October 05, 2006 Lean Maintenance Tip
In a large study done in Canada they estimated where lean maintenance projects could save money or increase output. There are opportunities all around us. Here is what they found:
Percentage of possible savings of maintenance budget dollars
39% Re-engineering of equipment and maintenance improvements to equipment
26% PM improvement and correct application of PM
27% More extensive application of predictive maintenance
7% Improvements in the storeroom
Work in each of these areas can result in significant reductions in cost or improvements in operation. Of course there are hundreds of projects that these percentages represent.
Areas to focus on for a lean project that will result in cost cutting or improvements in production:
1. Labor (production operator, maintenance mechanic and contractor)
2. Maintenance parts, materials
3. Raw materials (reduce scrap, quality problems)
4. Energy, fuel, other utilities including water
5. Machine time (reduce machine time to complete job)
6. Capital (extend life of asset, cheaper asset, less equipment reduces effective capital costs)
7. Management effort (reduce headaches, non-standard conditions requiring management inputs)
8. Overhead
Tip provided by Joel Levitt
Springfield Maintenance
http://www.maintrainer.com
New On CD: Lean Maintenance in a Nutshell Audio CD by Joel Levitt
October 05, 2006 Coolant Tip
What is the pH of your coolant telling you?
Coolant pH can provide valuable clues to potential cooling system problems. pH is a measure of a coolant’s acidity or alkalinity and indicates the intensity of the fluid’s acid- or base-forming ability. The pH for conventional coolants is typically 8.5 – 11.0 (OAT and HOAT are typically 8.0 – 9.5). If pH drops rapidly - below 8.5 for conventional and below 7.5 for OAT and HOAT - but remains above 7.0, and ageing coolant is not a factor, air could be leaking into the cooling system. A drop below 7.0 could indicate combustion gas blow-by.
October 05, 2006 Make Maintenance Work at IMC-2006
Learn what you can do to make maintenance more effective at your facility in just 4 days at IMC-2006 - The 21st International Maintenance Conference, December 5-8, 2006 in Daytona Beach Florida.
People who have attended our past conference know that there is a HUGE difference at Reliabilityweb.com events. Over 90% report that they took back strategies, techniques and tools to directly improve maintenance. We understand how valuable your time is and we work hard to make the time you spend at IMC-2006 the most productive possible.
We are sure that IMC-2006 will be worth the time you invest in attending. If for any reason you are dissatisfied with your experience at this conference, we will refund 100% of your paid registration fee.
Attendance is limited to ensure quality. Watch for full program details in the next issue of Uptime Magazine or at the conference web site.
It is important that you register quickly to avoid disappointment. Reliabilityweb.com events generally SELL OUT two - three weeks prior to the actual event.
Request an IMC-2006 Brochure and you will automatically be registered to win one of 100 IMC-2006 Proceeding CDs to be given away in a drawing on December 11!
Please call toll free (888) 575 1245 to learn more about IMC-2006, early bird registration discounts, Daytona Hilton hotel discounts for just $83 per night (limited time and supply only)!
October 05, 2006 Ultrasound Tip
Winters coming, are your windows and doors sealed? Try using ultrasound to be sure.
Ever stand by a door or window in your home or office and feel cold air rushing through along the window or door seal? Open up your ultrasound kit and you may find that the little box that you have never used inside the kit is in fact useful. Most ultrasound manufacturers today make a tone generator. A tone generator is typically a box like instrument supplied by the manufacturer when you purchased your ultrasonic instrument. This instrument when turned-on emits a high-frequency that floods an area. The sound is capable of penetrating small openings (holes or seams). Place this outside to locate the leak internally or exit path. Place the generator inside to locate the entrance from the outside and stay warm all winter.
Tip provided by Jim Hall
Ultra-Sound Technologies
October 05, 2006 Planning and Scheduling Best Practices Survey
Reliabilityweb.com has agreed to assist some hard working authors who are writing a new book on planning and scheduling. May we request 15 minutes of your time to provide some input to guide this project?
You can take this survey anonymously or your can leave your contact details if you would like an advanced copy of the survey summary report as soon as it is completed. We appreciate your assistance.
October 05, 2006 Best Practices in Maintenance & Reliability
Next Workshop Date – October 17-18, 2006
Detroit, MI
In this exciting and challenging workshop Ricky Smith explores Best Practices of Maintenance and Reliability, defining industry best practices and the metrics used to measure their effectiveness. World-class maintenance and reliability standards have been developed by “best-of-the-best” companies in the world of reliability and in this workshop you will learn how to apply these practices to your plant the moment you return to work.
Valuable Take Aways
• Ivara’s Maintenance and Reliability Practices Assessment Template – Based on a comprehensive benchmarking exercise conducted across global industries and refined over several years, this template documents 4 stages of progress supported by 120 criteria requirements.
• Ivara’s Financial Assessment Template – Use this template to assess the financial impact of improved reliability in your organization.
If you operating in a reactive maintenance environment or want to take your maintenance department to a new level of performance then this is the workshop for you. Don’t miss this event!
If you have specific questions email Ricky Smith at or call him at 843-906-8686.
For more information on Reliability workshops, and to register click here.
October 05, 2006 Planning and Scheduling Maintenance Tips
Timeliness of Actual Information
Scheduling is only as good as the underlying information it is based on. During execution of maintenance work, actual information is sometimes only fed back into the system after the job is finished completely.
For example: A facility shutdown in the petrochemical industry is scheduled for 30 days. Work is executed and the results are written down on paper. The results are only entered back into the system for cost purposes after the shutdown is finished.
If the information is entered as soon as it was executed (or at the end of every shift) it allows:
• rescheduling of the project plan based on actual information
• the project manager to identify early discrepancies between plan and actual
• the execution team to be proactive rather than reactive
Tip provided by Martin Stenzig, Vesta Partners, LLC
October 05, 2006 Infrared Thermal Imaging Tip
Making accurate measurements
A lot of engineering effort is expended to ensure thermography cameras are very accurate but the techniques used in the field to accurately measure temperatures are somewhat more complex than pointing a camera at an object and placing a cross hair on a point and reading the display. There are many factors:
What is the material’s emissivity? Emissivity is the ratio of energy (heat) emitted verses reflected off an object. For example, if you were to approach a piece of slab steel during processing the emitted heat would not allow you to get very close while if you were visit an aluminum mill you could likely get quite close to the hot metal. Of course the steel temperature is much hotter but there is an order of magnitude in the difference of emitted energy from a non reflective surface like steel verses and reflective surface like aluminum.
How small a spot are you trying to measure? Thermal cameras require between a 1x1 to a 5x5 pixel cluster to make an accurate measurement. This is primarily a lens performance issue. Check with your manufacturer about the number of lens elements in the camera lens. More is typically better.
If a target is too close that you cannot focus on it or the object is too far away and the lens/system resolution is inadequate you should consider buying a wide angle and or telephoto lens. Make sure the additional lenses are calibrated with the system if you intend to make accurate measurements
What is the background temperature? In most situations the objects typically looked at are oxidized or have other conditions that cause the emissivity to be fairly high. Some instruments have built in material lists with emissivity values so train your inspectors to use this feature and you’ll see more consistent thermography program results.
To determine the background temperature simply turn opposite to the object being imaged and using an area function (if your camera features one) and enter the average temperature for the area.
Follow these few suggestions and your measurement results will be consistent and more accurate.
Tip provided by Electrophysics
Tel: (973) 882-0211
