February 15, 2007
FREE Infrared Seminars
FLIR is offering over 180 FREE Infrared Seminars throughout the United States and Canada in 2007. These seminars were created to bring novice and long-time infrared users up to speed with the latest on infrared.
To register, visit FLIR’s Infrared Seminar site or call 1-800-254-0633.
February 15, 2007
Motor Testing Tip
Has this ever happened to you?
You suspect there’s a problem in the coils or phases of a 150HP 480Vac induction motor. The motor Megs good, and even passed a Hi-pot test. Your trusty DMM (Digital Multi Meter) says resistance is 0.2 ohms on all three phases.
What could be wrong?
There could be short circuits in the motor coils that are not detectable by the standard trade tools of the Meg-ohm tester, Hi-pot tester and Digital Multi Meter.
For example:
Generally, a standard DMM is not capable of an accurate measurement of resistance once the resistance drops below a few tenths of an ohm. Verify this for yourself by touching your DMM probes together. Chances are, you’ll see a reading of 0.2 ohms without even being connected to the motor terminals. Say what?
It boils down to range of resolution. A standard DMM is not designed to make readings at these very low resistances. A special variation of the resistance meter called a Kelvin bridge should be used, because large 480Vac motors could have a resistance of in the range of 0.005 to 0.1 ohms. In other words, it could be 10 times too small for a standard DMM to make any repeatable measurement
For motor resistance testing look for equipment specified at 4 ½ digit accuracy or better, that uses the Kelvin bridge or ‘4 wire” method. This can save you a lot of time and money.
Tip provided by Baker Instrument Company
Tel: (970) 282-1200
Toll Free: (800) 752-8272
http://www.bakerinst.com
February 15, 2007
Plant Start Up Tip
Twelve reliability deliverables are required to be in place prior to starting up a factory. Over the next several weeks each one will be defined. These are tasks which must be completed to build ownership at the shop floor to ensure the equipment is maintained as installed. In order to sustain the condition of the equipment and maintain its ability to perform, operating and maintenance systems must be in place. First reliability deliverable is “obtain and enter complete equipment data into the CMMS.” The best time to specify data requirement is prior to purchasing the equipment. Engineering specifications and Request for Proposals (RFP) should clearly identify the information which the vendor must provide. If for some reason the information cannot be obtained from the vendor (for example: used or salvaged equipment),use the work order system and plan for a mechanic to gather the information when the equipment arrives at the site. The minimum amount of information should be nameplate data, drive component data, bearing data, lubrication requirements, power requirement, specific equipment details and manuals. This equipment data is the starting point for developing maintenance plans for a piece of equipment.
Tip provided by Kevin Lewton, CMRP, C.P.M., CPMM
MetDemand
Toll Free: 888-427-4330
http://www.metdemand.com
February 15, 2007
General Electric Help Wanted
General Electric is currently considering qualified candidates for the positions of Reliability Sales Consultant, Reliability Principle Engineer and Reliability Lead Engineer in locations throughout the globe. Qualified candidates should have a BS Engineering degree and minimum of 5 years experience in maintenance and reliability.
The Reliability Sales Consultant are Job #554188 & 577260
Lead Reliability Engineer position is Job #562354
February 15, 2007
Root Cause Analysis Tip
While Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is typically used only after an acute type of event (i.e. – injury, catastrophic damage, environment incident, regulatory requirement), the greater benefits in the long-term can be realized from understanding the impact of the chronic failures.
Chronic failures tend to stay under the radar because they happen so often without significant individual consequence that they become a “cost of doing business”. If we better understood the impact of chronic failures, we would realize that they are signals or precursors to the more acute type of sporadic events.
Tip provided by Robert Latino
The Reliability Center Inc.
February 15, 2007
Maintenance Planning Tip
Many companies attempt to execute maintenance planning within their organizations, many times unsuccessfully.
More often than not, these companies do not have the proper foundational data or processes in place at the onset, dooming their initiative to failure.
In order to reap the financial benefits from maintenance planning, an organization should make sure that they first have a complete and accurate master equipment list (MEL), bills of material (BOMs), and a defined and enforced policy for work-order prioritization. Additionally, it is necessary to have a detailed and practiced process for how the maintenance work will get done (maintenance workflows).
With these key foundational elements in place along with a proper understanding of the planning function, the planning initiative is sure to be a success!
Plan Ahead!
Tip submitted by Tim White, CMRP
MRG
Visit MRG’s website for upcoming Planning & Scheduling training courses
February 08, 2007
Maintenance Tip
For Safety, Awareness is the Key
In this day and age it is always important to be aware of our surroundings. There are a number of safety concerns to keep in the forefront of our minds while we perform our job duties. A large number of safety provisions have been implemented and enforced in today’s industrial environment, and without a doubt these guidelines have been put in place for the well being of those of us who are exposed to the potential dangers that surround us. Although safety is the most important procedure of our duties, it is imperative that we remain aware of potential problems that are outside of our specific job scope.
