July 19, 2007 PdM Managers' Workshop #6:Monetary Benefits of a Predictive Maintenance Program
Join us for a Web Workshop on July 27
Fee: $0
Please join Jack R. Nicholas Jr., CMRP for the 6th of a 10 part series of Predictive Maintenance (PdM) Program Management.
In the 6th Workshop Jack discusses:
* How to Survive the “Hump” in work load created by the Predictive Maintenance Program
* Methods for calculating the benefits of the Predictive Maintenance Program
* Timken PdM program case study
* Getting everyone on the same page
There are several polls conducted throughout the Web Workshop that provide a real time snap shot of attendees PdM practices. Results will be discussed to highlight workshop lessons.
July 19, 2007 Ultrasound leak detection tip - Shielding
Shielding your inspection area from competing ultrasound noise is a crucial skill to master when searching for very low pressure leaks or vacuum leaks. These leaks produce very little ultrasonic turbulence (hissing sound quality) making it necessary to use high amplification levels (A=80dB). We’re not talking about a gross leak inspection in this instance. Probably the kind of leak you are searching for is one crucial to a process. For instance, one customer last week complained of vacuum loss on a reactor in his titanium mill. If his reactor cannot hold enough vacuum he cannot maintain temperatures necessary to ensure product quality.
Using his ultrasound leak detector and a shielding towel he was able to locate enough vacuum leaks while the shielding towel protected his inspection area from other ultrasound noises. He was able to get the reactor up and running after only 45 minutes of leak inspection. On the next schedule outage he will conduct further testing to find the remaining leaks.
Tip provided by Allan Rienstra, SDT North America
Tel - 905.377.1313 x 221
http://www.sdtnorthamerica.com
July 19, 2007 Higher Filtration Performance for Higher Viscosity Fluids
Portable Gear and Lube Oil Filtration System from Trico fills major void
Trico is introducing the Gear and Lube Oil Filtration System. Designed specifically for filtering higher viscosity fluids, the latest product release for industrial filtration features a substantial 4 GPM flow capacity and a maximum viscosity capability of 10,000 SUS @ 100o F, making it one of the most versatile portable systems in the industry today.
Trico’s new filtration system is specifically designed to accommodate high viscosity fluids. This means the system can process these fluids with greater efficiency than traditional hydraulic filter systems. Hydraulic filter systems typically, because of higher pressures involved with high viscosity fluids, would operate in a “bypass” mode, actually filtering little if any of the fluid.
July 19, 2007 Asset Management Tip
Development of an Asset Management Program
The development of any type of asset management program requires a number of specific components. These components include:
The Asset Census. Most companies don’t know what they own, the objective of an asset census is to determine all equipment, facilities and assets, including personnel.
Critical Equipment List. Once the company understands the assets that it has available, a Critical Equipment List must be developed. This list should be ordered by such criteria as personnel safety, regulatory impact, production impact, the cost and availability of repairing or replacing the equipment, and other business impacts or direction (ie: Equipment cleanliness or appearance).
Maintenance Process Selection. The maintenance programs, philosophies and hybrids must be selected based upon company needs. These processes are used to develop the maintenance strategies based upon the critical equipment list.
Condition Assessment. An evaluation and inspection of critical equipment is performed to set baselines and determine condition of critical assets.
Maintenance Effectiveness Review. A periodic review of the maintenance program and tasks should be performed in order to make optimal adjustments.
Development of Best Practices. A development of best practices for energy, reliability and maintenance must be developed. These best practices should be presented in the form of processes or procedures. An example would be common procedures for greasing electric motors.
The development of such programs pay for themselves in many ways including profit improvement, improved throughput, reduced inventory (both product and spares) and other competitive advantages.
Tip provided by Howard W Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP
SUCCESS by DESIGN Reliability Services
http://www.motordoc.net
July 19, 2007 Balancing Tip
Placement of Reflective tape when using Tachometers
When balancing a piece of equipment that was previously balanced using an Optical or Laser tachometer, you may find that it is rarely possible to re-use the old contrast media (reflective tape) if it’s still there at all. The reflectivity of the material degrades over time, especially if it has been handled with bare hands or dirty/oily gloves. Or, the reflective tape may be deteriorated to the point it’s entirely unusable or the adhesive has broken down and the reflective covering material has come off altogether. In order to maintain consistency between personnel performing balancing jobs, place the leading edge of the reflective tape on the trailing edge of the keyway. This really helps if you are re-using an old balance job to perform what is known as a one-run balance.
