If 2 Heads Are Better Than 1… Then What About 2 Signals?

Condition Monitoring and PdM has been proven to be effective in reducing downtime, and increasing profits for shareholders. The natural result is that companies who have realized these benefits are asking for “MORE.” Is yours one of the many companies that is asking Analysts to monitor more equipment with fewer resources?

Since cloning Analysts is not legal (yet), many companies have discovered the advantages of combining their traditional Dynamic Signal (mV output) that allows Analysts to diagnose the health of machinery, with a Process Control Signal (4-20 mA) for vibration alarms which protect against catastrophic failure. By utilizing both signals, companies have a solution that gives the best of both worlds:

• Continuous monitoring through the PLC or DCS system.

• Alarming for catastrophic failure through the PLC or DCS system.

• Diagnostic analysis and trending for specific fault frequencies via Vibration Analysis.

• Convenient access to all data via permanently mounted sensors which speeds route collection, and increases the safety of technicians and analysts.

• Better use of Analysts’ time since the Analyst can spend less time trending perfectly healthy equipment, and more time analyzing data.

• A team approach to protection and monitoring brings additional resources to protecting machinery and plant health.

If you would like to learn more about the most dynamic trend in PdM today, the following iPresentation might be of interest to you…

Monitoring Machinery Vibration Using Dynamic & Process Control Signals

An EAM-2007 Workshop by John Hoke, CMRP and Lorri Craig April 3 - Honolulu

Not many people take the time to understand how SAP PM is structured and taught how it is supposed to function prior to implementation. It is important to understand how different modules such as Human Resources, Materials Management, etc all tie together to improve those reliability targets so important to manufacturing organizations. Understanding the overall vision of where the organization wants to be and then understanding how to use SAP PM to get there is an important first step.

Implementations are difficult, and learning on the run during an implementation is like taking a sip out of a fire hose. It is difficult sometimes to know what you don’t know. Understanding the “what’s” and “how’s” prior to a potential purchase or upcoming implementation will save much anxiety and frustration. With all those opportunities coming all at the same time, being able to know what questions to ask and at the same time having a game plan would be the best of all worlds.

This workshop is designed with the beginner in mind or those who are considering SAP PM for their facility or have an implementation imminent. We will point out some of the pitfalls and to bring to the fore front those important things that we all wished that we would have known before Go Live. Using this overall understanding of how SAP PM works to achieve the vision of your organization will be the first step to mapping out an effective game plan.

The topics addressed include:

• Understanding what you are trying to achieve with the SAP PM system.
• How setting up a structure or foundation creates success.
• Value of standardized processes with SAP PM

(SAP, SAP PM and SAP Plant Maintenance are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries. This event and this email is in no way associated or affiliated with SAP AG)

Space is limited so please call toll free (888) 575 1245 or…

Learn more online

Using old “not true"meters

If you are measuring with an old ammeter (not true RMS) and a true RMS ammeter and they are different you have amp harmonics in the system

Total amp harmonics = ("true RMS"/"not true") -1 %

If you are lucky to have an old wattmeter and big amp harmonics you can use that to measure the real P(W)and Q(VAR) and calculate PF (power factor)=cosfi in this case pf=cosfi (this meters measure not the harmonics)

New cheap watt meters use pf (power factor) and that is not=cosfi

If you have big total amp harmonics (if you are lucky the meters have DPF (DPF=cosfi)

If you are calculating a capacitor bank you must use DPF to
calculate the capacitor bank

Reader tip by Lars Melander, Storaenso Nymölla mill, Bromölla Sweden

Thanks Lars - your Maintenance Tips hat is on the way!

Send in your own maintenance tip!

Every good motor maintenance program should begin with a set of tests to ensure the motor is in good working condition. There is nothing worse than installing a bad or weak motor and knowing Murphy’s Law will hit just as the motor is outside of the manufacturers or motor repair facility warranty timeline. Below is a link to a set of test specifications that should be adhered to in the motor shop and for incoming inspection at your facility.

Tip by Baker Instrument
http://www.bakerinst.com

Download Baker’s Offline Electric Motor Testing Guidelines (PDF)

Make Sure Everyone Works 60+ Hours a Week (7 of 12)

It’s thrilling to know that there are so many ways to manipulate and mold the lives of others when you know the tricks for wrecking a maintenance organization, or any organization for that matter.

One popular method for driving morale down and creating an environment of distrust is to establish an unwritten rule that people who want to succeed will work at least 60 hours per week. You can establish some fictional starting and ending times for the workday (say 8am – 4pm), and these are an essential part of your system. Anyone who manages to organize and plan well enough to go home “on time” can be easily identified and reassigned to night shift, weekend duty, or given more work to do until they break.

