention prevented a critical failure, avoided unplanned downtime, and maintained system reliability.

RESULTS OVERVIEW

With real-time, remote detection, Waites eliminated manual inspections and prevented costly downtime through fast, data-driven maintenance.

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