Postgraduate DiplomaRobotics, Automation & Control Applications open

Diploma in Vibrations/Thermal and Health Index

Online postgraduate diploma of 800 hours in vibration/thermal monitoring and Health Index. 8 modules covering ISO 17359:2018, ISO 20816-1 and ISO 18434-1, with Python (SciPy and scikit-learn), MATLAB Predictive Maintenance Toolbox and FLIR Thermal Studio, with an assigned technical tutor.

Duration800 hours · 6–8 months
ModeOnline
LanguageEnglish
Start datesSet by the faculty
AwardSEIUM Institute diploma

Diploma in Vibrations/Thermal and Health Index — studying from Singapore

Singapore is a leading robotics and automation centre, with strong activity in logistics automation, industrial robotics and smart manufacturing. The Agency for Science, Technology and Research and Nanyang Technological University support robotics research, while the Economic Development Board promotes automation adoption. Engineers work on control systems, industrial automation, mobile robots and warehouse systems. Employers include multinational automation suppliers, logistics operators and manufacturers modernising their plants.

Fees for Singapore: S$2,130 (Singapore dollar), with instalments and employer sponsorship available.

Relevant bodies in Singapore

  • Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
  • Economic Development Board (EDB)
  • Nanyang Technological University (Robotics Research Centre)
  • Robotics Society Singapore

Typical roles

  • Robotics Engineer
  • Automation Engineer
  • Control Systems Engineer
  • Systems Integration Engineer

Questions from Singapore

Will this qualification be recognised by professional bodies in Singapore?

SEIUM's qualifications are private, not official state degrees, and are not accredited by any national body in Singapore. Engineers in Singapore can seek Professional Engineer status through the Professional Engineers Board, and the Institution of Engineers Singapore is a professional body for engineers. Recognition of a private qualification is decided by employers or the relevant body.

How might this training be used by employers in Singapore?

Singapore's manufacturing, logistics, electronics and smart-facility sectors use automation and control systems extensively, so these skills may suit roles in systems integration, controls engineering or automation support. The programme does not guarantee employment. Employers will usually look at your practical projects and experience alongside the qualification.

Can I study this alongside a full-time job, and can my employer help fund it?

Study is entirely online and in English, with an assigned technical tutor, so you can fit it around a job in Singapore. Master's programmes take 1,900 hours, postgraduate diplomas 800 hours and specialist courses 300 hours. Fees can be paid in instalments, and employer sponsorship is possible; automation teams in many firms may support relevant training.

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Learning outcomes

What you will be able to do

01

Identify robot failure modes and how they show up in vibration and temperature.

02

Acquire vibration signals correctly during non-stationary motion.

03

Carry out thermographic inspections using standardised criteria.

04

Extract condition indicators normalised for load and speed.

05

Build robust, calibrated health indices.

06

Estimate remaining useful life and translate it into maintenance decisions.

07

Specify the architecture of a condition monitoring system.

Profile

Who it's for

  • Predictive maintenance engineers moving towards data-driven health indices.
  • Vibration analysts who want to add thermography and prognostics to their toolkit.
  • Industrial thermographers looking to combine thermal data with vibration analysis.
  • Reliability engineers responsible for critical rotating assets.
  • Industrial data scientists working with condition-monitoring data.
  • Maintenance managers of robotic cells.
  • Engineering or science graduates aiming to enter the automotive sector.
Standards & tools

What you'll work with

  • ISO 17359:2018 (condition monitoring: general guidelines)
  • ISO 20816-1 (measurement and evaluation of machine vibration)
  • ISO 18434-1 (thermography for condition monitoring)
  • ISO 13374 (condition data processing and communication)
  • ISO 18436-7 (personnel qualification in thermography)
  • ISO 13381-1 (prognostics: general guidelines)
  • IEC 61131-9 (IO-Link)
  • Python with SciPy and scikit-learn
  • MATLAB Predictive Maintenance Toolbox
  • FLIR Thermal Studio
  • InfluxDB and Grafana
  • Siemens MindSphere / Insights Hub
Syllabus

