March 01, 2007 Even More Feedback from last weeks Filter Tip
The latest filter tip about partial bypass situations prompted this.
Three purchases were made for a certain suppliers portable filter units, for a total of 8 units. The pumps were put in operation on hydraulic sumps and allowed to operate for 24 hours whenever needed. The system particle counts would drop as expected.
A bad pump required disassembly of 1 unit, where a 1/8 inch bored hole was noted between the pump discharge/filter inlet and the filter outlet section. This allowed a continuous bypass in the housing itself. Inspection of all 8 units revealed the same condition on all of them. Units were returned for plugging of the open port, with no explanation given as to the reason for the oversight.
Since repairs were made it is possible to get the same clean up in a couple of hours instead of 24.
I urge all users of this unit to inspect them closely.
Harold Matroni
Lubrication Technician/Analyst
Alcoa Mill Products
March 01, 2007 RELIABILITY Magazine 12th Year
It’s A Celebration!
In appreciation of the outstanding efforts of the Reliability community and their support for RELIABILITY Magazine over the past 12 years - YOU are invited to subscribe for one year at a special rate of just $25. That is a 75% savings!
March 01, 2007 More Feedback from last weeks Filter Tip
I have a comment on your “Filter Tip” article.
While I can appreciate the problems outlined in the article the dangers of eliminating the bypass function of a filter is too great. The design engineer that felt the function was necessary in the first place would probably agree since he or she probably did a risk assessment and concluded that a clogged filter was greater harm than flowing unfiltered oil and the system had real potential for such a condition.
If the problem of wear out of the bypass components is the cause then perhaps a redesign is in order to address the issue. However, if this is considered normal wear, then perhaps a bypass indicator is in order. I did a short search and located a site where the manufacturer provides just such a device. http://www.purolator-facet.com/aswitch.htm . I am in no way associated with Purolator.
I’m sure other filter / accessory manufacturers have similar devices.
Scott B. Truax, CMRP
United Space Alliance. Processing & Manufacturing
Cape Canaveral Florida
The content of this e-mail is strictly the opinion of the author and is in no way endorsed by the management or ownership of United Space Alliance.
March 01, 2007 Feedback from last weeks Filter Tip
I enjoyed the article about filter head bypass. It is so true and is why companies must never just buy things of the shelf without the engineering and operations department team working as one. Too many time the guys in design just install a filter with protection for the pump, filter or flow and don’t see the big picture.
It is many time better to use NO bypass and just install a differential sensor or good dependable gage to show when the filter is getting dirty. If the installation is critical and can’t be shut down for a element change out, then you MUST install a duel filter with switchover valve or a bypass filter assembly.
Food for thought, don’t go cheep on filters OR HEADS, or you may spend many times over to replace the equipment down stream of the filters. Don’t forget the moisture separating elements either.
(Retired,) Staff Chief Engineer
Washington State Ferries
Mahalo
Clark Dodge, President
CED Consulting LLC
341 Lanakila Rd, Suite 100
Kapaa, HI. 96746-1241
Phone: (808) 245-7183
Cell: (808) 634-8183
March 01, 2007 The Ice Cold 6-Pack: Quick & Dirty Tactics For Immediate Maintenance Results
From the authors of The Dirty Dozen: 12 Ways to Wreck Your Maintenance Program
If you want to change how your maintenance program performs, you have to change what you are doing.
Take your storeroom, for example. If you don’t have control of your inventory, and no one knows which parts fit on which machine, your process is creating a mess!
The usual response is to clean up the inventory using brute force. Assign a team of people to work their way through thousands of parts, mountains of records and uncountable “secret” storage areas to get organized. I can almost hear the plant manager screaming, “Show me the payback!” from here.
Instead, focus on the broken process. Hold a short meeting with key personnel to review how parts get stocked. Change the process so that new parts are carefully evaluated before stocking them, that new parts get added to the bill of material for equipment that will use them and you remove the spare parts from inventory when the machine is retired. In an hour or two, you will have stopped the bleeding.
What about the existing mess? Wait until the end of the meeting, keep your mouth shut, and let the Operations representative you invited ask, “What are we going to do about the parts that are in the storeroom already?” Now, you have the support you need to do something about the mess. Leverage.
Tune in next week as Quick & Dirty Tactic #2 addresses rampant abuse of emergency work.
Tip provided by Nobreakdowns.com
Arms Dealer for the Maintenance Battlefield
Tel: (218) 327-3114
http://www.Nobreakdowns.com
Download the Quick & Dirty Maintenance Program Check-Up Tool (PDF)
March 01, 2007 Stuck With Ineffective Maintenance Software and Stuck in the Cold & Snow?
