ITRI TODAY Summer issue 2025

Prognosis Monitoring System Predicting Failures Before They Strike

Every minute of equipment downtime can cost companies millions of dollars. In high-stakes industries such as semiconductors and energy, a single malfunction can halt production, damage materials, and create safety risks. To help prevent these costly disruptions, ITRI has developed the Prognosis Monitoring System (PMS), an AI-powered predictive maintenance platform for intelligent equipment health monitoring and fault diagnostics.

Combining more than 30 years of vibration diagnostics expertise with advanced AI, PMS continuously monitors rotating equipment such as pumps, motors, and turbines. It can detect faults with over 90% accuracy, outperforming conventional monitoring systems, which achieve roughly 70%. The system analyzes vibration signals and operational data in real time to detect subtle anomalies that may indicate wear, imbalance, or impending malfunction.

Turning Minutes of Analysis into Seconds

Conventionally, condition monitoring systems rely on periodic inspections or manual interpretation of vibration data. In contrast, PMS analyzes vibration signatures from rotating equipment and compares them with a large diagnostic knowledge base built from decades of industrial fault data. The system can identify more than 20 types of mechanical faults and issue prognostic alerts.

“Traditional monitoring systems can tell you that something is abnormal, but they often cannot explain why or what will happen next,” said Chun-Chieh Wang, Division Director at Mechanical and Mechatronics Systems Research Laboratories, ITRI. “PMS not only identifies the fault types automatically but also estimates remaining equipment life, enabling maintenance teams to make faster and more informed decisions.”

The system also dramatically shortens diagnostic time. Analyses that once required a specialist and about ten minutes of interpretation can now be completed in one second.

Plug-and-Play Design for Complex Facilities

Industrial facilities often operate hundreds of machines from different manufacturers, making monitoring systems difficult to deploy and manage. PMS addresses this challenge with a modular, plug-and-play architecture that integrates easily with a wide range of equipment.

Once installed, the system performs continuous remote monitoring and automated diagnostics, reducing the need for constant expert oversight. Maintenance teams receive early warnings and actionable insights into equipment health and operating conditions, enabling proactive maintenance before failures occur.

The platform also predicts the remaining useful life of critical components, helping operators optimize maintenance schedules, extend equipment lifespan, and avoid premature part replacement.

Proven Impact Across Global Industries

PMS is already delivering measurable benefits in high-value industries around the world. More than 1,500 units have been deployed across Asia, Europe, and the U.S., supporting applications ranging from semiconductor fabs to renewable energy facilities.

In semiconductor manufacturing, the system has helped prevent costly dry pump shutdowns that could lead to wafer scrap and unplanned downtime. In one case, PMS helped avoid production losses estimated at up to US$5 million.

Wind energy operators have also seen significant gains. By detecting drivetrain issues early, PMS improved wind turbine uptime from 70% to 92%, adding millions of kilowatt-hours of clean electricity generation and contributing to carbon emission reduction.

From Reactive Maintenance to Predictive Operations

Unplanned equipment downtime costs manufacturers an estimated US$220 billion annually. By combining continuous monitoring, automated diagnostics, and accurate lifespan prediction, PMS enables factories to shift from reactive maintenance to predictive operations. This intelligent solution improves equipment reliability, reduces unnecessary maintenance, and supports more sustainable manufacturing.