If “corona” is found while scanning substation or switchgear with your airborne ultrasound instrument, take action to clean-up the gear. Corona exists to find ground. It should always be taken seriously.

Tip provided by Jim Hall
Ultra-Sound Technologies
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http://www.ultra-soundtech.com

Find Out More About Ultra-Sound Technologies Level I Certification Class - May 29-31 in Kennesaw, GA

Establish a Museum of Components and Samples pulled from service for cause.

Predictive maintenance analysts should be provided with the opportunity to study parts removed from the machines upon which they are reporting.

Selected parts, samples, photographs and other items reflecting Predictive Condition Monitoring achievements or failures should be placed on display for all to see.

Tip excerpted from “Predictive Maintenance Management” Course workbook by Jack Nicholas Jr.

Find Out More About The Predictive Maintenance Management Course book and PdM Program Assessment CD

June 5-7, 2007
Tampa Florida

15 Specific Benefits You’ll Receive by Attending the
RCM Blitz Method Seminar

1) Learn the history of RCM, where the process was developed and why it works in manufacturing.

2) A clear understanding of how and why we use a proven structured process to develop a maintenance strategy.

3) Learn how to select what equipment or processes RCM Blitz should be performed on to maximize return on investment.

4) The key pieces of up-front information needed to start an effective RCM analysis.

5) Identify who should be involved in an RCM analysis and why their involvement in the process is critical for success.

6) Learn how to enter data into the RCM Blitz Database.

7) Understand why it is important to identify and understand equipment or process main and support functions.

8) Learn the six age-related reliability patterns and the types of equipment that falls into each.

9) How to identify Functional-Failures of your process and why this in important in developing a good maintenance strategy.

10) How to identify and write Failure Modes at a level that maximizes equipment reliability.

11) The importance of clearly describing and writing Failure Effects in a way that accelerates the RCM Blitz decision process.

12) Learn how to prioritize your action tasks based on the probability and consequence of each Failure Mode.

13) Learn the proven RCM decision process that looks to predict, prevent, eliminate, or reduce the consequence of each failure.

14) Why in many cases “No Scheduled Maintenance” (Run to Failure) is an unacceptable maintenance strategy.

15) Learn when and where predictive and preventive maintenance should be applied.

Find Out More About The RCM Blitz Method Seminar

Our Ethylene Oxyde fin fan coolers are fan cooled and the fan is driven by Flender single step spiral and crown mechanism gear reducer. The type of lubrication is splash in this gear box. Oil leaked from the input gear shaft due to repeated failure of lip type oil seal. The type of lubricant and the type of oil seal was replaced with modified costly products and manufacturer was contacted to review the design, but still the same problem was observed.

All the gear functions reviewed and the problem was repeatedly observed.

The final root cause of this problem was that oil level of the gear box was very high and exceeded the vendor recommended level. The splash lubrication could not be established due to higher level of the oil and also it blocked the return path of lubricant after the input pinion bearings were lubricated. This resulted in the higher pressures and elevated temperature at the input horizontal shaft oil seal and its subsequent failure.

The simple work of ensuring the proper oil level winds up in the costly replacements if not done properly.

Reader tip provided by Manzoor Ali Memon
Reliability Mechanical Engineer
SHARQ - Eastern Petrochemical Company
Al Jubail Saudi Arabia

Thank you Sir, your Stainless Steel Maintenance-Tips coffee mug is on the way!

Benchmark your Lubrication Program

Executive 2-Day Golf Retreat
Thursday, June 21 - Friday June 22, 2007
Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Lake Las Vegas, Nevada

Attend to kickstart a strategy that will increase production/throughput while reducing maintenance costs.

Maintenance and reliability of capital assets has become the last frontier to improve the bottom line. You don’t have to invest in new assets - instead, optimize the reliability of your existing capital assets to:

• increase throughput, asset utilization, OEE

• reduce variance in capacity (can only sell what you can
reliably produce)

• ensure safety and environmental integrity

• improve quality and ensure on-time delivery

Why do you need to consider this new strategy today?

Because for every day of delay, your organization loses thousands of dollars (failures resulting in downtime, cost to fix plus secondary damage, safety and environmental issues, etc.)

To register call 1-877-746-3787 ext 312 or…

Find Out More About The Executive 2-Day Golf Retreat

QuickStep for EAM is a solution specially designed and preconfigured to provide the features and functions that companies need for asset management. It can reduce and streamline the steps required for a customized implementation.

Find out how you can get up and running on QuickStep for EAM, fast

The 8th reliability deliverable prior to starting up equipment is “All operational training on standard work instructions is complete.” Operation’s role is to safely operate and ensure the assets are capable of achieving the production schedule this week and into the future as well as improving performance of equipment to increase capacity.

This will only be accomplished by having all operating personnel following standard work instructions:
• Changeover and Set up
• Quality Checks
• Safety (Permits, Evacuation, Etc.)
• Equipment Standards: 5s, checklists, component inspection.
• Starting and Stopping
• Waste Removal
• Production Recording
• Maintenance Issue Recording

Tip provided by Kevin Lewton
MetDemand LLC
http://www.metdemand.com

iPresentation invitation:Starting-Up Reliable Plants

Avoiding a disconnected Root Cause Analysis:

When conducting Root Cause Analysis investigators can become entangled in political agendas. To avoid this RCA error trap stay with the facts by following the verified evidence trail. Always base your conclusions on the facts and wordsmith the report to a political consensus. Remember the facts take you to the truth and the report softens the blow to those involved. Write a Win/Win report to the best of your ability.

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

Find Out More About Human Error Reduction Strategies