Creation Book2 V321

ALERT™
Reliability Systems
Book 2: Creation
Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of
Azima DLI. No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval systems, for any purpose other
than the purchaser's personal use, without the express written permission of Azima DLI
© Copyright 2009 Azima DLI

All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
All product names mentioned in this document are trademarked or copyrighted by their manufacturers.
Copyright © 2009 by Azima DLI – All rights reserved.

Contact Azima DLI at 800-654-2844 or support@AzimaDLI.com for further information.
This manual covers version 3.21 of the ALERT Reliability Systems software.
Product Number: 1119 Version: 3.21 Date: May 2009

Welcome
Thank you for purchasing Azima DLI’s ALERT Reliability Systems software.
This manual covers ExpertALERT, StandardALERT, and ViewALERT.
Differences in each level of ALERT are noted in the respective sections.
Please check the support section of our web site frequently for updated
information and supplements or revisions to these manuals at
www.AzimaDLI.com.
Inspect Your System

Please check all parts of your shipment against the enclosed packing list. The
serial and model numbers appearing on the list are on file with Azima DLI.
Should you find anything missing, please contact Azima DLI or your local
representative.
If any of your company or point of contact information is incorrect or
incomplete, please contact customer support at support@AzimaDLI.com so that
we can update your account records. Accurate information helps us to keep you
informed of product updates and bulletins.
Trademarks and Copyrights

ExpertALERT, StandardALERT, ViewALERT, ALERT, DCX, DCA-31,
DCA-50, DCA-60, ST-101 Sprite, SpriteMAX, Watchman, Watchman
Analysis, Watchman Remote, Watchman Onsite, Watchman Reliability Portal,
and Knowing What’s Ahead are trademarks of Azima DLI.
All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their
respective owners.
No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without
the prior written permission of Azima DLI.
Book II: Creation Welcome • i

Contacting Customer Support
Troubleshooting suggestions and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for the
ALERT software family or any of the Azima DLI data collectors can be found
on the Azima DLI Web site at www.AzimaDLI.com.
If you need additional assistance, customer support may be reached in any of the
following ways:
• E-mail support@AzimaDLI.com. Be sure to include a detailed description
of the issue, including what lead up to the trouble and any error messages or
codes you encountered. You should also include the software and/or
hardware versions, model number, and serial number.
• Launch a Chat Session with an Azima DLI support expert. Many of our
Web-enabled products include a Support button that, when clicked
between 8am and 7pm, connects you to our support staff via the Internet.
You can also launch a chat from our Web site: visit www.AzimaDLI.com,
click Support, then click the chat icon on the right side of the
page. When you launch a chat, you will also have access to the Azima DLI
Support Knowledgebase. (Chat sessions and the Knowledgebase require an
Internet connection.)
• Call the Azima DLI Customer Support Hotline. Dial 800-654-2844 for
live Customer Support between 8am and 7pm EST, Monday through
Friday. Users outside the continental United States must call 206-842-7656.
If you need help outside of these hours, leave a detailed message and a
support member will return your call at the first opportunity.
Returns and Repairs

How equipment is returned or repaired is determined by the terms and
conditions of your product warranty.
A copy of your warranty was shipped to you with your product. Warranty terms
and conditions are subject to change. Our latest terms and conditions can be
found online at www.Azima.DLI.com/warranty.
Warranty Returns & Repairs

Instruments returned under warranty will be repaired or replaced at no charge if
returned within the time period and conditions of the Azima DLI warranty
policy. A Return Material Authorization (RMA) number must be obtained from
Azima DLI Customer Support before returning equipment.
Out-of-Warranty Repairs
Azima DLI maintains repair and calibration support for out-of-warranty
instruments as long as parts are available. Contact Azima DLI Customer Support
for pricing information and to obtain the Return Materials Authorization number
necessary before shipping.
ii • Welcome Book II: Creation

How to Return Equipment for Repairs
To obtain calibration or repair services, do the following:
Call Azima DLI Customer Support at 800-654-2844 and get a Return Material
Authorization (RMA) number.
Pack the instruments carefully. Azima DLI will charge for damages caused by
improper packing.
Write the RMA number on the outside of the box so that it can be clearly seen.
Ship your service item to:
Azima DLI
Attn: [RMA Number]
253 Winslow Way West
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
IMPORTANT! A purchase order for the appropriate amount, showing the ship
to and bill to addresses or otherwise required payment must be received before a
repair service can be performed.
Book II: Creation Welcome • iii

iv • Welcome Book II: Creation
Contents
Welcome i
Inspect Your System...................................................................................................................i
Trademarks and Copyrights........................................................................................................i
Contacting Customer Support....................................................................................................ii
Returns and Repairs...................................................................................................................ii
Warranty Returns & Repairs .......................................................................................ii
Out-of-Warranty Repairs.............................................................................................ii
Guided Tour 1
Welcome.................................................................................................................................... 1
Overview ................................................................................................................................... 1
The Four Main Views................................................................................................................ 2
Detail View.................................................................................................................. 2
List View ..................................................................................................................... 3
History View ............................................................................................................... 4
Graphical View............................................................................................................ 6
Database Modification................................................................................................. 7
Setting up and running ALERT ................................................................................................. 8
Getting started ............................................................................................................. 8
The background of the Expert System....................................................................................... 9
Teaching ALERT about your Machines.................................................................... 10
The Daily Cycle......................................................................................................... 10
The Monthly Cycle.................................................................................................... 10
Introduction to ALERT 11
Overview ................................................................................................................................. 11
Logging in to ALERT.............................................................................................................. 11
Have You Registered Yet? ...................................................................................................... 13
Fax and E-mail ..........................................................................................................15
While You’re Waiting… ........................................................................................... 16
Entering the Code...................................................................................................... 16
Setting Preferences and User Information ............................................................................... 17
Screen Dynamics ..................................................................................................................... 18
Toggle the Tree ......................................................................................................... 20
Menus and Icons ...................................................................................................................... 21
Tool Tips ................................................................................................................... 21
Copy and Paste ........................................................................................................................ 21
Editing at a Dialog Box ............................................................................................. 21
RTF/OLE Objects...................................................................................................... 21
Graphics .................................................................................................................... 22
Expert Results............................................................................................................ 22
The Save Option ...................................................................................................................... 22
The Print Option ...................................................................................................................... 22
Book II: Creation Contents • v

Live Support ............................................................................................................................ 23
The Database Tree ................................................................................................................... 23
Manipulating the Tree ............................................................................................... 23
Automatically Moving Through the Tree.................................................................. 23
The Order of the Tree ................................................................................................ 24
The Contents of the Tree ........................................................................................... 24
The Main Plant Hierarchy ......................................................................................... 25
Master Lists ............................................................................................................... 25
Expert System MIDs ................................................................................................. 27
Machine Surveys ....................................................................................................... 28
Five Views............................................................................................................................... 28
Detail View................................................................................................................ 29
List View ................................................................................................................... 29
History View ............................................................................................................. 30
Graph View ............................................................................................................... 30
Drawing View ........................................................................................................... 31
RTF/OLE Objects.................................................................................................................... 34
How Do You Insert Information?.............................................................................. 34
Handling OLE Objects .............................................................................................. 35
Saving Changes to RTF/OLE Objects....................................................................... 35
A Few Tips ................................................................................................................ 35
Overview of Open, New, Copy and Delete ............................................................................. 36
New ........................................................................................................................... 36
Open .......................................................................................................................... 36
Copy .......................................................................................................................... 36
Delete ........................................................................................................................ 37
Right Mouse Button .................................................................................................. 38
Design Screen Mechanics........................................................................................................ 38
Naming Items ............................................................................................................ 39
Creating a New Item.................................................................................................. 39
Editing an Item .......................................................................................................... 39
Saving Changes ......................................................................................................... 40
Save Settings as Default ............................................................................................40
RTF/OLE Object ....................................................................................................... 40
Setting up the Database 41

Database Setup Tools .............................................................................................................. 41
Overview of database components .......................................................................................... 42
Supporting Information ............................................................................................. 45
Defining the Units 47

Overview ................................................................................................................................. 47
Normal and dB Vibration Units............................................................................................... 48
Vibration Units .......................................................................................................... 48
Vibration dB Units .................................................................................................... 49
Process Units ............................................................................................................. 50
Modifying the Units................................................................................................................. 51
vi • Contents Book II: Creation

Defining Setups 53
Overview ................................................................................................................................. 53
Accessing the Setups ................................................................................................. 54
Defining the Setup ................................................................................................................... 54
General Tab ............................................................................................................... 55
Measurement Tab ...................................................................................................... 57
Demod Tab ................................................................................................................ 59
Common Setup Files................................................................................................................ 60
Creating Plants and Areas 61

Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 61
Creating a Plant........................................................................................................................ 62
Company Information Tab ........................................................................................ 62
Notes & Picture Tab .................................................................................................. 63
Service Rep Tab ........................................................................................................ 63
Editing a Plant ......................................................................................................................... 63
Copying a Plant........................................................................................................................ 64
Deleting a Plant........................................................................................................................ 64
Creating an Area ...................................................................................................................... 65
Editing an Area ........................................................................................................................ 67
Copying an Area ...................................................................................................................... 67
Deleting an Area ...................................................................................................................... 68
Creating MIDs 69
Overview ................................................................................................................................. 69
Background.............................................................................................................................. 69
What is an MID? ....................................................................................................... 70
Where are MIDs Used ............................................................................................... 70
Defining MIDs......................................................................................................................... 71
Using the MID Wizard ............................................................................................................ 72
Quick Tour............................................................................................................................... 72
The New MID.......................................................................................................................... 82
General Tab ............................................................................................................... 82
Forcing Frequencies Tab ........................................................................................... 83
Components Tab........................................................................................................ 86
Quick summary ......................................................................................................... 87
Description of the fields ............................................................................................ 88
Saving the MID........................................................................................................................ 89
Editing the MID....................................................................................................................... 89
Creating Machines 91
Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 91
Using the Machine Wizard ...................................................................................................... 91
Copying a machine .................................................................................................... 97
Manually Creating a Machine.................................................................................................. 99
The General tab ....................................................................................................... 100
The Information Tab................................................................................................ 101
The Misc Tab........................................................................................................... 102
The Drawing/Photo Tab .......................................................................................... 104
Saving a Machine .................................................................................................... 105
Editing a Machine ................................................................................................... 105
Deleting a Machine.................................................................................................. 106
Book II: Creation Contents • vii

Creating Vibration Locations 107
Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 107
Manually Creating a Location ............................................................................................... 107
Editing a Location ................................................................................................... 118
Copying a Location ................................................................................................. 119
Deleting a Location ................................................................................................. 119
Creating Process Points 121

Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 121
Manually Creating a Process Point ........................................................................................ 121
Editing a Process Point............................................................................................ 125
Copying a Process Point.......................................................................................... 125
Deleting a Process Point.......................................................................................... 125
Calculated Process Points ...................................................................................................... 126
User Defined Points............................................................................................................... 127
Adding User Defined Points.................................................................................... 128
Narrowband Vibration as Process Points............................................................................... 128
Creating Surveys 131

Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 131
Surveys for Data Collection .................................................................................... 131
Group Machines to Organize Your Work ............................................................... 132
Survey Order.......................................................................................................................... 132
Creating a Survey .................................................................................................................. 132
Removing Machines From the Survey .................................................................... 135
Additional Dialog Box Options............................................................................... 135
Editing a Survey .................................................................................................................... 136
Copying a Survey .................................................................................................................. 136
Deleting a Survey .................................................................................................................. 136
Creating Survey Periods 137

Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 137
What is a Survey Period? ........................................................................................ 137
Creating a New Survey Period............................................................................................... 138
Removing Machines From the Survey Period......................................................... 140
Additional Dialog Box Options............................................................................... 140
Editing a Survey Period ......................................................................................................... 140
Copying a Survey Period ....................................................................................................... 140
Deleting a Survey Period ....................................................................................................... 141
Index 143
viii • Contents Book II: Creation

Guided Tour
Welcome
Welcome to the ALERT guided tour. As a written document, it is difficult to
convey the true ease of use and flexibility of the package unless you actually use
the software. So, it is highly recommended that you do follow along with the
guided tour by selecting the same icons and data as chosen in this
demonstration. The tour will not be extensive, otherwise we would have a
manual that was difficult to lift, but it should give you a good overview of what
it can do.
So, sit back, relax, and follow along on this guided tour of the Demo database
and the Bainbridge Water Authority to get a glimpse of what ALERT is all
about.
Overview
ALERT takes a different approach to the analysis and management of your
vibration and maintenance information. Rather than having lots of windows and
ALERT is very easy to use.
Everything is available at one
layers of menus, EA is ‘flat’. Everything is available right at your fingertips.
window. For the vast majority of functions, EA has just one window, which looks
something like Microsoft Windows Explorer™. All of the vibration spectra,
Click the view icons to see trend data, drawings and images, expert system results, user notes and database
different information lists are at the main window. To move between these different views of the data,
there are a combination of ‘view’ icons on the toolbar, and tabbed windows.
To edit any components of the database (plants, areas, machines, etc.) you
To edit an item, simply select it simply select that item and click the Open icon. The same is true for deleting
in the tree and click the Open icon and copying the item. To create a new item, simply click the New icon. As you
move around the tree, or the list in List View, the function of the New, Open
(edit), Copy, and Delete icons will change, as will the menu options under
File. You can therefore make changes to the database at any time. Or, you can
right-click on the component and select the appropriate function from the pop-
up menu
Book II: Creation 1BGuided Tour • 1

The Four Main Views
The majority of your involvement with the ALERT software will take place
using four different views. They are:
Details/Information view List view
History View Graph view
Each view changes with respect to the focus of the left pane. If the focus is on
the Plant, then information concerning the plant will be displayed. The
information will be different if the focus were on the Machine level.
Detail View
Detail view When you are reviewing expert system results and the graphical data, it is very
useful to be able take a look at the machine and be refreshed with any relevant
details. The details may include operating conditions, ratings, and manufacturer
information. This information is just one click away.
The detail information is sensitive to the item selected in the tree. If you select
the plant item, you will see the following (in the demo database). In this
example a picture of the plant has been saved, along with useful contact
information. It is entirely up to you what you save on the details page.
The plant in Detail view
NOTE: Even though you can save drawings and digital images of equipment in
the detail view, you may find that the photo/drawing view is a better place for
this information. One drawing can be saved in the database and applied to
multiple databases, and the performance is better in photo/drawing view.
2 • 1BGuided Tour Book II: Creation

List View
Now let’s assume that you want to quickly review the machines that have
problems. You may have just unloaded the data collector and run the expert
system, or you may be a manager and just be interested in the current state of the
plant. The best approach may be to look at the Machines in Alarm master
list, as shown below, in List View.
The “Machines in alarm” list
The machines are listed alphabetically in the right window. Although you
cannot tell on black and white print, the machine icons are different colors,
indicating the severity of the problem. To learn more about their conditions, go
into History view.

History View
Switch to History to get a list When you first run EA, the software will automatically switch to History View
of notes and expert system results and select the machine you were using when you last ran EA. In the example
below, the machine “Main Service Pump #1” has been selected, and its results
are on display.
A machine in History view, showing the expert system results
shows an expert system results In the lower left hand corner is a list of the dates of historical events. In this
example there are five expert system reports (the icons look like ‘E’, and the
type is “Expert system result”). The other icons that look like a monitor there is
shows a note also one note (the icon is ‘N’), plus there is one notecode (the icon is a ‘C’) and
the text of the notecode is displayed in the list. You could now click on the items
shows a notecode in that list and the relevant information would be recalled and displayed on the
right.

Click to see the expert In the previous example, we saw the expert system report. One Serious fault has
system severity trend been identified with an Important recommendation given. If we were to toggle
to the Trend tab we would see if this fault has been identified in previous test
data and if it is increasing in severity.
Trend of diagnostic severity
And there you have it - a very telling picture. The Angular Misalignment
problem has been identified in the last five tests. Other diagnoses have also
been made, but not all have been detected in all of the tests. If you take a closer
look, the two pump bearing faults were detected in the first test and second test
and in the last two tests, but not in the middle test, so the trend is not continuous.
Click to see the If you click on the Comments tab, you may see the notes entered by the
analyst comments analyst (if the small note icon is not present next to the word “Comments” on
the tab then the are no comments entered).
As part of the user settings, you can control who has the required privileges to
enter these notes. In a large system, it may be desirable to restrict who can enter
notes and set the status of a machine.
You can add a new note by clicking on the Note icon on the toolbar.
Used to add the note
These notes (like the expert comments) can include digital photos, spreadsheets,
graphs, or practically anything else you like.

Graphical View
Swap to Graphical view Now that you have seen the expert report, you may like to look at the supporting
vibration data. That is also just one click away.
A sample of data from the same machine
At this point you have a multitude of options for viewing the data in different
Click to set color, scaling formats, and extracting useful information from the data. In the example above,
and other options we are seeing the spectrum from position 3 (on the fan) in the radial direction in
the low range. We can specifically select the location by clicking on the
location icons under the machine in the tree. We can change to triaxial mode or
double triax plot mode via the format icon, we can toggle to waterfall plot mode,
and we can easily set the axis, range, and date of the data. Also, if you right
click on the graph (or click the Preferences icons) you can set the graph scale,
change units, set colors, and more.
When you click on the graph, ALERT will find the closest peak to the mouse
Click to open the graph and draw a box cursor around that peak. The frequency, amplitude and other
toolbox information are displayed above the graph.
The Views are covered in greater detail in the next chapter: Introduction to EA.

Database Modification
Simply selecting an item and clicking Open (edit) on the main toolbar (or by
Click to edit the selected item right-clicking and selecting Open) can modify the item in the database. For
example, if we click on a machine and click the Open icon, the machine dialog
will appear.
Editing a machine
The same goes for all of the other items in the database. Click New to create a
new item, Copy to make a copy of the item, or Delete to remove it from the
database (after due warning). Maintaining the database could not be easier!