8 modules

  1. 1.1Failure modes in industrial robots
  2. 1.2P-F curve and inspection interval
  3. 1.3Condition-based maintenance according to ISO 17359
  4. 1.4Condition variables: vibration, temperature and current
  5. 1.5Internal robot controller logs
  6. 1.6Duty cycles and load profiles
  7. 1.7Ageing of bearings and lubricants
  8. 1.8Healthy-state baseline data
  9. 1.9Asset criticality in a robotic cell
  10. 1.10Workshop: criticality matrix for a robotic line
  1. 2.1Quantities: displacement, velocity and acceleration
  2. 2.2Piezoelectric and MEMS accelerometers
  3. 2.3Sensor mounting and frequency response
  4. 2.4Sampling, aliasing and spectral resolution
  5. 2.5Severity according to ISO 20816
  6. 2.6Vibration in axes with non-stationary motion
  7. 2.7Repeatable test cycles on robots
  8. 2.8Wireless acquisition and power supply
  9. 2.9Signal quality and noise
  10. 2.10Lab: vibration acquisition on a robot axis
  1. 3.1Principles of infrared radiation
  2. 3.2Emissivity, reflection and windows
  3. 3.3Thermal imaging cameras and resolution
  4. 3.4Thermography of motors and electrical cabinets
  5. 3.5Temperature sensors embedded in motors
  6. 3.6Thermal models of motors and gearboxes
  7. 3.7Thermal severity criteria
  8. 3.8Thermographer qualification according to ISO 18436-7
  9. 3.9Writing the thermographic report
  10. 3.10Practical: thermographic inspection of a drives cabinet
  1. 4.1Time-domain features: RMS, kurtosis and crest factor
  2. 4.2Band-based spectral features
  3. 4.3Thermal features: gradients and relative temperature
  4. 4.4Motor current as a torque indicator
  5. 4.5Normalisation by speed and load
  6. 4.6Segmentation by duty cycle
  7. 4.7Feature selection and reduction
  8. 4.8Trend detection and regime changes
  9. 4.9Statistical thresholds and alarms
  10. 4.10Lab: feature pipeline in Python
  1. 5.1The health index concept and its scale
  2. 5.2Weighted aggregation of features
  3. 5.3Mahalanobis distance-based methods
  4. 5.4Principal component analysis for health assessment
  5. 5.5Fuzzy logic to combine evidence
  6. 5.6Calibration with failure history
  7. 5.7Monotonicity, robustness and sensitivity
  8. 5.8Index uncertainty
  9. 5.9Visualisation for maintenance
  10. 5.10Practical: Health Index for a robot fleet
  1. 6.1Remaining useful life (RUL)
  2. 6.2Exponential degradation models
  3. 6.3Particle filters for prognosis
  4. 6.4Survival and Weibull models
  5. 6.5Turning the index into maintenance actions
  6. 6.6Condition-based shutdown planning
  7. 6.7Cost of false positives and false negatives
  8. 6.8Integration with the CMMS
  9. 6.9Predictive programme KPIs
  10. 6.10Case study: gearbox replacement decision
  1. 7.1Sensor, edge and cloud architecture
  2. 7.2IO-Link, OPC UA and MQTT protocols
  3. 7.3Time-series storage
  4. 7.4Condition dashboards
  5. 7.5Alarm management and escalation
  6. 7.6Cybersecurity of condition data
  7. 7.7Training the maintenance team
  8. 7.8Return on the predictive programme
  9. 7.9Continuous improvement of the models
  10. 7.10Workshop: specification of a monitoring system
  1. 8.1Selection of assets and failure modes
  2. 8.2Measurement plan
  3. 8.3Data acquisition
  4. 8.4Feature extraction
  5. 8.5Building the health index
  6. 8.6Validation against historical events
  7. 8.7Proposal for integration into maintenance
  8. 8.8Economic analysis of the predictive programme
  9. 8.9Report and presentation
  10. 8.10Final project: final review with the tutor
Methodology, software & labs

How you'll learn

Training is 100% online on the SEIUM campus, with downloadable material, recorded classes and an assigned technical tutor. There are no fixed timetables: you progress at your own pace within each intake, so the programme fits around your job.

Each module combines theory, guided reading of the original standard and applied exercises. The working software is Python with SciPy and scikit-learn, MATLAB Predictive Maintenance Toolbox, FLIR Thermal Studio, InfluxDB and Grafana, and Siemens MindSphere / Insights Hub, in free, academic or evaluation versions. Testing is studied through real procedures: repeatable test cycles to measure vibration on robot axes, thermographic inspections of motors and electrical cabinets, and validation of the health index against failure history. Assessment is continuous by module, plus the final project.

Standards covered: ISO 17359:2018, ISO 20816-1, ISO 18434-1, ISO 13374, ISO 18436-7, ISO 13381-1 and IEC 61131-9 (IO-Link).

Assigned technical tutor:every module ends with a deliverable that your tutor marks individually.
Standards-based learning:guided reading of ISO 17359, ISO 20816-1 and ISO 18434-1 applied to real cases, not as a theoretical annex.
Industry software:Python with SciPy and scikit-learn, MATLAB Predictive Maintenance Toolbox, FLIR Thermal Studio, InfluxDB and Grafana, and Siemens MindSphere / Insights Hub, in free, academic or evaluation versions.
Final project:a health index for real assets, from measurement plan to validation against historical events, reviewed by your tutor.
Flexible format:100% online, no fixed timetables, compatible with full-time work.
Capstone project

Build it end to end

Your final project follows the real engineering workflow, step by step, reviewed by your tutor.

Criticality and failure modes
Select critical assets in a robotic line and define their failure modes.
Measurement and acquisition
Plan and acquire vibration and thermal data under repeatable test cycles.
Indicator pipeline
Extract normalised condition indicators with a Python pipeline.
Health Index and prognosis
Build and calibrate the health index and estimate remaining useful life.
Final project
Validate the index against historical events and present an integration and economic proposal, reviewed by your tutor.
Career opportunities

Where this takes you

Predictive maintenance engineerVibration analystIndustrial thermographerReliability engineerIndustrial data scientistRobotic cell maintenance manager
Admissions & scholarships

Requirements

  • Prior technical training or professional experience in the sector. No university degree is required.
  • Internet connection and a computer capable of running the programme's software.
  • English sufficient to read technical standards.

Ready to start?

Send your application today. Our admissions team replies within 72 hours with your study plan and funding options.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

The programme totals 800 hours over 6–8 months. You set your own pace within each intake, and your tutor helps you plan the workload around your job.

You work with Python with SciPy and scikit-learn, MATLAB Predictive Maintenance Toolbox, FLIR Thermal Studio, InfluxDB and Grafana, and Siemens MindSphere / Insights Hub, using free, academic or evaluation versions. Your tutor indicates the free alternative wherever one exists.

A SEIUM Institute diploma, awarded on passing the continuous assessment and the final project. It is SEIUM's own qualification, not an official state degree; its recognition depends on the programme completed and the regulations of each country.

Yes. Modules passed are recognised in a higher programme in the same area (postgraduate diploma or master's). Ask about the recognition policy when you enrol.

Prior technical training or professional experience in the sector (no university degree required), a computer able to run the software, and English sufficient to read technical standards.

Start dates are set by SEIUM's faculty for each intake. Our admissions team will confirm the next available date when you apply.

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