Tipsblog

Infrared Inspection Tip

Understanding Temperature Measurement Resolution

When studying infrared camera specifications, the number of pixels in the camera’s infrared detector array is often used for comparison. It is important to note that the number of pixels doesn’t necessarily indicate the camera’s ability to discern the temperature of small objects. Camera spot size is the specification that describes an infrared camera’s ability to make small temperature measurements. Some cameras calculate temperature based on a 3x3 or 4x4 matrix of infrared pixels, others much smaller. In most cases the spot size performance of IR cameras is adequate but as cameras with lower and lower resolution are available, users will need to more closely evaluate the actual measurement spot size just as buyers of low cost spot pyrometers must since the lowest cost devices typically feature 6:1 spot size (at six feet the measurement spot is 1 foot). Without recognizing the limitations of spot size, an infrared camera user may have measurement errors when performing an infrared inspection of equipment. Most often, measurement errors are low (meaning that objects are hotter than measured) which could have serious implications. Know your camera’s spot size and make sure that your measurement distance is adequate or whether you need to consider a telephoto lens or a camera with higher resolution.

Tip provided by Electrophysics
Tel: (973) 882-0211

Infrared Inspections made easy

Reduce Maintenance Costs using Asset Performance Management Processes

Manufacturers have been seeking the means to optimize asset performance. This Aberdeen benchmark report investigates the ways top performing companies develop corporate cultures of reliability and leverage investments in advanced APM tools to improve asset performance monitoring, predictive analytics, asset management, maintenance activities for top line and bottom line improvement in performance.

Request your complimentary copy of the Aberdeen Group report entitled “Ground Up Strategies for Asset Performance Management.”

Alignment Tip

If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.

Many end users have taken laser alignment equipment and “checked” alignments on equipment that has been running satisfactorily, and very often with vibration data that falls well within alarm thresholds, only to find the alignment out of normal alignment tolerances. In this instance, the vibration data should be the determining factor.

If the equipment is running well, leave it alone. It would however be a very good practice to keep this alignment data and use it in the future for intentional misalignment of this particular machine. It is quite possible that the machine had in fact been deliberately misaligned when cold and stopped to compensate for positional changes that occur due to thermal growth or dynamic load shifts.

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

More Alignment Resources

Reliability Tip

Reliability Engineering, What it takes to make it successful

In “World Class” organizations a reliability engineer is expected to be the reliability expert and the facilitator of best reliability practices in an organization. The key is that a reliability engineer must be a force and efficiency multiplier by using their skills to enhance all work focused on asset reliability from utilizing tools such as RCM (reliability centered maintenance) to root cause failure analysis.

• Reliability Engineers are typically degreed engineers and are certified as a Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professionals from the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals. (Send me a email and I will provide you with the training and certification path I recommend, degreed engineer or not)

• Reliability Engineers track and eliminate equipment problems which are known as “bad actors”. The “bad actors” are identified as the top 5 assets in the past 30 days that have:

- Highest maintenance cost
- Highest maintenance labor hours
- MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure)

• Reliability Engineers are the quality assurance person for all projects (capital, minor construction, rebuild, etc).

• All assets are ranked based on risk and consequence. This list is aligned with the asset condition list which provides management with the identification of there highest risk assets in the worst condition.

• Reliability Engineers are the trainers and facilitators for all Reliability Centered Maintenance or Failure Modes and Effect Analysis work.

• Reliability Engineers are the “gate keepers” for changes made to the P-F Interval for any asset considered critical.

• Reliability Engineers are never focused on any project which does not impact asset reliability.

Tip provided by Ricky Smith, CMRP
Co-Author with Keith Mobley
Rules of Thumb for Maintenance and Reliability Engineers

Get a copy of Rules of Thumb for Maintenance and Reliability Engineers

New Surge Testing Technique for High Inductance Equipment

An iPresentation Tutorial by George Frey, Baker Instrument Co.

This 8 minute iPresentation tutorial covers a new technique that has been developed to provide valuable information on DC or direct current windings. The circuitry behind the surge test has been improved to provide substantially better ring patterns for these types of hard to test windings due to their turn characteristics. A much greater degree of sensitivity is also found in the L-L EAR or Line-Line Error Area Ratio calculations. With these two data points DC motor problems can be identified and recorded for trending and troubleshooting.

