Schaeffler Director of National Accounts David Zoesch (left) and Schaeffler Industrial Distribution Vice President Matthew Solomon (right) accept the prestigious 2021 “Bearing Manufacturer Excellence of Innovation in Product Design Award” from Applied Industrial Technologies Vice President of Sales & Marketing Jason Vasquez (center).

Global industrial and automotive supplier Schaeffler was honored by the Bearing Specialists Association (BSA) with the 2021 “Bearing Manufacturer Excellence of Innovation in Product Design Award” for its breakthrough OPTIME condition monitoring device. This prestigious award recognizes BSA member companies for excellence in product design or technology, with the added objective of informing end-use customers about the innovative products, technologies and services that BSA member companies are continuously developing to support their businesses.

A condition monitoring breakthrough – powered by Schaeffler expertise 

OPTIME is an easily scalable condition monitoring system that consists of wireless, battery-powered vibration sensors, a cellular gateway and an app to visualize the resulting data. Able to be installed and deployed without any prior condition monitoring expertise, OPTIME is designed to provide advance warning of potential damage to machines such as electric motors, fans and pumps. It also offers early notification of imbalance, misalignment and loose-fitting components.

Schaeffler OPTIME 

Data captured by OPTIME’s sensors is analyzed using proprietary algorithms that draw on Schaeffler’s technical expertise, its extensive library of physical models developed and refined over many decades, and the experience in condition monitoring that Schaeffler has built up in the course of its bearing servicing operations.

“We greatly value our longstanding membership in the Bearing Specialists Association, and we very much appreciate the BSA’s recognition of our OPTIME innovation that is already transforming the wireless condition monitoring landscape,” said Kevin Kozlowski, vice president – Industrial Distribution Americas. “Finally – an intuitive, easy-to-use ‘Plug. Play. Predict.’ sensor that meets our customers’ expectations for monitoring key assets within their manufacturing facilities. OPTIME is a key product from our portfolio of Schaeffler Lifetime Solutions, whose mission – to simplify maintenance with an excellent user experience and a full suite of industrial services and solutions for the machine’s complete lifetime – drives our overall value proposition to our customers and distribution partners,” explained Kozlowski.

Schaeffler received the award at the BSA’s 2022 Convention, which took place April 30 - May 3 in Indian Wells, Calif. OPTIME’s win represents the second Manufacturer Excellence Award for Schaeffler, which was honored by the BSA for its SmartCheck condition monitoring device in 2016.