Dig out from both with solutions and sunshine at EAM-2007 - The Enterprise Asset Management Forum from April 3-6 in Honolulu Hawaii.
Participate in 2 days of EAM workshops like:
*Value Drive Maintenance for SAP-PM, Datastream and MRO
*MP2 Tips and Tricks
*Reliability Centered Maintenance and Root Cause Analysis integrated with SAP PM
*Work Management Essentials: Gain Control of your Business
*How to Make SAP PM Work for You
*Enterprise Reliability Management
*EAM Failure Coding and Functional Hierarchy Development
*The Manufacturing Game
Then spend 2 days learning from the EAM/CMMS experiences of Cargill, AGY, Agrium, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Barrick Goldstrike,Lone Star Steel,WCI Steel, DuPont, Catalyst Paper, Newmont Mining and POSCO and more.
Meet the leading reliability and software providers like IVARA. DMSI, OMCS, Oniqua, Ventureforth, GE, MRO Software an IBM Company, Champs and many more in the EAM-2007 Expo.
EAM-2007 attendees can can also participate in RCM-2007 - The Reliability Centered Maintenance Managers’ Forum with a focus on managing the information to manage a maintenance and reliability program.
March 01, 2007 Vibration Analysis Tip
IEPE (Integrated Electronic Piezo Electric) accelerometers are the industry standard for most industrial vibration analysis. These two wire sensors require a constant current power source and 24 VDC power supply. The vibration signal is converted and amplified by the integrated electronics to produce an AC (analog) Voltage output. The maximum AC voltage signal output of the sensor is typically +/- 5V and can be determined by the circuit design and the input voltage.
Knowing the maximum AC voltage output of a sensor and knowing the maximum vibration amplitude likely to be seen in an application can help an analyst to determine the appropriate sensor for a given application. For example if application “X” is likely to produce 125 g’s of vibration, then simply divide the 5V max output by 125 g’s: the result is 0.04 V/g or 40 mV/g. Therefore, your 125g application requires a sensor with a sensitivity of 40 mV/g or lower, otherwise the signal will overload the sensor electronics, causing saturation or clipping in the time domain. Since 40 mV/g is not a typical sensitivity, the proper sensor for this application would be a 10mV/g sensor.
These calculations have been simplified on many sensor data sheets by reporting the “Dynamic Range” of the sensor. For example the Dynamic Range of a 10 mV/g sensor would typically be +/- 500 g’s.
One accelerometer does not fit all applications, and understanding how they work and how to apply them to your application will be very beneficial to the overall success of the vibration monitoring program on your machines. To learn more about selecting the proper tool for your application, view the full presentation on “The Right Tool for the Job: Selecting the Proper Accelerometer for your Application.”
Tip provided by CTC
800-999-5290 x 809 (in USA)
585-924-5900 x 809 (international)
http://www.ctconline.com
March 01, 2007 Preventive Maintenance Tip
PM WORK SHEETS
Excerpt from John W. Rushton’s book:
Effective Maintenance Management Using Planned and Preventive Maintenance.
PM work sheets are a vital part of any effective planned maintenance program, and they must be functional. The following tips can help you create more effective sheets:
•Before starting the preparation of the PM sheets, become as familiar as possible with the equipment and its systems. Each system should be estimated as to the percentage of emergency or expensive repairs that the system is responsible for. If the percentage is low, give that system a low priority.
•All items on the PM sheets must be completed every time. If the PM line people consistently fail to complete every item on the sheets, it is likely that the sheets need modification. The sheets must be dynamic, and changes should be made as necessary to encourage strict compliance.
•Each sheet should have space for the planner or foreman to enter minor repairs, and space for the craftsman to list needed repairs for backlog.
•PM sheets should be comprised of ITEMS (jobs) and SYSTEMS (closely related groups of jobs).
•Items should meet the following criteria:
1.Must eliminate a significant source of downtime or expense.
2.Can be reasonably completed during the normal PM time frame.
3.Can be checked for compliance.
•Systems should meet the following criteria:
1.Must eliminate a significant source of downtime or expense.
2.Responsibility for the entire system can easily be assigned to a craftsman or group of craftsmen.
•When grouping items from a system on a PM sheet, each item should be listed in a logical order of completion.
•When designing system PM activities, always take into account the other PM or operating activities that may be taking place at the same time.
Tip provided by Rushton International
801-281-4466
http://www.rushtonintl.com
Rushton International provides PM consulting services, including help with PM sheet creation
