May 01, 2008
Alignment Tip
Flexible couplings
The function of a flexible coupling is to accommodate misalignment between the shaft ends only when the shafts are going from cold to hot condition at the equipment start up, or from hot to cold during shut down, or relative shaft movement during process upsets. It is not meant to take compensate for misalignment.
Whatever the coupling type (rigid or flexible), alignment accuracy should remain the same.
Tip provided by Paul Berberian
Alignment Supplies, Inc
(419) 708-5177
May 01, 2008
Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) Tip
Naming Protocols and RCM
When performing RCM studies on sections of plant that consist of numerous items of similar equipment, it is possible to get lost or confused with exactly what piece of equipment the group is talking about, or which equipment failure history you are actually reviewing.
It is common in organizations for different people to call equipment by different names. Conveyor No.1 to the Engineer, may be the Overflow Conveyor to the Operations Manager, the Maintenance Supervisor may call it the Sanki Conveyor, the Tradesman may call it the Belt Conveyor and the Finance Manager will have it listed in the Asset Register as something no one has ever heard of !!
One method for reducing potential issues is the implementation of a naming protocol. The adoption of this enables a structured and consistent approach to naming of equipment. Some sites actually label individual items of equipment using a metal tag or label.
The ID on the tag is the same as the ID in the sites CMMS and Asset Register.
This not only facilitates a clear understanding during a RCM process, but can improve the feedback from equipment maintainers when reporting on work done or condition monitoring results, as it is easy to clearly identify and record exactly what piece of equipment has failed / been checked.
When establishing a naming protocol, some things to consider include:
• Future growth of the business (new and additional equipment purchases)
• Consistency with your industry
• Will equipment be moved (will the north motor be swapped with the south motor?)
• Is it as short as possible
• Standardization
• Words, Letters or Numbers
• Common Sense is rarely shared – involve everyone to reduce potential for issues.
Tip provided by ARMS Reliability Engineers
http://www.reliability.com.au
