Overview
This course is centred around studying tribological principles, which provide a foundation for understanding a machine's friction, wear, and lubrication characteristics. By acquiring knowledge in tribology, you will be equipped to identify the root causes of failures and utilize appropriate condition-monitoring techniques to predict and minimize future failures. The course will provide you with the necessary knowledge and skills to implement condition monitoring as a maintenance strategy. With exposure to a diverse range of techniques, including sensory and functional inspections, vibration monitoring, infrared thermography, oil analysis, stress and strain analysis, non-destructive testing and inspection, electrical equipment, and general performance monitoring, you will be well-equipped to select the most suitable condition monitoring technique for any given scenario.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisites: ENMM20023 & ENMM20025
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2026
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Classroom conversation
Students reported theory taught in the class is directly applicable at their workplace.
The contents will be retained and where possible changes will be made to meet the industry requirements.
Feedback from Class conversation and also via phone.
Class timings are not suitable.
Choosing a time that accommodates the entire class can pose challenges. Nevertheless, minor adjustments can be considered with the consensus of the majority. All lectures and tutorials are recorded, and accessible on Moodle for students unable to attend in person.
Feedback from Teaching evaluation
Assessment requirements need to be clearer.
Marking rubrics will be revised with clearer requirements.
- Apply tribological principles for deciding condition monitoring techniques
- Identify the range of condition monitoring techniques suitable in a plant
- Investigate the standards associated with condition monitoring techniques
- Justify the use of condition monitoring in a plant.
n/a
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 30% | ||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 30% | ||||
| 3 - Presentation and Written Assessment - 40% | ||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | ||||
| 2 - Communication | ||||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | ||||
| 4 - Research | ||||
| 5 - Self-management | ||||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | ||||
| 7 - Leadership | ||||
| 8 - First Nations Knowledges | ||||
| 9 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Zoom online Lecture Sessions
- Weblinks to different resources
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
p.horsburgh@cqu.edu.au
m.kanagarajoo@cqu.edu.au
Week 1 -Introduction to Condition Monitoring
Begin Date: 09 Mar 2026Module/Topic
Introduction to Condition Monitoring & Tribology
Chapter
Self-study Articles and Study- guide Module 1
Events and Submissions/Topic
Introduce yourself to the class via a Discussion Forum.
Discussion on assessment requirements.
Week 2
Begin Date: 16 Mar 2026Module/Topic
Tribology- Friction Wear and Lubrication
Chapter
Self-study Chapter 2 of Oil Analysis and Condition Monitoring book by David Whitby and Lecture notes by the lecturer.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Tutorial 1: Quiz on Tribology and Condition Monitoring
Week 3
Begin Date: 23 Mar 2026Module/Topic
Oil Analysis and ASTM standards
Chapter
Self-study articles were provided and Chapter 6 of the Oil Analysis and Condition Monitoring book by David Whitby.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Tutorial 2: Discussion on Cheveron_ Testing Used Engine Oils
Week 4- Oil Cleanliness and ASTM standards
Begin Date: 30 Mar 2026Module/Topic
Oil Cleanliness
Chapter
Self-study Lecturer's notes and Chapter 10 of the Oil Analysis and Condition Monitoring book by David Whitby.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Tutorial 3: Discussion on Video on Oil cleanliness
This week Tuesday 31 March 2026 is the Census Date, after this day you cannot drop this unit.
Daylight saving ends on Sunday 5 April 2026 this week, please check the online lecture time.
Week 5 - Theory of Vibration
Begin Date: 06 Apr 2026Module/Topic
Theory of Vibration
Chapter
Self-study
Comset Vibration guide
Events and Submissions/Topic
Tutorial 4: Questions related to Vibration measurements
Overview of Assessment 2
Week 6-
Begin Date: 13 Apr 2026Module/Topic
Theory of Vibration
Chapter
Lecture notes
Module 3 of the study guide
Events and Submissions/Topic
Guest Lecture by an industry expert.
