PdM-2008
Predictive Maintenance Technology Conference
September 15-18, 2008
Qwest Center - Omaha Nebraska

Learn to do more with less during tough times ahead!

Please join us to learn how companies just like yours are adding predictive maintenance technologies to increase equipment reliability, safety and uptime.

Save $200 with Early Bird Registration before August 1

Get early warning of equipment problems so you can plan effectively.

Best Practice companies have a competitive edge because of machinery condition monitoring technologies like:

-Vibration Analysis
-Infrared Thermography
-Ultrasonic Detection
-Electric Motor Testing
-Oil Analysis

Please join us in Omaha!

Save $200 with Early Bird Registration before August 1

Thinking out of the box when it comes to ultrasound.

We have several large slow moving overhead sprockets at our plant. They are rotating between four RPM and twelve RPM. When I inspect those sprockets I use a CSI ultrasound gun that we have retrofitted with a half-inch aluminum rod that is six feet long. The rod has a thick wall shrink tubing shrunk onto it full length, except for the last one inch at the pointed tip.

Now we go out of the box. Just because it is an ultra sound gun it does not mean you cannot use it as a stethoscope. I set the gun on a 4Khz setting and listen to the rotating bearing elements. It is amazing the sound you hear when a rolling element stops rolling and starts to skid due to lack of lubrication. Depending on the specific bearing defect frequencies, you can tell if there is an inner, outer, cage, or ball defect.

Remember this only works on slow moving bearings, on higher speeds stick to the book.

Reader tip provided by William Roome
Reliability Department
Cargill Meat Solutions
Jacksonville IL

Thanks William - your stainless steel diamond plate Reliabilityweb.com coffee mug is on the way!

Learn more about Ultrasound at PdM-2008 in Omaha Nebraska

Are you looking for a best-of-breed maintenance solution that can be easily integrated to your existing system?

Download Lawson insight paper to find out more

After installing cable ties (tie raps) instead of cutting the excess cable, twist it until it breaks.

This will leave a smooth surface unlike the razor sharp edge that is left when you cut them, that way next time you or your co-workers rub up against it you will not create a bloody bio-hazard.

Tip provided by Tony Baldridge
Maintenance Planner
Emerson Climate Technologies
Natchitoches, LA

Thank you Tony - your stainless steel diamond plate Reliabilityweb.com coffee mug is on the way.

Send in your own tip and get a stainless steel, diamond plate, Reliabilityweb.com coffee mug

Now you can transform your preventive and predictive maintenance programs into best practices with a new series of training and workshops from Allied Reliability.

This new training series is designed for people with little or no formal training in predictive maintenance and condition monitoring technologies: maintenance technicians, supervisors, planners and schedulers, reliability engineers and plant managers.

The next Charleston, South Carolina course dates are August 26-28, 2008

Find out more about PM/PdM Best Practices Workshops

From Which Reliability Tool should I use? By H. Paul Barringer

Reliability tools exist by the dozens: what are the tools, why use the tools, when should I use the tools, and where should I use the tools?

Each week we will explain a reliability tool. The details about these tools will be brief as books are written about each item. Think of the presentations below as hors d’oeuvres (a little snack food or starters)—not the main course.

Block Diagram Model (same as Reliability Block Diagram Models)-

What: Reliability block diagram (RBD) models are graphical representations of a calculation methodology for reliability systems.

Why: The RBD models allow calculation of system reliability based on knowing/assuming failure details of the components starting with the least component and growing the model to the greatest system to predict performance from the elements.

When: RBDs are used in upfront designs as a performance parameter and after the system is constructed to ferret out poor performing blocks that limit the system performance.

Where: Frequently used as a trade-off tool to search for the lowest long cost of ownership and to help sell alternative courses of action for moderating the effects of reliability issues or overcoming the poor performance by alternative designs where the results can be calculated before building the system as the results of the calculations provide knowledge about availability, maintenance interventions required for failures, and the number of spare parts required to sustain operations.

From Which Reliability Tool should I use?

Tip 1 - You have the right to manage.

Managers in many organizations feel “handcuffed” by bargaining unit agreements, past practices, traditions, and Human Resources policies in their attempts to manage personnel. They feel powerless to address poor performance on the part of employees for fear that any decision they make will be overturned. The lament “They won’t let me” is often heard.

This does not have to be the case. No union contract or HR rule will prevent you from setting clear expectations for all personnel within your department and following up to make sure those expectations are delivered. When people fall below expectations, the reason should be identified. (If the reason for failure to comply is due to the “system”, stay tuned for Maintenance 201 Tip 6)

If the reason is within the employee’s control, determine if it is a skill problem or a performance problem. If a skill problem, it is your job to provide the necessary training. If a performance problem, it should be documented with a clear explanation of the consequences of failure to comply in the future.

Another point is that authority is given on the basis of your position, but respect of the workforce, peers, and management must be earned. It is earned through fair and consistent treatment of individuals on your team. If employees lack the resources to meet expectations, it is up to you to provide them. If employees do not have the skills to do the job, it is up to you to provide training or reassign them to a position where they can be successful (more on this in Tip 2). You will lose respect if you fail to take action to address poor performance.

Tip provided by Bruce Hawkins
MRG
http://www.mrginc.net

iPresentation Tutorial Invitation: Maintenance 201 – More of the Basics

We want to know where we’re headed!

Dear Leader,

Why “Listen Up” about direction? Ever boarded a plane without knowing the destination? Ever driven a car blindfolded? Absurd, you say! Yet, these questions summarize the frustrations of many employees today. Why do we need specific direction? Read on!

Want to know one reason why people leave our company? They’re confused about the direction we’re going (or not going)! It may be hard to see from your position, but there’s not a lot of clarity – not a lot of direction – in what we’re supposed to be doing. Too often, the mission statement hanging on the wall says one thing, you can tell us another, and our compensation rewards us for something else.

On top of that, many of our “current” job descriptions were written years ago – in another time, for another purpose. And then when performance reviews come around, you sometimes tell us we should have been doing something completely different. No wonder we’re confused! Believe it or not, many on our team waste as much as five and a half hours a week because of unclear communication about where we’re headed and what we’re supposed to do. That’s seven weeks per year – per person!

If you want to achieve better results and improve our morale, clearly communicate where we are going and why.

Sincerely,
Your employees

This tip excerpted from Listen Up, Leader: Powerful Insights Into What Employees Want and Need From Their Leaders

Find out more about Listen Up, Leader