Setting up and running ALERT
There are a number of stages involved in getting EA setup so that data can be
taken, and further steps are required to keep it running smoothly.
The remainder of this brief section describes what is involved. The rest of this
manual covers these topics in much greater detail.
Getting started
In order to get started, you must set up a database, a step that has traditionally
been the most difficult and time consuming process. In EA, creating the
database of machines is very straight forward. We have provided two powerful
“wizards”, which take you through the steps of creating the two most critical
components: the MIDs and machines.
There is also a third wizard that guides you through the steps required to set up
the database, as shown below.
Database design wizard

The background of the Expert System
Before you get started with ALERT, it may be helpful to put everything in
context. A basic understanding of how the expert system works will help you to
better appreciate the steps required to set it up correctly.
We have modeled ALERT on the human analyst - after all, we started our
business as analysts. Before modern collectors and powerful computer software,
everything was done manually. Measurements were taken, plotted on paper, and
then filed for future comparison. Notes were kept describing the machine.
Each month we would take a new set of vibration spectra. Once the data were
processed at the office, the engineer would review the file describing the
machine and refer to previous data for comparison. It was helpful to have data
from other identical machines on hand. After all, they will have similar
vibration.
The first step is to look at the data and determine the running speed, as most
faults appear at frequencies that are multiples of the running speed.
Next, we would look at the spectra and relate the peaks to the known “forcing
frequencies”. This is done by identifying the “harmonics” or multiples of the
shaft rate, and extend to the specific details known about the machine. For
example, if you know that the pump has 8 vanes, identify the peak at eight times
the running speed of the machine.
Now we need to know what has changed in the data. In the old days, engineers
used a light table to compare paper plots, overlay previous measurements and
determine where differences exist, and determine how much change there has
been compared to the normal variation exhibited in the data.
Now that we can see where the important differences are, and how those
variations correlate to the information about the machine, we can make an
informed judgment about the condition of the machine.
ALERT does all this for you in a matter of minutes. It locates the peak that
corresponds to the running speed (a process called “Normalization”), then
gathers the amplitudes of each of the 10 “Known” Forcing Frequencies for each
axis and location as well as the 10 highest amplitude “Unknown” frequencies,
and compares each one to the average baseline.
Deviations from average are tallied and the machine’s condition is diagnosed
and assigned a severity.

Teaching ALERT about your Machines
Once the database is set up, you will go out and collect your first set of data.
You can run the data through the expert system, but the more important thing
you can do with the data is begin the process of fine tuning the expert system
and establishing the averages. With this step we are, in effect, teaching EA
about the machines.
As you provide more and more information to the expert system, and as more
spectra are incorporated into the average database, the confidence that ALERT
will give you an early warning of incipient problems, and an accurate diagnosis
of current problems also increases.
The Daily Cycle

It is important to be able to test as many machines as possible. The more
machines you are able to test, the more you can save your company. With the
Azima DLI data collectors, collecting a large amount of data is not a great
challenge. When the data collector, and operator, return to the PC, the task is to
quickly process the data to determine which machines require attention.
The goal is to reduce the large amount of data to a small list of prioritized
results. The expert system can be run automatically when the data collector is
unloaded, and the Machine Alarm Master List on the tree will list all of the
machines with exceptions. Browse this list in History View to learn the full
details of the equipment condition.
You can use your In Tray to review the status of the machines of greatest
interest to you. When you have checked the status of a machine, you can then
easily remove it from the In Tray. It will reappear after it has been run through
the expert system or reviewed (and commented on) by an analyst.
The Monthly Cycle

As they say in the classics, there is no free lunch. In order to get the best results
from the system, it must receive constant maintenance.
When the expert system is first set up, it will generally only have a small set of
data to learn from (i.e. a small average database). In the worst case, we may
only have one set of reference data. At best, we may have twenty-four or more
identical machines of a given type, giving us a larger sample of data.
After each cycle of data collection, and after each machine has been tested, we
are in a position to improve on the averages for the expert system. If we have a
new set of good data, we should use it to improve the expert system averages.

Introduction to ALERT
Overview
If you have ever used the Microsoft Explorer software to access the files on your
hard drive, you should not have any trouble with EA. Just like Microsoft
Explorer, the screen is in two parts: the database tree on the left and the key
information on the right. You can operate the tree to navigate the database
instead of navigating your directories and files. And most importantly, you can
change the nature of the information that appears on the right pane.
Almost everything you need to do can be accessed via the tree on the left, and
the pane on the right. The tree contains the machines in the database in a
hierarchy of plant – area – machine – location/point. It also contains the MIDs,
surveys, setups, and lists of machines maintained by the system called the
Master Lists. The pane on the right can contain a list of items, a picture with
details associated with the selected item, expert system results and/or analysis
notes, or graphics of the selected data. By simply toggling between these
different ‘views’, you can quickly access all of the key data.
Logging in to ALERT
When you run the ALERT software the first screen you will see is the login
screen.
Logging-on to the database
Book II: Creation 2BIntroduction to ALERT • 11

At this screen you must identify yourself via a user name and password. You
must also identify the database being used (the registered ODBC data source
name).
User Name and Password

When the administrator of the system installs the database, he or she is able to
register users. Each user is given a user name and a password. Associated with
this information is a set of permissions. Some users may be given permission to
do practically anything with the data: editing existing data, add new data, and
delete existing data. Other users may be given basic read-only access – the data
can be viewed but not modified or deleted.
It is up to you and the administrator to negotiate exactly what access you will
have to the database, but regardless of this, when you see this screen you must
enter your name and password.
For more information on creating user “accounts” and setting privileges, see the
User Preferences chapter in Book III: Operation.
Save Password
If you are the only person to use your computer, and/or you are not concerned if
other people access your EA system, then you may like to check the Save
password box to save you from having to enter the password every time you
log-in. The user name and data source name will always be automatically
entered (based on the last user name and data source name used).
Data Source
Normally the data source name will be “EADB”, and it will always default to
the data source used when the software was last used.
In the Installation chapter, we described the necessary step of “registering” the
database with the ODBC manager. The result is a “data source name” that
uniquely identifies a database. The names of all registered databases will be
listed in the combo box, so you must simply select the correct name. If you do
not know the name, contact your database administrator (the person who
installed the system).
NOTE: With a replicated database, the data source name is an encoded word
that cannot be changed. Every database on a PC will have a unique data source
name.
NOTE: It should also be mentioned that you may install and register a number
of different databases (give them different names). You may make as many
copies of the database as you like – the demo database resides on the CD in the
\database directory.
Once you have entered the user name, password and data source name, click OK
(or press Enter) and you will be logged-on to the database. The software will
then move to the opening screen.
12 • 2BIntroduction to ALERT Book II: Creation

Have You Registered Yet?
The first time you run the software you will see the following message.
Registration question
When ALERT is shipped, it will operate on a 30-day trial basis. All of the
features will be available, but if you do not register the software within 30 days,
it will cease to operate.
If you are a current user and are installing an upgrade of your software, you will
see this screen.
The best thing to do is immediately press the ‘Yes’ button to begin the
registration process.

The registration screen
As stated on the dialog box, you should contact Azima DLI and give them the
two numbers (Code Entry Number and Computer ID) displayed in bold type.
They will input those numbers into their security software and give you back a
specially encoded number. You should enter this number into the field along
side the Register button, and then click the Register button.

Fax and E-mail
If it is not convenient to call Azima DLI, you may prefer to fax or e-mail the
information. In this case, you should first complete the information in the
Contact Information Tab (Full name, Organization, etc.), so that Azima DLI
knows who you are. If you then select Print, the information will be printed,
then you can fax it yourself. If your computer has fax capability, then click Fax
and select the printer that emulates the fax. If you have e-mail on your computer
(that can access the Internet), then click e-mail.
The information will be sent to Azima DLI and, depending upon your location,
you will either receive a phone call, fax or return e-mail with the code. In this
case, you should click the Register later button.
The registration form with the information required

While You’re Waiting…
While you are waiting for the code to be returned from Azima DLI, the ALERT
software will act normally – just as if you were registered. At the bottom of the
screen you will see a message stating that you are in “trial mode”, and when the
trial period will end.
The ALERT screen in trial mode (see the message at the bottom)
Entering the Code

When you have the code from Azima DLI, you will need to bring the
registration screen up again so that the code can be entered. Select Register
now under the Help menu.
When you enter the code, click the Register button.

Setting Preferences and User Information
ALERT remembers a great deal about the options you select so that it will
present you with those same selections as default when you next use the
software. For example, when you re-size the screen the new size will be
remembered for the next run of the software. As another example, ALERT
remembers which machine was last used when you exit the software so that you
can start with that machine when you next run the software. And as a final
example, EA will remember whether you like to display a legend on your
graphs.
Throughout the software you will see dialog boxes with buttons labeled “Save
as default”. At such screens, the settings will not be remembered for next time
unless you click this button. This allows you to temporarily change graph
settings, for example.
ALERT also has global settings, including the location of report files, the
location of the expert system rulebase files, the order of machines in the tree,
and your name and e-mail address. And in the Enterprise version, each user of
EA can have his or her own preference settings. But first you must have your
own user “account”. Once you have your account, when you log in to EA your
preferences will be recalled so that colors and other settings will be retained.
The process involved with creating new users and setting preferences is covered
in its own chapter, named User Preferences in Book III: Operation.

Screen Dynamics
Like any Windows application, you may resize the overall dimensions of the
main window to any size you like. When you exit the software, the dimensions
are saved and reinstated the next time you run ALERT. We recommend that
you use a high-resolution monitor and size the window as large as you can. This
will ensure that you can clearly read the names of machines and other items in
the tree, while still having enough space to view the graphs and reports on the
right.
The EA screen with the tree on the left and graph on the right
The line down the center of the main window can also be moved to the left and
right. Simply hold the mouse over the line until the pointer changes to the ‘east-
west’ arrow, then drag it to the left or right. The position will also be saved as
the default when you exit the software.

When in History view, you will see another pane below the tree on the left.
Again, the upper boundary can be raised or lowered to a desired location, and it
is saved as default when you exit.
ALERT screen highlighting the dates pane in the lower left corner
In History view when expert system results are being displayed, as shown
above, there are actually five ‘tabs’ on the right hand pane. These are described
in greater detail in other parts of the manual, however in brief they toggle
between the expert system results, the comments added by the analyst, the
expert system trend, the “screening sheet” report and the report editor. Simply
click on the tab title to toggle between the tab “pages”. You will see tabs used
in the dialog boxes throughout this software.

Toggle the Tree
If your computer screen is low resolution, you may find that you cannot make
Toggle the tree the ALERT window large enough in order to see the full name of the machine
names at the same time as the information in the right hand pane. In this
situation you may prefer that the tree was not always visible, as in the following
screen shot.
EA with the tree toggled off
To see the tree you can toggle the tree back on, or for greater speed, just let the
Drop down the tree tree drop down temporarily. When you select an item from the tree, it will
disappear again.
The tree has ‘dropped down’ over the main window

Menus and Icons
As with the majority of Windows software, all of the functions represented by
the icon options can be found in the menus, but not all of the menu options can
be found as icons on the toolbar. Some of the menu items toggle – that is, the
first time you click the item it may turn a function on, while the next time you
click the item the option will be turned off. A small tick or check mark will
appear next to the item when it is on.
Tool Tips
To learn more about the function of the toolbar icons (and many of the other
components of the user interface) you can hold the mouse pointer over the icon
for just a moment and a “tool tip” will appear above the icon describing its
function. This is often the easiest way to learn what an icon will do.
Copy and Paste

ALERT supports the classic copy and paste functions. These options allow you
to share graphics and data from EA with other packages, and they allow
information from other packages to be included within ALERT. Copy and paste
work differently, depending upon where you are in the software.
Editing at a Dialog Box

When you are at a dialog box, for example creating a machine, you can copy
information (text) from one field and paste it into another. The classic “cut” and
“undo” functions also work in this situation.
RTF/OLE Objects
When you are creating or editing the objects associated with plants, areas,
machines, notes and expert system comments, you can also use cut, copy, paste
and undo. As described in the section “RTF/OLE Objects” on page 34, you can
copy items from other applications, like Word for Windows, and depending
upon what you copy, the item copied can be an OLE object. Remember that you
may paste multiple images, items of text, OLE objects and more into these areas.
If you do enter text, you can set its color, font and other properties via the
Format the selected text Format icon on the toolbar, or by selecting Edit – Format text.
NOTE: RTF stands for Rich Text Format and OLE stands for Object Linking
& Embedding.

Graphics
You can copy the spectrum, trend and other graphics generated by EA to the
clipboard. Paste, cut and undo do not work in this situation. Once you have
copied the graph, you may paste it into other applications (for example Word for
Windows to generate a custom report), or into the RTF/OLE field. For example,
if you had a set of expert results that highlighted a problem, and believed that
one or two spectra gave the best supporting evidence of the problem, you could
bring up the spectrum graph, copy it, then paste it into the comments field.
Expert Results
When viewing the expert report results, including the screening sheet, you may
copy any portion of the text to the clipboard, and then paste it anywhere
supporting this function. For example, you can paste the expert report into
Word for Windows to create a custom report, or you can copy it into the
comments field, and then add notes or modify the results to your liking.
The Save Option

On the toolbar you will see an icon that looks like a disk. It is the Save option,
Save the changes you make and it only works in certain situations:
• If you edit one of the RTF/OLE objects for the plant, area or
machine, this option will update the database with the changes.
• If you are writing expert system comments or creating/editing a
note, this option will again update the database with the changes.
This option is also available as a menu option, via File – Save item.
The Print Option

The printer icon on the toolbar will print select EA items, however the item to
You may print many of the be printed depends upon what you are doing in the software:
items displayed in ALERT
• The notes and expert system comments will be printed if they are
visible.
• The expert system results will be printed if they are visible.
• The current graph (expert system trend graph or spectra/trend
graph) will be printed, along with an identifying header, if it is
visible.
• The RTF/OLE objects associated with the plant, area and machine
will be printed if they are visible.
If any of these items are not visible, then nothing will be sent to the printer.
This option can also be accessed via the Print option on the File menu, and the
printer settings can be accessed via Printer settings and the File menu.

Live Support
If you need help along the Versions 3.21 and later include the ability to initiate a chat session with an
way, click the Chat with Technical Azima DLI support representative (if clicked between 8am and 7pm EST). If
Support toolbar button for live you click Support outside of these hours, you can submit a message that will be
assistance from Azima DLI. responded to promptly during business hours. Clicking Support also provides
access to Azima DLI Support Knowledgebase.
Chat sessions and Knowledgebase searching require an Internet connection.
The Database Tree
Manipulating the Tree

The tree of the database operates like trees you will find in the majority of
modern Windows applications. To open and close the “branches” of the tree,
click on the small “plus” signs, or double click on the item. To select an item,
click the icon or the text of the item.
When using EA, you must select items from the tree in order to indicate to the
software the item to be used. For example, when analyzing spectra, you click on
the location’s name to update the graph with data from the selected location. If
you are in list view, selecting an item in the tree will cause that item’s “children”
to appear in the list. For example, if you select an area, the machines within that
area will appear in the list.
Automatically Moving Through the Tree

The Next machine icon will The Next machine icon on the main toolbar will help you to move through the
walk you through the machines in machines in the tree. For example, if you selected the first machine in the
the tree machines in alarm master list and then click the Next machine icon, EA
will automatically give focus to the next machine in the tree. If you then right-
click the same icon you will move back to the first machine.
In graph view this option works a little differently. If you have a single axis
graph displayed, this option will move you through the axes, then the ranges,
and then the positions on the machine. When it gets to the last position on the
machine it will go to the next machine in the tree.

The Order of the Tree
The items in the tree can be ordered according to the name of the item
(alphabetical), by severity (machines in extreme condition will appear first), and
test date (machines tested most recently will appear at the top). The order can
be set via the Users and preference dialog. For more information, refer to the
Tree Settings section of the User Preferences chapter in Book III: Operation.
Setting the tree order settings
The Contents of the Tree

While the tree is primarily used to give you access to the various items so that
they may be edited, copied, created and deleted, in most cases you may “drill-
down” to access the machines that belong to that item. For example, if you
double click the area you see that area’s machines, but if you likewise double
click the MID you see the machines that belong to that MID, and if you double
click the survey you see the machines on that survey.
Each of these groupings are described in greater detail in the next sections,
however here is a quick summary of the five main branches of the tree:
1. At the top of the tree is the main plant hierarchy. It could have one
or more plants, and within the plants are areas, machines, and
locations/points on the machines.
2. Next the tree has seven “Master lists”. They group all of the
machines in alarm, the machines just run through the expert
system, the tested machines, the untested machines, the machines
in your In Tray (Enterprise edition), the machines just unloaded
from the data collector, and the machines in your “Filtered
Machine List”.

3. The next main branch holds the MIDs. While MIDs are essentially
for use by the expert system, they do also serve to group identical
machines together.
4. The machine surveys also group machines together. While
typically used to group machines for data collection, they can also
be used to group machines by application, criticality, and other
user-defined criteria.
5. Setup files are used to define the measurement parameters during
data collection.
The Main Plant Hierarchy

The top of the tree lists the machines The database is primarily structured according to the plants being monitored,
according to their physical location
areas within the plants, machines in the areas and locations/points on the
machines. A database may have multiple plants. This hierarchy is described in
greater detail throughout the manual; however suffice to say that hierarchy gives
you access to the machines based on the physical location of the machines.
Master Lists
ALERT maintains nine lists of machines.
The nine Master Lists

Master lists group machines 1. Any time a machine is found to have a problem, it is added to the
according to their status: in
MACHINES IN ALARM list.
alarm, most recent batch of
machines through the expert 2. When the expert system is run, the PROCESSED MACHINES list is
system, most recent batch of cleared, and only those machines run through the expert system will
machines unloaded from a data remain.
collector, and more.
3. When the data collector is unloaded, the UNLOADED MACHINES
list will have a list of those machines with data not yet processed.
4. If a machines has been tested within the time specified by your test
period, it will be added to the TESTED MACHINES list
5. If a machine was tested outside the test period, it will be found in the
UNTESTED MACHINES list.
6. Machines that you have added to your In Tray (Enterprise edition) will
show in the MACHINES IN YOUR IN TRAY list.
7. Machines that fit the criteria set in your filtered list will appear in the
FILTERED MACHINE LIST.
8. Machines that have been processed through the Expert System, but not
been reviewed will appear in the UNREVIEWED MACHINES list.
9. Once a machine has been initially reviewed, it moves to the NEEDS
FINAL REVIEW MACHINES list.
These lists serve two basic functions: to show you which machines meet the
various criteria, and to help you to structure and simplify your work.
For example, if you have just run 20 machines through the expert system and
would now like to review the results of those machines interactively, you would
select the ‘PROCESSED MACHINES’ list and drill down to the machines and
locations. As you click on each machine in the list, you can see that machine’s
results on the right of the screen (while in History View). If you toggle to
Graph View, you will see the measured data, and if you toggle to Detail View
you will see the drawing/photo, and any other details you have assigned to the
machine.
The Master Lists also help when creating reports. When you run a report (or
run the expert system and many other functions), you can select the machines to
be used in a number of ways including the Master Lists. Therefore, you could
easily run a report on all of the “untested” machines.

Generating a report based on the untested machines
NOTE: You cannot create your own Master Lists.
Expert System MIDs

MIDs group identical machines The expert system requires a description of the machine so that it knows which
diagnostic rules to apply during automated analysis. The MID portion of the
tree gives you access to these items, so that they may be created, edited, etc., but
it also gives you access to the machines grouped by their MID.
It is often necessary, particularly while setting up the expert system, to work on
the machines of a particular MID. While these machines could be in different
physical areas of the plant, and would thus be difficult to access via the plant
hierarchy, they are all grouped together under the MID.

