System and software to monitor cyclic equipment efficiency and related methods

A cyclic equipment efficiency monitoring system to remotely monitor a cyclical equipment device, comprising:

• an equipment efficiency datacenter computer positioned at an equipment efficiency datacenter site to define an equipment efficiency monitoring server, the equipment efficiency monitoring server having memory associated therewith;
• a database stored in the memory of the equipment efficiency monitoring server and having a plurality of cyclic equipment device records including a preselected maximum capable accumulated workload of a cyclical equipment device defining a cyclical equipment storage capacity, a predetermined manufacturer's cyclical equipment device maximum specification efficiency ratio defining a maximum design ratio;
• an area network in communication with the equipment efficiency monitoring server;
• an equipment on-off status detector positioned remote from the equipment efficiency monitoring server, in communication with the area network, and in communication with the cyclical equipment device to be remotely monitored to detect equipment on-off status;
• and
• efficiency monitoring software stored in the memory of the efficiency monitoring server, the software including:
• a clocking generator positioned to generate a continuous running clock signal;
• a data logger responsive to the clock signal and the equipment on-off status detector and positioned to log each time at which a change of status occurs in the cyclical equipment device and the equipment status at said time to thereby produce a plurality of time dependent equipment status entries, a first period of time between a first logged time when the equipment is in the off status and a second logged time when the equipment switches to the on status defining an equipment-accumulation-and-storage period and a second period of time between the second logged time and a third logged time when the equipment switches to the off status defining an equipment-in-operation period, the combination of the equipment-accumulation-and-storage period and the equipment-in-operation period defining an equipment cycle;
• a workload estimator responsive to the data logger and positioned to estimate an average variable workload for a selected equipment-in-operation period, the average variable workload being an average workload accumulated and displaced by the cyclical equipment device as a function of a number of equipment-accumulation-and-storage periods and whether the equipment-accumulation-and-storage periods occur either prior-in-time or after-in-time with respect to the selected equipment-in-operation period;
• an efficiency calculator responsive to the workload estimator and the data logger, positioned to retrieve the storage capacity of the cyclical equipment device from the database, and positioned to calculate a probable efficiency of the cyclical equipment device as a function of the average variable workload, the selected equipment-in-operation period, and the storage capacity of the cyclical equipment device for the selected equipment-in-operation period to thereby define an average efficiency, the average efficiency being an indicator of performance of the cyclical equipment device;
• and
• an accuracy incrementor including:
• an historical average efficiency determiner responsive to the efficiency calculator and a first historical average efficiency to determine a second historical average efficiency as a function of the average efficiency and the first historical average efficiency,
• a tolerance determiner responsive to the efficiency calculator, the historical average efficiency determiner, and a first variable tolerance, positioned to calculate a first weighted factor of a change in the difference between the historical average efficiency and average efficiency, and positioned to determine a second variable tolerance as a function of the first variable tolerance and the first weighted factor of change in the difference between the historical average efficiency and average efficiency,
• a workload accuracy incrementor responsive to the efficiency calculator, the workload determiner, and the tolerance determiner and positioned to increment average variable workload to reflect a second weighted factor of the change in the difference between the historical average efficiency and the average efficiency to define an incremented average variable workload, and
• an efficiency accuracy incrementor responsive to the efficiency calculator and the tolerance determiner and positioned to increment average efficiency to reflect a third weighted factor of the change in the difference between the historical average efficiency and average efficiency to define an incremented average efficiency;
• and
• a variation determiner including:
• a maintenance period determiner responsive to the historical average efficiency determiner and the efficiency accuracy incrementor, positioned to retrieve the maximum design ratio of the cyclical equipment device from the database, and positioned to determine if the incremented average efficiency is within a possible range of values defined as those not exceeding the product of the historical average efficiency and the maximum design ratio to thereby declare that a maintenance condition exists when such incremented average efficiency is outside the possible range of values;
• a tolerance comparator responsive to the maintenance period determiner, the average history determiner, and the tolerance determiner and positioned to compare the incremented average efficiency to at least one of a sum of the historical average efficiency and the variable tolerance to thereby detect an above tolerance condition and a difference between the historical average efficiency and the variable tolerance to thereby detect a below tolerance condition, the tolerance comparator further having:
• an under counter responsive to detection of the below tolerance condition and positioned to maintain and increase a count of time periods where the incremented average efficiency is below tolerance, and positioned to tag an associated reference equipment-in-operation time period used to calculate the incremented average efficiency as being a potentially abnormal event;
• an over counter responsive to detection of the above tolerance condition and positioned to maintain and increase a count of time periods where the incremented average efficiency is above tolerance, and positioned to tag an associated reference equipment-in-operation time period used to calculate the incremented average efficiency as being a potentially abnormal event;
• and
• a counter reset responsive to the under counter and over counter and responsive to reset the over counter and untag time periods tagged by the over counter when the under counter increases and positioned to reset the under counter and untag time periods tagged by the under counter when the over counter increases;
• an abnormal events counter responsive to the over counter and under counter and positioned to determine whether at least one of the over counter and the under counter exceed a preselected number of possible abnormal events, and when such condition exists, to thereby determine the existence of an abnormal state of operation of the cyclic equipment device;
• and
• an efficiency variation flag responsive to the abnormal events counter and positioned to declare a possible abnormal state of operation of the cyclical equipment device defining an important efficiency variation when the abnormal events counter determines that the at least one of the over counter and in the under counter exceed the preselected number of possible abnormal events.