How MASSCORE turns an inspection into a condition score.
The method in plain terms: what technicians answer, how it's scored, and why the result is consistent from one plant to the next.
Capture: questions a technician can actually answer
Five written conditions per question
Every question lists five conditions, from like new to needs repair, each described in words. The technician picks the one that matches what they see. No 1 to 10 rating, no free text to interpret later.
Only what can be seen, heard or measured
Every condition has to be something a technician can confirm on site. Anything that needs specialist testing, such as wall thickness, comes in from the test report, not from a guess.
Asked as often as it can change
Leaks, noise and oil get checked every visit. Supports, structure and labels once a year. Repair history once, when the asset is set up.
One answer for a group, exceptions flagged
Four fan motors in good shape take one answer. If one is growling, the technician flags that one. The record stays detailed without the busywork.
Scoring: the biggest problem leads
Each part of a machine starts at 100. Every condition found takes something off. Problems are combined so the most serious one dominates and minor ones barely move the number. It's the same deduct-value approach used in pavement and infrastructure condition surveys (ASTM D6433), applied to refrigeration equipment.
A shaft seal, three findings
| Seal approaching its leak limit | -30 |
| Oil staining on the housing | -8 |
| Seal assembly showing light wear | -3 |
| Seal score | 69 |
Added straight up, those would cost 41 points. Combined the MASSCORE way, the seal problem sets the score and the related findings barely add to it, because they're the same story told three ways.
Critical means critical
A condition marked as critical caps that part at 25, no matter how good everything else looks. Twenty good answers can't hide one serious problem.
Only the latest answer counts
The same problem seen on four visits is counted once. Scores move when the condition changes, not because a technician answered the same question again.
Weighted by consequence
Parts count by what their failure does to the machine, not by what they cost. One fan down on a six-fan condenser is minor. One fan down on a two-fan unit is serious, and the scores reflect that automatically.
Small things stay small
A dirty filter or a few cosmetic items move a machine's score by a few points at most. The score falls hard only when something genuinely matters.
Two scores for every asset
MASS
Built from routine visits. Covers the parts that can be fixed or replaced. It drops when work is deferred and recovers when the repair is done.
CORE
Set when the asset is first assessed, from its structure, age and repair history. Re-checked every year and recalibrated by mechanical integrity inspections. It never goes back up, because a new part doesn't undo wear on the casing.
Read together, they answer the question a single number can't: a sound machine with worn parts should be repaired, and a well-kept machine at the end of its life should be replaced.
Readings: an early warning, not a prediction
Normal bands for each type of machine
Discharge temperature, oil temperature and pressure, filter differential, motor amps, and condensing pressure against the wet bulb are graded as normal, attention or critical. A recip and a screw get different limits.
A flag to follow up, not a failure date
Out-of-band readings move the score a little and raise a follow-up item a lot. Safeties protect the machine. MASSCORE makes sure someone looks before they have to.
Adjusted limits are documented
A plant that runs differently by design can have its own limits, only with a written reason and an approval, and the score shows when they're in use.
The same weight everywhere
Limits can be adjusted for a site. What a critical reading costs can't, so scores stay comparable across plants.
The record: every issue, until someone closes it
Open
Raised automatically from an answer or a reading, with severity and a recommended action.
Seen again
Repeat sightings update the same item with the date and the count, so a lingering problem is obvious.
Observed clear
A later visit finds the condition fixed. The score recovers, and the item waits for confirmation.
Closed
A person confirms the repair and records what was done. The item stays in the history for good.
Equipment covered today
Rotary screw compressors are fully built, and evaporative condensers are in final review. Reciprocating compressors, evaporators, vessels and pumps are in development, each built on the same method.
See it on your equipment.
MASSCORE is in pilot at select plants.