The company does not need people to work unnecessarily long hours in most cases. In fact, we know that it doesn’t increase output, and results in more mistakes and stress. The system you are building should be designed to create an environment of competition, so everyone feels that they must outlast each other in order to survive. People will create tasks for themselves to look busy, and remain at work for hours after their real work is done. It is in your best interest as a wrecker to ensure that each person regularly misses important family events, and feels compelled to work when they are ill just to please you.

Tune in next week as we continue to expose the secret lives of seriously disturbed maintenance “professionals” with The Dirty Dozen Tip #8: Never Say “Thank You”.

“Tip” provided by NoBreakDowns.com
Tel: (218) 327-3114
Web: http://www.NoBreakDowns.com

Receive a complimentary Dirty Dozen: 12 Ways to Wreck Your Maintenance Program electronic poster

A Global Enterprise Asset and Reliability Management Exchange

RCM-2007 - The Reliability Centered Maintenance Managers’ Forum
Plus
EAM-2007 – The Enterprise Asset Management Summit

2 Learning Events – 1 Price!

Certificate Workshops April 3-4, 2007
Conference and Expo April 5-6, 2007
Sheraton Waikiki Hotel
Honolulu Hawaii

Hear case studies how leading companies are achieving operational excellence with reliability and enterprise asset management including:
• Agrium
• Cargill
• Holcim
• Chevron
• AGY
• Nucor Steel
• Bavaria Brewery
• Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard
• East Bay Municipal Utility
• USS POSCO
• Lone Star Steel
• Ternium Centro
• US Postal Service
• Barrick Goldstrike
• WCI Steel
• DuPont
• Arnold Engineering Development Center
• Koch Mineral Service
• Catalyst Paper
• Newmont Mining
• Century Aluminum
• US Navy
• US Army
• US Air Force
• More…

Super Early Bird Discount on or before February 15, 2007
Save $300 on a 3 or 4 day pass

Learn More and Request a Brochure Online

There are several commonly practiced ways to reduce unbalance induced vibration levels in rotating equipment. The equipment can be stopped and cleaned if dirty, the operating speed can be lowered to reduce the unbalance force, or the equipment can be replaced. These options, while effective, require either a reduction or a complete stoppage in production. An alternative to these practices is to balance the rotating equipment to reduce the vibration level. There are two methods for making a mass unbalance correction to compensate for 1X vibration – use of a manual balancing system that is typically portable and can be used on multiple pieces of equipment, or a dedicated active balancing system. Manual balancing of rotating equipment is quite common during the installation and commissioning of new equipment or following major rework, however, if balancing is necessary during a production run it will require an unnecessary stoppage of the equipment. In contrast, active balancing technology users the ability to make multiple balance corrections while rotating equipment remains in operation.

Tip provided by:
LORD Corporation
http://www.lord.com
Tel: 1-877-ASK-LORD

Learn more about LORD Balancing products online

We have maintenance team meetings, and we were discussing the 30 day work order print out for one cell (8 machining centers). We noticed we had broken many bolts that held in place a stop block on a tool changing arm. So the team investigated further and back tracked through our CMMS system MAXIMO and discovered 57 different times this had happened on only 4 of the 8 machines. The four machines that had no broken bolts still had original paint on them. We conducted an analysis on the broken bolt and the test showed, We were getting sub par replacement bolts.

The part (bolt) chemistry meets SAE 4150 material, but the sulfur is 0.070%, which is basically twice the industry maximum allowed (0.040% max). The hardness is Rc 45. The hardness and material chemistry (high side carbon concentration) are consistent with a minimum tempering temperature of 800 F for toughness.

The sulfur is added for machining, but it has a significant impact on fatigue.

You have a number of options to correct the early failures:

Make your parts from standard 4150 material with high side carbon (0.50% minimum).

Make your parts(bolt) from an S-1 or S-3 tool steel. Quench and temper the parts to obtain Rockwell C 43 to 50 hardness.

The bottom line: DO NOT USE HIGH SULFUR STEEL IN FATIGUE/LIFE SENSITIVE, HIGH IMPACT APPLICATIONS.

Conclusion: When braking parts multiple time, do an metal analysis of the part to determine if the replacements you are using have the correct materials and process were followed to manufacture the part. New bolts were ordered and our in stock in the parts crib. Old style bolt was taken out of stock and deleted in the CMMS MAXIMO system.

Reader tip by Dave Humphrey, GM, Indianapolis IN

Thanks Dave - your Maintenance Tip hat is on the way!

Send in your own maintenance tip