Tutorial 5: Question-answer session
Written Assessment - Oil analysis and tribology Due: Week 6 Monday (13 Apr 2026) 11:59 pm AEST
Vacation Week - NO TEACHING
Begin Date: 20 Apr 2026Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 7
Begin Date: 27 Apr 2026Module/Topic
Vibration Analysis
Chapter
Self-study Chapter 3 of Study-guide
Events and Submissions/Topic
Tutorial 6: Discussion on a video on vibration analysis
Week 8- Vibration Standards
Begin Date: 04 May 2026Module/Topic
Revision of the vibration Analysis
Chapter
Module 4 of the study guide
Events and Submissions/Topic
Tutorial 7: Discussion on Assessment 2
Week 9- Non destructive testing
Begin Date: 11 May 2026Module/Topic
Parameter Limits
Chapter
Module 2 of the Study Guide
Events and Submissions/Topic
Tutorial 8: Discussion on Use of Parameters and Warning Limits
Discussion on Assessment 3
Written Assessment 2 - Vibration Analysis Due: Week 9 Monday (11 May 2026) 11:59 pm AEST
Week 10-
Begin Date: 18 May 2026Module/Topic
Non Destructive Testing
Chapter
Self-study using Internet
Events and Submissions/Topic
Tutorial 9- discussion on a video on new condition monitoring tools
Week 11-
Begin Date: 25 May 2026Module/Topic
Application of the Internet of Things
Chapter
Lecture notes provided by the guest speaker
Events and Submissions/Topic
Tutorial 10: Discussion on the mini-project assessment
Instructions on PowerPoint presentation slides
Week 12- REVISION
Begin Date: 01 Jun 2026Module/Topic
Revision of the unit
Chapter
All Chapters
Events and Submissions/Topic
Discussion on Mini-project requirements.
Exam Week
Begin Date: 08 Jun 2026Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Vacation/Exam Week
Begin Date: 15 Jun 2026Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
The written assessment for this unit will focus on the introduction of condition monitoring principles and the fundamentals of Tribology, including friction, wear, and lubrication, and their application to used oil analysis in a given shop floor scenario. Students need to have a strong understanding of ASTM standards for used oil testing. The assessment will cover materials from the topics covered in weeks 1-4. The assessment details, including the question sheet, will be available on the Moodle website for this unit. The assignment will require you to gather information from industry reports or interviews and demonstrate your knowledge of oil analysis practices in industries and your understanding of tribology principles as applied in machines. In addition to the learning guide, you will need to use additional resources such as company reports, information from websites, and library resources to complete the assessment.
AI Assessment Scale - Student Instruction
AI PLANNING
You may use Al for planning, idea development, and research. Your final submission should show how you have
developed and refined these ideas.
Guidelines
Al may be used for pre-task activities such as brainstorming, outlining and initial research. You may use AI-assisted
automatic speech recognition to transcribe notes, AI tools to convert notes into outlines, and AI tools to brainstorm or
suggest improvements to already created work. Image generation technologies might be used to generate starting
points for designs or tools used to explore possibilities for producing software. You must then use the AI-generated ideas
as the starting point and apply your skills and knowledge to refine and improve the initial ideas to the final submission.
No GenAI-created content without changes should be included in the final submissions. You need to briefly describe how
AI tools were used during the planning, research and initial idea-generation stage of the assessment.
You must specify which questions of the assessment where AI help was included.
Example (provide the following details on each assessment submission document - after the Cover page, before Table of Content):
Assessment 1 Question 3 - I used AI to develop a structure for ......
Week 6 Monday (13 Apr 2026) 11:59 pm AEST
Week 8 Monday (4 May 2026)
The evaluation criteria for this assignment focus on providing a clear explanation of the problem and achieving excellence in the content. The quality of your content will influence your marks. Ensure clarity of expression throughout by utilizing illustrations and tables, which are visual aids to limit the word count. Your answers should be contextualised to your workplace practices. The assessment will cover materials from the topics covered in weeks 5-8. For additional information, including the grading criteria, assignment questions, and the grading method for each question, please refer to the marking rubric on the Moodle website for this unit.
- Apply tribological principles for deciding condition monitoring techniques
- Identify the range of condition monitoring techniques suitable in a plant
- Investigate the standards associated with condition monitoring techniques
- Justify the use of condition monitoring in a plant.
2 Written Assessment
Assessment deals with the basic principles of vibration monitoring, vibration data collection, and its analysis. Assignment questions will be posted on the Moodle Web page of this unit. Questions may require theoretical answers or based on the data that you collect from your workplace. Students are expected to research resources listed on the Moodle web page, interviews, and company reports. In addition to the learning guide, you will need to use additional resources such as company reports/CMMS, information from websites, and library resources to complete the assignment.
AI Assessment Scale - Student Instruction
AI PLANNING
You may use Al for planning, idea development, and research. Your final submission should show how you have
developed and refined these ideas.