Start your iPresentation now

Motor Management Tip

To have a successful Motor Management Program, it takes more than just testing motors on the shop floor on a route set up by the CMMS.

If you want to have your cake and eat it too - try this recipe for a successful Motor Management Program:

1. A bowl full of good test equipment
2. 1 gallon of training -all you can get
3. 3 cups of energy
4. 4 cups of self motivation
5. 1/3 of a stick of computer skills (the other 2/3’s will rise with time)
6. Ask questions and network with Master Chefs (IMC 2007, RCM-2008, PdM-2008 etc...)
7. Demand the motor shop follows your recipe (motor repair spec)
8. Track the results from the repair shop in your recipe box (data base)
9. Never bring your attitude to a boil
10. Place finished product in the window, and market the cake (Motor Management Program.)

Reader tip provided by J. Dave Humphrey
Electrician Technology Group
Allison Transmission

Thanks for the recipe Dave - 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

Preventive Maintenance (PM) Tip

Is it Preventive Maintenance (PM) or Corrective Maintenance (CM)?

A dominant area of confusion about Preventive Maintenance (PM) versus Corrective Maintenance (CM) occurs when a scheduled task reveals unacceptable equipment deterioration.

So actions are taken to repair/restore the full functionality before an unexpected operational impact can occur. Is the repair/restore action preventive or corrective?

If the purpose of the PM task is to perform actions that will retain functional capabilities, then the answer is essentially self evident — the repair/restore action is preventive. Why? Because a proper structuring of the PM task will always include not only the search for equipment condition, but also the requirement to do something about it if the search uncovers a problem.

This search includes PM tasks that require inspection, monitoring parameters that detect failure onset, discovery of hidden failures and even restoration of equipment that was deliberately allowed to run to failure. Unfortunately, though, many CMMS programs will not allow the user to create or code a new work order to cover the emergent work as PM. This additional PM work can only be coded as CM. This inflates the cost of CM, and can lead management to question why CM costs are increasing even when their PM program had been recently improved.

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

Last Chance for Early Bird IMC-2007 Registration

IMC-2007 The 22nd International Maintenance Conference
December 4-7, 2007
Daytona Beach Florida

Many conferences provide information – IMC-2007 provides knowledge based on case studies in 7 Learning Zones:

* Best Practices
* Maintenance Management
* Reliability
* Human Asset Management
* Predictive Maintenance
* CMMS
* Subject Matter Experts

Early Bird Conference Rates end after November 1 so please call toll free (888) 575 1245 or…

Visit the IMC-2007 website here

Infrared Tip

When you are conducting an infrared inspection with low loads, either electrical or mechanical, the indications of a problem may be subtle or not even detectable. For electrical systems that will go to full design load at some point, a minimum of 40% of design load is recommended (National Fire Protection Association, NFPA 70B). Testing suggests this is really a bare minimum! Of course, the higher the loads, the greater the assurance any anomalies will be detected.

When you must inspect in low load situations, note all problems, even if they have a small temperature increase. While the exact change in temperature cannot be easily predicted, one thing is certain: as loads increase, so will the temperature of the high resistance hot spot.

Tip provided by John Snell
Snell Infrared
http://www.snellinfrared.com

Attend Thermal Solutions...the conference for professional thermographers

How to Prevent Equipment Failure with Maximo and Ivara EXP

View this 20 minute webinar broadcast from IBM Maximo and Ivara.

Eric Wegscheider outlines an integrated and cohesive approach to asset performance and reliability optimization using Ivara EXP with Maximo. Hear how Maximo customers are taking their equipment reliability programs to the next level in their journey to operational excellence – preventing equipment failure, increasing production, reducing costs – one asset at a time.

Ivara EXP can be used with an EAM/CMMS. It is certified Ready for IBM Tivoli and certified Powered by Netweaver for SAP PM/EAM.

View this 20 minute webinar broadcast from IBM Maximo and Ivara