Machine Surveys
Surveys are primarily used to load the data collector for the collection of
vibration data from a select group of machines. However, they can be used for
so much more.
Surveys group the machines As described previously, you can access the machines via their physical location
collected together, but can also be
(via the plant – area – machine portion of the tree), by their status (via the
used to group machines that you
often have to work with master lists), and via their type (via the MID portion of the tree). However, it is
often desirable to access the machines and thus structure your work, based on
other criteria.
For example, if you were the Systems Engineer for the circulating water system,
you may like all of the machines in that system to be grouped together. If you
were a manager, you may like the most critical machines to be grouped together.
To this end, surveys can be created with any machines. A machine can be added
to more than one survey. And when you access a survey from the tree, you can
drill down to see the machines and locations/points on the survey.
NOTE: Users may find the In Tray to be more useful for this particular
application.
Five Views
There are five basic types of information available from the EA main screen:
details of the selected item; lists of the items, for example the machines in the
selected area; the historical notes and expert system results; the graphical
representation of the vibration and process data; and a picture or drawing of the
item. To simplify access to these groupings of information, EA has defined the
five views:
Details/Information view
List view
History/Report view
Graph view
Photo/Drawing view
You may toggle between them via the five view icons on the toolbar, or via the
View menu.

Detail View
Detail view will display The Detail view only applies to plants, areas, and machines (locations and points
schematics, nameplate use their machine’s details). You can be as elaborate or as simple as you like
information, or any other when it comes to Detail view. EA simply gives you a blank RTF/OLE field to
information that you would like to work with. In it you may place a schematic drawing of the item, a photo
store (although photo/drawing view may be a better place for a picture), a
spreadsheet, notes, or any other compatible information. Detail view will
always place the name of the item and one other line of text (the company name
for the plant, and the current status for machines) above the RTF/OLE object.
This flexibility gives you considerable scope for customization. To get started
you can leave these fields blank, or just add a CAD drawing. As time goes on
you may like to add other information. Here are some suggestions:
• Add a photograph of the item: an aerial photo of the plant, a photo of the
machine, etc. Be sure not to make it too large or use too high-resolution,
as it will enlarge the database, and reduce the performance of the system
(as it takes time to recall and display these larger items). Note that
drawings and photos of machines should be added to the drawing
database and displayed in photo/drawing view.
• The name and phone extension of the engineer responsible for the item.
• A CAD drawing. If it is added as an OLE object, you may even be able
to edit the drawing from within EA.
• A spreadsheet of pertinent financial and other details: replacement cost,
repair costs, downtime costs, manufacturer, repair shop used, load and
other ratings, and more. This information can help others make a more
accurate decision, and will save time.
List View
List view simply lists the List view simply lists the “children” of the item selected in the tree in an
‘children’ of the currently selected uncluttered list. Items in that list can be selected, and operations such as edit,
item in the tree copy, delete, etc., can be performed just as if that item was selected from the
tree.
For example, if you select an area, the machines in that area will be listed in List
view. If you select one of those machines, you can edit (open) it. Also, if you
double click on the machine in List view, its locations and points will appear in
the list – just like opening a folder in Explorer. Here is a brief list of unique
features to List view:
• If you double click on an item in the list, it will expand the tree so that the
selected item’s children will be visible in the list.
• If you select an area in the tree, the list will show the machines that
belong to that area, along with the machine’s status and test dates.
• The test date of each location will also be shown when a machine is
selected in the tree.
• If you select a location or point in the tree, the test dates will be shown in
the list.
You can select more than one item at • You can select more than one item at a time in List View. For example,
a time in list view
if you wanted to run four machines through the expert system, you could
select them in list view (hold control down and click on each machine)
then select the expert system option from the Expert menu.

• If you select an item in List view and select New (either the icon or File –
New), you will be creating a new item of the type in the list. (Whereas, if
you select an item in the tree and click New, in most cases you will be
creating a child item – if you select an area and click New you will create
a machine.)
History View
History view displays the notes Both expert system results and notes are available in History view. When you
and expert system results toggle to this view, another pane will appear below the tree. Here the dates of
available historical items are listed. Select one of the items to see its full detail
in the pane on the right. There are currently three types of history items:
1. An icon with the letter ‘N’ indicates notes. The date in the list is
the date that it was created, or last modified. The note may be
further modified, and the changes saved with the Save icon.
2. An icon with the letter ‘C’ indicates notecode. The date in the list
is the date that it was entered into the data collector, and the text of
the notecode is also displayed in the list.
3. An icon with the letter ‘E’ indicates expert system results. The date
in the list is the date that the data used by the expert system was
collected. The pane on the right has four tabs: the expert system
report, analysis comments, the expert system trend, and the
screening sheet. This is all described in far more detail in the
expert system chapter.
4. A yellow icon that looks like a computer monitor represents edited
expert system results. You will notice that the comments tab on the
right of the screen disappears if an edited report is selected. This is
because comments are incorporated into the report itself.
Graph View
Graph view is used for graphical Use Graph view to analyze the measured data graphically. The data to analyze
analysis is selected via the tree. You must either select the location for vibration graphs
(spectra, waveforms, overall trends, or phase polar plots) or process points for
trend graphs.
NOTE: If you select a machine, ALERT will automatically select the first
location on the machine for analysis.
Once you have the graph on the screen, there are a whole host of tools to use to
specify axes, ranges, dates, colors, grids, annotations, and more. All of this is
covered in the respective chapters.

Drawing View
Photo/drawing view displays Use photo/drawing view to display the image or drawing associated with the
the drawing associated with the machine.
machine
Photo/drawing view with an image on display
As you can see above, when the image is displayed in photo/drawing view icons
are placed on the drawing representing each of the locations and process points
on the machine. As you move the mouse over the icon, a tool tip will indicate
the name of the location or point.

Adding the Drawing to the Machine
You can add an image file to the database via the Add and review drawings
under the Utilities menu, and you can associate the drawings with the machine
when creating/editing the machine. It is recommended that you use low-
resolution images unless you have a very fast computer.
Associating the drawing with the machine

Positioning the Icon
To begin with, ALERT does not know where to place the icon so it just places
them one under the other. To position the icon, hold down the right mouse
button over the icon and drag it to the correct location. When you release the
button EA will save the position of the icon in the database.
If there is no drawing associated with the machine then the icons are still
displayed.
Photo/drawing view without an image
Clicking on the Icon

When you click on the icon ALERT will switch to graph view and display the
data belonging to the location or point selected.

RTF/OLE Objects
We have mentioned RTF/OLE objects a number of times thus far in the manual.
The plant, area and machine have one of these objects stored against it (and it is
Just treat the RTF/OLE fields like
Word pages
shown in Detail view), and the notes and expert comments are comprised of an
RTF/OLE object. Treat them as miniature Word pages. They support bold,
color, Italics and other formatting, and they can hold OLE objects like Excel
spreadsheets, CAD drawings, and even movies. They also can store other
objects like bitmap images and simple text. They enable you to construct rather
elaborate reports and graphical displays.
How Do You Insert Information?

You can copy and paste information, If you simply begin typing, the text will appear with either no formatting, or the
and drag and drop information
formatting last used in the window. If you wish to use more sophisticated
formatting, you should highlight the text and click the Format icon, or select
Format text at the Edit menu.
The Format icon
Click to format the selected

text
Format the text selected in RTF/OLE field
You can also use a third-party program like Word for Windows to create and
format the text. Once you have created the text and graphics in Word, simply
copy and paste it into EA. This method also works for other applications, such a
graphics program and CAD programs. Simply copy a selection to the clipboard,
then paste it in the RTF/OLE field.
If you have created something in another Windows program and saved it to disk,
you can find it in Explorer then drag it into ALERT.
Tip: If you cannot see the EA and Explorer screen at the same time, drag it from
Explorer to the EA icon on the taskbar, hold it over the task bar momentarily
and ALERT will jump to the top, then drag it to the RTF/OLE field.

Handling OLE Objects
With OLE enabled objects and OLE (which stands for Object Linking and Embedding) allows you to place an
source applications, you can
object in an application and perform in-place editing. For example, if you create
perform in-place editing
an item in Visio and copy it into the RTF/OLE field, then double click on that
item, rather than jumping into the Visio application, the drawing can be edited
from within EA. In most cases, however, the tools will not be available unless
you go back into Visio (or whatever the application happens to be) and edit the
original item.
Saving Changes to RTF/OLE Objects

You can edit one of these items at any time, regardless of whether it is
Remember to save your associated with a plant or it is a comment stored against expert results.
changes by clicking the Save icon Whenever you make the changes, you must also click the Save icon, or select
File – Save/update item.
A Few Tips
Store Standard or Low Resolution When you insert these objects, whether they are simple text selections or high-
images or objects.
resolution graphics, they must all be stored in the database. Naturally, this all
tends to increase the size of the database, and it can reduce the performance of
the system. For example, if you store a high-resolution image against a
machine, every time you select that machine in Details view, that image must be
recalled and placed on the screen, which can take a few moments. Therefore it
is best to limit the use of large images, and/or to utilize the photo/drawing view
instead.

Overview of Open, New, Copy and Delete
While the specifics of database setup are described later in this manual, it is
worth summarizing some of the common functions. Whenever you have an
item selected in the tree or in the list (while in List view), you can select Open,
Copy, New or Delete. It does not matter what you are doing at the time:
analyzing spectral data, reviewing expert system results, or viewing a machine’s
drawing; you can always use these options.
New
The New option will create a new item. You will see the dialog box for
Click New to create a new creating the item of the selected type. If you have an item selected in the list, or
item if the item selected is an MID, survey or setup in the tree, then the item to be
created will be of the type selected.
The New icon will typically create a On the other hand, if you have selected one of the components of the database
new child item
hierarchy, i.e. plant, area or machine, then you will create a new item of that
type’s child. That is, if you have a plant selected, New will create an area. If
you have an area selected, a machine will be created. And if a machine is
selected, you will be given the option of whether to create a location or process
point.
NOTE: If you wish to create a machine, it is far easier to use the

Use the Wizard to create a
new machine Wizard rather than manually creating the machine and
locations/points.
Open
The Open function enables you to edit the currently selected item. You will be
Click Open to edit the item taken to the screen used to create that item, however the fields will already be
filled with information from that item. If you make any changes, press Save to
update the database.
Copy
The Copy function is very similar to the Open function, except that when you
Click Copy to make a copy select Save at the ensuing dialog box, the software will attempt to create a new
of the item item rather than simply updating the selected item. Thus the first thing you
should do is change the name.
NOTE: If you copy a plant, area or machine, all of its ‘children’ are also
copied, however the data and historical information associated with the children
are not copied. For example, if you copy an area, you will also get a copy of the
machines, locations and points within that area.

Delete
The Delete option will delete the currently selected item.
Click Delete to delete the
current item Warning: Delete works on more than just the items in the list and
tree. It also allows you to delete notes and expert system results.
When you select Delete, you will be warned about what you are deleting, and
given the opportunity to exit the function – please read the message carefully. If
you press No the item will not be deleted.
Sample delete warning
Warning: When you delete items of the database hierarchy, i.e. plants, areas,
machines, and locations/points, you will delete all of their children, including
stored data. For example, if you delete an area, all of the machines, locations
and points on those machines will be deleted, and the expert results, notes, and
measured data will also be deleted.
A few interesting points to note:

• If you delete a survey, the machines on the survey WILL NOT be
deleted.
• You may not delete an MID if there are machines referencing that
MID.
• You may not delete a setup if there are machines with locations
referencing that setup.
• You may not delete the Master Lists.
• Measured data is not deleted from the list. Instead you must use
the Utility menu.
• If you wish to delete multiple items, use List view to build a list of
the item type, then select the required items using the Ctrl key as
you click on the items to delete. You will be given a warning
about every item.

Right Mouse Button
Rather than having to select the item in the tree then click the toolbar icon, you
can instead click the right mouse button after selecting the item. You will then
be able to copy, open (for edit), create new and delete the item.
Design Screen Mechanics

Whenever you create or edit an item in the database, such as a plant, machine or
setup file, the dialog boxes used have a number of common features. These
features are described here.
The following is a sample screen. In this case it is used in the creation of
machines.
Designing a machine – illustrating the design dialog
The important characteristics are the menu and toolbar icons. In all cases the
Click Copy to start a new item toolbar icons are also available via the menus. In brief, it is possible to begin
with a copy of the current item the creation of a new item by selecting New, you can copy the current item by
selecting Copy, and you can edit other items (in this case machines) by using
the VCR icons to move through the available items in the database.
Click New to start afresh
NOTE: If you were to click in the tree while this dialog is displayed, the item
selected (if it is of the same type) will be recalled to be edited.

Naming Items
When you create an item it is necessary to give it a name. You may use any
naming conventions you please, however please keep these three tips in mind:
1. If you give an item a long name, it may not fit in the tree (particularly if
you have a low resolution monitor). The name will be “chopped off”.
If you hold the mouse over the name a “tool tip” will appear showing
you the rest of the name. If you have a low-resolution monitor you will
be best served to keep the names short.
2. The items in the tree and lists are sorted alphabetically. Given that it is
most convenient to group machines together, it is typically best to leave
the unit numbers to the end of the name. For example “TURBINE #2”
will be listed after “TURBINE #1”, however “#2 TURBINE” may be
listed after another machine, for example “#2 PUMP”.
3. The DCA-31 data collector has a name field limit of 16 characters and
a location field limit of 14 characters.
Creating a New Item

If you select New or Copy from the ALERT main screen, or if you select New
or Copy from the design dialog screen, the information you enter will result in
the creation of a new item. To make the creation process easier, and to ensure
some consistency between similar items, the Copy option should be used where
possible.
Editing an Item
If you select an item at the EA main screen and select Open, you will be in edit
mode. Changes you make will cause the selected item to be changed in the
database. Once you save the changes, the dialog will reset to New mode, which
is described above. If you wish to edit another item there are basically three
choices:
1. The VCR icons on the toolbar enable you to move to the first, previous,
next and last items in the database. When the information appears in
the fields of the dialog box, it may be changed and saved to the
database
2. You may also click on the main tree on the ALERT. Whenever you
click on the tree, that item will appear in the dialog box in edit mode.
3. Of course, if you exit the screen, you can select another item and click
Open once again.

Saving Changes
When you make a change to any of the fields you will notice that the two Save
Press Save to save the icons will become enabled. The first icon simply saves the changes (or creates a
change and stay in the dialog new item in New mode) and then stays at that dialog box. The second icon will
also save the changes, but then cause the dialog box to close. This second
option is useful when you just need to make a quick change and wish to return
This icon will save the to the main ALERT screen.
changes and exit the dialog
If you make changes to a field, thus causing the Save options to become
enabled, but then you attempt to edit another item or close the dialog box,
ALERT will stop you and ask if you would like to save the changes made.
Confirm whether you wish to save the changes made
Save Settings as Default

To save yourself time in the future, With many of the design dialogs there are a number of options to choose from.
you may like to save the current
It would become very tedious if you have to continually make the same choices,
settings as default. Use File –
Save settings as default and enter the same information each and every time that you had to create a new
item. To solve this potential problem, the File menu has an option Save
settings as default. It will save these options to the preferences section of
the database to become the default when the dialog is next used.
NOTE: When you save the settings as default in the machine and location
screens, they will be used when you next create a machine via the Machine
Wizard.
RTF/OLE Object
When editing a plant, area or machine you can enter information about the item
via the RTF/OLE field. As described earlier in this chapter, you may use
images, drawings, a spreadsheet – just about anything. However there may not
be enough physical space at the dialog box to truly create a masterpiece!
Instead, complete all the other fields at the dialog box, then you may choose to
make the changes while in Detail view. You can make the changes then press
the Save icon on the toolbar.

Setting up the Database
Database Setup Tools

We have tried to make the database very easy to set up. A wizard can create the
most important components - the MIDs and machines. The bulk of the other
components either require very little information, or they can be set up once and
never referred to again.
To help with the setup of the database, we also have the Database Design
Wizard that guides you through each of the key steps. Just work through the
steps from 1 to 4 and it will be set up correctly.
Database Design Wizard
Book II: Creation 3BSetting up the Database • 41

You can get to this wizard by selecting File, then Database Design Wizard,
or right click on the tree and select the same option.
Let’s take a quick look at the components that make up the database.
Overview of database components

The main database is a hierarchy of plant, area, machine and the locations and
points on the machine.
An overview of the database hierarchy
42 • 3BSetting up the Database Book II: Creation

Database
The database holds all of your Only one database will be required for most users. That database will hold all of
information. Most users will only
the information on each plant being monitored. That database can be located on
need one database.
a network server so that multiple users may access it.
However, if your organization is spread over a number of physical sites, which
would result in reduced connection performance, or if you would like individual
You may install separate users to manage their own local databases, you may choose to create multiple
databases on separate servers
databases. From the File menu you can Open a new database if one exists
and is registered. New databases may be copied off of the software CD.
For more information on how to connect to databases, and on the general issues
of installing and using multiple databases, please contact the Azima DLI support
department.
Plants
At the top of the hierarchy, plants Plants are at the top of the hierarchy. You can have any number of plants in the
group the areas
database. A plant could a physical site, where a company performs an
operation, or you may choose to use plants to group your machines in other
ways:
• If you are a consultant, your could keep all of your customers’ data
in different plants. The plant could translate to ‘customer’.
• If you had a very large plant, you may like to break it up into the
more significant processes, for example power generation, water
treatment, workshop, etc. Mind you, you may find that the area
level of the database is better suited to this grouping.
The plant is given a 50-character name and you may enter a 50-character
company name with the plant. You also have an RTF/OLE field to save a
picture of the plant and any other information that you may like to associate with
the plant. See the RTF/OLE Objects section of the previous chapter for more
information.
Areas
Areas are used to group your Areas are used to group machines within the plant. Areas are typically used to
machines. How you group them is
represent different physical regions within the plant: different buildings,
your choice.
different elevations in a power plant, etc. However you can use the area to
group the machines in any way that you like: by system type, by the class of
machine, etc.
To uniquely identify the area with the plant, enter a 50-character name. The
RTF/OLE field can be used to hold other user-defined information, including
drawings and photographs. See the RTF/OLE Objects section of the previous
chapter for more information.

Machines
Machines are used to group the Machines are used to group all of the vibration test locations and process
vibration test locations and process
measurement points together. You may choose to treat the machine like a
measurement points
‘machine-train’, where all of the components of the machine are grouped
together. Alternatively, you may consider that each component is a different
machine.
While you are ultimately given the flexibility to make this choice, you should
ensure that you understand how the expert system uses machines. In short, in
99% of cases, the expert system will expect that the machine describe all of the
components.
For example, if you had a motor driving a gearbox that drives a pump, all of
these components would be combined into one machine. If you broke this
combination into three machines, one per component, the expert system
diagnoses would not be as accurate.
The machine has a number of fields of information to be completed by the user,
described in greater detail in a later section. The most important fields are the
name, MID, and speed.
Locations
Locations relate to the pickup A location typically relates to a bearing on a machine where a measurement is
point on the machine.
being taken. All of the information relating to the three axes of vibration and
All of the vibration measurements
two frequency ranges of spectra, time waveforms, overall level and phase
are grouped into the location. readings are combined into one location. A machine would typically have two
or three locations, however the number can range from one to nine (or none if
you are just monitoring process parameter data).
There is a great deal of information required in order to create a location. You
To make life easier, use the must tell the system exactly how and where the data is to be collected.
Machine Wizard to create the However, for most users, once you set up the first location, you can save those
machine and its locations settings as default so that every other location can be quickly created the same
way. The Machine Wizard will help considerably, and you may find that that
you rarely even have to look at the location dialog.
Process Points
If you intend to collect temperatures, pressure and other process parameter data
along with the vibration data, then you will need to add process points to the
machines. This data can often reveal a great deal about the machine’s
performance and operating characteristics, so it is certainly recommended that
you collect as much data as possible.
These points are very easy to set up, requiring minimal information.