Tip provided by LUDECA, INC.
ALIGNMENT * VIBRATION * BALANCING
http://www.ludeca.com
Tel: 305-591-8935
July 19, 2007 Stephen Thomas to Speak at Ivara Reliability Summit
Sept. 17 – 20, Las Vegas
Just one more reason you don’t want to miss out on this valuable reliability leadership event. Keynote and workshop:
- Improving Maintenance & Reliability Through Cultural Change
Leading author and maintenance and reliability expert, Stephen Thomas, will discuss how to improve maintenance and reliability performance at the plant level by changing organizational culture. Thomas will demystify the concept of organizational culture and link it with the eight elements of change: leadership, work process, structure, group learning, technology, communication, interrelationships, and rewards. With a reliability focus, Thomas will discuss what you need to know to successfully change an organization’s culture.
Walk away with greater insight on how to break the cycle of failed improvement programs and instead use cultural change to make significant and lasting improvements in plant performance.
Visit the Ivara Reliability Summit web site or call 1-877-746-3787 to Register Today!
July 19, 2007 Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) Tip
Preventive vs. Corrective Maintenance – Clearing The Confusion
Historically, some confusion exists on how to classify maintenance tasks as preventive (PM) or corrective (CM). In its simplest form, PM tasks are inspection and servicing actions that are performed on a scheduled basis, and CM tasks are unexpected actions that require an unscheduled response. However, the confusion arises primarily in two commonly encountered areas.
The first deals with predictive and condition directed PM tasks (PdM and CD respectively) which measure and trend equipment “health” parameters for signs of incipient failure modes. Such measurements are accomplished on a scheduled basis – and preplanned actions are also scheduled to occur when the incipient failure condition progresses to a critical stage, thus preventing outright failure. Notice that this form of PM is preplanned and scheduled in its entirety, including the final action to preclude outright failure. This scenario is preventive maintenance from start to finish – i.e. the maintenance actions to preclude an outright failure are part of the preventive – not corrective - scenario.
A second issue deals with RCM-based decisions to deliberately run-to-failure (RTF). The scheduled strategy here is to do nothing until actual failure occurs if safety, uptime and economics of restoration are not compromised. Even though the actual restoration tasks cannot be scheduled, it is nevertheless preplanned. From the outset, restoration of the failed item is preplanned to occur and, as above, this scenario is likewise preventive maintenance from start to finish.
In both of the above issues many people tend to categorize the restoration action as corrective. Not so – it is preventive! When these two issues are not properly treated and recorded as preventive (not corrective) actions, the metrics that are measured and reported become distorted and management is apt to conclude a distorted view about the overall effectiveness of their PM program.
Tip provided by Mac Smith
Author, RCM Gateway to World Class Maintenance
http://www.jmssoft.com
July 19, 2007 Lubrication Tip
Single Point Lubricators and Backpressure
The most common field complaint regarding the operation of single point lubricators is that the unit is failing to operate indicated by a lack of grease movement within the unit’s reservoir.
In the majority of these cases, residual backpressure can be found to be the cause of the lack of movement. There are several conditions that will cause residual backpressure. These conditions need to be addressed before damage occurs.
The following is a guideline of things to check when troubleshooting for backpressure.
1. Bearing compartment is already fully packed due to over lubrication. Attempting to lubricate at this point will create backpressure on the single point lubricator. Confirm correct dispensing rate on the single point lubricator and make adjustments if needed.
2. Bearing may have layers of hardened grease due to high operating temperatures. This can cause backpressure buildup. The newly added grease cannot displace the hardened and oxidized grease already present. Clean out any hardened grease. Adjust grease type for high operating conditions.
3. Make sure that there are no kinks between the single point unit and the lubrication point.
To check backpressure, remove the single point lubricator from the lubrication point. Install a grease fitting onto the lubrication point. Then using a grease gun with a pressure gauge attached test backpressure. The break off pressure should not exceed 500 psi and delivery pressure should not exceed 200 psi. After you have checked and corrected all discrepancies, then you can reinstall the single point lubricator. Discontinue use of single point lubricator if cause of backpressure cannot be rectified.
Tip provided by Trico Corporation
800-558-7008 (USA only) or 262-691-9336
http://www.tricocorp.com
