Don’t blame it on the sensor!

With due respect to engineers everywhere, there’s often an odd phenomenon at work in industry: when a monitoring system goes into an alarm state the first thing to be questioned is the sensor.

In one sense, this is understandable. Engineers know their machines, often intimately. They’ll have a good idea if anything is worn or set incorrectly and may ignore the alarm – especially if it’s gone off before and no problems were subsequently discovered. The reality, however, is that modern vibration sensors are extremely reliable.

The technology is proven and the methods of manufacturing – certainly at Hansford Sensors – are robust, methodical and carried out to the highest standards. Failure is therefore rare.

Having said that, sensors can and do fail. The most causes are incorrect specification – for example, using a sensor in an environment it has not been designed to handle – and incorrect installation. The latter is by far and away the most common reason for problems occurring.

The solution is simple: follow the correct procedure and use the correct tools.