Supporting Information
In addition to the main hierarchy of information, there is supporting information
that must also be set up. In fact, this information should be created before you
create the plants, areas, machines, locations and points. This information
includes the MIDs, setup files, bearings and measurement units.
MIDs
The MID is one of the key building In order to correctly diagnose machine health problems, the system must know
blocks of the expert system
certain information about the machine: type of components, number of
components, the number of rotating elements, rotating speeds and speed ratios,
and more. All of this information is contained in the MID, and can be entered
by you via the MID Wizard.
Every machine needs to know which MID it belongs to, and thus you must
create the MIDs first. The Machine Wizard will in fact use the MID information
to automatically generate a new machine, including the vibration measurement
locations. So the best thing to do is create the MIDs, then create the machines
based on those MIDs.
NOTE: If a machine is to be run through the expert system, it must match its
MID. For example, if the MID is designed with three measurement locations,
the machine must also have the same three measurement locations. If you
choose to add a new measurement location to a machine, you must also add a
location to the MID and to all machines using that same MID.
Setups
Setups describe how the data When the machine is tested in the field, the data collector needs to know which
collector should take the
transducer will be used, what window to use, the number of averages to take,
measurements
and other details. Rather than defining this information for each and every
machine location, you can define it once in the setup, then repeatedly use that
setup when creating the machine’s locations.
For most users, only two setups may be required: one describing the
conventional vibration measurements and one describing the demodulated
vibration measurements. The information that varies the most, the frequency
range, is actually defined by the location itself, and is typically chosen for you
automatically. See the detailed description of the locations for more
information.
Bearings
Although the expert system is able to diagnose bearing faults without knowing
any of the physical details of the bearing, it is sometimes helpful to enter this
bearing information and refer to it during manual spectral analysis.
EA is shipped with 9500 bearing EA is shipped with approximately 9500 bearing definitions, and you can easily
definitions which you can edit and
add your own unique bearing information. The information includes the
supplement
fundamental train frequency, the ball spin frequency and the ball pass inner and
outer frequencies. This information can be generated from the number of balls,
ball diameter, pitch diameter, and contact angle.
When you create a vibration location, you can enter the bearing name so that the
bearing information is readily available during spectral analysis.

Measurement Units
When vibration and process measurements are taken they will have a set of units
associated with them. Quite often, different units are used for the same
measurements in different countries, for example mm/sec versus in/sec for
velocity. Before you can create setup files or process points, you must enter
these units into the database, and define their relationship with other units so that
conversions can be made.
NOTE: ALERT is shipped with a large number of units already defined. Check
the list before adding any new units.

Defining the Units
Overview
The vibration units can be defined via the Utilities menu. Select the option
Define units. The dialog you now see allows you to create the vibration units
(both normal and dB) and the process variable units. In the case of vibration
units you can also establish the upper and lower scale for the vibration graphs
for each of the units.
Editing the units
Book II: Creation 4BDefining the Units • 47

Normal and dB Vibration Units
The first and second tab of the Unit design dialog box is used to create the
vibration units. Given that dB units use another vibration unit as reference, you
must define the reference unit(s) before defining the dB unit(s).
Vibration Units
At the first tab you can edit and define new units. All of the units have a name
(up to 10 characters) a type (acceleration, velocity, displacement or voltage) and
measurement type (rms, peak, pk-pk) and a scale factor to the reference metric
unit (in order to allow conversions between the units). You can also set default
upper and lower limits for the graph.
Each of these pieces of information are described below.
Name
The name is the unit label you will see on graphs and in the data collector. You
should attempt to use standard nomenclature so that others will recognize your
units.
NOTE: You may not use any of the punctuation characters, however the
forward and backslash characters are OK.
Scale Factor
This value is used to support conversions between the different units. It is the
conversion between that unit and the metric equivalents: mm, mm/s, mm/sec2
and V (volts). For example, 0.001 m/s2 is equal to 1 mm/s2, and 0.03937 in/sec
is equal to 1 mm/s.
Unit Type
Select from one of the available options: Acceleration, Velocity, Displacement
and Voltage (used for demodulated spectral measurements and dynamic
pressure readings for example).
M’ment Type
This is an abbreviation for “measurement type”. You may select from one of
the following options: rms, peak, and pk-pk.
Auto Scale
If you select Yes in this cell, the graphics module will look at the data and
determine the optimum upper and lower limits for the graph. While you may
see more of your data, it can mean that when you move from graph to graph you
will not have a good frame of reference. If you select No, you must also
complete the next two columns.
48 • 4BDefining the Units Book II: Creation

Lower Scale and Upper Scale
In order to have every graph drawn with the same upper and lower limits, you
may set the limit values in these columns. For example, you may like to have
every VdB graph drawn with a lower limit of 70 VdB and an upper limit of 120
VdB. You would enter these two numbers, and set Auto scale to No.
Vibration dB Units
At the second tab of the units dialog box you may define the decibel (dB) units.
(Make sure you have defined the reference units at the first tab.)
Editing the dB units
Setting up the dB units is very similar to setting up the normal vibration units.
You must give the unit a unique name, you must describe the reference unit, and
you may define how it should appear in a graph.
Each of these pieces of information is described below.
Name
units.
forward and backslash characters are OK. Decibel units are typically followed
by ‘dB’.
Reference Factor
This number defines the zero dB reference value for the unit. For example, zero
VdB is defined as 10-6 mm/s internationally, and in the United States zero VdB
is defined as 0.0000005568 in/sec.
Reference Unit
This field holds the name of the reference unit. Select from the list of units.
This list is automatically undated once you add units at the Vibration tab.

Auto Scale
If you select Yes in this cell, the graphics module will look at the data and
determine the optimum upper and lower limits for the graph. While you may
see more of your data, it can mean that when you move from graph to graph you
will not have a good frame of reference. If you select No, you must also
complete the next two columns.
Lower Scale and Upper Scale

In order to have every graph drawn with the same upper and lower limits, you
may set the limit values in these columns. For example, you may like to have
every VdB graph drawn with a lower limit of 70 VdB and an upper limit of 120
VdB. You would enter these two numbers, and set Auto scale to No.
Process Units
The third tab labeled Process (scalar) is used to define the units used be process
points. They will include units such as degrees ‘F’ and ‘C’, units of pressure,
etc.
Defining the process variable units
You must simply give the unit a name, define a ratio and offset to another
reference unit (so that conversions may take place), and the unit type.
Name
units.
forward and backslash characters are OK.

Ratio, Offset and Reference Unit
These three fields combine to form the conversion between reference units.
There are no rules that define what the reference unit should be. It is only to
allow conversion, for example, from two different types of temperature units.
For example, in order to convert from ‘C’ to ‘F’ you must multiply the Celsius
value by 1.8 and add 32.
Unit Type
Select from one of the unit type options. This field is used for calculations, and
the data collectors occasionally use it.
Modifying the Units

Making Changes
In order to edit a unit:
• Place the cursor in the cell with the item to be changed,
• Make the correction,
• Click Save changes.
Add a New Unit

To add a new unit:
• Place the mouse in a cell of the row indicated by the ‘*’ symbol
(the last row),
• Enter all of the information in each of the columns,
• Click Save changes.
Deleting a Unit
In order to remove a unit from the table, and thus from the database:
• Click in the row holding the unit (or click on the header of the
row),
• Click the Delete unit button.
• You will be asked to confirm the deletion – select OK.
Confirming the desire to delete the unit

NOTE: If the unit you wish to delete is currently being referenced by any
machine locations or process points, you will be told this is the case and you will
not be allowed to delete the unit.
Dialog advising you that the unit is being referenced by something (a waveform
measurement in this example) and that it may not be deleted

Defining Setups
Overview
Setups are used by vibration locations (they are not used by process
measurement points) to define how the measurement will be taken. Almost all
of the measurement parameters are defined by the setup. The remainder, the
frequency range, is defined by the vibration location itself.
Make sure you select options Setups may be used by different data collectors, and not all data collectors
compatible with all of the data
support the same options. For example, the 8603 only supports 400 and 800 line
collector you may use
spectra. The Expert System can support up to 1600 lines of resolution. When
you create the setup you should be wary of choosing options that are compatible
with all of the data collectors you plan to use, or may use, in the future. To this
end, at the top of the dialog you are allowed to nominate which collectors may
be used to collect data using this setup. If you select an incompatible option,
you will be warned accordingly.
Book II: Creation 5BDefining Setups • 53

Warning that the option selected is not compatible with the selected data collector(s)
Accessing the Setups

You can view the existing setups at the main tree. Click New to create a new
setup, or click Open to edit an existing setup.
NOTE: You may not delete a setup that is currently being used by a vibration
location. If you try you will be warned!
Warning: You should be very careful when editing the setups as they may be
used by the locations on multiple machines. If 50 machines used a given setup,
for example, and you were to change the vibration units of the setup, you will
have just changed the definition of all 50 machines.
Defining the Setup

There are a number of fields used to fully define the setup. These options are
spread over two tabs. The icons and menu items are common to other dialog
boxes.
The setup definition screen, showing the first tab
54 • 5BDefining Setups Book II: Creation

Setup Name
The name of the setup can be 50 characters. It should give some indication as to
the content/definition of the setup. In the example above, the name ‘VdB
Common Setup’ indicates that the final units will be VdB.
For Use wWith

Here you may select which data collector this setup should work with. When
you save the setup ALERT will make sure that the options you have selected are
valid for the collector(s) selected.
General Tab
Cut-off Frequency
This value is the lower limit to the frequency range. Any vibration below this
frequency will be cut out by the data collector (actually, it is filtered out, so it is
not always entirely removed).
The cut-off frequency is used to reject lower level noise of external vibration
that may otherwise affect this measurement.
Resolution
This number represents the number of lines (or samples) left in the spectrum
after sampling and anti-aliasing takes place. For example, if you selected 800,
the time waveform would have 2048 samples.
Select 800 lines in order to get the best results from the expert system. If you
use a higher resolution, the data collection time will be increased, and more
storage space will be required in the database and on the data collector. If you
use lower than 800 lines of resolution, the spectral data may not have sufficient
resolution to allow the expert system, and/or human analyst, to distinguish
between closely spaced peaks in the spectrum.
Transducer Type
Choose from the available options. Most people use an accelerometer, however
many also use displacement probes (also known as proximity probes). If the
transducer type is not the same as the unit type, the data collector will have to
integrate or differentiate. Make sure that your data collector can perform the
required conversion.
NOTE: The transducer typically supplied by Azima DLI is a triaxial

accelerometer, so select Accelerometer.
ICP Current Source

Check this box if your transducer is of the ‘ICP’ type. ICP stands for Integrated
Circuit Piezoelectric, and requires that a current be supplied to it during
operation.
NOTE: The transducer typically supplied by Azima DLI is ICP, so check this
box.

Sensitivity
All transducers will supply a voltage proportional to the vibration level
experienced – this is known as the sensitivity. If you do not know the sensitivity
of your transducer, please contact the supplier.
NOTE: The transducer typically supplied by Azima DLI is 100 mV/g, so enter
100 in this field.
Vibration Units
While this is quite a detailed subject, most people agree that velocity is the best
vibration unit for general use. Acceleration units are best for higher speed
machinery, and displacement is best for lower speed and journal bearing
machines.
Once you have selected the measurement type, you must then typically choose
the unit label and logarithmic/linear type. Many people recommend the use of
VdB because the logarithmic format and linear scaling ensure the greatest
exposure to the data while still remaining simple to understand. On the other
hand, and great many users prefer mm/sec or in/sec with either log or linear
scaling.
NOTE: The expert system uses the VdB units internally, however you may
select any other vibration units. Be aware, however, that the data will be
converted by the expert system that will introduce a delay in data processing.

Measurement Tab
The setup definition screen showing the second tab
Average Type and Number of Averages

In order to reduce noise and other unwanted sources of vibration, the data
collector can perform averaging. You will need to refer to the manual for your
data collector, however most of the data collectors support standard spectral
averaging (where the spectra are averaged together), and some support time
synchronous averaging (where the synchronized time waveforms are averaged
together).
You must specify how many averages the data collector should perform. The
more averages performed, the more noise is reduced. However, the
measurement will take longer.
Typically 6 averages will be acceptable in a normal environment, however in a
noisy environment 8 to 14 averages may be required. You should perform some
experiments in order to determine the best value.
Average Overlap Percentage

In order to speed up the measurement process while maintaining the noise
reduction qualities of the averaging process, you can actually overlap the spectra
when averaging.
For example, when normally averaging data, the collector would take a time
waveform (2048 samples for an 800 line spectrum), convert it to a spectrum, add
it to the averages, then take another complete time waveform, etc. However
with 50% overlap, the data collector will take just 50% of the new time
waveform (1024 samples), add it to the last 50% of the previous time waveform,
then convert that to a spectrum and add it to the average.

Tests have proven that the quality of the spectrum is just as good whereas the
measurement is much faster.
Window Type
Windowing reduces an effect called leakage – a subject that is covered in a
number of training texts. Suffice to say that in 99% of cases you must use a
window, and that the window will change the frequency and amplitude
accuracy.
In most cases the Hanning (or Hamming is very similar) window is the best in
this application. The 8603 only supports the Hamming window.
Tachometer Reference
The DCX has a unique capability to allow the fourth channel of the vibration
input to be used instead of a regular tachometer input. If you have a DCX and
you require tachometer input for a speed measurement, phase measurement, or
time synchronous averaging, you must select which will be the reference
channel.
NOTE: It is highly recommended that you refer to the DCX manual to learn
more about this facility.
Interrupt Driven Data Collection

In some cases the data collection and averaging process will take too long for
your machine. For example an elevator may only run for 10 seconds whereas
the measurement could take 20 seconds. In the past you may have had to select
fewer averages – or find a different machine to test… The Azima DLI data
collectors have the ideal solution: interrupt driven data collection.
Rather than collecting the data all at one go, the data is collected in stages.
While the machine is running you hold down a switch (supplied by Azima DLI),
and the collector gathers the data. When the switch is let go, the data collector
pauses the collection of data. Therefore, in the example above, you can still
collect the necessary data on the machine you just may need two or three cycles
of the elevator.

Demod Tab
The Band Pass Filters for the Demodulated Spectra can now be modified by the
user. Depending upon which data collector is being used, the frequency span of
the filter will differ. The following table breaks out each available filter for the
different data collectors.
8603 DCA-20/DCA-31 DCA-50 DCX

1250 – 2500 600 – 1250 1250 – 2500 1250 – 2500
2500 – 5000 1250 – 2500 1250 – 5000 1250 – 5000
5000 – 10000 2500 – 5000 1250 – 10000 1250 – 10000
10000 – 20000 5000 – 10000 2500 – 5000 2500 – 5000
10000 – 20000 3400 – 4400 3400 – 4400
5000 – 10000 5000 – 10000
The default value for each collector is 5000-10000 Hz.

Common Setup Files
The Engineers at Azima DLI have already created Setup Files for some of the
common measurement types and units. They are:
• VdB Common
• in/s Common
• Demod
• High Resolution
• Proximity Probe
• Velocity Probe
• Motor Current

Creating Plants and Areas
Introduction
Plants and areas are very easy to create. They exist only to help you group your
machines and organize your work. The Setting up the database chapter of this
manual describes the database hierarchy and how you may like to use plants and
areas. This chapter covers how you can create the plants and areas.
One suggestion before we get started though. Make sure you create enough
plants and areas so that no area has too many machines. The lists in the tree will
become too long, and thus it will be more difficult to find a machine in the tree.
If you have a high-resolution monitor (with small fonts), you will be able to
physically see more items in the tree, so it is up to you to determine how many
plants and areas are enough. But remember, it is easy to move a machine from
one area to another, just in case you do not create enough.
Book II: Creation 6BCreating Plants and Areas • 61

Creating a Plant
At the main menu, select File - Database Design Wizard - Create Plant.
The plant dialog box will appear.
The plant dialog box
You will notice that there are a number of menu items and icons on the toolbar.
These options all help to further edit and create plants. The options at this
dialog are common to all of the design dialog boxes.
Plant Name
The plant name is the most important information at this screen. It will appear
on reports and in the tree. You have up to 50 characters.
Company Information Tab

Company Name
This field is not optional. It will appear in detail view underneath the plant
name, and you can use it in reports.
62 • 6BCreating Plants and Areas Book II: Creation

Notes & Picture Tab
This field is just like a page from a word processor. You can leave it blank, or
you can insert a photo of the plant and enter the address underneath. It is
entirely up to you.
NOTE: You may edit the information in this field at the main menu; so if you
feel that you do not have enough room here, wait until you have saved the plant,
then edit the RTF/OLE item at the main screen.
Service Rep Tab

These fields are optional, but you may find them useful. These fields allow you
to track service contact information in the event a third party collects and
analyzes your vibration data.
When you have made your entries, you can either press the Save icon to save
The Save icon the plant and remain in design mode, or you can select the Save and exit icon
to save the changes and exit.
Once you have created a plant, it can be easily edited or copied. You may select
the area to edit or copy by clicking the VCR buttons on the toolbar, or by
clicking on the desired plant in the tree.
Editing a Plant
To edit the plant is just as easy as creating the plant. You have three ways to
select the plant to be edited:
1. Select the plant in the tree, then click the Open (edit) icon.
Press Open to edit the plant
2. Open the plant create/edit dialog box (either by electing to create,
copy or edit the plant), and then click on the plant in the tree. This
method is useful after you have already created or edited another
plant and already have the dialog box open.
3. As just described, except you can click on the VCR buttons on the
VCR buttons toolbar to scroll through the plants in the database.
Once the plant has been recalled, you may change any of the information in the
The Save icon fields and then click the Save icon. The changes will be updated in the
database.
If the plant being edited contains one or more areas (which may in turn contain
machines), the areas will still belong to that plant.

