What We Do
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NASA Ames Research Center
When Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) became an agency-wide
preventive maintenance priority for NASA, the IAP facilities
support team at the space agency’s Ames Research
Center was ready. Such maintenance programs have long been
a hallmark of IAP’s approach to government contracting
and the cost-saving potential is huge at the 3.5 million
square foot NASA Ames campus.
Located at Moffett Field in California, NASA Ames is a leader
in information technology research with a focus on supercomputing,
networking and intelligent systems. Scientists at NASA Ames
conduct research and development that plays a vital role
in supporting NASA missions and the nation’s next generation
manned space program. To use a famous phrase from NASA’s
history, “failure is not an option” here.
Using RCM, IAP’s maintenance experts work to predict
what equipment might fail and then devise a fix or solution
before any failure can impact the customer’s mission.
To anticipate problems and avoid failures, the RCM Team uses
Predictive Testing and Inspection technology (PT&I),
including infrared scanning, electrical circuit analysis,
vibration monitoring, lube oil testing, and airborne ultrasonic
monitoring. Each of these provides insight and predicts the
equipment’s condition without shutting it down, disassembling
it, or otherwise interrupting a process.
Using motor circuit analysis, the specialty maintenance team
recently discovered two large air handlers that were operating
unnecessarily and consuming a large amount of energy. They
recommended changes that will save $5,400 each year in electricity
costs. In addition to cost savings, the customer relies on
IAP’s predictive maintenance information when submitting
annual budget requests for equipment replacement and infrastructure
modernization.
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