June edition (June 7, 2007) of Machine Design published a five-page feature article, “ The quest for zero downtime”, which talked thoroughly about the Center for Intelligent Maintenance Systems (IMS), including its vision and philosophy for predictive maintenance, the Watchdog Agent(R) methodology and the applications, etc.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

Is there a realistic alternative for scheduled maintenance? This is the question that drives the National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Intelligent Maintenance Systems (IMS). Over the last six years, IMS Center researchers developed a toolbox of algorithms, collectively dubbed the Watchdog Agent, capable of converting sensor data and operating conditions to useful information. This information is indicative of a machine’s level of performance and health. The Watchdog Agent monitors the degradation rate of components, predicts the likelihood of failure, and the health of a machine. This approach is called predictive maintenance, or prognostics.

Prognostics is a lot more than merely collecting the kind of data that, today, might typically be used for statistical process control. It truly is a paradigm shift…