Copying a Plant
To copy a plant, either select the plant in the tree and press the Copy icon, or
Copy icon begin editing the plant to be copied (i.e. bring it up in the plant dialog box as
described in the previous section) and then press the Copy icon on the dialog
box.
Once the plant to be copied is in the dialog box, change the name of the plant
The Save icon and any other fields that require changes, then click the Save icon.
NOTE: If the plant being copied contains one or more areas (which may in turn
contain machines), the areas and their contents will be copied as well. The data
and history belonging to machines within the plant will not be copied.
Deleting a Plant
To delete a plant, select the plant in the tree and click the Delete icon. You will
The Delete icon be warned (twice) that the plant and any of its “children” and their data will also
be deleted.
Plant deletion warning
As shown in the dialog above, if you delete a plant, everything that “belongs” to
it will be deleted. That includes areas, machines, locations, points, and the data
and history associated with those items. The MIDs and setups associated with
those machines will not be deleted, and if any of the machines belong to a
survey or master list, those machines will first be removed. The survey(s),
however, will not be deleted.

Creating an Area
Creating an area is very similar to creating a plant. If you are familiar with
creating plants, you may like to skip this section.
To create a new area, select File - Database Design Wizard - Create Area.
The area dialog box will appear.

The area dialog box
As you can see, there are only three fields to complete. Enter the area name in
the first field, select the plant this area will belong to in the second field, and in
the third you may enter any text, images, spreadsheets or any other item that you
wish.
These options all help to further edit and create area. The options at this dialog
are common to all of the design dialog boxes.
Area Name
For DCA-31 users, there is a The area name is the most important information at this screen. It will appear on
16 character limit to the Area
reports and in the tree. You have up to 50 characters.
name field.
Plant Name
An area belongs to a plant. By default the dialog box will have already selected
the current plant (the one highlighted in the tree), however you may change now
if necessary.
NOTE: You can change the plant at a later date. When you do, all of the
machines, locations, points, history and stored data will all be moved to the new
plant at the same time.
Notes and Picture

This field is just like a page from a word processor. You can leave it blank, or
you can insert a photo of the area of the plant and enter the address, contact
information or anything else underneath. It is entirely up to you.
feel that you do not have enough room here, wait until you have saved the area,
then edit the RTF/OLE item at the main screen.

When you have made your entries, you can either press the Save icon to save
The Save icon will save your the area and remain in design mode, or you can select the Save and exit icon
changes to save the changes and exit.
Once you have created an area, it can be easily edited or copied. You may select
the area to edit or copy by clicking the VCR buttons on the toolbar, or by
highlighting on the desired area in the tree.
Editing an Area
Editing an area is very similar to creating the area in the first place. There are
three ways to select the area to be edited:
1. Select the area in the tree, and then click the Open (edit) icon.
Press Open to edit the area
2. Open the area create/edit dialog box (either by electing to create,
copy or edit the area), and then click on the area in the tree. This
method is useful after you have already created or edited another
area and already have the dialog box open.
VCR buttons toolbar to scroll through the areas in the database.
Once the area has been recalled, you may change any of the information in the
The Save icon fields and then click the Save icon. The changes will be updated in the
database.
If the area being edited contains one or more machines (which may in turn
contain locations and data), the machines will still belong to that area. If the
area is moved to a new plant (by selecting a different plant in the Plant name
combo box), again the machines will be moved to the new plant with the area.
Copying an Area
To copy an area, either select the area in the tree and press the Copy icon, or
Copy icon begin editing the area to be copied (i.e. bring it up in the area dialog box as
described in the previous section) and then press the Copy icon on the dialog
box.
The Save icon Once the area to be copied is in the dialog box, change the name of the area and
any other fields that require changes, then click the Save icon.
NOTE: If the area being copied contains one or more machines (which may in
turn contain locations and data), the machines and their contents will be copied
as well. The data and history belonging to machines within the area will not be
copied.

Deleting an Area
To delete an area, select the area in the tree and click the Delete icon. You will
The Delete icon be warned (twice) that the area and any of its “children” and their data will also
be deleted.
Area deletion warning
As shown in the dialog above, if you delete an area, everything that “belongs” to
it will be deleted. That includes machines, locations, points, and the data and
history associated with those items. The MIDs and setups associated with those
machines will not be deleted, and if any of the machines belong to a survey or
master list, those machines will first be removed. The survey(s), however, will
not be deleted.

Creating MIDs
Overview
NOTE: MIDs are normally pronounced M-I-D, however some people like to
call them ‘mids’ (like something in mid-air). It’s up to you.
MIDs are one of the keys to the expert system. It is important to define them
correctly in order to get the most from the expert system. However, fear not,
they are not difficult to define, and some of the most readily available
information about your machine (running speed, speed ratios and component
types) is the most important information.
There are basically two ways to create an MID. If you have studied all of the
technical information from Azima DLI about the expert system, you can enter
all of the component code, pickup code, and forcing frequency information
manually. But for the other 99% of people, you can just use the MID Wizard!
NOTE: If you wish to simply collect vibration or other data from a machine
and manually analyze it without passing it through the expert system, you can
assign it to MID 0. In this case there is no need to create an MID for this
machine.
Background
Before we get started, it is worth understanding what MIDs are, and how they
are used. There is far more exhaustive material available on this subject from
Azima DLI, however this overview should get you started.
Book II: Creation 7BCreating MIDs • 69

What is an MID?
MIDs are used to describe your machines. For each group of identical machines
there will be one MID. Even if a machine is unique it will still have an MID.
The MID describes the following information:
• The running speed of the machine, and the speed changes via belt
drives, gearboxes and other transmissions.
• The number of components, the order of the components, and the
nature of each component (motor, flexible coupling, fan, etc.)
• The specific unique qualities of the components (type of pump:
centrifugal, rotary, reciprocal, etc.; type of bearings: journal and or
rolling element, etc.)
• The details of the rotating elements (number of fan blades, number
of pump vanes, etc.)
• The locations of the vibration transducers (upon which bearing are
they located).
As stated above, the most important information is readily available. The
number of rotating elements is often a little more difficult to obtain, however
you can get started without all of these details. When you have collected some
data, and when you have learned more about the machine, you can easily come
back and add this information. The MIDs are as easy to edit as they are to
create.
Please remember, the expert system was designed to operate like a human
analyst. That means that it needs the same information that an experienced
analyst would need to solve the same problems. If you were handed a set of
graphs and were not told very much about the machine, you will be able to get
some diagnoses right, but your accuracy and ability to diagnose the more
difficult problems would be limited. The expert system is the same.
You do not have to go for the home-run the first time out. Just get started, learn
the system, and later you can fill in the gaps, thus improving the expert systems
results.
Where are MIDs Used

When the expert system is given a set of data it is also passed the MID
information. It uses this information so that it understands the machine being
analyzed. It has multiple rules to follow for each component type, and thus it
can be selective about the analysis performed.
It has to assume that the information provided is correct, and it cannot make
many assumptions about what information may not have been provided.
The MID information can also be used to create machines. When you create the
MID, you can use the Machine Wizard to create a machine. If there are more
than one machine of that MID type, then you can easily copy the first machine
created.
It is important that the design of the machine follow the design of the MID. For
example, if you create an MID that has three pickup locations at certain
bearings, then create a machine with a different number of pickup locations, or
pickup locations at different bearings, the expert system will be confused. The
report generated by the expert system will warn you that there is a mismatch, so
you will not get incorrect results without a warning.
70 • 7BCreating MIDs Book II: Creation

Defining MIDs
At the main menu, select File - Database Design Wizard - Create MID.
The MID Creation Wizard will appear.
Creating an MID with the wizard

Using the MID Wizard
The Wizard is your friend. It makes the definition and editing of the MID very
easy. You simply answer each question posed, and fill in as many fields as you
can, and when you get to the end, press Finish. If you wish to review previous
entries or selections, click the < Back button. You can press the Next > button
to move forward through the screens. Watch the bottom of the dialog box, as
there is usually a helpful tip describing what you must do.
When editing an MID you may click the Wizard icon to edit the MID with the
Wizard. You can simply select the Next > button to move through the screens.
You may make any changes as required. When you get to the end, select Finish
and you will return to the main MID dialog, where you can save your changes.
WARNING: When editing the MID via the wizard, make very sure that all of
the options and data entered in on each screen is correct. Although it is not
common, some information is lost with certain machine configurations.
There are so many questions and options associated with the wizard that it is
impossible to document them all here. If you do come across a question or data
entry field that you do not understand, it is recommended that you contact the
Azima DLI support line. The following section documents a quick tour with a
wizard. The MID created is intended to highlight many of the issues you would
normally have to deal with.
Quick Tour
To get the wizard to begin, click the Wizard icon on the MID dialog box
Click the Wizard icon to toolbar. You will see the “Welcome” screen.
start the wizard
The wizard “Welcome” screen

Click Next > to move to the first screen.
Specify the driver type
The first thing you must do is specify the type of driver: motor, turbine, or
diesel. If you are not monitoring the driver, then select the last option.
NOTE: You must NOT describe a component that is not being monitored. For
example, if you have a motor driven pump but do not have a pickup on the
motor, only describe the pump in the MID (and select “The driver is not
monitored” here).
Select the driver and click Next >. For our example, we will choose motor
driven.

The motor driven questions
Tip: Rather than selecting the option and clicking Next >, just double click the
option of choice and the wizard will automatically progress to the next screen.
The motor can generally be involved in three kinds of machines that are handled
differently by the expert system: close coupled pumps and fans (the first option);
purifiers (the second option); and all other motor driven machines (the third
option). Machines that fit into this third category include motor driven pumps
and fans that are not close coupled, and other motor driven machines that are
close coupled.
You will then be asked about the motor.
Describe the motor

Notice that this page of the wizard has two tabs. The first tab typically has the
most important information, but other important information is contained on the
other tab.
NOTE: Always look at all tabs presented to you, as there will often be
important information on each tab. Until you are very familiar with the wizard
questions, please do not assume you know what is on each tab until you have
looked at it.
On this first tab we must enter the bearing number(s) being monitored. Always
start counting the bearing locations from the free end of the driving component
(motor, turbine, and diesel), along the power train, to the free end of the driven
component.
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Motor Pump Motor

5 6 7 8
Gear Pump
1 2 Gear
1 2 3 4
Motor (4)
Motor
4 3 5
Pump
6
Pump
Sensor Location Numbering

In this example, we are only monitoring the coupled end of the motor (bearing
number 2), which has 15 blades on the cooling fan, and 48 motor bars.
NOTE: You may see questions, like the number of blades on the cooling fan,
that you will have difficulty in answering. You have two options: leave it blank
(enter 0) or take a guess. In many cases you can determine the correct answer
once you look at the spectral data. If you do not know the correct answer and
are not able to determine it from the spectra, choose 0. It is better to not guess,
than to guess incorrectly. There are several options to add the information once
the correct answers are found.

On the second tab you must simply nominate the type of bearings found in the
motor. In this case we selected “Rolling element bearings”.
Specifying the type of bearings
Once this information is entered, select Next >.
Specifying the type of coupling or “transmission”
Here again is a simple set of questions. Double click on the correct option to
automatically move to the next stage. We will choose a belt driven machine.

Describing the belt drive
Now we must describe the belt drive. As in a number of other components

where a speed change is involved, you may either enter the speed change as a
ratio, or enter specific information so that the speed ratio can be computed. In
many cases, as in the case above, the additional information will be used to
calculate important forcing frequency details. For belt drives we can compute
the “belt rate”. For gearboxes we can compute the “gear mesh”.
Once you have entered this information, click Next > to describe the driven
component.
NOTE: If we had selected a different option previously (e.g. flexible coupling

or close coupled) you would have next been asked whether a gearbox was a part
of the machine.

Select the type of driven component
Now we must select from the broad categories of driven component types. In
most cases you will be asked to qualify the type of component. For example is
we select the first option, you must then specify the type of pump. To illustrate
this point, we will select the first option.
Specifying the type of pump
As you see, the expert system supports seven basic types of pumps. You should
choose the type that most closely describes your pump. We will select the
centrifugal pump.

Describing the pump
Now we must describe the pump. First we must identify where the transducer is
located. In the example above, it is the coupled end of the pump. If we were
monitoring the free end we would end the number 4. If we were monitoring
both bearings we would enter the numbers 3 and 4.
We have checked the “Overhung rotor” to specify that the pump is overhung,
and we have specified that the pump has 6 vanes.
NOTE: If the pump had two stages, we would enter the number of vanes on the
second stage in the second field. If it had three stages, you would have to
describe the first two stages here, then edit the fault frequency table to describe
the third stage (i.e. enter “PV3” in the Fault Code list).
We should then check the second tab.

Specifying the bearing type
In this example we have specified that all of the bearings are rolling element. If
there were journal bearings, the remainder of the options at the bottom of the
screen would become enabled so that you can specify the type of thrust bearing.
As far as the expert system is concerned, if all the bearings are rolling element,
it does not need and additional information about the thrust bearings.

When you select Next > you will see the screen that we all long to see. You’re
done!
You’re done!
Now simply click Finish and you will be returned to the MID dialog where you
can give the MID a name and number, and check all of the information
generated by the wizard.
NOTE: You may like to select < Back and go back over each of the screens to
ensure that all of the information has been entered correctly.

The New MID
General Tab
MID dialog
MID Number
Each MID has a unique number. Press Next avail to have EA find the next
available unused number.
Name
You will see the name in the tree and in other places. It is helpful to be as
description as possible, as sometimes two or more MIDs can be very similar in
design.
Nominal Speed
Enter the speed at which you believe this machine runs. This speed will be used
when creating the machines, and it is the speed stored with the machines that is
used to aid in the normalization of the spectra.
MID Rating
The expert system applies a number of tests to the data that involve the use of
thresholds. If this machine is abnormally quiet (e.g. a machine tool), this
number should be lowered. If this machine is abnormally noisy (e.g. a ball mill)
then this number should be raised. The chapter dedicated to the expert system
describes this information in more detail. For most users, however, you may
leave this field set to 100.

Machine Orientation
You may choose between Vertical and Horizontal. The expert system does
not differentiate between the two orientations in many cases; so if you have a
machine where one component appears vertical and the other horizontal, just
select Horizontal.
Design Layout
This is simply a graphical depiction of the MID, simply intended to give you
visual feedback on the design of the MID. You cannot edit it.
The next available MID number will be automatically assigned for you, however
you may change it if desired. You should also give the MID a name that can be
applied to the group of machines it represents. In other words, don’t get unit
specific unless it is for a unique machine.
Notice that it has already filled in the secondary speed ratio based on the
information entered for the belt drive.
Other than the name and number, you must specify the machine speed and
machine orientation, as described at the beginning of this chapter. The MID
rating should be left at 100, unless it is particularly noisy or quiet.
NOTE: To reiterate, the MID rating should almost always be 100. It is only
changed in the case of extremely quiet machines. Call Azima DLI support for
advice before changing the MID rating.
Given that we just created this MID, let’s have a look at the forcing frequencies
generated.
Forcing Frequencies Tab
The forcing frequencies
You can see that the pump vanes, motor fan blades, motor rotor bars and the belt
rate forcing frequencies have all been computed and added to the table. The
other entries all relate to the motor and pump shaft rates.

The wizard defines ten forcing frequencies in order to identify peaks in the
spectra. The code and ratio are critically important to the expert system. The
Code identifies the peak (the running speed peak, pump vane pass, etc.), and
the Final ratio tells it where to look in the spectra. Not only does this
information aid in the diagnoses, it also helps to normalize the spectra
(determine the running speed during the test). This subject is discussed in
greater detail in the expert system chapter.
In the majority of cases, you can simply accept the codes and ratios created by
the wizard. In some cases you may like to add forcing frequencies that identify
a resonance, external sources of vibration, or other rotating elements not covered
by the wizard. In this case you would need to edit one of the existing entries in
the table and replace it with the information you wish to enter.
If you know the fault code you should simply enter it in the first column and
enter the ratio in the fourth and fifth column. However, you can use a handy
wizard used to create the code and ratio. Place the cursor in the row to be
replaced and click Select fault
Fault code wizard
There are three steps to creating the correct fault code:

1. Select the code from the combo list box. You may need to read
through the entries to find the correct item. As shown above, we have
selected PV, which is the pump rotor vane rate.
2. Enter the multiple in the second field. In the example above we have
entered 2, which means we want twice the pump rotor vane rate.
3. As the code and multiple are changed, the third field is automatically
changed. However you can modify this field if necessary. Remember,
the code can only be three characters in total.
The expert system chapter discusses the meaning of the fault codes; the
remainder of this section describes how you update the table and save the MID.
Tip: This information can also be edited while viewing spectral data. It is
far more interactive and possibly more intuitive. While you are analyzing
spectra you will often see peaks that relate to the forcing frequencies. You can
then edit the table so that the MID truly relates to the machine design.

Code
The code is a one, two or three character code that must be known to the expert
system. If you enter a code and the word ‘UNKNOWN’ appears in the Name
column, it most likely means that it is not supported by the expert system (unless
you have been given a customized set of rules by Azima DLI).
Name
This column is filled-in by ALERT, therefore it is not necessary for you to enter
any text in this field. It is simply intended to give you feedback as to the nature
of the code.
On Sec
This column requires a Yes or No entry. If the rotating element is on the
secondary shaft, enter Yes. If it is on the primary shaft, enter No.
In the example above we have a motor driving a fan through a belt drive. All of
the XM codes relate to multiples of the motor shaft speed, which is the primary
shaft. The motor fan blade (MFB) also relates to the primary shaft. However
the fan blade (FB) is on the fan shaft, the secondary shaft. Therefore it has the
word Yes entered in this column.
Elements and Final Ratio

The information entered in the Elements column is the forcing frequency as a
multiple of the shaft upon which it is located, whereas the Final ratio is the
forcing frequency as a multiple of the reference shaft.
At this stage you could edit any of the information, or insert additional forcing
frequency information. For example, if we knew that there was a bearing tone at
4.9 times the running speed of the pump shaft, we could enter the code “BRG”,
and specify that it is on the secondary shaft, as shown below.
NOTE: We have to replace one of the other entries, as you may only have a
total of ten forcing frequencies defined.
The new forcing frequencies with the bearing tone added

To make this change, simply enter “BRG” in the first column, select Yes in the
third column, and enter 4.9 in the forth column. The information in the second
column automatically changed based on the fault code “BRG”, and the
information in the fifth column was automatically computed.
Once all of the information has been entered and verified, click the save icon to
Press the save icon to store this MID in the database.
save the MID, or Save and exit to
exit automatically ALERT will check that the information is correct, and that the MID name and
number are unique.
Components Tab
The second tab holds the information specific to the components on the MID. If
you are creating am MID from scratch, i.e. without the assistance of the MID
Wizard, then you will need to fill in each field as described below. Clicking on
the ‘>’ and ‘<’ buttons will scroll through the components, and clicking Add
will add a new component.
However you should not need to add a new component or modify any of this
information if the MID was created with the wizard.
Component Code
The component code is a number that specifically describes a unique rotating
component. For example, 15.01 corresponds to a motor with two pickups,
rolling element bearings, and a cooling fan. The component codes are generated
by the wizard, or you can refer to the Appendix (or information from Azima
DLI) on the available component codes.
Description
The name in this field is generated by the system to give you feedback on the
type of component selected. You may not type into this field.

