For Safety, Awareness is the Key

In this day and age it is always important to be aware of our surroundings. There are a number of safety concerns to keep in the forefront of our minds while we perform our job duties. A large number of safety provisions have been implemented and enforced in today’s industrial environment, and without a doubt these guidelines have been put in place for the well being of those of us who are exposed to the potential dangers that surround us. Although safety is the most important procedure of our duties, it is imperative that we remain aware of potential problems that are outside of our specific job scope.

Many times when we are given a specific job to perform, we get caught up in that particular task and we can become oblivious to any outside issues that might exist. A number of years ago I was conducting an annual electrical thermography inspection at a foundry facility, which I had also performed the previous two years. As the day began to come to a close I found myself inspecting the final piece of equipment which happened to be an arc furnace. As I was inspecting the electrical panels and the bus system, a small area with a temperature rise of 5° F caught my attention. Upon initial investigation I made an incorrect assumption. In this particular area there was very little room to move around and I assumed the temperature rise did not exist, but that this was simply reflection. The inspection was completed and all that was left was the analysis. Upon analyzing the inspection the following day I noticed a detail that somehow I had overlooked the day before as well as in previous year’s inspections.

For many years, air-cooled bus was the industry standard. In the 1960s, higher current bus systems became necessary, which led to the development of water-cooled bus applications. When this particular arc furnace was installed, which by the way was seven years prior to this inspection, the industry standard had switched to the water-cooled bus system for this type of application. With that being said, I noticed on the digital picture I had taken the day before that the water connections had not been properly made. In fact, due to one small hose misplacement, four bus bars were without water. The analysis was completed and a visit back to the site confirmed what the picture indicated. During the next scheduled shutdown the small hose was rerouted and water was now circulating through all conductors. Although this arc furnace had been in operation for seven years with this installation mishap, only time would have told if it would have become a catastrophic issue.

When asked why this was not found during the prior two inspections, I had to go back to those pictures and investigate. My answer: I simply was not aware of all my surroundings and how they could contribute to possible anomalies. Although the temperature differences were between 1-2 °F during the previous inspections, careful observations may have revealed this defect sooner.

Lessons Learned: Be safe, be smart, and be aware of potential problems due to your surroundings. For the reliability engineer, consider more thorough acceptance testing.

Tip provided by Chris Colson, Senior Reliability Professional, Allied Reliability
http://www.alliedreliability.com

Find out more about Allied Reliability’s PdM/PM Best Practices Training

The Enterprise Asset Management Summit
April 3-6, 2007
Sheraton Waikiki Honolulu Hawaii

Workshop 11
Maintenance Planning and Scheduling by Joel Levitt, Author, Managing Factory Maintenance

Well-planned, properly scheduled, and effectively communicated jobs accomplish more work, more efficiently, and at a lower cost. This work will disturb operations less frequently, and be accomplished with higher quality, greater job satisfaction, and higher organizational morale than jobs performed without proper preparation.

Maintenance Planning and Scheduling focuses on and deals specifically with the preparatory tasks that lead to effective utilization and application of maintenance resources. It is a vital training document for planners, an educational document for those to whom planners are responsible, and a valuable guide for those who interface with the planning and scheduling function and are dependent upon the many contributions of planning and scheduling operational excellence.

The Workshop:

• Addresses maintenance management, performance, and control

• Clarifies the scope, responsibilities and contributions of the Planner/Scheduler function and the support of other functions to Job Preparation, Execution, and Completion

• Covers the basics commonly contained within world-class programs for effective execution of maintenance work: planning, parts acquisition, work measurement, coordination and scheduling

• Aids organizations that pursue Maintenance Excellence that state of maintenance management and performance that effectively applies the leading edge policies, procedures, systems, structures, methods, and technologies to maintenance

Seating is limited so register early. Early bird conference and hotel discounts end Feb 15.

Call +1 (305) 735-3746 or…

Find out more about workshops and case studies at the EAM-2007 web site

Mounting brackets “The Golden Rule”.

The most important thing that can be said about securely mounting bracketing is this: Whatever you attach the bracket to MUST be rigid to the shaft when you are not attaching to the shaft itself. When the bracket is secured and the laser/emitter is attached to it, rotating the shaft causes the bracket to rotate along with the laser like the spoke of a wheel.
Regardless of the laser’s distance from the shaft centerline, as long as everything is tight, the invisible circle that the laser traces as it is rotated has the same rotational centerline as the shaft. Make sure that everything is tight.

