Building Resilience

Context

Jensen Precast, founded in 1968 by Donald Jensen in Reno, Nevada, is a leading manufacturer of precast concrete products. Serving diverse markets, including water, energy, transportation, and communications, Jensen Precast produces essential infrastructure components such as drainage systems, utility vaults, septic tanks, and traffic control barriers. With 17 facilities across the western United States and over 2000 employees, the company delivers high-quality, durable products that meet the stringent demands of modern infrastructure projects.

Jay Hampton, Director of Maintenance at Jensen Precast, has been with the company for two years. Tasked with eliminating downtime and enhancing equipment uptime, Jay’s role is critical in ensuring that Jensen Precast’s operations run smoothly and efficiently. “Our goal is to transition from a reactive to a proactive maintenance approach, and Waites’ technology has been instrumental in this shift”, says Hampton.

The challenge

Several critical equipment issues were causing significant operational disruptions at Jensen Precast’s Las Vegas facility. These included increasing motor velocity levels, sudden temperature rises in conveyor systems, and vibration patterns indicating potential lubrication loss in gearboxes. These problems led to unplanned downtimes, impacting production schedules, revenue, and customer satisfaction. Late shipments and prolonged equipment outages threatened the company’s ability to meet project deadlines and maintain its market share.

The solution

To tackle these challenges, Jensen Precast partnered with Waites, a leader in predictive maintenance technology. Waites’ condition monitoring system utilises advanced sensors and data analytics to provide real-time insights into equipment health. The system uses high-frequency, high-G, 3-axis wireless vibration sensors that detect even the slightest anomalies in equipment operation. These sensors are strategically placed at critical points, such as gearbox input shafts and motor drive ends, to continuously monitor vibration and temperature levels. The implementation at Jensen Precast’s Las Vegas facility involved monitoring critical equipment across wet and dry cast operations, including mixers and conveyor systems.

The deployment process was seamless, with the entire system installed and operational within a day. Maintenance teams received comprehensive training to utilise the new technology effectively. The system included 48 sensors at strategic points, such as the gearbox input shaft and motor drive ends, to continuously monitor vibration and temperature levels. “The key features that stood out for us were the system’s ease of installation and the robust support from Waites’ team. We had the system up and running in no time”, Hampton noted.

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Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/special-reports/01102024/building-resilience/