Many times when we are given a specific job to perform, we get caught up in that particular task and we can become oblivious to any outside issues that might exist. A number of years ago I was conducting an annual electrical thermography inspection at a foundry facility, which I had also performed the previous two years. As the day began to come to a close I found myself inspecting the final piece of equipment which happened to be an arc furnace. As I was inspecting the electrical panels and the bus system, a small area with a temperature rise of 5° F caught my attention. Upon initial investigation I made an incorrect assumption. In this particular area there was very little room to move around and I assumed the temperature rise did not exist, but that this was simply reflection. The inspection was completed and all that was left was the analysis. Upon analyzing the inspection the following day I noticed a detail that somehow I had overlooked the day before as well as in previous year’s inspections.
For many years, air-cooled bus was the industry standard. In the 1960s, higher current bus systems became necessary, which led to the development of water-cooled bus applications. When this particular arc furnace was installed, which by the way was seven years prior to this inspection, the industry standard had switched to the water-cooled bus system for this type of application. With that being said, I noticed on the digital picture I had taken the day before that the water connections had not been properly made. In fact, due to one small hose misplacement, four bus bars were without water. The analysis was completed and a visit back to the site confirmed what the picture indicated. During the next scheduled shutdown the small hose was rerouted and water was now circulating through all conductors. Although this arc furnace had been in operation for seven years with this installation mishap, only time would have told if it would have become a catastrophic issue.
When asked why this was not found during the prior two inspections, I had to go back to those pictures and investigate. My answer: I simply was not aware of all my surroundings and how they could contribute to possible anomalies. Although the temperature differences were between 1-2 °F during the previous inspections, careful observations may have revealed this defect sooner.
Lessons Learned: Be safe, be smart, and be aware of potential problems due to your surroundings. For the reliability engineer, consider more thorough acceptance testing.
Tip provided by Chris Colson, Senior Reliability Professional, Allied Reliability
http://www.alliedreliability.com
Find out more about Allied Reliability’s PdM/PM Best Practices Training
February 08, 2007
EAM-2007 Workshop
The Enterprise Asset Management Summit
April 3-6, 2007
Sheraton Waikiki Honolulu Hawaii
Workshop 11
Maintenance Planning and Scheduling by Joel Levitt, Author, Managing Factory Maintenance
Well-planned, properly scheduled, and effectively communicated jobs accomplish more work, more efficiently, and at a lower cost. This work will disturb operations less frequently, and be accomplished with higher quality, greater job satisfaction, and higher organizational morale than jobs performed without proper preparation.
Maintenance Planning and Scheduling focuses on and deals specifically with the preparatory tasks that lead to effective utilization and application of maintenance resources. It is a vital training document for planners, an educational document for those to whom planners are responsible, and a valuable guide for those who interface with the planning and scheduling function and are dependent upon the many contributions of planning and scheduling operational excellence.
The Workshop:
• Addresses maintenance management, performance, and control
• Clarifies the scope, responsibilities and contributions of the Planner/Scheduler function and the support of other functions to Job Preparation, Execution, and Completion
• Covers the basics commonly contained within world-class programs for effective execution of maintenance work: planning, parts acquisition, work measurement, coordination and scheduling
• Aids organizations that pursue Maintenance Excellence that state of maintenance management and performance that effectively applies the leading edge policies, procedures, systems, structures, methods, and technologies to maintenance
Seating is limited so register early. Early bird conference and hotel discounts end Feb 15.
Call +1 (305) 735-3746 or…
Find out more about workshops and case studies at the EAM-2007 web site
February 08, 2007
Alignment Tip
Mounting brackets “The Golden Rule”.
The most important thing that can be said about securely mounting bracketing is this: Whatever you attach the bracket to MUST be rigid to the shaft when you are not attaching to the shaft itself. When the bracket is secured and the laser/emitter is attached to it, rotating the shaft causes the bracket to rotate along with the laser like the spoke of a wheel.
Regardless of the laser’s distance from the shaft centerline, as long as everything is tight, the invisible circle that the laser traces as it is rotated has the same rotational centerline as the shaft. Make sure that everything is tight.
Tip provided by LUDECA, INC.
ALIGNMENT * VIBRATION * BALANCING
http://www.ludeca.com
Tel: 305-591-8935
Find out more at the Reliabilityweb.com Alignment Knowledge Base
February 08, 2007
PdM Managers' Web Workshop #1
Topic: Communication and Goals for a PdM Program
When: Friday, February 23, 2007 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST
Reliabilityweb.com is please to invite you to join Jack Nicholas Jr., as he leads the first of a ten part series for anyone involved with managing or working in a predictive maintenance or machinery condition monitoring program.
There is no fee for this web based workshop. (Long distance charges may apply: Check with your telephone company)
Requirements: Telephone and Internet connected computer.
