AES Group – | Condition Based Maintenance | Expert Decision Support Systems | Pathology

We have supported military organisations (land, sea and air) for many years, helping to improve equipment availability and reduce support costs.

AES is the recognised supplier of oil sampling and analysis services to the UK land forces (since 1995) and currently supports over 1,500 British Army equipments/vehicles. We also provide this service to BAE Systems and to the Royal Army of Oman.

The Machine Care Plus® early failure detection service provides a unique support infrastructure combining the practical experience of time-served military engineers with robust expert decision support software (EDSS) and secure communications.

This powerful combination ensures that early failure detection techniques (such as oil sampling) applied to military equipment deliver real benefits, such as:

Reduced support costs.
Identification of potential failures caused by:

Contamination (solid debris/fluids).

Defective fuel injection equipment/systems and/or cooling systems.

Excessive component wear rates.

Incorrect operating/servicing procedures.

Life extension of assemblies/systems.
Reduced number of catastrophic failures and related secondary damage.
Ability to plan maintenance activities and reduce downtime.
Condition-based servicing/oil changes rather than time/usage based.

AES operates an Early Failure Detection Centre (EFDC) located at Twyford in Hampshire. This centre of excellence is the focal point for the Machine Care Plus® service. The highly experienced ex-military staff at the EFDC are primarily concerned with the support of assemblies and systems fitted to British Army equipment based in the UK, Germany, Canada and on operations world-wide. British Army units, repair agencies and contractors regularly take oil samples from assemblies/systems, using sampling equipment supplied by AES. The EFDC staff process laboratory results and supporting information relating to the samples and monitor equipment condition and usage, identify any signs of distress and alert the unit when action needs to be taken. They are supported by Machine Care Plus® expert decision support software, which is installed on a central computer server located at AES Head Office, Derby, UK.

EFDC staff core activities are as follows:

Validation of assembly/system data and supporting information received from the equipment users and specialist laboratories. Users supply a wide range of data and information, such as hours run, maintenance history etc on computer readable forms or by electronic means whilst laboratories send data via the internet. Any data or information deemed to be suspect is pursued vigorously with the originator. Only when EFDC staff are satisfied with the accuracy of such data and information is it entered into the EDSS.

When all the data and information has been received, validated and entered into the EDSS, the software interprets the data in order to assess the condition of assemblies, systems and fluids. EDSS diagnosis and remedial actions are then reviewed by EFDC staff before being made available to the user. Diagnosis and remedial actions are normally available on the Machine Care Plus® computer server within one working day of receipt of data from the laboratory. A shorter turnaround time can be arranged if specifically requested or if results are required urgently.

EFDC staff maintain regular contact with units and Equipment Support (ES) staff, providing valuable advice and feedback and ensuring that the benefits are realised. The EFDC is acknowledged as a valuable source of accurate and consistent information. In addition, EFDC staff regularly provide training for units ensuring that unit personnel are fully aware of the procedures and processes for extracting representative oil samples, completing sample information reports (SIRs) and posting them to the laboratory/EFDC respectively. Another aim of the unit training is to ensure that users are fully aware of the benefits that the Machine Care Plus® service can provide and how to make best use of it.

Users can browse results or download their set of final diagnosis, remedial actions and supporting information via the Defence Information Infrastructure (DII) or the Internet. If users do not have access to the DII or the Internet it is possible to connect to an AES server via a secure dial-up telephone connection and obtain reports and information directly from the server. Alternatively, EFDC staff can send hard copy reports via the postal system. Diagnostic feedback, management information, photographs, data analysis etc can also be supplied as required. Advice provided is practical, specific and impartial and is underpinned by Potential Failure Analysis, Failure History and a detailed Materials Atlas.

For more information about the Machine Care Plus® service, contact AES.

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Keeping Armed Forces Fighting Fit