March 22, 2007
Condition Monitoring Tip
Many vibration analysis programs do a great job of coming on-line with large sections of a manufacturing facility included in vibration routes, but few facilities find the time to fine tune these programs once they are implemented.
You should perform audits on your vibration analysis program at least yearly to determine if it is finding legitimate defects or problems in the facility.
These audits should include:
- manpower usage
- machine / measurement point collection figures
- repaired / re-qualified machine counts
- and statistical analysis of “Critical” and “Common” machine types.
By using the data collected during your audit, a simple road map should evolve on how you can better utilize the resources you have at your disposal.
Additionally, any machines that are “bad actors” will stand out during the audit, placing them as a top priority for FMEA or RCFA studies.
Tip provided by
Allen Bailey
Industrial Vibration Consultants, Inc.
March 22, 2007
Motor Management KPI Tech Tip
In order for any motor management program to be effective, you MUST have a healthy electrical maintenance program. There are a minimum of seven parts to a successful electrical maintenance program including:
1) Drawings and Documentation Control
2) Maintenance Tasks related to Electrical Maintenance
3) Arc Flash and PPE
4) Load and Power Quality Monitoring
5) Root-Cause-Analysis Process
6) Electrical Work Procedures Tied to Safety
7) An Emergency Work Plan for Reactive Faults
These areas must have a combined score over 85% before starting your motor management strategy.
March 22, 2007
Mikron Infrared’s M7800 Camera with DualVision
Mikron’s economical, easy-to-use, high-performance infrared PPM camera, with laser pointer and digital visual recording is now available with DualVision—a visual and thermal image functionality option.
What is DualVision? DualVision is the ability to display a visual image with thermal overlay, on the M7800’s large 3.5” LCD. The opacity of the overlayed thermal image can be adjusted from 0-100%, allowing the operator to pin-point problems faster! Both visual and thermal images are downloaded via USB 2.0.
The M7800 features a 320x240 resolution, and three additional optional lenses. It is compatible with the economical Mikron SpyGlass™ Lens and ViewPort safe electrical cabinet inspection combination.
For more information, call 1-888-506-3900 or
Find Out More About Mikron Infrared’s M7800 Camera with DualVision
March 22, 2007
Vibration Analysis Tip
How sure are you about your unbalance diagnosis?
Diagnosing unbalance with vibration spectra may seem like a simple matter; just look for a high peak at the running speed (1X). However there are a number of other conditions that also generate high 1X peaks.
One way to separate fault conditions such as unbalance, misalignment, bent shaft and cocked bearing is by using phase readings. If you have a single channel data collector, and you do not have an easy way to get a phase reference (e.g. once-per-rev tachometer), then a phase reading may be difficult to collect. However if you have a two-channel data collector, or you have a strobe, it is not difficult to collect phase readings, and it is highly recommended that you take a few quick readings in order to be sure about your diagnosis.
The key rule is that the difference in phase between a vertical reading and horizontal reading should be approximately 90 degrees (give or take 30 degrees). If you repeat the test at both ends of the machine, the difference should be similar at each end.
Depending upon the nature of the unbalance, the difference in phase between two vertical readings taken at each end of the machine should be between 0 degrees (if it is pure static unbalance) and 180 degrees (pure couple).
Tip provided by Jason Tranter
iLearnInteractive
Vibration and Alignment Training
http://www.ilearninteractive.com
iPresentation Tutorial Invitation: A New Introduction to Vibration Analysis
March 22, 2007
Ultrasonic Motor Greasing Tip
Don’t Touch My Motor, Here .. or Here !
When using an audible or ultrasonic grease gun attachment for lubricating motors. Be sure that the motor grease fitting tube and grease gun coupler do not touch the rear fan bell section of the motor or the coupling guard at the front of the motor.
If there is any touching in these areas (even just the paint), the bearing noise is not likely to be the dominant sound that you hear or register on the meter.
Sometimes in order to get a true reading you may have to snap the coupler to the zerk and pull it away from the contact zone while greasing. A pistol grip grease gun will make this easier.
Reader tip provided by Jerry Baker
PdM Team, Lubrication
Tate & Lyle
Loudon Tennessee
Thanks Jerry - another Maintenance Tips hat is on the way!