Tip provided by LUDECA, INC.
ALIGNMENT * VIBRATION * BALANCING
http://www.ludeca.com
Tel: 305-591-8935

Find out more at the Reliabilityweb.com Alignment Knowledge Base

Topic: Communication and Goals for a PdM Program

When: Friday, February 23, 2007 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST

Reliabilityweb.com is please to invite you to join Jack Nicholas Jr., as he leads the first of a ten part series for anyone involved with managing or working in a predictive maintenance or machinery condition monitoring program.

There is no fee for this web based workshop. (Long distance charges may apply: Check with your telephone company)

Requirements: Telephone and Internet connected computer.

Space is limited - please reserve your seat today

CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF…A common paradigm in industry is that if I cannot obtain “management support”, I cannot be successful in my RCA efforts. If people actually believe this, then their RCA effort will never be successful. Sure, full management support would make it easier for us to be successful, but is it a deal breaker? Only if we let it be. If we have the will and desire to conduct RCA’s on events where it is the RIGHT THING TO DO, then we will be successful despite the barriers placed in front of us. If we lead an effort to conduct a thorough RCA that ultimately nets a quantum amount of returns for the corporation, then those in the “ivory tower” will take notice and start to inquire how those returns were realized. You are in control of your own destiny, not management!

Tip provided by Bob Latino
The Reliability Center Inc.
http://www.reliability.com

Find out more about the PROACT Logic Tree Knowledge Management Templates

Testing for accelerometer failure

Not sure if your accelerometer is working?

Here are a few quick test to help you determine if your vibration sensors is functioning properly:

• Lightly shake the accelerometer next to your ear. Do you hear a rattle? No accelerometers are made with loose parts! If you hear anything when you shake it, internal parts are loose.

• Connect the accelerometer to your data collector, and check for a reading. Many people simply shake the accelerometer to test for vibration measurements, but even on a working accelerometer this typically does not produce a sufficient reading. A better technique is to enclose the sensor in your hand and gently hit your hand on the table. NEVER bang the accelerometer on the table – grip it in your fist so that only your hand impacts the table. Unlike shaking it, this allows you to create high enough g-level vibrations to be read, without inflicting fatal damage to the sensor.

• Using your data collector, check the BOV level of the sensor. If the BOV reading is more than 4Volts off the nominal specifications provided by the manufacturer (above or below), the sensor has likely suffered permanent damage. A sensor BOV reading will detect virtually all internal electronic circuit failures.

If it fails these simple tests, it’s time to replace your accelerometer.

Tip provided by Wilcoxon Research
http://www.wilcoxon.com

Learn more about troubleshooting accelerometers at Wilcoxon’s online knowledge desk

Commtest is dedicated to providing the world’s best value in vibration analysis products. Products include vibration data collectors, portable analyzers and permanent machinery surveillance systems, sharing a common interface: Ascent software.

Commtest expectations are high. We take pride in our products service and support network. We respect customers’ needs and work toward mutually beneficial relationships. The book, “Second to None”, contains Commtest’s guiding business principle. Author Dr. Ian Brooks states: “Partners are customers who believe you are so important to their own success that they cannot imagine being in business without you”. That is how we strive to be regarded.

Phone: 865-588-2946

Find out more about Commtest

Walk Away From the Challenge (12 of 12)
Over the past 3 months, we have shared The Dirty Dozen: 12 Ways to Wreck Your Maintenance Program, poking a little sarcastic fun at the dark side of the maintenance profession. The idea for approaching maintenance excellence from the worst-case point of view came from our observations of extremely reactive maintenance organizations struggling, and often failing, to become proactive.

We wondered what would happen if we featured a model for bad behavior instead of the usual “This is what you should be doing” approach, exposing the damage that is viewed as normal just because it is familiar. Would it be possible to create an environment where it isn’t OK anymore to waste money, talent and production to fight fires continuously? Could we shout out that the emperor wears no clothes, and generate the energy to help the toughest cases become proactive?

Imagine being a person who has been a Master of the Dirty Dozen for years. Maybe you don’t have to imagine it? Everyone could see that your behavior was deadly to the well being of the operation, once they were made aware of it. This common vision would allow us to work together to learn and change. It’s not about firing people who made mistakes, or placing blame. Those who have damaged the process in the past have tremendously valuable insight into fixing problems in the future, once they understand the stakes.

The last of the Dirty Dozen ways that you can wreck your maintenance program is to walk away from the challenge to do something differently today. If you are dealing with equipment failures and emergencies on a daily basis, that is proof that your process is broken. It doesn’t have to be that way. Don’t let anyone tell you different.

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

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