Pickup Code
The pickup code tells the expert system where the transducer pickups are
relative to this component. This is very involved subject, so for more
information, please refer to the discussion on the expert system, or the wizard
will generate the correct pickup code for all standard machine configurations.
Bearings Monitored
These four fields are used to define where the transducer pickups are located on
this component. The wizard will have filled in these fields based on information
given earlier. If you change this information here, there is a good chance that
the pickup code in the previous field will be rendered incorrect. If this occurs,
ALERT will warn you and suggest the correct pickup code values. You should
normally select these values.
Another way to adjust these values is to simply re-run the wizard and change the
appropriate information.
Quick summary
To create or edit an MID, you can just follow these steps. The next section goes
into greater detail:
1. Click on the Wizard icon and follow the prompts to describe your
machine type. When you press Finish at the Wizard you will be
returned to this screen.
2. Press Next avail to get the next available MID number.
3. Enter a descriptive name for the MID
4. Enter the correct running speed. Make sure you set the correct units.
5. Set the machine orientation: vertical or horizontal.
6. Click the Save icon and you are done. You may like to check the
information at the other two tabs, but they have all been set
automatically and you should not need to make corrections.

Description of the fields
The component page of the MID dialog box
The forcing frequencies page of the MID dialog box
In the example above, the belt drive reduces the speed of the fan to 0.41X of the
motor. Also, there are 15 blades on the fan, so its Elements are 15, whereas
the Final ratio is 6.1607xM). If you were to look in the spectrum, you would
see the fan blade rate peak at 6.1607xM.

The reason for entered both the Elements and Final ratio values are as
follows:
• Look at the Elements column. It tells you everything you need to know
about the rotating element. If only the Final ratio where displayed, you
would have to know the speed ratio and get out your calculator.
• The Final ratio tells you where you would look in the spectrum – which
is the same place the expert system will look.
NOTE: If you have set the On sec column to Yes, whenever you enter a
Elements or Final ratio, both will be updated with their correct values – you do
not need to fill in both values. For example, if you were to enter an Element of
20 in the FB row, 40 would automatically appear in the Final ratio column.
Saving the MID

Once you have entered and checked all of the information, simply click the
Save icon, or select File – Save.
Editing the MID

When you sit down to create the MIDs, you may not have all of the pertinent
information available. As time passes, you are able to gather that new
information. Now you want to update your MIDs.
Highlight the MID to be edited, and select the Open icon or right mouse
click - Open MID
There are a few options to input that new information:
• The information can be entered directly onto the Components or Forcing
Frequencies tab.
• If you have new forcing frequency information, you may also enter if on the
Spectral Graph in Graph Mode. Refer to Ch 8 - Analysis for more
information.
• Lastly, return to the MID Creation Wizard. You will find that all of your
Click the Wizard icon to previous selections and entries will still be there. Simply find the screen
return to the wizard you wish to adjust and enter the new information. Click the Next > button
until you reach the end. Your MID now has your new information. Press
the Save icon and you are done.

Creating Machines
Introduction
The machines and their locations and points are used to hold the measurement
data collected in the field. This component of the database is the one you will
interact with most in your day-to-day use of ALERT. You will use the machine
during analysis and report generation. And you will track the condition of your
physical equipment via the machine in the database.
Once you have defined your MIDs, machine creation is a simple step, thanks to
the Machine Wizard. Given that the machine must take on the same description
as the MID (in order to be successfully used by the expert system), it is highly
recommended that you use this wizard. Not only will it ensure that the machine
matches the description of the MID, it will save you valuable time.
Using the Machine Wizard

Once you have created the MIDs used to describe the machines, and you have
created the plant(s) and area(s) used to hold the machines, you are ready to build
the machines.
Book II: Creation 8BCreating Machines • 91

To create a new machine, select File - Database Design Wizard - Create
Machine.
The Machine Creation Wizard will appear.
The Wizard welcome screen
You will first see the Welcome screen. Click the Next > button to move to the
next stage.
92 • 8BCreating Machines Book II: Creation

The second step of the wizard. Name the machine and select the area and MID
This is where you will give the machine its name, identify the MID it belongs to,
and give it to an area. You will see that, by default, it has placed the name of the
current area in this field, however you may change it.
After you have entered the machine name and selected the MID, click the
Next > button.
NOTE: You can always come back to this screen by pressing the <Back
button, any changes you make will not be lost. However, if you change the MID
and press Next >, the information at the next screen will change.
The wizard will then recall the MID and analyze it. It will determine where the
pickup locations were placed: the component types and bearing numbers. This
information will be used to establish sample location names, as in the following
example.

Defining the vibration locations
Enter the location names using any At this screen you will define the vibration locations. You will see that the
naming convention you like
wizard has already filled in the table. In the example above, it has determined
that the MID had two pickups, one on the motor at bearing 2, and one on the
pump at bearing 4. It looked at the database to find that the next available
barcode numbers are 5 and 6. This will of course depend upon the number of
machines already created in your database.
Location Name
This field requires the name to be given to this location. It should indicate
where on the machine this data comes from. You have up to 50 characters.
Position
This field is very important to the expert system. You should count the bearings
from the driving end of the machine. On a motor-pump for example, the free
end of the motor is bearing 1, the coupling end is bearing 2, etc.
NOTE: The wizard will already have the correct position number in this field,
so there should be no need to change it.
Barcode
In order to uniquely identify this position from all others within a plant, you
must enter a barcode number. ALERT will have already assigned the next
available barcode number, but you may change it if necessary.

Orientation
This field is used to impart two pieces of information:
1. First it describes how the triaxial accelerometer is oriented on the
machine. In the example above, RAT, one can determine that channel
1 of the transducer is oriented in the Radial (vertical) direction, channel
2 is oriented in the Axial direction, and channel 3 is oriented in the
Tangential (horizontal).
2. Second it indicates which nomenclature you prefer to use. Some prefer
the Axial – Radial – Tangential terms, while others prefer Axial –
Vertical – Horizontal. In special cases it may also be appropriate to use
XYZ nomenclature.
Simply look through the list for the nomenclature and combination that meets
your needs.
You may also add another location to this table, or remove one of the locations.
Warning: If you intend to use data collected at this machine with the
expert system, it is highly recommended that you do not add a new location to
this table, or remove one of the existing locations. It is also required that you do
not change the position numbers, as they are the key link back to the MID
definition.
If this machine was not going to be used by the expert system, and/or you did
not wish to collect vibration data on this machine, you may click the Include
vibration locations on this machine check box. The table will be removed
and vibration locations will not be added to the machine.
Click Next > once you have completed this step.
The default process measurement page
In this final step, you can add process points to the machine. By default the
wizard assumes that you will not add a process point. If you wish to, click the
check box and a table will be added.

In the next screen, the box has been checked and a process point to measure the
inlet temperature has been added. It has been given the same barcode number as
the pump vibration measurement so that it may be taken at the same time. You
can click < Back to look at the barcode numbers given to the vibration
locations.
A sample definition of a process measurement point
Once you have entered a name and a barcode number, press the Next> button.
In order to describe exactly how this measurement will be collected, however,
you will need to edit this point after it has been created (to define whether it will
be manually entered, measurement via a temperature sensor, etc.)
Congratulations – you’re done!

And that’s all there is to it. Once you click Finish, the machine, locations and
point(s) will be added to the database. You will then see it in the tree under the
selected area (and under the selected MID). You may then copy this machine,
edit it to fine tune its setup, or delete it if you wish to start again.
Important Note: In order to create a location, there are quite a few pieces of
information required. It is necessary to know which axes and ranges will be
tested, which setups will be used, and what type of data will be collected
(spectra, waveforms, phase, etc.). All of these settings are based on your
preferences. To set the preferences, edit a location, complete all of the fields the
way you would normally set them, and then select File – Save Settings as
Default. The same is also true for machine creation, although there are fewer
pieces of information to be defaulted.
Copying a machine
When you have multiple machines that are identical to one another, the quickest
way to build them into the database is to copy the original or first machine. The
only things that will change between them are the names and the barcode
numbers.
There are several ways to copy machines, but since we have used the Database
Design Wizard to build the database thus far, we will continue with it.
From the Database Design Wizard, choose step 3B Copy Machine.
The Machine Selection Wizard, below, will appear.
Machine Selection Wizard
Locate the machine you wish to copy and click the Next > button.

You will then see the Copy Machine box.
Copying a Machine
Change the name of the machine and any other fields that require changing, then
The Save and exit icon will click the Save icon or the Save and Exit icon.
save the new machine then exit
design mode Finally, you will be asked to change the barcode numbers, location by location.
To copy a machine using other methods, either select the machine in the tree and
Copy icon press the Copy icon, or Open the machine to be copied (i.e. bring it up in the
machine dialog box as described in the previous section) and then press the
Copy icon on the dialog box.
NOTE: If the machine being copied contains one or more locations and points,
the locations and points will also be copied. The data associated with the
locations and points will not be copied.

Manually Creating a Machine
If you do not create a machine via the wizard, then you may create one
manually.
NOTE: This section will cover the definition of each of the fields, which is
important when editing, copying and creating a machine.
NOTE: If you will be running the Expert System on this machine, or if it will
use an associated MID, it is highly recommended that you use the machine
creation wizard. This will ensure that the machine and the MID are compatible.
To create a machine, select an area in the tree and click the New icon on the
Select the area and click the toolbar. The area you select will become the ‘parent’ of the machine by default,
New icon to create a machine however this can be changed. Alternatively, select File, New Machine, or
right click on the item in the tree and select New Machine.
The following dialog box will appear.
Machine creation dialog box
To begin, the machine name will be blank, as will other fields (not shown above
as they are on other tabs). The fields containing information are your default
values. If you do not like those default values you should change them now, and
when satisfied select File – Save settings as default. When you next create
a machine (including when the Machine Wizard creates a machine), these values
will be used by default. If you were editing a machine, naturally these fields
would have the values from the machine being edited.
These options help to further edit and create machines. The options at this

The General tab
Machine Name
For DCA-31 users, there is a This field requires the all important machine name. You have up to 50 characters.
16 character limit to the
It is entirely up to you how and what you name your machines, and remember that
Machine name field.
it is a simple task to change the name later if necessary.
Remember to keep the names short if you have a low-resolution monitor, and
place the unit number at the end of the name (e.g. “PUMP #1” instead of “#1
PUMP”), so that they sort better in the tree.
MID
This field contains a list of all the currently defined MIDs. Simply select the
MID this machine is to be associated with.
NOTE: If you do not wish to use this machine with the expert system you may
choose MID 0. Otherwise you must select an existing MID.
ALERT does not check that the information entered during this machine design
session, and later at the location design session is in full agreement with the
MID. For example, if you described the MID as having an RPM of 1750 CPM
and defined this machine with an RPM of 1720 CPM, EA will not warn you of
the possible error. It is up to you to be careful about your design and edits.
Area Name
The field contains a list of all the areas that currently exist in the database at this
time. By default the area listed will be the area you had selected in the tree. If
this is not the desired area, simply select another one.
If you do change the area in the future, the machine will be “moved” to the new
area, and all of the points, locations, data and history will also be moved.
Nominal Speed
Here you should enter the expected running speed of the machine. If you do not
know exactly, give it your best estimate. If your estimate is inaccurate the
expert system may have difficulty determining the speed. However it is very
easy to re-enter the machine speed once you have collected spectral data, as
described in the “Fine Tuning the Expert System” section.
Set the units of your entry by clicking on one of the CPM or Hz options.
Collect Speed During Data Collection

If you will measure the speed of the machine during data collection, either by
using a handheld tachometer/stroboscope, or by reading a meter/dial, then check
this box. The speed information will help the expert system determine the speed
of the machine during the test, which is essential to achieving accurate results.
Speed Ratio
If you check the previous option, then you may tell ALERT the ratio between
the number entered as the speed and the actual speed of the reference shaft. For
example, if you could measure the speed of a shaft running at 5 times the speed
of this machine, then enter 5 in this field. If you can directly measure the speed
of this machine, then leave this field set to 1.

Speed Variation
For the expert system to accurately determine the speed of the machine from the
spectral data, it needs to search for the running speed peak and related peaks in a
band around your estimate of machine speed. All machines vary in speed to
some degree, and you must indicate to the expert system how widely it must
search by entering the Speed variation. For example, if you know that the
speed could vary from your estimate by 1%, then you would enter 1 in this field.
NOTE: If you are measuring the speed in the field, and have therefore checked
the Collect speed during data collection box, then the speed variation entered in
this field is an indication of the accuracy of that entry. For example, if you felt
that your entry or measurement of speed during data collection was accurate to
+/- 0.1%, then you would enter 0.1 in this field.
NOTE: When you first create this machine you may not expect that your
estimate of speed is very accurate. However when you collect your first
measurements you may be able to re-enter the machine speed more accurately.
When you enter the speed variation here, you should assume that you have
entered this more accurate estimate of running speed.
NOTE: It is considered bad practice to enter a Speed Variation value greater

than 10%. Actual speed variations of greater than +/- 10% may affect other test
conditions, such as load. As a result, vibration amplitudes may vary
substantially from the baseline data.
The Information Tab
Machine design screen highlighting the Information tab

The Information tab of the machine design screen allows you to enter general
information about your machine. This field is just like a page from a word
processor. Here you may enter the horsepower, rating, manufacturer and other
information. You may also add a drawing, photo or other such object.
feel that you do not have enough room here, wait until you have saved the
machine, then edit the RTF/OLE item at the main screen.
The Misc Tab
Machine design screen highlighting the Misc tab
The third tab of the machine design screen requires additional non-essential
information.
Class Name
Here you may enter a name for this class of machinery. This information is not
currently used within the ALERT software, however it may be accessed via the
report writer. As such you may choose to write reports for certain classes of
machines (critical, essential, non-essential, etc., or pumps, fans, turbines, etc.)
and/or include this information on the report.

Machine Identifier
You may well have other software within your organization that deals with the
same equipment that you are monitoring – your Computerized Maintenance
Management System (CMMS) for example. In some cases, that software will
use an identifier for the machine that is different from the name you have given
to the machine (entered in the first field). In this case, you can enter that
identifier in this field. If you then choose to integrate the two systems via the
open database architecture that underlies EA, it would be simple to export data
from ALERT to the CMMS module.
NOTE: Some systems treat the machine as a whole, while others track the
individual components (for example the motor separately from the pump). If
your system does track the components, leave this field blank and enter the
component information in the Component identifier field at the location
definition screen.
Collection Period
In order to assist with the scheduling of tests on your machines, you may enter
the desired collection period, in days. ALERT has a method of grouping
machines which are due or overdue for testing. These machines can be found in
the Master List under Tested Machines or Untested Machines.
Test conditions
The DCX data collector has the ability to write a message to the screen to
correctly prepare a machine for testing. These test conditions are included on the
“Barcode Report”. It is also possible to write a custom report that could be
taken into the field that instructs the tester how to test the machines.
Information entered into this field will be transferred to the data collectors and is
available to the report writer.

The Drawing/Photo Tab
The fourth tab is used to associate this machine with one of the photos/drawings
in the database.
The Drawing/photo tab
Simply select the drawing from the combo box. The selected drawing will
appear in the box below.
If you have not yet imported the drawing for this machine then click the Import
button. You will be taken to the dialog used to import drawings.

Saving a Machine
Once you have entered all of this information, press the Save icon. You may
Press the save icon to save then continue the edit of this machine, or to copy the machine you just created,
the Machine, or Save and exit to exit or start from scratch. If you click the Save and exit icon, your new machine
automatically. will be saved, and then you will be returned to the main screen.
Editing a Machine
Editing a machine is very similar to creating the machine in the first place.
There are three ways to select the machine to be edited:
1. Select the machine in the tree, then click the Open (edit) icon, or right
Press Open to edit the machine click on the machine and select Open.
2. Open the machine create/edit dialog box (either by electing to create,
copy or edit the machine), and then click on the machine in the tree.
This method is useful after you have already created or edited another
machine and already have the dialog box open.
VCR buttons toolbar to scroll through the machines in the database.
Editing a machine
Once the machine has been recalled, you may change any of the information in
The Save icon the fields and then click the Save icon. The changes will be updated in the
database.

If the machine being edited contains one or more locations and points (which
may have associated test data), the locations and points will still belong to that
machine. If the machine is moved to a new area (by selecting a different area in
the Area name combo box), again the locations and points will be moved to
the new area with the machine.
If you change the MID, be very careful that the machine and the associated
locations still fit the description of the MID. For successful operation of the
expert system, the machine and locations must fit the description of the MID
(i.e. have the same number and positions of locations).
Deleting a Machine
To delete a machine, select the machine in the tree and click the Delete icon.
The Delete icon You will be warned that the machine and any of the locations and points that
belong to the machine, including the data stored against those points and
locations will also be deleted.
Machine deletion warning
As shown in the dialog above, if you delete a machine, everything that

“belongs” to it will be deleted. That includes the locations, points, and the data
and history associated with those items. The MIDs and setups associated with
those machines will not be deleted, and if any of the machines belong to a
survey or master list, those machines will first be removed. The survey(s),
however, will not be deleted.