Article Invitation: The Ultimate in Bearing Maintenance Programs
March 15, 2007
MRO Optimization - Best Practices for effective inventory parts & storeroom management
Read this Best Practices White Paper to learn critical management methods for getting a storeroom into excellent shape – and keeping it there.
These processes offer an opportunity to reduce surplus inventories & save on purchases by consolidating vendors - without radically changing normal business practices.
March 15, 2007
GE’s Plant Optimization and Control Users’ Conference
With over 25,000 Bently Nevada condition monitoring systems and 3000 System 1 condition-monitoring software platform installations worldwide—GE Energy is sponsoring a series of forums where operating users and reliability professionals can share experiences and benefit from direct access to GE reliability experts. Learn how reliability improvement services help customers spend up to 60% less on maintenance while improving uptime, wrench time, environmental compliance and more.
Hosting the user conferences in four worldwide locations, agendas include user presentations, technology trends, workshops, and user group networking sessions.
March 15, 2007
Training Tip
Training for the Appropriate Level
How many courses have you been to that are more of an all-in-one course that leave you in a cloud of confusion?
Too many courses today teach a broad spectrum of items in too short of a time. I understand that the cost of training and availability of time are limited because of today’s working culture. The problem with broad ranging courses is that there is not enough repetition designed into the courses and they sometimes cover tasks over multiple levels in the organization. Familiarization is sometimes good as long as it is not at the sacrifice of important job specific training. More times than not the familiarization training can be done through communication on the job.
When looking for training courses identify the specifics of what you need training on and research the different training courses to find one that closely matches your needs without a lot of extra fluff.
Rob Apelgren, CMRP
Director of Training Services, SUCCESS by DESIGN
Toll Free (800) 392-9025 ext 202
http://www.motordoc.net
iPresentation Invitation: Maintenance Training Levels and Importance
March 15, 2007
The Ice Cold 6-Pack: Quick & Dirty Tactics For Immediate Maintenance Results
Tactic #2: Stop Drinking From the Fire Hose
From the authors of The Dirty Dozen: 12 Ways to Wreck Your Maintenance Program
Have you ever dealt with an “emergency” work order to fix a coffee maker, paint an office or assemble a desk? We call these jobs “emotional emergencies”. We know a site that generated 1000+ emergency work orders per month, most of which were emotional in nature. This is like drinking from a fire hose!
To become more proactive, you need time to plan and execute your work according to a schedule. How do we disconnect from roaring flow of “emergency” demands to focus on tasks that increase reliability?
The answer is to prioritize your work. Build a prioritization system that is easy to understand, so anyone can use it properly. People demand instant service when they don’t trust that maintenance will meet their needs unless they scream and wave their arms in the air every time something needs to be done.
Honesty on the part of the requester and maintenance is what makes the system work. It is an enormous victory when people begin requesting work to be completed by the date they really need it, and maintenance responds to those requests with remarkable service.
The site we mentioned earlier now has only one or two true emergency work orders monthly. Stop drinking from the fire hose today!
Tip provided by Nobreakdowns.com
Arms Dealer for the Maintenance Battlefield
Tel: (218) 327-3114
March 15, 2007
Start Up New Equipment Installation Tip
The second of 12 Reliability deliverables when installing new equipment is “All maintenance and operational Preventive Maintenance (PM) work orders are complete and entered into the system.” The start up and operational frequency for performing PM work is set on Failure Modes and business risk.
PM work includes repeated activities which are triggered by time, cycles or conditions. PM work which needs to be developed include cleaning, inspection, intrusive inspection, lubrication and rebuilds. The best preventive maintenance programs trigger PM activities based on equipment condition such as cycles, process control information, equipment performance data and operator checks.
When a new line or facility is being built, it is very important to determine the control point for triggering a specific PM. If this is done during the preliminary engineering phase of the project, the cost impact to provide an automatic trigger will be minimal.
The priority in developing PM activities must be based on the criticality of an asset. An asset providing safeguards, environmental protection or is a revenue producing asset should have higher priority than an asset providing a support function.
When writing a PM, use the KISS method. (Keep It Simple Stupid)
Keep safety and environmental issues as a priority. Instruct on what is to be done and what is to be measure. State what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. Specify the required action to address an unacceptable condition.
Tip provided by Kevin Lewton
Met Demand LLC
http://www.metdemand.com
