One of the primary roles of maintenance and reliability professionals is to run their plant profitably at peak capacity while operating safely and efficiently. As plant professionals strive for increases in production, few would put lubrication at the top of their list of ways to increase plant performance. However, failing to identify the optimal lubricant for an application can lead to decreased efficiency, increased maintenance and the most menacing word of all, “downtime.”

There are roughly 26,000 applications for lubricants in the United States, and each application requires specific performance from its lubricant. Base Oil (mineral versus synthetic), viscosity, additive package, oxidation resistance and thermal stability, are just a few of the characteristics that must be considered when choosing a lubricant.

Identifying the correct lubricant can be a daunting task, especially when faced with all of the other dynamics that impact plant performance. Our own maintenance and reliability staff handles these same issues at the Shell Houston Lubricant Plant, which runs 13 production lines for packaging. The plant can process quart and gallon bottles, pails and drums simultaneously. At a rate of 18,000 quarts per hour, each line is integral to our lubricants business. Letting those lines go down for just a single hour can have a significant impact on production, greatly affecting our customers.

No matter how well developed a production plan is, problems will inevitably arise. The best companies are the ones that can prevent minor problems from developing into very expensive ones. Knowing how efficiency affects our business helps us understand yours. As a result, we work hard to align our entire business around delivering growth and quality customer support.

Your success is our success
At Shell, we believe our success comes from helping our customers succeed, so we work closely with them to develop insight into their businesses. We ensure that we have an intimate understanding of their challenges and goals. Once that foundation has been created, our team begins a customer “deep dive” to identify the customer’s particular needs.

Some of our customers have very intense requirements—onsite maintenance, technical service, new technologies, research and development, the whole package. Companies with multiple facilities often have very specific needs and depend upon 24-hour-a-day reliable service. As downtime can potentially lead to lost revenue, it is important for reliability professionals to identify the lubricants that meet the demands of their machinery and help keep them running efficiently.

Regardless of plant size, maintenance and reliability professionals should take advantage of the services lubricants companies can provide. As facilities are pressured to perform more efficiently with fewer resources, it is beneficial to employ experts who can help you make the most informed lubricant decisions. By reviewing plant equipment applications and operating conditions, suppliers can develop customized lubrication programs that help your facilities work more efficiently.

A lubricants company can provide diverse resources that are not always at hand for most maintenance professionals. For instance, fiber optic video inspection can often save plants time and money by inspecting internal components without dismantling the equipment itself. Some suppliers can also do in-depth fluid and equipment analysis to alert them to conditions that lead to premature equipment failure.

Ultimately, selecting the right lubricants and applying them correctly can have a big impact on your plant’s productivity and total operations cost. World-class lubricants companies are capable of delivering value-added services that support maintenance and reliability professionals in their efforts to deliver superior results. Make the most of your lubricants supplier relationship by asking what they can do to help optimize your business. MT

Although reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) has gained increased acceptance in industrial companies around the globe over the past few decades, it often has proven to be a difficult fit for small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and those in the advanced stages of lean production. For SMEs, the problem appears to be the substantial investment that is required for RCM to achieve the expected outcome. The challenge for lean companies is the fact that they typically manage fewer resources than are needed to successfully implement RCM.

Thanks to a recent academic/industry collaboration, however, a process for overcoming these roadblocks to RCM implementation has been put forward. Developed at Spain’s Mondragon University, this approach has been successfully tested in three small- to medium-sized companies with advanced lean operations. These sites include:

• A medium-sized industrial plant of the Mondragón Corporación Cooperativa (MCC) corporation (a supplier to automotive and home-appliance OEMs and Spain’s third-largest company);
• Inquitex S.A. (Inquitex), a maker of various products using polyamide, polyester and PET;
• Goizper S. Coop. (Goizper), a cooperative serving industrial and agricultural markets, and maker of a popular hand-held sprayer for houseplants.

The RCM process
The RCM process is designed to enhance assets’ availability and safety by recommending design improvements or maintenance and operation tasks. It entails asking the following seven questions about the system under review:

1. What are the functions and associated performance standards of the asset in its present operating context?
2. In what ways does it fail to fulfill its functions?
3. What causes each functional failure?
4. What happens when each failure occurs?
5. In what way does each failure matter?
6. What can be done to predict or prevent each failure?
7. What should be done if a suitable proactive task can’t be found?

Large companies may spend vast amounts of money (and deploy extensive resources) to accurately answer these questions. Most SMEs and lean-structured companies cannot. The major constraints SMEs face include restricted financial resources, a lack of personnel and time, little or no experience and limited confidence in implementing new systems [1]. Companies engaged in lean production, by definition, are trying to accomplish production “with minimal waste due to unneeded operations, inefficient operations or excessive buffering in operations” [2]. Consequently, it can be quite difficult to obtain funding for systematic optimization approaches in lean environments. Testing at the MCC, Inquitex and Goizper facilities shows that the adapted RCM process can indeed be effective in dealing with these challenges.