Creating Vibration Locations
Introduction
The location holds the vibration test data for a particular position on a machine.
If you use the Machine Wizard to create the machine, the location(s) will be
created automatically. Alternatively you can create them manually.
Many of the fields of information required to create a location will come from
the “preferences” database. If the location is created via the wizard, these
default values will be assigned and used automatically. Otherwise, the
information in the fields when you begin to create a new location will be those
same default values. If you would like to set different default values, make
changes to the relevant fields and select File – Save Settings as Default.
A Location, as defined in the hierarchy, is all the information that describes a
physical measurement location on the machine. A location must be defined for
every sensor-mounting pad attached to the machine.
Manually Creating a Location

If you do not create a machine via the wizard (which in turn creates the required
locations), then you may add locations to the machine manually.
important when editing, copying and creating a location. So even if you have
created the locations via the wizard, you will still find this section of use.
To create a location, select a machine in the tree and click the New button. You
Select the machine and click must then select New vibration location at the pop-up menu.
New to create a location
NOTE: The machine you select before you press New will become the ‘parent’
of the location. Therefore you must select the correct machine first. You may
not change the machine name while creating the location.
Book II: Creation 9BCreating Vibration Locations • 107

Location creation dialog box
To begin with the location name will be blank, as will other fields (as shown
above). As stated earlier, the fields containing information are your default
values. To change the default values, select File – Save Settings as
Default.
These options all help to further edit and create locations. The options at this
Location Name
For DCA-31 users, there is a 14 This field requires the name to be given to this location. It should indicate where
character limit to the Location
on the machine this data comes from. There are a number of nomenclatures in
name field.
common use, however it is entirely your choice which you use. You have up to 50
characters.
Bearing Position Number

This field is very important to the expert system. You should count the bearings
from the driving end of the machine. On a motor-pump for example, the free
end of the motor is bearing 1, the coupling end is bearing 2, etc.
Barcode Number
In order to uniquely identify this position from all others within a plant, you
must enter a barcode number. Click the Next button to have ALERT search the
database to determine which is the next available barcode available.
108 • 9BCreating Vibration Locations Book II: Creation

Transducer Orientation
This field is used to impart two pieces of information:
1. First it describes how the triaxial accelerometer is oriented on the
machine. In the example above, ART, one can determine that channel 1
of the transducer is oriented in the Axial direction, channel 2 is oriented
in the Radial (vertical) direction, and channel 3 is oriented in the
Tangential (horizontal).
2. Second it indicates which nomenclature you prefer to use. Some prefer
the Axial – Radial – Tangential terms, while others prefer Axial –
Vertical – Horizontal. In special cases it may also be appropriate to use
XYZ nomenclature.
Simply look through the list for the nomenclature and combination that meets
your needs.
When you do make a selection, the options on the Vibration readings tab will
change. As you will see if you read a little further, you must specify which axes
are to be saved during collection. The options presented use the nomenclature
selected here.
Component Identifier
You may well have other software within your organization that deals with the
same equipment that you are monitoring – your Computerized Maintenance
Management System (CMMS) for example. It some cases, that software will
use an identifier for the machine that is different from the name you have given
to the machine. In that case you should have entered that identifier into the
Machine identifier field while creating the machine. This is further discussed
in the section “Machine Identifier” in the ALERT User’s Manual.
However, while some systems treat the machine as a whole, others track the
individual components (for example the motor separately from the pump). If
your system does track the components, enter the component identifier in this
field. In the event that you are monitoring more than one location on the
component, you should enter this identifier at each and every location on the
machine, even if it does mean duplication.
Relative Speed
If you intend to select a rolling element bearing for this location (see the next
field), then you may also like to set a relative speed ratio. For example, if you
were measuring a location near a bearing of interest, however the bearing was
rotating at a different shaft speed (for example in a gearbox), then you may enter
the speed ratio here. This value is only used when labeling the bearing fault
frequencies on the graph.
Bearing Name
You may nominate one bearing per location for supplemental analysis. The
system is shipped with over 9,000 bearings and you may add your own, as
described in the Bearing Database chapter in Book III: Operation. You may
simply type in the name of the bearing, or click the button to the right of the
field to begin to search the bearing database.
NOTE: The expert system does not use this information.
This bearing information is available during spectrum analysis.

Location design screen highlighting the Information tab
The Vibration readings tab of the location design screen allows you to define
what data will be collected at this location. It is basically broken into two
sections:
The setups to be used in the low and high range measurements and for
demodulated spectral measurements are entered here.
You must also check-off which axes, ranges, and data types should be collected.
This is done in the group of tabs at the bottom of the dialog. There is one tab
per measurement type.
Defining the Setups

In order for vibration measurements to be taken correctly, the data collector
needs to be told a whole host of information, for example, the transducer type,
number of averages, measurement units and more. One of the key pieces of
information is the frequency range. The setups are used to hold all of this
information with the exception of the frequency range. Refer to the Create
Setups chapter for more information on setups.

Points and Hints to Consider when Defining the
Setups:
The Setup name shown on the previous table is a link to the Setup file defined
earlier. The frequency shown for the low and high ranges are automatically
defaulted to 10X and 100X of the Nominal speed entered in the General Tab of
the Machine file.
Before sitting down to build the MID and Machine File, you must determine
what frequency ranges are required to collect the data you and EADS need to
perform vibration analysis. Once the data is collected, the frequency range
cannot be changed, so it is imperative that you set the frequency ranges
properly. For 99% of direct drive machines, use frequency ranges of 10X and
100X of the shaft speed. For multiple shaft machines, some thought is required
to select the proper frequency ranges. The two frequency ranges must include,
with reasonable resolution, all frequencies stated in the forcing frequency tab of
the MID. The EADS frequency range restrictions for the averaged baseline
spectra follow the rules below:
• 0 to 10 orders in increments of 1X
If for example, you have a forcing frequency at 108X, you cannot specify a high
frequency range of 0 to 111X, you must use 0 to 200X. Here are some helpful
hints for selecting the proper frequency ranges.
10X and 100X: These are the default low and high frequency orders for direct drive
machines. Occasionally 200 orders of high range are necessary to
include a significant forcing frequency greater than 100X.
Low range hints: For belt driven or geared (reduction) machines, the low frequency
range should provide good resolution of the slower shaft speed(s) and
its harmonics. If the overall reduction greater than 4 or 5 to 1, then
five orders of the driver would be good. For a large overall speed
reduction of say, 15 or 20 to 1, consider two orders of the driver.
Make a judgment call while fine tuning the setup after collecting the
first set of data.
High range hints: The high frequency range usually contains forcing frequencies for
gear mesh frequency, motor rotor bar frequency and is also used to
perform the cepstrum analysis used in rolling contact bearing wear
detection. The frequency range chosen should contain at least one
and hopefully two or more times the gear mesh frequency and/or
motor rotor bar frequency. Make a judgment call while fine tuning
the setup after collecting the first set of data.

Reference shaft: For multiple shaft machines, the reference shaft is the shaft that is
defined as the 1.00 order in the fault file. It is also the shaft speed
that is entered as the Nominal speed entry in the machine file. In
general, the driver shaft speed is used as the reference (1.00 order).
For belt driven or geared machines, it is sometime better to use the
driven component shaft as the reference shaft for clarity. A belt
driven reciprocating compressor is an example.
If the driven is the reference: 1. Use the reference shaft speed (driven) as the Nominal Speed.
2. Use the ratio of input/output speed for Sec. Speed Ratio instead of
output/input.
3. Go to Forcing Frequency tab, toggle “No” to “Yes” in On Sec.
column for all driver shafts and components. Toggle “Yes” to
“No” in On Sec. column for all driven shafts and components.
The driven is the reference shaft and the driver is the secondary
shaft.
4. Save and Exit MID creation. Go back and Edit MID to check
correct Fault Frequencies. The order of the Fault Frequencies will
change now that the driven is the reference shaft.
Quite often the setup used for the low and high range measurement will be the
same, with the frequency range the only difference. However given the inherent
difference with demodulated spectral measurements, they will always have a
different setup.
NOTE: If you do not intend to collect demodulated measurements, it does not

matter what you enter in this field. It will not use this information unless you
later specify that demodulated measurements will be stored.
So at this portion of the screen, the task is to specify which setup should be used
for the low range, high range and demod measurement (later you will specify
whether you actually want to collect these measurements), and to specify the
frequency range for each measurement type. There are three steps:
1. In the three Setup name fields, simply select from the available
setups.
2. In the three Range fields, specify the frequency range to be used. In
the example above we have 300 Hz (10 times the machine speed) for
the low range, 3000 Hz (100 times the machine speed) for the high
range, and 600 Hz (20 times the machine speed) for the demodulation
measurement.
3. In the Units field, specify the units for the number entered in the
Range fields (all of the range entries must use the same units). The
options are Hz and CPM.

NOTE: Selecting the correct frequency range is very important, and in the more
complicated machines can be a little tricky. The settings shown in the example
above are good for most machines, however for machines with significant speed
ratio changes (for example belts and gearboxes), you may find that these settings
will not give you sufficient resolution. In addition, the expert system only
accepts certain frequency ranges. They must be 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, etc.
orders of the machine speed (or slightly higher). For example, if the machine
speed was 29 Hz, and you specified 300 Hz, you actually have just greater than
10 orders. That’s fine. However, if you were to specify 500 Hz, you would
have 17.2 orders, which means the expert system will only use 10 orders – you
will have wasted valuable data.
You may enter the frequency range in Hz or CPM, however if you do not choose
a range specifically supported by the data collector, ALERT will round up to the
next range. For example, if you specified a frequency range of 300 Hz, the
DCX would actually use 333 Hz, as 300 Hz is not supported.
NOTE: If you intend to use more than one type of data collector to test this
machine (for example the DCA-31 and the 8603), then you should refer to the
manuals of the data collectors to learn which frequency ranges are supported,
and select a range supported by both collectors.
How to Set the Range Values

When you create a new location, ALERT looks at the machine speed and
determines the best frequency ranges based on the multipliers (order ranges)
previously used for each range. If the automatically computed ranges do not
meet your needs, you can manually edit them or click the Calculator button.
Frequency range calculator utility

This dialog is used to enter the desired number of orders for each range. Based
on the machine speed, this utility will compute the best frequency ranges (it
multiplies the number of orders by the machine speed and rounds it up). As you
change the multiplier (order range) the calculations in Hz and CPM will be
updated. When you click OK those values will be automatically inserted at the
location design dialog.
NOTE: ALERT remembers the multiplier (order range) used at this dialog and
will automatically use the same numbers when the next location is created.
Specifying What Data is to be Collected

Once you have defined the frequency ranges for the low, high and demod
measurements, you must specify what data should be collected for each of those
ranges. There are four tabs used to define the spectral measurements,
demodulated measurements, overall measurements and phase measurements.
In general, to specify that you want a measurement to be collected, simply check
the box. There are check boxes for axes and ranges.
NOTE: In the following examples the ART nomenclature has been used. If
you were to specify an orientation in VHA or XYZ nomenclature, then the
various check boxes would be labeled differently.
Spectra and Time Waveforms

At the Spectra/Time tab you may specify how to collect spectra and the
associated time waveforms.
Defining spectra and waveforms
For each desired axis, check the axis boxes. Check the Low range and/or
High range boxes to specify the ranges of collection. In the example above,
spectra will be collected in all three axes in both ranges. However waveforms
will be collected in all three axes for the high range only.
NOTE: If you only want one range of spectra, you must select Low.

Demodulated Spectra
At the Demod tab you may specify whether demodulated spectra should be
stored.
Defining demodulated spectral measurements
Simply check the desired axes. In the previous example, only one spectrum will
be stored in the Radial direction.
NOTE: Make sure that the data collector you intend to use can support
demodulated spectral measurements. The 8603 can now collect demod readings,
but must be configured to do so at Azima DLI. Contact Technical Support for
more information.
Overall Measurements
At the Overalls tab you must specify whether overalls will be stored, and the
alarm levels to be applied.
Defining overall level measurements
First you must check-off the axes to be stored. In the example above, we will
save overall in all three axes.
NOTE: The definition of an “overall level measurement” can change from

collector to collector and from vendor to vendor. At DLI, the 8603 and DCA-31
use a frequency range from Low Cutoff – fmax.
The DCX uses 10 Hz to 1 kHz per ISO 2954-1975 (E).
Next you must specify the alarm limits. Overall readings can have a high alert
and high critical alarm level applied to them. When the expert system checks
the data, it will check to see if the latest reading has exceeded these limits.
Typically the alert level is used to warn that the levels are high, whereas the
critical level denotes that you have a serious problem.

If you wish to apply one or both alarm limits, check the appropriate boxes and
enter the alarm level in the adjoining field. In the example above the high alert
level is 110 and the high critical is 120. These numbers are entered in the units
as defined in the vibration setups. In this particular example the units were
VdB.
NOTE: If you only wish to trend these values, you may simply uncheck these
two boxes and ALERT will not check their level (you may also like to save
these settings as default).
Phase Readings
Use the Phase tab to define whether phase readings should be collected, and
the alarms levels applied to those readings.
Defining phase measurements
First you must check-off the axes to be stored. In the example above we will
save phase readings in all three axes.
NOTE: Make sure that the data collector you intend to use can support phase
readings. The 8603 cannot collect phase readings and will ignore this
information. Also ensure that your setup has described the phase reference:
external tachometer or internal fourth channel.
Next you must specify the relative direction between each measurement location
on the machine. For example, if you placed a transducer on the free end of the
motor with the axial sensor pointing to the right as you looked at the machine,
and then had a sensor on the pump with the axial sensor pointing to the left, the
two phase readings will be 180 degrees out of phase. One of these readings
needs to be flipped by 180 degrees before they can be compared. That is what
the In-phase fields are for.
You should determine a reference direction in all three axes as the in-phase
direction. For example, looking at a machine, you may nominate that up,
toward you and to the right are the reference directions for the phase readings on
this machine in the vertical, horizontal and axial directions respectively. If all of
the transducers pointed in that direction, then you could always leave the three
boxes checked, as in the above example. However, if at this location the axial
transducer pointed to the left (not toward the right as per our reference), you
would uncheck the A box as shown below.

Phase setup with Axial out-of-phase
Phase readings can have an upper and lower limit placed on the phase reading
and the amplitude reading. When the expert system checks the rest of the
vibration data, it will check to see if the latest reading has exceeded these limits.
NOTE: Phase readings are typically collected for two reasons.
1. If you are monitoring a turbine, for example, a change in the phase
reading can indicate a crack in the shaft and other resonant
characteristics. In this case, the phase reference must not change – it
must be permanently installed. In this example, placing alarms on the
phase reading can be a good idea.
2. Phase readings are also used to analyze a machine’s dynamic
characteristics – its mode shape or operating deflection shape. In this
case we are interested in relative phase readings, and thus the phase
reference need not be consistent from reading to reading. In this case,
phase alarm levels do not make sense.
The alarm limit on the phase reading is entered in degrees. If you were to enter
40 degrees, as in the example above, and the first reading was 100 degrees, the
alarms would be set to 60 and 140 degrees. If the phase reading went outside
that range an alarm would be generated.
The amplitude reading is entered in percent. If you entered 10 %, as in the
example above, and the first reading was 0.1 in/sec, the alarm limits would be
set to 0.09 and 0.11 in/sec.
If you do not want to set alarm limits, simply leave the Amplitude and Phase
angle boxes unchecked.
Typically the alert level is used to warn that the levels are high, whereas the
critical level denotes that you have a serious problem.
If you wish to apply one or both alarm limits, check the appropriate boxes and
enter the alarm level in the adjoining field. In the previous example, the high
alert level is 110 and the high critical is 120. These numbers are entered in the
units as defined in the vibration setups. In this particular example the units were
VdB.
two boxes and ALERT will not check their level (you may also like to save
these settings as default).

Once you have entered all of this information, press the Save icon. You will
Save the location. then be able to begin the creation of a new location. You may then choose to
copy the location you just created, or start from scratch. If you click the Save
and exit icon, your new location will be saved, and then you will be returned to
The Save and exit icon will the main screen.
save the new location then exit
design mode
Full Spectrum
Select the Full Spectrum tab to establish the parameters for acquiring
data from proximity or seismic probe pairs. These probe pairs are
generally mounted 90 degrees from each other.
Defining full spectrum measurements
The Full Spectrum measurement is a spectral representation of the direct orbit of

the shaft. The direct orbit represents the two dimensional motion of the shaft
centerline within the bearing.
Relative data are acquired from the proximity probe pair and define the motion
of the shaft within the bearing (displacement). Seismic data, from the seismic
probe pair, define the motion of the bearing housing (velocity). By combining
both signals, the absolute motion of the shaft relative to a fixed point can be
calculated.
These types of probes are found mostly on large Turbine-Generator sets and
some Boiler Feed Pumps. Both of these types of machines generally have
existing protection/shut down systems in place.
Editing a Location
Editing a location is very similar to creating the location in the first place. There
are three ways to select the location to be edited:
1. Select the location in the tree, then click the Open (edit) icon.
Press Open to edit the
location 2. Open the location create/edit dialog box (either by electing to create, copy
or edit the location), and then click on the location in the tree. This method
is useful after you have already created or edited another location and
already have the dialog box open.
3. As just described, except you can click on the VCR buttons on the toolbar
to scroll through the location on the current machine.
VCR buttons
Once the location has been recalled, you may change any of the information in
The Save icon the fields and then click the Save icon. The changes will be updated in the
database.

Sensitive Fields
There are a number of pieces of information on the location screen that can
cause undesirable side effects when changes are made.
• If you change the name of the setup or change the frequency range, you
may end up with incompatible data. The new data may have a different
frequency range or resolution, or it may be collected in different units.
Some graphical comparison options will not work correctly in this case.
• If you change the position number, the expert system may become
“confused”. The simple rules are: make sure the position number is correct,
and make sure the MID contains the same information.
• If you change the barcode number or setup, make sure you re-load the data
collector.
• If you change the data collection options so that certain axes, ranges or
measurement types are no longer collected, the data already collected of that
type will not be automatically deleted, and can no longer be analyzed. If
you come back later and re-enable those measurements, that data should be
available for analysis once again.
Copying a Location
To copy a location, either select the location in the tree and press the Copy
Copy icon icon, or begin editing the location to be copied (i.e. bring it up in the location
dialog box as described in the previous section) and then press the Copy icon
on the dialog box.
Once the location to be copied is in the dialog box, change the name of the
The Save icon location and any other fields that require changes, then click the Save icon.
Deleting a Location
To delete a location, select the location in the tree and click the Delete icon.
The Delete icon You will be warned that the location and any of the data stored against this
location will also be deleted.
Location deletion warning
NOTE: If you delete a location, make sure that the description of the machine
(i.e. the number of locations and their positions) agrees with the definition of the
MID, otherwise the expert system will not be able to correctly diagnose the
machine.

Creating Process Points
Introduction
The process point holds the process and performance data such as temperature
and pressure readings. The readings can be collected via the data collector,
manually entered into the database via the provided data entry screens, or input
directly into the database via external software.
Process points can be defined manually or created via the Machine Wizard,
however even if they are created via the machine wizard you are advised that
they should be edited and reviewed afterwards as the wizard only creates
process points for simple data entry.
Process point data can be measured in three ways:
1. The data can be entered directly, via the data collector, data entry dialog
box, or via external software.
2. The data collector can measure the process data by converting a DC
voltage into a digital reading. In this case you must describe the
measurement details as part of the creation of the process point.
3. There is also a special case for temperature readings using the infrared
gun provided by Azima DLI.
Manually Creating a Process Point

If you do not create a machine via the wizard (which optionally creates the
required process points), then you may add process points to the machine
manually.
important when editing, copying and creating a process point. So even if you
have created the process points via the wizard, you will still find this section of
use.
To create a process point, select a machine in the tree and click the New button.
Select the machine and click You must then select New process point at the pop-up menu.
New to create a location
Book II: Creation Component Group • 121

NOTE: The machine you select before you press New will become the parent
of the process point. Therefore you must select the correct machine first. You
may not change the machine name while creating the process point.
Process point creation dialog box
To begin with the point name will be blank, as will other fields (as shown
above).
These options all help to further edit and create locations. The options at this
Process Point Name

This field requires the name to be given to this point. Ideally it should indicate
where on the machine this data comes from, and the type of data collected
(temperature, pressure, etc.). You have up to 50 characters.
122 • 10BCreating Process Points Book II: Creation

Barcode Number
In order to uniquely identify this position from all others within a plant, you may
enter a barcode number. Click the Next button to have EA search the database
to determine which is the next available barcode available.
Reading Type
This field tells the data collector how to acquire this data. There are a number of
options:
• AC Volts
This option is used when the data collector will measure an AC voltage
and convert/scale it to a digital reading. You must also enter the
Sensitivity.
• D505 Temperature
This option covers the D505 infrared temperature gun supplied by Azima
DLI. You should enter a sensitivity of 4 (mV/F) unless otherwise
instructed.
• DC Volts
This option is used when the data collector will measure a DC voltage
and convert/scale it to a digital reading. You must also enter the
Sensitivity.
• Keypad Entry
If the reading will be entered into the keypad of the data collector, or it
will be entered via the data entry dialog box within EA, then you should
select this option. You need not enter any value in the Sensitivity field.
• Speed
If the data collector should use the tachometer to measure the speed,
select this option. Consult your data collector manual to see if this option
is supported.
Units
Select the units of this data. The options presented to you will come from your
unit definitions. Refer to the Defining Units chapter of this volume, to find out
how to define process units.
Sensitivity
If the data collector must digitize a voltage and scale it to a reading such as
temperature in Fahrenheit, it must be told the conversion (or sensitivity) in
mV/unit (where the unit is your chosen unit such as F, C, kPa, etc.). Enter than
number here. It is required if you have chosen the AC Volts, DC Volts, or D505
Temperature reading type options.
Offset
The number provided as the offset should the difference between the measured
value from the instrument and the actual value for the reading. In the example
above, the Offset is set to 10 degrees F. This means that the recorded value will
be 10 degrees less than the value measured by the instrument.

