Tipsblog

Accurate Grease Quantity

Trico’s Grease Meter accurately measures the grease quantity dispensed in volume or weight, in both US (fl. oz. or oz.) and metric units (cm3 or g). The Grease Meter can be connected to any grease gun by simply replacing the lubrication pipe or high-pressure hose on the grease gun with the grease meter. Once installed a simple push of a button will set the meter to zero and the metering can be started. The amount of grease dispensed is displayed on a backlit LCD display.

For more information please call Trico toll free at 800.558.7008

Find Out More About Trico’s Grease Meter

PM/CM Tip Feedback

I would like to comment on Mr. Smiths earlier Preventive Maintenance (PM) Tip Is it Preventive Maintenance (PM) or Corrective Maintenance (CM)?

In the tip he makes the point that items found during the preventative maintenance are also preventative maintenance and should be coded as such. If not then the question comes why are you finding so much corrective maintenance.

I disagree with this. Preventative maintenance is the closet thing to standard work that the maintenance department has. With this type of work the cost and time to perform should be constant each time the work is performed. Otherwise how do you schedule. Yes an adequate PM is designed to find the deficiencies prior to failure and can be part of an effective program but the repairs to the equipment should be corrective (CM). If not then my question is why are your PM costs so out of control.

Most CMMS programs allow you to create your own coding system. I have created and used the PM-Repair code to show what we have found and fixed using the PM program. This along with PM costs and CM costs will show an effective program. The curve will show as PM costs go up the PM-Repair costs will peak and then decrease and the CM costs will decrease. The point at which the PM costs, PM-repairs and CM costs are at the minimum is the maximum you are going to get from the current PM program you are using. At that time only a change in the maintenance will cause a continual decrease.

Feedback provided by Clint Mileur
Maintenance Manager
JamesHardie Building Products
Peru IL

Thanks Clint - your Maintenance-Tips is on the way!

What do you think? Discuss this at MaintenanceForums.com

Preventive Maintenance (PM) Tip

As a general rule, corrective maintenance is more costly than preventive maintenance.

If anyone should doubt this, then just compare two similar plants or systems where one has a proactive maintenance program and the other a reactive maintenance program.

Which one do you think has the lower overall maintenance cost and higher availability?

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

Find Out More About Mac Smith’s RCM Workshop on DVD

Reliability Skills Training

North America, Australia & Europe – 2008 Training Schedule Now Available

How do you transform a reactive maintenance program?

What are the keys to sustaining a proactive maintenance approach?

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How much can you save?

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• Fault Tree & Event Trees
• Reliability Week

Find Out More About ARMS Reliability Engineers Training for 2008

Maintenance Tip

During visual inspection with a strobe light it is good reliability practices to carry a digital camera.

If you encounter a problem with a rotating part such as, pulleys, belts, couplings or fans the item of interest can be stopped by the strobe light. At that time a digital picture can be obtained to show the defect that was noticed on the rotating part with out shutting the unit down and interrupting production. A digital camera takes the picture as you see it with your own eyes stopped by the strobe light.

Tip provided by Ron Blay
CBM Analyst
Allied Reliability
Fayetteville NC

Get a copy of PdM Secrets Revealed by Allied Reliability

Maintenance Tip

Defining Maintenance Excellence

Maintenance Excellence is the obtainment of a level of excellence in the maintainability of a company’s assets which is unequal to any competitors in their business sector. “Maintenance Excellence is the result of caring more than others think is wise, risking more than others think is safe, and dreaming more than others think is possible.”

Companies who obtain the highest level of maintenance (optimal asset reliability) are the ones who are willing to take risk, care about their employees and their customer, and dream to be the best. Maintenance Excellence is not a “maintenance thing” but a plant wide change of culture. Everyone in a plant must be committed to performing maintenance in a proactive manner which is sustainable. Maintenance Excellence is the desire to be the best in maintaining the assets of a company. It is being the “best of the best” in a business sector, “optimizing asset reliability at an optimal cost”.

Tip by Ricky Smith, CMRP

IMC-2007 Workshop Leader
Lean Six Sigma for Maintenance & Reliability Professionals

Find Out More About Ricky Smith’s IMC-2007 Workshop - Dec 4 - Daytona Beach FL

Learn from Reliability Leaders at IMC-2007

IMC-2007 - the 22nd International Maintenance Conference
Dec 4-7, 2007
Daytona Beach Hilton Florida

Meet workshop leaders who can show you new methods for reliability like:

Paul Barringer
Ron Moore
Terry Wireman
Joel Levitt
Steven Thomas
Ricky Smith
Steve Turner
...many more at IMC-2007

Call toll free (888) 575-1245 or…

Find out more about IMC-2007 online

Maintenance Tip

Use of a pocket voice recorder during route data collection allows for notations of manual data collection and also reminders of equipment condition.

These handy devices can also be used with an ultrasound tester to record wave files for analysis and reporting.

Anything to assist my aging memory cells is an invaluable tool to have in my pocket!

Reader tip provided by Carl Collins
Reliability Engineering Technician
BASF Catalysts LLC
Huntsville AL

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

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

Attend Thermal Solutions

Attend Thermal Solutions®, the conference for professional thermographers, motor circuit analysis technicians and reliability leaders.

January 21-24, 2008 in Sarasota, Florida USA.

• Three tracks of paper presentations
o Infrared Thermography for Condition Monitoring
o Motor Circuit Analysis (NEW for 2008)
o Building Thermography

• Exhibit Hall featuring all major IR and MCA equipment manufacturers

• Case study analysis forums (NEW for 2008)

• “Ask the Expert” consultation sessions

• Educational Short Courses

• Endless Networking Opportunities

Those who should attend this conference include maintenance technicians, program managers, reliability engineers, electrical contractors, mechanical engineers, maintenance supervisors, plant managers.

Find out more about Thermal Solutions

Predictive Maintenance (PdM) Program Assessment Audit

Join us for a Web Workshop on November 16

Please join Jack R. Nicholas Jr., CMRP for the final workshop of a 10 part series of Predictive Maintenance (PdM) Program Management.

In the 10th Workshop Jack discusses:

• Predictive Maintenance (PdM) Program Self Assessment Auditing Methods
• Overall PdM Program Assessment
• Vibration Analysis Program Assessment
• Infrared Thermography Program Assessment
• Lubrication and Oil Analysis Program Assessment
• Motor Current/Power Analysis Program Assessment
• Electrical Insulation Testing Program Assessment
• Transformer Testing Program Assessment
• Electrical Machine Testing Program Assessment
• Airborne Ultrasound Testing Program Assessment

The presented material will last 50-55 minutes with extra time set aside for questions and answers. Please allow extra time to attend if you are interested in participating in the question and answer sessions.

Space is limited. Reserve your Web Workshop seat now