Tipsblog

Lubrication Maintenance Tip

Conveyor Lubrication Maintenance Tip

In most cases lubricating bearings on a conveyor system is most effective while the system is operating. To address safety concerns, plant operators will often extend grease lines to a location away from pinch points or other potential safety concerns. Without specific direction these remote grease lines can be found to have been installed in a variety of configurations. Here are some guidelines for installing remote grease lines on equipment.

1) Always install a fixed or rigid lube block and group lube lines that require equal amounts of the same lubricant.
a) An operator or mechanic will struggle to attach a grease gun to a loose hose with a grease zerk attached.

2) Tag the lube lines to identify the frequency, type and amount of grease required.

3) When possible mount the lube block in a location that allows the mechanic to see the bearing(s) being lubricated.

4) Standardize on one type of grease fitting, zerk or button head. (Button head fittings provide a more positive connection for the grease gun).

5) When possible grease blocks should be installed at about 4’ above the level where a mechanic will stand.

6) Lube blocks can be purchased in a variety of fitting combinations or they can be custom made using drilled angle iron of flat bar and fitted with common bulkhead fittings. Most industrial suppliers will offer assistance in configuring an effective system.

Following these simple guidelines will improve the effectiveness of your lubrication program and simplify future training requirements for new employees. Although this tip focuses on conveyor systems, these principals can be applied universally.

Reader tip provided by Dennis Skaluba
Plant Engineer
Lafarge
Presque Isle, Michigan

Thank you Dennis - your Stainless Steel - Diamond Plate Reliabilityweb.com Coffee Mug is on the way!

Send in a Maintenance Tip and get your own Reliabilityweb.com coffee mug

ABB Reliability Services

ABB Reliability Services assists industry in achieving operational excellence by driving reliable plants and processes. We combine deep expertise with proven best practices to move maintenance from a cost center to a strategic asset.

• ABB Reliability Systems develops and implements hosted reliability management services that help increase production and reduce maintenance costs by improving equipment reliability, availability and maintainability.

• ABB Reliability Consulting offers premier consulting services to improve maintenance processes, people, equipment and metrics. Our experienced professionals help increase equipment reliability and operational productivity.

• ABB Full Service assumes responsibility for customer maintenance operations through a performance-based partnership, bringing together world-class methodologies, leadership and business management to help improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness and reduce costs.

For more information please call 866.695.7480 or…

Find Out More About ABB Reliability Services

Root Cause Analysis (RCA) Tip

CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF…

A common paradigm in industry is that if I cannot obtain “management support”, I cannot be successful in my RCA efforts.

If people actually believe this, then their RCA effort will never be successful. Sure, full management support would make it easier for us to be successful, but is it a deal breaker? Only if we let it be. If we have the will and desire to conduct RCA’s on events where it is the RIGHT THING TO DO, then we will be successful despite the barriers placed in front of us. If we lead an effort to conduct a thorough RCA that ultimately nets a quantum amount of returns for the corporation, then those in the “ivory tower” will take notice and start to inquire how those returns were realized. You are in control of your own destiny, not management!!

Tip provided by Bob Latino
Reliability Center Inc.
http://www.reliability.com

Join the Root Cause Analysis Discussion at MaintenanceForums.com

Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) Tip

If you are asking yourself the following:

*Where can I get a template to create an RCM analysis?

Then read on….

It is possible to template RCM work, but it is probably not desirable. Much of the benefit derived from RCM analysis comes from the interaction among members of the analysis team.

Having operators, maintainers, and engineers in the same room discussing equipment issues and developing solutions generates extremely high buy-in for the resulting maintenance strategies, operating strategies, and equipment modifications that are generally the result of an RCM analysis.

Tip provided by Bill Keeter
Allied Reliability
888-414-5760

Find Out More About Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM)

How do you know that your asset management strategy is the right one?

