I have been privileged and blessed to have experienced varied fields of Vibration Analysis, Condition Monitoring and Reliability, and had the opportunity to study under some of the great mentors and trainers in these discipline. I feel it is always good to share knowledge and learnings to help others who want to progress and to promote our discipline.

Often people discuss what makes a good vibration analyst? – electrical or mechanical background – degree or apprenticeship level, certification or experience……….. Then when we find an issue we always get asked “How long will it last?”, and our answer to this question, I feel, greatly depends on our experience and training.

In the discussions I have had with many other people, we have all spoken ‘Pearls of Wisdom’. The 15 statements below I feel are very important in the way we operate in our discipline.

1) The most important part of any program is the person performing the data collection and analysis.

2) The second most important part of any program is the training and mentoring given to the person selected.

3) 5 years of experience is not the same as 1 year of experience 5 times.

4) The most important question you can ever ask is “why”.

5) It is important to understand the values of the numbers you are using.

6) Physics of the machine is really important.

7) You can’t analyse what you don’t know or understand.

8) A person may not be stupid, they may just not understand what you are saying.

9) 1 times RPM is not always unbalance.

10) There are no universal vibration severity limits.

11) Absolute amplitude in the frequency domain is relatively useless. Don’t forget the time domain & phase.

12) There are no ghost frequencies or unknown frequencies but only frequencies not analysed enough.

13) Don’t ignore the potential benefits of chit chat in the crib/break room with the operators and maintenance teams. They know their machines!

14) When all else fails, leave the air conditioning, and go examine the operating equipment. Go look, touch, feel, smell and listen to the machinery.

15) What was the last maintenance, modification or repair performed on the machine/system?

Please share and if you have anymore ‘Pearls of Wisdom’ let everyone know.