The results of any maintenance reliability improvement program should provide:

• Improved equipment reliability and performance
• Increased production up-time and product quality
• Reduced overall maintenance costs

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Lubricant Sampling for Wear Particle Analysis

To establish the operating conditions and health of machines by Wear Particle Analysis, it is essential that the lubricant sample contain a representative selection of particles. Since particulate matter exists as a separate phase in the fluid, it cannot be assumed that a uniform distribution exists throughout the lubricant. Consequently, careful attention must be paid to the method of sample extraction.

During normal operation of lubrication and hydraulic systems, wear particle concentration achieves an equilibrium level for each set of operating parameters. Since wear debris is continually generated in any operating mechanical system, the achievement of an equilibrium level implies that particles are removed from the fluid at the same rate they are generated.

Factors which influence the operating time to equilibrium are:

• Filtration: The average number of times a particle of a given size and composition passes through the filter.

• Oil pump cycle rate: Pumping rate expressed in volume per unit time, divided by the volume of lubricant in the system.

• Dispersive qualities of the lubricant: A fluid may contain detergent additives which will prevent agglomeration of particles and discourage surface adhesion.

• Physical traps: Particles may settle out or adhere to the surfaces semi-permanently. Examples include the bottom of sumps, oil tanks, etc.

To obtain a representative sample of lubricant for Wear Particle Analysis, the following guidelines should be followed:

• Samples should be taken from a single location in a system. Since large particles are so important in Wear Particle Analysis, every effort should be made to take a sample before an in-line filter.

• Samples should be taken during normal operating conditions.

• If samples cannot be taken while the machine is in operation, sample no more than 15 minutes after shutdown.

A further consideration is the effect of an oil change. Since a complete lubricant change removes the majority of particles from the system, the operational period needed to return to normal equilibrium must be considered. This rarely exceeds 24 hours. Each machine has a characteristic time it returns to equilibrium. Large particles will regain their equilibrium level sooner than small particles.

Tip provided by Predict
A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trico
Tel: 216.642.3223

Find out more about Predict

On my way to a balance job I stop at a filling station or fast food restaurant and pick up a few of the hand cleaning towels given away. I keep the towels in my kit for use that at the job site if a shaft is greasy. The towels are not the best de-greaser but do an adequate job. I keep a small bottle of isopropyl alcohol is in my kit for the same purpose.

I also use a small piece of fine grit abrasive paper to remove surface rust, then alcohol or towel to remove the dust.

With fans I think I will be returning to, cleaning the surface with MEK (methyl ethyl keytone) seems to make the reflective tape or other stickers adhere especially well.

Please follow all safety procedures.

Greg Luna
Reliability Analyst
SKF Reliability System

Greg - Thanks for adding the finishing touches to the series of recent balancing tips. Your Maintenance-Tips hat is on the way.

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Planner Metrics: Focused on the individual position or the organizational benefits?

Odds are you can relate the following true story. The local site management team invests in sending a Maintenance Planner Scheduler to a course on Planning and Scheduling. On his return, the Planner Scheduler is asked to justify his position by developing some metrics that reflect his individual contribution to the team.

Should those metrics relate to the Planner Scheduler position itself or focus on the benefits the Planner Scheduler brings to the organization? Sure, we can develop lots of metrics that reflect the position performance like the number of completed and accurate job plans, the accuracy of the estimates, and so on. Reality is though; I hope you answered with the organizational benefits on the question above.

Let me give you some examples of focusing on the benefits to the organization. Say there are 20-30 job plans per week that the Planner needs to plan. If the Planner Scheduler is consumed with ensuring complete job plans with perfect labor estimates, task steps, and all the other parts, how many job plans do you think a Planner will complete in a week? He or she will probably not complete very many to get that level of detail, maybe five at most. The Planner Scheduler provides a better service by making a good faith estimate of the labor hours, identifying the crafts required, and determining the right materials required. That’s really not a bad job plan by the way for starters because it identifies the basic requirements needed to schedule the work along with the parts. Using this approach, the Planner Scheduler is able to complete all 20-30 plans that we need each week.

Make no mistake; we really do want a complete and detailed job plan for future use when appropriate. I’m sure you are asking “But Jeff, how will we get complete job plans? By using the continuous improvement cycle, you rely on feedback from the craft technicians and supervision. The Planner Scheduler gets the initial job planned using a good faith estimate, identifying the crafts required, and materials needed. Once the physical job is completed, the crafts and the supervisor provide additional information like the task steps and sequence, any parts missed or not needed, actual hours required, and so on. Now, the Planner Scheduler updates the job plan with that information. Every time the job is done is another opportunity to improve the job plan.

Tip provided by Jeff Shiver, CMRP, CPMM
People and Processes, Inc
(843) 813-6198 (Cell)

If you would like to learn more about the role of the Planner Scheduler and metrics within your organization, please consider attending a 2 day Lean Reliability Leadership seminar hosted by People and Processes.

Check out the dates and locations now

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Vector Tolerances

If you are aligning very critical machines and your laser system does not offer you the ability to apply vector tolerances, you can still do so manually, by keeping these criteria in mind: The standard industry norms of 2 mils offset and 3 mils per ten inches of angularity at 1800 rpm equate roughly to vectors of 1.4 mils of offset and 1.7 mils per ten inches of angularity.

Therefore, you can apply a sliding scale when you look at your misalignment results: If you have misalignment only in one plane (either vertical or horizontal), apply the full value of the standard tolerance; if you have roughly equal misalignment in both planes apply the more conservative values shown above to both. This way you will not exceed your vector limits in any direction. To find the vector limits for any RPM, simply take the square root of the standard limits.

Of course, none of this would be necessary if you have one of the better laser systems that does all this for you automatically

Tip provided by LUDECA, INC.
ALIGNMENT * VIBRATION * BALANCING
http://www.ludeca.com
305-591-8935

Learn more about systems with an automatic Tolerance function

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Precision, precision, precision!

Reliability is inherently a function of design. All we can do from a Maintenance perspective is preserve that inherent reliability. All too often, significant potential equipment life is lost because crafts people did not pay the appropriate attention to detail in repair or installation. For example, studies conducted by Barringer and Associates have found that if we have as much as 1/8” of piping misalignment in a standard ANSI end-suction centrifugal pump, we will lose as much as 45% of it’s inherent life!

To be an effective Maintenance Manager, you should insist that all work is done to the appropriate level of precision. Tools required to achieve this precision, such as dial indicators, calipers, torque wrenches, laser alignment devices, and the like should be available to all crafts persons. The tools should be included in the calibration program and each crafts person should be effectively trained in their use. Validation of precision work should be routinely performed through a post-maintenance testing program such as taking baseline vibration readings or operational performance tests. Regular audits of repair work should be conducted both to verify that the work is done correctly as well to illustrate the importance that you place on precision.

Another factor that bears mentioning along this line is to insist that crafts persons must be provided with sufficient time to achieve the level of precision required. There will always be significant pressure to complete a field repair quickly, but rushing through a repair is detrimental to precision. Considering the example above, if a standard pump has a Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) of 7 years, and investment of 8 hours to correct a piping strain problem can potentially result in an added life of over 3 years. Remember the old adage. “There’s never enough time to do it right, but plenty of time to do it over”! Don’t rob your crafts people of their desire for quality workmanship.

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

iPresentation Tutorial Invitation: Maintenance 201 – More of the Basics