Elise Morse is a vibration analyst at Augury. She compares her job to that of a doctor: observing, diagnosing and recommending treatments. “While a doctor might recommend vitamins or more bloodwork, we might suggest adding oil, tightening a bolt or replacing a part.”
“I have always been known to follow my own rhythm and not really be concerned about outside influences,” says Elise Morse with a smile. This attitude has seen her train and work as an engineer for the Military Sealift Command across Asia and the Middle East. Today, she’s part of the vibration analysis team at Augury. “I’ve also always been a big science and math person.”
“My father definitely triggered this path,” says Elise. “He was an electrical engineer and was regularly bringing projects home with him – like tool prototypes from when he worked for DeWalt or Black & Decker. I found it fascinating,” says Elise. “And I still do.”
Extending The Life of Assets While Preventing Unexpected Failures
“In a way, I see the wireless condition monitoring of industrial or manufacturing machines as a similar job as that of a doctor. We’re listening like they do with a stethoscope – but continuously. We’re constantly scanning for any kind of change. And if something abnormal comes up, we review, evaluate and inform the customer when necessary,” says Elise.
“And while a doctor might recommend vitamins or more bloodwork, we might suggest adding oil, tightening a bolt or replacing a part to help extend the life of the asset or prevent an unexpected failure.”
Entering Augury Orbit
“In the Merchant Marines, I learned a lot about maintenance and dealing with pumps, compressors and auxiliary systems. When I came shoreside, I started working at a plant, and since I had pump experience I continued down the rotating equipment path – onward to bigger systems and higher energy pumps. And I ended up working at a full-service OEM pump company,” recalls Elise.
“At one point, one of Augury’s algorithm developers reached out. I had met him at my level-four vibration certification. Apparently, I made an impression since this was a few years later. He said, ‘Hey, we have this really great team and I think you’d be a good fit.’ And that’s how I got pulled into the Augury orbit.”
Our work is really pushing the boundaries. We are seeing all these different machines and how they behave. For example, we can align vibration patterns with wear patterns – and really get into a new type of troubleshooting
That Special Moment of Knowing
Elise gets her job satisfaction from those moments when she realises she now knows something she didn’t before. “Sure, you can take courses and read textbooks but when you actually see the actual data and put two and two together, especially when a machine isn’t behaving in the way textbooks say it’s supposed to behave, that feels great. It only motivates you to strive to learn more.”
She saw this constant learning accelerate at Augury. “The sheer amount of data we’re dealing with here is astronomical. And what we’re doing is very non-traditional vibration analysis. We’re installing on a multitude of different machines that have never had such analysis performed before. Our work is really pushing the boundaries. We are seeing all these different machines and how they behave. For example, we can align vibration patterns with wear patterns – and really get into a new type of troubleshooting,” enthuses Elise.
“It used to be that you’d do these checks monthly or sometimes only yearly. But now you can see all the moments continuously – including, for example, those Sunday evenings when operations hit the gas to push production and you can then see these transients you would have otherwise missed. It’s like a Fitbit for machines. You can watch – and learn – all the time.”
Onward and upward
As for the future, Elise plans to continue helping Augury become an industry leader in the Machine Health category – and the broader Production Health category. She also has a passion to pass along experience onto the next generation of reliability professionals.
I feel very lucky to finding a mentor along the way: an astute and technical person who answered my questions and shared their 20-plus years of reliability experience.
“I would love to be mentioning more folks in the future – especially ones new to the industry. For myself, I feel very lucky to finding a mentor along the way: an astute and technical person who answered my questions and shared their 20-plus years of reliability experience. I could just keep asking questions and discussing solutions. This was invaluable,” says Elise.
“At our current projection, I think we will only become more robust as a larger team. And I am hopeful I’ll continue to be a strong contributor and mentor within the growth of the company,” says Elise.
Read the rest of the ‘The Professional Lives of Vibration Analysts’ series:
‘Aiming to Be Obsolete: Behind the Scenes with Augury’s Manager of Reliability Operations’
‘Bringing The Factory Home: A Day In The Life Of A Vibration Analyst’
‘A Trade Transformed: 20 Years Of Vibration Analysis’
Or learn more about Augury’s machine health and reliability solutions: reach out!
