SKF Baker AWA-IV 12 HO, User Manual

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3 Database management and maintenance
Database management
Database management is a vital component of a good predictive maintenance testing
program. Developing best practices for collecting meaningful data, organizing the data
collected, and ensuring that users can easily access data contributes to optimal database
management.
To support this effort, the software features database management tools that facilitate data
organization. Identifiers help clarify the location of specific motors, and allowing the use of
multiple databases supports any organization of data storage.
Consequences of not organizing data
Because the Baker AWA-IV can be configured to store every test it performs, we recommend
that you establish a structure that everyone performing tests will follow.
Consider the following example. A maintenance program is established to test motors at
seven production plants, each in a remote location. Each plant has nearly 1000 motors that
need periodic testing. All works well for several months until a motor that was previously
tested fails.
The maintenance manager wants to see all the test data. When the project supervisor looks
at the data, he finds nearly 7000 tests—all in one large database, and in a random order.
The manager spends a lot of time looking for the last test performed, but eventually gives up.
Upon investigation, the manager finds that each of the technicians using the equipment had
entered data based on what made sense to them at the time. Because of the disorganization,
important test data has been lost, or at best is difficult to locate.
The analyzer’s database structure is designed to facilitate data organization and to be flexible
enough to allow you to uniquely plan for specific needs. The Motor ID, two location fields, and
multi-database support are tools that you can use to organize data to promote data collection
and storage best practices, and ensure that valuable data is properly stored and easily
retrieved.