Dec 4-7, 2007
Daytona Beach Florida

Using RCM and Lifecycle Simulation Workshop
by Mick Drew, CMRP

This innovative Reliability Centered Maintenance approach empowers asset managers and maintenance practitioners with a decision making environment that harnesses traditional RCM methodology and power of computers to simulate decisions and predict outcomes. Learn how easy it is to keep maintenance decisions up to date with the latest work history and failure data. Participants in this workshop will learn how to forecast failure using Weibull analysis, develop zero based budgets, justify budgets, and assess the health of their existing maintenance plans.

Roll your sleeves up for this one because in this workshop you will join others to make decisions and choose the best maintenance tasks to include in your maintenance plan. The instructor will role-play the asset owner and you will need to justify how your decision meets safety, environmental, operations and are cost justified over a full lifecycle.

If you have trouble evaluating the worth of maintenance activities, this workshop will provide valuable insight into the power of combining computer simulation with RCM.

The final session of this workshop will show how many of the pitfalls of implementing classical RCM can be overcome.

Hotel and early bird conference discount available.

Registering 6 or more? Ask About Team Discounts

The only conference with a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee or your money back!

Please call toll free (888) 575 1245 to register or…

Find out more about the 22nd International Maintenance Conference

Scheduling will enhance your credibility with Operations.

Often, Operations personnel are reluctant to release equipment to Maintenance because they have been “burned” by broken promises in the past. That’s understandable; in a reactive environment, it’s difficult to make accurate estimates for repair duration because you usually don’t know what you’re going to find until you get into the equipment. Nor do you know what parts are going to be needed or whether you have them in stock.

Creating a schedule for all the work you intend to do next week literally forces you to have forethought about the jobs you intend to do, including how long they will take. Even if you’re not formally planning, these estimates will likely average out to +/-30% accuracy when compared to actual performance. Planning, of course, will improve this accuracy and cut the variability in half. (Kister, Timothy C. and Hawkins, Bruce, 2006, Maintenance Planning and Scheduling Handbook - Streamline Your Organization for a Lean Environment, Elsevier, Burlington MA, page 243.)

When you sit down with Operations to create the schedule, two things will likely happen: they will realize that you’re attempting to schedule your necessary work at a time most convenient to them, and they will gain an appreciation for all of the work you have to do in the week. They will no longer make the assumption that your craft technicians are sitting back in the shop, waiting for something to break. The schedule becomes a “contract” between the two parties – Maintenance agrees to have the resources (labor and materials) available to perform the work, and Operations agrees to have the equipment available at the appointed time.

Tip provided by Management Resources Group, Inc.
203.264.0500 x136
http://www.mrginc.net

Standardizing MRO Data Is Foundational to Your Company’s Reliability Program

Attend Thermal Solutions, the conference for professional thermographers, motor circuit analysis technicians and reliability leaders, January 21-24, 2008 in Sarasota, Florida.

Learn best practices from a variety of paper presentations, educational short courses and countless networking opportunities while exploring the latest technologies in the conference exhibit hall. 1-800-636-9820.

Find out more about Thermal Solutions

I have a simple lubrication contamination control tip that has been lost due to lack of training in our “Getter done!” world.

It’s common sense really, wipe grease nipples off before and after you grease them.

Obviously, before to ensure you do not inject contamination into the process, and after to reduce the contamination that will accumulate on the grease nipple the the next yahoo that doesn’t wipe it off can inject into the process, or is easier for him to wipe off.

I love your articles, please, keep up the good work.

Reader tip provided by James Morgan
Manufacturing Engineering
Formet Industries Ltd
St. Thomas, Ontario
Canada

Thanks James - glad you like the articles too! Your diamond plate stainless steel coffee mug is on the way.

More Lubrication Resources

Just another tip you can use to find where a vibration is coming from in a complex machine with a lot of different roll speeds belt speeds.

I was called to a paper packaging machine which has a lot of different rotating components in it. The machine operator had noticed a vibration through the machine that wasn’t present before. I was able to detect the frequency of the vibration by using a vibration analyzer, but because there were so many rotating components in the machine it was difficult to determine the exact cause of the vibration.

I decided to use a strobe light and set it to the frequency that I had picked up with the analyzer. I pointed it over different sections of the machine to see if anything was moving at that frequency and found that it was one of the belts that was loose. You could see it very clear by using the strobe light.

By using the vibration analyzer to determine what frequency the vibration was and then using the strobe to visually see what was causing it made it easier than working out all the belt speeds and different roll speeds in the machine.

Reader tip provided by Robert Burford
Vibration Technician
Kimberly Clark Australia
Mount Gambier
South Australia

Thanks Robert - you are upholding the fine tradition of great maintenance tips from the land down under! Your diamond plate stainless steel Reliabilityweb.com coffee mug is on the way!

Send in your own tip and get a coffee mug or tips cap!

Insight Services has put together a practical reference handbook on lubrication, oil analysis and sampling procedures. This easy to understand guide is a must read for any maintenance professional. Now on our third edition, this book has been circulated to more than 4,000 maintenance professionals throughout the country.

Don’t miss your chance to receive our book today compliments of Insight Services.

Receive this terrific reference tool valued at $19.95 ABSOLUTELY FREE. Complimentary to U.S. residents only.

1-800-TESTOIL

Request your Oil Analysis Book from Insight

Improve the Classification of Hotspots: Create a Fault Tree!

During an infrared inspection, thermographers inspect a large number of assets that can be classified into distinct equipment types, such as motor control centers, switch gear, transformers and others.

It is useful to recognize that each of these equipment types has its own unique failure mechanisms and associated corrective action. Experienced thermographers can create a list of the equipment types that they most often encounter, and then list the most common failure mechanisms and recommendations for each.

For example:

Equipment: Motor Control Panel

- Diagnoses (recommendations):
• Improper crimp connection (check torque, replace, etc.)
• Load imbalance (check load, added test recommended)
• Open circuit (visual inspection, check load)
• Undersized conductor (replace)

Such a “fault tree” database permits organizations to standardize their thermography program and give thermographers of all experience levels the benefit of cumulative experience while adding new observations about asset behavior and repairs.

Look for infrared cameras that feature integrated asset database functionality to efficiently build your organization’s infrared expertise.

Tip provided by Electrophysics
Tel: W: (973) 882-0211

Infrared Inspections made easy

If you are asking yourself the following:

*When should I use RCM analysis?

Then read on….

Somewhere between 4 and 10% of the equipment in your facility would benefit from RCM analysis. This is based on the 4/64 rule.

Using the Pareto principle we can agree that 20% of the equipment in the facility is probably causing 80% of the problems. If we apply the Pareto Principle to that 20% we can conclude that 4% of the equipment in the facility is creating about 64% of the problems.

Thus, RCM on that low percentage will typically yield a very favorable result.

From our perspective at Allied that means that 90-96% of the equipment in the facility could be subjected to prescriptive methods such as the Asset Health Matrix to get the remainder of the problems reduced to acceptable levels.

Tip provided by Bill Keeter
Allied Reliability
888-414-5760

Find Out More About Allied Reliability