Across modern industrial facilities, reliability teams are under increasing pressure to detect equipment issues earlier, reduce downtime, and improve maintenance planning. Wireless condition monitoring has emerged as one of the most effective ways to gain continuous insight into machine health without extensive infrastructure changes.
In Part 1, we walk through the critical groundwork of site survey, gateway setup, and sensor installation. The steps that set every successful deployment up for long-term performance.
Step 1: Site Survey and Planning
Every deployment starts with a comprehensive site survey. Before a single sensor is installed, SMS Europe engineers work alongside site personnel to build a complete picture of the monitoring environment.
This includes:
Network infrastructure is assessed at the same time, with engineers checking for potential signal obstructions such as steel structures, concrete walls, MCC rooms, or pipework. Connectivity options confirmed include:
The outcome is a fully documented deployment plan covering asset lists, sensor counts, gateway locations, and connectivity methods, all confirmed before any hardware is touched.
Step 2: Gateway Installation
With the survey complete, the gateway is installed as the communication hub between sensors and the cloud platform. Installation includes:
Establishing a stable backhaul signal at this stage is critical. No sensors go live until this foundation is solid.
Step 3: Sensor Installation
With the gateway operational, sensors are installed directly at bearing locations across all targeted assets. Installation includes:
Wireless signal strength is confirmed for every device before moving on. This process is repeated across all assets in the monitoring program.
In Part 2, we cover system configuration, baseline learning, and how ongoing expert analysis turns data into actionable reliability intelligence. Stay tuned.