Guidelines
Al may be used for pre-task activities such as brainstorming, outlining and initial research. You may use AI-assisted
automatic speech recognition to transcribe notes, AI tools to convert notes into outlines, and AI tools to brainstorm or
suggest improvements to already created work. Image generation technologies might be used to generate starting
points for designs or tools used to explore possibilities for producing software. You must then use the AI-generated ideas
as the starting point and apply your skills and knowledge to refine and improve the initial ideas to the final submission.
No GenAI-created content without changes should be included in the final submissions. You need to briefly describe how
AI tools were used during the planning, research and initial idea-generation stage of the assessment.
You must specify which questions of the assessment where AI help was included.
Example (provide the following details on each assessment submission document - after the Cover page, before Table of Content):
Assessment 2 Question 1 - I used AI to develop a structure for ......
Week 9 Monday (11 May 2026) 11:59 pm AEST
Week 11 Monday (25 May 2026)
The evaluation criteria for this assessment focus on providing a clear explanation of the problem and achieving excellence in the content. The quality of your content will influence your marks. Ensure clarity of expression throughout by using illustrations and tables as visual aids to limit the word count. For additional information, including the grading criteria, assessment questions, and the grading method for each question, please refer to the marking rubric on the Moodle website for this unit.
- Apply tribological principles for deciding condition monitoring techniques
- Identify the range of condition monitoring techniques suitable in a plant
- Investigate the standards associated with condition monitoring techniques
- Justify the use of condition monitoring in a plant.
3 Presentation and Written Assessment
This assessment is a mini-project report that requires you to develop a condition monitoring plan. The plan can be used to implement a new CM system or upgrade the existing one by incorporating new condition-monitoring technologies in your workplace. This may involve collecting data from your company's CMMS and interviewing stakeholders, consulting journals, websites, etc. If data is confidential, you may need to adjust it logically to maintain the confidentiality of the source; however, CQU takes no responsibility for the confidentiality of the data. To minimize the word count, utilize tables, charts, and diagrams as much as possible. The presentation should consist of no more than 10 PowerPoint slides, focusing on solving problems using advanced condition monitoring tools, including non-destructive technologies. The assignment will cover materials from the entire unit, specifically from weeks 9-10. This assignment is a mini-project report that requires you to develop a condition monitoring plan that can be used to implement a new CM system or upgrade the existing one by incorporating new condition monitoring technologies at your workplace. This may involve collecting data from your company's CMMS, interviewing stakeholders, and gathering information from CMMS, books, and websites. If the data is confidential, you may need to adjust it logically to maintain security, however, CQU takes no responsibility for the confidentiality of the data. To minimize the word count, utilize tables, charts, and diagrams as much as possible. The presentation should consist of no more than 10 PowerPoint slides, focusing on a problem related to advanced non-destructive technologies used in condition monitoring.
AI Assessment Scale - Student Instruction
AI PLANNING
You may use Al for planning, idea development, and research. Your final submission should show how you have
developed and refined these ideas.
Guidelines
Al may be used for pre-task activities such as brainstorming, outlining and initial research. You may use AI-assisted
automatic speech recognition to transcribe notes, AI tools to convert notes into outlines, and AI tools to brainstorm or
suggest improvements to already created work. Image generation technologies might be used to generate starting
points for designs or tools used to explore possibilities for producing software. You must then use the AI-generated ideas
as the starting point and apply your skills and knowledge to refine and improve the initial ideas to the final submission.
No GenAI-created content without changes should be included in the final submissions. You need to briefly describe how
AI tools were used during the planning, research and initial idea-generation stage of the assessment.
You must specify which questions of the assessment where AI help was included.
Example (provide the following details on each assessment submission document - after the Cover page, before Table of Content):
Assessment 3 Question 2 - I used AI to develop a structure for ......
Exam Week Monday (8 June 2026) 11:59 pm AEST
Results will be released on grade certification date
The evaluation criteria for this assessment focus on providing a clear explanation of the problem and achieving excellence in the content. The quality of your content will influence your marks. Ensure clarity of expression throughout by using illustrations and tables as visual aids to limit the word count. For additional information, including the grading criteria, assessment questions, and the grading method for each question, please refer to the marking rubric on the Moodle website for this unit.
- Investigate the standards associated with condition monitoring techniques
- Justify the use of condition monitoring in a plant.
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