Alarm Levels
Process point data can have two upper alarms and two lower alarms. Given that
some data trends up while other trends down, we have added both types of
alarms. To enable or disable any alarm setting, click the check box. The alert
level is provided to give you and early warning, while the critical alarm is
provided to warn you of a pending problem.
In the following example, both the High and Low Alert and Critical alarms have
been set.
Sample temperature reading
two boxes and ALERT will not check their level.
Once you have entered all of this information, press the Save icon. You may
Save the location. then continue to edit this point, or copy it, or create a new point. If you click the
Save and exit icon, your new point will be saved, and then you will be
returned to the main screen.
The Save and exit icon will save
the new location then exit design mode

Editing a Process Point
Editing a process point is very similar to creating the process point in the first
place. There are three ways to select the point to be edited:
1. Select the process point in the tree, then click the Open (edit) icon.
Press Open to edit the location
2. Open the process point create/edit dialog box (either by electing to create,
copy or edit the process point), and then click on the process point in the
tree. This method is useful after you have already created or edited another
process point and already have the dialog box open.
VCR buttons to scroll through the process points on the current machine.
Once the process point has been recalled, you may change any of the
The Save icon information in the fields and then click the Save icon. The changes will be
updated in the database.
Copying a Process Point

To copy a process point, either select the process point in the tree and press the
Copy icon Copy icon, or begin editing the process point to be copied (i.e. bring it up in the
process point dialog box as described in the previous section) and then press the
Copy icon on the dialog box.
Once the process point to be copied is in the dialog box, change the name of the
The Save icon process point and any other fields that require changes, then click the Save
icon.
Deleting a Process Point

To delete a process point, select the process point in the tree and click the
The Delete icon Delete icon. You will be warned that the process point and any of the data
stored against this process point will also be deleted.
Process point deletion warning

Calculated Process Points
ALERT now allows you to define a process point that is a calculation of one or
more recorded process points.
To enter the formula, it is often easier to click on the Edit button.
Click on the Insert Process Point button to select each process point that will
be part of the calculation. Also, add any arithemetic that may be necessary.

If you are unsure that the formula will return the result that you desire, you can
check your work by clicking on the Evaluate Formula button.
In this example, the Inlet Pressure process point recorded 60 PSI and the
Discharge Pressure process point recorded 35 PSI. The formula correctly
calculated the Pressure Differential as 25 PSI.
User Defined Points

ALERT also lets the user define and assign points to a particular machine.
These points can be (almost) anything from outside the ALERT software. The
points can be stored as part of the database (Word document, Excel Spreadsheet
or PDF document) or act as a link to external applications (Oil Analysis
software, CMMS software, Thermography software).
Here are some examples:

Adding User Defined Points
To add a new User Defined Point, right click on the machine in the tree or go to
the File drop down menu, and select New User Defined Point.
Enter a name and select the point type from the drop down list.
Narrowband Vibration as Process Points

Vibration specialists are frequently concerned with the change of amplitude of a
specific vibration narrowband peak over time. Now ALERT allows users to
specify any peak from the vibration spectrum as a “process point”, where a
peak’s absolute amplitude and deviation from average can be trended and alarms
points may be associated.
There are two types of narrowband process points, level and exceedence. These
process points are very easy to setup, simply look at the screening sheet to find a
specified order, then use it, the position (or location), axis and type as shown
below for the process point name:
Position=4,axis=R,code=2X,type=LEVEL
Position=4,axis=R,code=2X,type=EXCEEDANCE

Next you set the process point reading type to “Expert System”.
Now any time the expert system is run (or screening system for
StandardALERT) it will recognize the process point name and populate the
process point with the level or exceedence data.

Creating Surveys
Introduction
Surveys can simply be thought of as a list of machines. Surveys are used in two
ways within ALERT:
1. When preparing a data collector for use in the field, it is typical to load
it with the machines that belong to a survey.
2. When performing your daily functions, there are numerous times when
you need to deal with a group of machines, due to their location,
importance, application or for other reasons. You can reap great
productivity gains if you place these machines on a survey.
Surveys for Data Collection

While you can load any machines into a data, it is common to group the
machines tested together into a survey (previously known as routes). Given the
large memory capacity of the Azima DLI data collectors, you can often load an
entire plant into the data collector. In this way you would only have to load the
collector once (and again any time you change the database). However, if you
have a larger database, or if you choose to organize your data collection
activities differently, you can use surveys to group the machines to be tested
together.

Group Machines to Organize Your Work
There are numerous times when you need to deal with a group of machines.
Here are a few examples:
• If you were a systems engineer, to access the data from the machines you
are interested in you could search through the plant/area/machine
hierarchy of the tree, or you could place all of your machines on a survey
and access them all together.
• If you had a report to generate once every month with a certain group of
machines, you could place them all on a survey and use this list when you
run the report.
• If you were a manager and wanted to keep an eye on the most critical
machines, you could add them all to a survey, then scroll through that list
in the tree to check on their condition.
The examples go on and on. Suffice to say that grouping machines together on a
survey can save you a great deal of time.
Survey Order
ALERT provides the user a way to choose the order of machines within the
survey. The initial steps must be made outside the survey creation process.
First, go to File – Preferences – Tree Settings – Machine Order in
Surveys.
Select By Survey Order from the drop down box.
Now, the order by which you drag the machines into the survey becomes the
order in which they will appear on the DCA-31, DCA-20 and DCX (in
collection mode only) data collectors.
Creating a Survey
You will find it very quick and easy to create a survey. Click on MACHINE
SURVEYS in the tree and click the New icon, select File, New survey, or
right click on the tree and select New survey.
132 • 11BCreating Surveys Book II: Creation

The survey dialog box
You must first give the survey a name. If your data collector displays the name,
please ensure that the name you enter will fit in the space provided. Otherwise,
any name of length 50 characters or less will do.
You have two ways to define which machines are to belong to this survey. As
machines are added to the survey they will be listed in the large window in the
lower half of the dialog box. The two methods are:
1. If you click on a plant, area or machine in the tree while the dialog box is
Click this icon to add the displayed, and click the red ‘plus’ icon in the top right of the dialog box,
selected plant, area or machine to the the selected items will appear in the survey list below. For example, if
survey you select an area, all of the machines in the area will be added to the
survey.
2. You can drag a plant, area or machine from the main tree to the survey
list. If you drag a plant or area, all of the machines in that plant or area
will be added to the survey.

In the example below, a name has been entered, and the area BUILDING 111
was dragged to the survey list (the same result would have been achieved had
the same area been selected and the plus ‘+’ icon been clicked).
Survey during creation
A few facts to consider:

• A machine can belong to more than one survey.
• A machine may not belong to a survey more than once. If you
attempt to add a machine to the survey a second time, it will be
rejected.
• Machines from multiple plants may be added to a single survey,
however we highly advise against this because barcode numbers
can be duplicated across plants. This will cause problems for
barcode based data collectors.

Removing Machines From the Survey
If you add a machine to the survey that you now wish to remove, simply select
Click this icon to remove the the machine in the list and click the minus ‘-‘ icon. As you would expect, these
selected machine from the survey machines are not deleted, they are simply removed from the survey.
If you click the delete icon, all of the machines will be removed from the survey.
Click to remove all machines
Additional Dialog Box Options

These options all help to further edit and create the survey. The options at this
When you have completed the survey, you can either press the Save icon to
The Save icon will save your save the survey and remain in design mode, or you can select the Save and
changes Exit icon to save the changes and exit.
Once you have created a survey, it can be easily edited or copied. You may
select the survey to edit or copy by clicking the VCR buttons on the toolbar, or
by clicking on the desired survey in the tree.

Editing a Survey
Editing a survey is very similar to creating the survey in the first place. There
are three ways to select the survey to be edited:
1. Select the survey in the tree, then click the Open (edit) icon.
Press Open to edit the survey
2. Open the survey create/edit dialog box (either by electing to create, copy or
edit the survey), and then click on the survey in the tree. This method is
useful after you have already created or edited another survey and already
have the dialog box open.
VCR buttons to scroll through the surveys in the database.
Once the survey has been recalled, you may change the name and add or remove
The Save icon machines. Click the Save icon, and the changes will be updated in the
database.
Copying a Survey
To copy a survey, either select the survey in the tree and press the Copy icon,
Copy icon or begin editing the survey to be copied (i.e. bring it up in the survey dialog box
as described in the previous section) and then press the Copy icon on the dialog
box.
Once the survey to be copied is in the dialog box, change the name of the survey
The Save icon and add or remove any machines, then click the Save icon.
Deleting a Survey
To delete a survey, select the survey in the tree and click the Delete icon. You
The Delete icon will be warned that the survey will be deleted, however you will be reminded
that the machines on the survey are NOT also deleted.
Survey deletion warning
NOTE: If you delete a survey that is currently loaded in the data collector,
don’t worry. The data collector can still be unloaded even if the survey no
longer exists.

Creating Survey Periods
Introduction
What is a Survey Period?

A survey period is way of grouping machines based on a date range. The
Survey Periods list can be found at the bottom of the tree on the left side of
the screen. The intention of this list is to allow the maintenance manager to
define a vibration work list over a period of time and then create a report
covering the machines that were supposed to be tested in this period. It is a
useful mechanism for tracking the work that needs to be done in a set period of
time and then creating a complete report of work done and vibration results
covering this time period.
For example, we could select an area of 50 machines from our plant, decide that
we want to test them all in the next month and define these machines as a
“Survey Period”. When the month has ended and the Report Editor has been
used to edit or confirm diagnosis, create work orders and add notes, we can then
use the Survey Period list as the source of machines for the new report.
Please refer to section “Printing Survey Period Reports” of this manual to

learn how to customize the reports designed for use with the Survey Periods list.

Creating a New Survey Period
You will find it very quick and easy to create a survey period. Click on
SURVEY Period in the tree and click the New survey period icon, select
File, New survey period, or right click on the tree and select New survey
period.
The New survey period dialog box
You must first give the survey period a name.

Next, select the Start Date and End Date from the drop down calendar. Notice
that today’s date will be highlighted.
Start/End Date Calendar
138 • 12BCreating Survey Periods Book II: Creation

Finally, add the machines on a survey period. Select the Tasked Machine List
tab and add the machines. You have two ways to add machine to the list.
The two methods are:
1. If you click on a plant, area or machine in the tree while the dialog box is
Click this icon to add the displayed, and click the red ‘plus’ icon in the top right of the dialog box, the
selected plant, area or machine to the selected items will appear in the survey list below. For example, if you
survey period select an area, all of the machines in the area will be added to the survey.
2. You can drag a plant, area or machine from the main tree to the survey list.
If you drag a plant or area, all of the machines in that plant or area will be
added to the survey.
In the example below, a name January 2005 has been entered, and the entire
plant was dragged to the Tasked Machines List (the same result would have
been achieved had the same area been selected and the plus ‘+’ icon been
clicked).
Survey period during creation
NOTE: You may not include machines from multiple plants on the Tasked
Machine List.

Removing Machines From the Survey Period
If you add a machine to the tasked machine list that you now wish to remove,
Click this icon to remove the simply select the machine in the list and click the minus ‘-‘ icon. As you would
selected machine from the tasked expect, these machines are not deleted, they are simply removed from the
machine list Tasked machine list.
If you click the delete icon, all of the machines will be removed from the tasked
Click to remove all machines machine list.
Additional Dialog Box Options

These options all help to further edit and create the survey. The options at this
When you have completed the survey period, you can either press the Save
The Save icon will save your icon to save the survey and remain in design mode, or you can select the Save
changes and exit icon to save the changes and exit.
Once you have created a survey period, it can be easily edited or copied. You
may select the survey to edit or copy by clicking the VCR buttons on the
toolbar, or by clicking on the desired survey in the tree.
Editing a Survey Period

Editing a survey period is very similar to creating the survey period in the first
place. There are three ways to select the survey period to be edited:
1. Select the survey period in the tree, then click the Open (edit) icon.
Press Open to edit the survey
period 2. Open the survey period create/edit dialog box (either by electing to
create, copy or edit the survey), and then click on the survey period in the
tree. This method is useful after you have already created or edited
another survey period and already have the dialog box open.
VCR buttons to scroll through the survey periods in the database.
Once the survey period has been recalled, you may change the name and add or
The Save icon remove machines. Click the Save icon, and the changes will be updated in the
database.
Copying a Survey Period

To copy a survey period, either select the survey in the tree and press the Copy
Copy icon icon, or begin editing the survey period to be copied (i.e. bring it up in the
survey period dialog box as described in the previous section) and then press
the Copy icon on the dialog box.
Once the survey period to be copied is in the dialog box, change the name of
The Save icon the survey and add or remove any machines, then click the Save icon.
140 • 12BCreating Survey Periods Book II: Creation

Deleting a Survey Period
To delete a survey period, select the survey period in the tree and click the
The Delete icon Delete icon. You will be warned that the survey period will be deleted,
however you will be reminded that the machines on the survey will not be
deleted.
Survey Period deletion warning

142 • Book II: Creation
D
D505 Temperature 127
Database
Creating a Machine Manually 103
Index Creating a Plant 66

Creating an Area 69
Creating Locations 111
Creating Machines 95
Creating Process Points 125
Creating Survey Periods 141
Creating Surveys 135

Defining setups 57
Manually Creating a Location 111
Database design wizard 12, 45
A DC Volts 127
Defining the Setups 114
AC Volts 127 Deleting a location 123
Alarm limits Deleting a machine 110
Overall readings 119 Deleting a process point 129
Phase readings 121 Demodulated spectra 119
Process readings 128 Drawing view
Alert 119 Purpose of the icons 37
Drawing/Photo tab 108
B
Barcode 98 E
Bearing name 113 Editing a location 122
Bearing position number 112 Editing a machine 109
Editing a process point 129
C Expert system
Adding notes to the report 9
Class name 106 Defining MIDs 73
Collect speed during data collection 104 MIDs 31, 49
Collection period 107 Screening sheet 26
Comments tab 9 Selecting the fault code 88
Component identifier 113 What is an MID 74
Contact Customer Support ii
Contact phone i
Copying a location 123 F
Copying a process point 129 FAQs ii
Customer Support ii Format text 38
Cut-off frequency 59 Frequently Asked Questions ii
H
High alert 119
High critical 119
Book II: Creation 13BIndex • 143

I S
ICP Current source 59 Save as default 21
In Tray 14 Save settings as default 44, 101, 111
Machine organization 32 Screening sheet 26
In-phase 120 Sensitivity 60, 127
Interrupt driven data collection 62 Spectra and waveforms 118
Spectral Averaging 61
K Speed ratio 104
Speed variation 105
Keypad entry 127 Support ii
Surveys for data collection 135
M Surveys for organizational reasons 136
Machine identifier 107

Machine orientation 87
Machine wizard 95
T
Master lists 29
MID Tachometer reference 62
Bearings monitored 91 Technical Support ii
Component code 90 Test conditions 107
Elements 89 Transducer orientation 113
Fault code 89 Transducer type 59
Fault name 89 Trend tab 9
Final ratio 89 Troubleshooting ii
On sec 89
Pickup code 91
V
MID Number 86
MID Rating 86 Vibration units 60
MID Wizard 76 Views
Detail View 6, 33
N Drawing View 35
Graph View 10, 34
Nominal speed 104 History View 8, 34
Note icon 9 List View 33
O W
Orientation 99 Warranty ii
Overall measurements 119 Window type 62
P
Phase readings 120
Position 98
R
Register 17
Relative speed 113
Repairs ii
Resolution 59
Return Equipment iii
Returns ii
RTF/OLE object 33, 38, 39
RTF/OLE Objects 25
144 • 13BIndex Book II: Creation

Creation Book2 V321

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ALERT™

© Copyright 2009 Azima DLI

Copyright © 2009 by Azima DLI – All rights reserved.

Product Number: 1119 Version: 3.21 Date: May 2009

Inspect Your System

Trademarks and Copyrights

Book II: Creation Welcome • i

Returns and Repairs

Warranty Returns & Repairs

ii • Welcome Book II: Creation

Book II: Creation Welcome • iii

Book II: Creation Contents • v

Setting up the Database 41

Defining the Units 47

vi • Contents Book II: Creation

Creating Plants and Areas 61

Book II: Creation Contents • vii

Creating Process Points 121

Creating Surveys 131

Creating Survey Periods 137

viii • Contents Book II: Creation

Book II: Creation 1BGuided Tour • 1

Details/Information view List view

History View Graph view

The plant in Detail view

2 • 1BGuided Tour Book II: Creation

The “Machines in alarm” list

Book II: Creation 1BGuided Tour • 3

A machine in History view, showing the expert system results

4 • 1BGuided Tour Book II: Creation

Trend of diagnostic severity

Book II: Creation 1BGuided Tour • 5

A sample of data from the same machine

6 • 1BGuided Tour Book II: Creation

Book II: Creation 1BGuided Tour • 7

Database design wizard

8 • 1BGuided Tour Book II: Creation

Book II: Creation 1BGuided Tour • 9

The Daily Cycle

The Monthly Cycle

10 • 1BGuided Tour Book II: Creation

Logging-on to the database

Book II: Creation 2BIntroduction to ALERT • 11

User Name and Password

12 • 2BIntroduction to ALERT Book II: Creation

Book II: Creation 2BIntroduction to ALERT • 13

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The registration form with the information required

Book II: Creation 2BIntroduction to ALERT • 15

Entering the Code

16 • 2BIntroduction to ALERT Book II: Creation

Book II: Creation 2BIntroduction to ALERT • 17

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Book II: Creation 2BIntroduction to ALERT • 19

EA with the tree toggled off

The tree has ‘dropped down’ over the main window

20 • 2BIntroduction to ALERT Book II: Creation

Copy and Paste

Editing at a Dialog Box

Book II: Creation 2BIntroduction to ALERT • 21

The Save Option

The Print Option

22 • 2BIntroduction to ALERT Book II: Creation

The Database Tree