Asset reliability has a significant effect on most organizations. If you are in a manufacturing type environment, then poor asset reliability can mean delayed customer orders, poor quality product – ultimately lost market share. If you are in a services organization, then poor asset availability could mean delayed revenues, or even service level penalties.

So… what confidence do you have that you have the right asset management strategy?

Find out in less than 15 minutes:

Learn more about optimizing your maintenance strategy in this iPresentation tutorial from Lawson

Preventive Maintenance Tip

There are four basic factors behind the decisions to define and choose preventive maintenance actions:

1) Prevent (or mitigate) failure occurrence.
2) Detect onset of failure.
3) Discover a hidden failure.
4) Do nothing, because of valid limitations.

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

Check out Mac Smith’s RCM Workshop on DVD

Materials Management Best Practices

You’ll get a much better return on your inventory investment when you apply the sound storeroom operations principles that you will learn in this five-day class.

LCE’s materials management gurus will help you create a materials management master plan that includes key elements like kitting best practices, KPIs for storerooms and purchasing, ABC analysis and effective work control processes.

If it’s time for you to find some new ideas, learn new skills that will get better results and exchange ideas with other professional in your field, then check the Life Cycle Institute’s Fall schedule.

Register today by calling 800-556-9589 or email

Find Out More About Life Cycle Institute’s Fall Schedule

Alignment Tip

SOFT FOOT

Measuring machinery misalignment with today’s tools, particularly computerized laser alignment systems and well-designed bracketing, is no longer as difficult a task as it once was, when all you had were a straight edge, feeler gauges and maybe a set of dial indicators with some make-shift hardware.

Why then, is it that aligning the machinery to given target values is so often still so cumbersome and time-consuming? There may be several reasons, among them unnecessarily tight tolerances specified by the machinery vendor, or problems with worn-out bearings, or inadequate bases, lack of jackscrews, etc. But by far the greatest obstacle to expeditiously reaching your alignment goal is soft foot. ‘Soft foot’, or machine frame distortion can be measured by various means, and indeed it must be measured and corrected before proceeding with the alignment.

Why? Simply because an uncorrected soft foot condition will make alignment a trial-and-error procedure where indicated corrective shimming and lateral moves no longer bring you to the expected results. Severe soft foot may also be quite harmful to the machinery itself.

Correcting soft foot may not be easy, but it is worth every minute you spend on it, because once done, the alignment of the machines becomes a much easier task.

Many alignment systems available today have soft foot measuring programs, and the most advanced system even features a soft foot ‘wizard’ which analyzes the type of soft foot measured (there are a number of different soft foot conditions) and suggests how to correct it.

Conclusion: If you want to make aligning your machinery easier, quicker and more accurate, start by correcting soft foot.

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

More resources on the Alignment, Balancing and Vibration Forum

PC Maintenance

Just got done reading your tip on PC Maintenance.

It was a great tip, and to go one step farther, your keyboard is a collection area for debris. Take your keyboard and turn it upside down and shake, you will see what I mean.

If you do not have a newer sealed keyboard you can purchase key board covers from a variety of locations. These will permit you to use the keyboard with out removing the waterproof cover. A good cleaning with a can of compressed air will remove the buildup And really we NEVER spill or eat over our keyboards! right?

Reader tip provided by Martin Tauber
PdM Tech
Barber Foods
Portland Maine

Thanks Martin - Your Stainless Steel Diamond Plate Reliabilityweb.com coffee mug is on the way!

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

How well are you managing and maintaining your plant equipment?

According to new research, automating enterprise asset management capabilities and integrating technology are key success factors for optimizing asset performance.

The Asset Management Report “Benchmarking Enterprise Asset Management in Manufacturing” is based on an Aberdeen Group survey of 190 manufacturing enterprises and compares different asset management techniques. The report analyses the success of these management methods and provides recommendations and steps to success.

Request your report “Benchmarking Enterprise Asset Management in Manufacturing"