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A Bently Nevada Trendmaster® 2000 (TM2000) system was recently installed at a hospital in Norway to monitor fans at the
facility. These fans are considered critical machinery because they are responsible for maintaining proper ventilation and
air quality throughout the hospital. In the event of a failure and the subsequent loss of ventilation, surgery, maternity,
or other critical wards would require relocation. The decision was made to install the Bently Nevada system
as both a safety consideration and a desire to take a more proactive approach to machinery maintenance.
The initial installation was on the first 12 of the total 36 fans at the facility. Shortly after the first three fans
were configured in the system, TM2000 announced an alarm, having detected high vibration levels in one
of the fans. Upon investigation, it was determined that a bearing replacement was necessary because considerable wear
was observed, as well as wear on the bearing housing itself due to bearing rotation within the housing.
Additionally, a new fan rotor was required due to extensive damage.
It was determined that if the high vibration had not been detected by the TM2000 system, the fan would have been run
to failure and the extent of damage would have reached 25,000 USD. Additionally, a long-standing
rule at the hospital that prevented personnel from entering the fan room during operation, due to
safety concerns of a potential failure, is no longer necessary. This is possible because of the readily available
machinery condition information provided by the TM2000 system. This illustrates that the hospital
has accomplished both their goals: a proactive maintenance approach and overall machinery safety.
Currently, the hospital is evaluating the Trendmaster 2000 installation on the initial 12 fans and is considering
inclusion of the remaining 24.
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