An iPresentation Tutorial by George Frey, Baker Instrument Co.

This 8 minute iPresentation tutorial covers a new technique that has been developed to provide valuable information on DC or direct current windings. The circuitry behind the surge test has been improved to provide substantially better ring patterns for these types of hard to test windings due to their turn characteristics. A much greater degree of sensitivity is also found in the L-L EAR or Line-Line Error Area Ratio calculations. With these two data points DC motor problems can be identified and recorded for trending and troubleshooting.

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To have a successful Motor Management Program, it takes more than just testing motors on the shop floor on a route set up by the CMMS.

If you want to have your cake and eat it too - try this recipe for a successful Motor Management Program:

1. A bowl full of good test equipment
2. 1 gallon of training -all you can get
3. 3 cups of energy
4. 4 cups of self motivation
5. 1/3 of a stick of computer skills (the other 2/3’s will rise with time)
6. Ask questions and network with Master Chefs (IMC 2007, RCM-2008, PdM-2008 etc...)
7. Demand the motor shop follows your recipe (motor repair spec)
8. Track the results from the repair shop in your recipe box (data base)
9. Never bring your attitude to a boil
10. Place finished product in the window, and market the cake (Motor Management Program.)

Reader tip provided by J. Dave Humphrey
Electrician Technology Group
Allison Transmission

Thanks for the recipe Dave - your Stainless steel diamond plate Reliabilityweb.com coffee mug is on the way!

Send in your own maintenance tip and get a hat or coffee mug

Is it Preventive Maintenance (PM) or Corrective Maintenance (CM)?

A dominant area of confusion about Preventive Maintenance (PM) versus Corrective Maintenance (CM) occurs when a scheduled task reveals unacceptable equipment deterioration.

So actions are taken to repair/restore the full functionality before an unexpected operational impact can occur. Is the repair/restore action preventive or corrective?

If the purpose of the PM task is to perform actions that will retain functional capabilities, then the answer is essentially self evident — the repair/restore action is preventive. Why? Because a proper structuring of the PM task will always include not only the search for equipment condition, but also the requirement to do something about it if the search uncovers a problem.

This search includes PM tasks that require inspection, monitoring parameters that detect failure onset, discovery of hidden failures and even restoration of equipment that was deliberately allowed to run to failure. Unfortunately, though, many CMMS programs will not allow the user to create or code a new work order to cover the emergent work as PM. This additional PM work can only be coded as CM. This inflates the cost of CM, and can lead management to question why CM costs are increasing even when their PM program had been recently improved.

Tip provided by Anthony “Mac” Smith, Author, RCM - Gateway to World Class Maintenance, Butterworth-Heinemann, ISBN-10: 075067461X

Find Out More About Mac Smith’s RCM Workshop on DVD

IMC-2007 The 22nd International Maintenance Conference
December 4-7, 2007
Daytona Beach Florida

Many conferences provide information – IMC-2007 provides knowledge based on case studies in 7 Learning Zones:

* Best Practices
* Maintenance Management
* Reliability
* Human Asset Management
* Predictive Maintenance
* CMMS
* Subject Matter Experts

Early Bird Conference Rates end after November 1 so please call toll free (888) 575 1245 or…

Visit the IMC-2007 website here

When you are conducting an infrared inspection with low loads, either electrical or mechanical, the indications of a problem may be subtle or not even detectable. For electrical systems that will go to full design load at some point, a minimum of 40% of design load is recommended (National Fire Protection Association, NFPA 70B). Testing suggests this is really a bare minimum! Of course, the higher the loads, the greater the assurance any anomalies will be detected.

When you must inspect in low load situations, note all problems, even if they have a small temperature increase. While the exact change in temperature cannot be easily predicted, one thing is certain: as loads increase, so will the temperature of the high resistance hot spot.

Tip provided by John Snell
Snell Infrared
http://www.snellinfrared.com

Attend Thermal Solutions...the conference for professional thermographers

View this 20 minute webinar broadcast from IBM Maximo and Ivara.

Eric Wegscheider outlines an integrated and cohesive approach to asset performance and reliability optimization using Ivara EXP with Maximo. Hear how Maximo customers are taking their equipment reliability programs to the next level in their journey to operational excellence – preventing equipment failure, increasing production, reducing costs – one asset at a time.

Ivara EXP can be used with an EAM/CMMS. It is certified Ready for IBM Tivoli and certified Powered by Netweaver for SAP PM/EAM.

View this 20 minute webinar broadcast from IBM Maximo and Ivara

Reliability engineers are free.

Well, not exactly “free” – but certainly at zero net cost to your organization. The primary role of a Reliability Engineer is to drive out sources of repetitive failure, through effective design of the maintenance strategy and through root cause analysis when failures do occur. When one considers the financial impact of critical equipment failures on labor, materials, and production loss, it is easy to see that this position can pay for itself. In fact, it may be the only position in the organization that can make that claim. Many organizations have set a performance objective on this position to return the equivalent of twice their annual salary in savings due to higher reliability.

In order to be successful, however, the Reliability Engineer must be able to focus on his core responsibilities. Many organizations divert the effort by assigning ancillary duties to this individual, such as managing capital project installations. Reliability Engineering is a completely different discipline than Project Engineering and requires a different set of skills. Project engineering requires strong project management skills and the capability to do system designs. Reliability engineering requires strong data analysis skills and the capability to use tools such as Root Cause Analysis, Reliability Centered Maintenance, Weibull Analysis, and the like.

Unfortunately, there are very few four-year institutions that offer undergraduate degrees with a Reliability focus. Most successful Reliability Engineers entered industry in another field and gravitated toward the discipline because of supplemental training. Although sometimes difficult to find on the outside, Reliability Engineers can be created, and can be one of the most valuable positions in your organization.

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

iPresentation Invitation: Maintenance Management 101 - Things You Must Know to Have a Proactive Maintenance Organization

Viscosity of oil is always regarded as its most important property. This phrase, however, makes reference to fresh or new oil.

In testing used oils one looks at viscosity with importance, but with the caveat that a normal viscosity could very easily mask one or more problems signified by other tests.

Consider a diesel engine with a fuel dilution problem and a dribbling injector or two. The fuel dilution, of course, lowers viscosity, but the dribbling injector results in over-fueling, causing excessive soot formation, which tends to thicken oil. Because viscosity is driven in two directions by these simultaneously occurring problems, it is possible that viscosity could test quite normal, masking the issues at hand.

Tip provided by Jack Poley, CMI
Tel: 305.669.5181
http://www.cmiglobal.biz

iPresentation Tutorial invitation: Auto-Evaluation of Oil Analysis Data (16 minutes)