The following sections outline the adapted methodology using some of the documentation developed during the site studies. Implementation in the three subject sites encompassed the following phases:

• Document control
• Analysis of failure modes and causes
• Development of the preventive maintenance (PM) plan
• Development of the maintenance management system
• Continuous feedback and results

Document control…
Any SME or lean-centered operation wishing to implement RCM must first prioritize the equipment to be studied. In this case, it is recommended that Saaty’s generic Analytic Hierarchic Process [3], or specific prioritization initiatives [4], be applied in order to generate a prioritized equipment list.

Next, all knowledge of the prioritized equipment must be collected. This task comprises gathering all the documentation related to the machine, including catalogs, manuals, instructions and related material. All documentation related to maintenance and production also must be compiled, following the procedure shown in Fig. 1, so as to guarantee that the documentation related to a machine will always be available and easy to find if an incident occurs.

Analysis of failure modes and causes…
All information collected in the preceding phase is oriented to answer the first three questions of the seven steps of RCM. Equipment suppliers and designers invest a great deal of resources defining how equipment should be operated, in which way it may fail and why it can fail. Then, considering these facts, they perform design modifications or plan activities oriented to reduce or avoid these failures. As a result, maintenance instruction manuals bring together several PM actions and will save the project team from wasting time doing a previously performed task. This provides a substantial basis for the PM plan.

Development of the preventive maintenance plan…
This phase covers steps four through seven of the RCM analysis. Furthermore, in this phase, equipment-related failure modes are revised to include the implicit knowledge and experiences of maintenance and production operators. This is important because the PM actions included in the equipment operation and maintenance manuals are usually designed to cover the most general spectrum of possibilities, as equipment designers do not have information about specific consequences of failure modes and causes to be avoided.

With these facts in mind, the maintenance team can define and prioritize the most negative events compiled during the whole process, analyze the consequences, their impact and the actions to be taken. Considering the impact of the consequence and the probability of failure, maintenance technicians will then be able to adjust the periodicity of PM actions—which can include modifying or even removing activities.

Based on these actions, it is possible to establish an initial PM plan that should be updated periodically. PM activities should be shared among production operators and maintenance technicians. This means a systematic PM plan executed by maintenance technicians and an autonomous PM plan performed by production operators should be designed for each piece of equipment.

An example of both the systematic and the autonomous PM plans of a turning machine of Goizper are shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. In addition to the global PM plans shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, it is essential to define each of the tasks to be performed. This definition must consider the complexity of the task and the experience of the person executing it. To accurately describe the tasks to be performed, the following levels of detail can be used:

1. For tasks that do not need detail to be properly carried out, the line included in the global PM plan will be sufficient for its execution.
2. For operations needing a brief description to be completed, instruction documents describing only key points of the operation will be provided.
3. For actions that call for a detailed procedure, an exhaustive operating procedure will be documented and included in the PM documentation developed for the technician. Using the precise descriptions in this procedure, all operators should be capable of completing the necessary PM activities. From this point, management needs only to establish a control system to analyze whether the actions are executed.

Obtaining An Operative Scorecard

The reasearch on which the accompaning article is based considers that maintenance has to be managed as a business unit. This means that the maintenance scorecard has to include the four business perspectives defined by Kaplan & Norton [6], detailed in Fig. 4.

Fig. 4. Balanced scorecard (source: Balanced Scorecard Institure[7])

Maintenance managers must define how to measure the performance of their respective organizations' activities.

Development of the maintenance management system…
The RCM process is useful not only in defining an initial maintenance plan, but also in sequentially optimizing such a plan. For this purpose, it becomes necessary to implement a feedback system compiling what happens in the equipment to be maintained. In many cases, a CMMS may be a better tool for this than a primarily manual system. It is, however, very important for SMEs and lean-structured companies to first define how maintenance is going to work with regard to RCM, then choose and/or adapt the CMMS accordingly (see sidebar “Selecting A CMMS”).

The process of defining how the RCM process will work can be simplified by creating a scorecard showing the various fields of a maintenance work order (see sidebar “Obtaining An Operative Scorecard” below). The scorecard must be continuously updated and adapted to meet the needs of management and technicians, but accurate updates will depend on information that only can be obtained in a work order. Thus, any corrective maintenance action will require a corresponding work order. Each of these work orders should be completed by maintenance technicians, with oversight to ensure that the documents are filled out properly.

Fig. 5. Evolution of the OEE in an MCC painting station.

Once this effort is complete, a junior engineer can be responsible for obtaining the monthly maintenance report. After the report is obtained, decisions can be made about the validity of the report, the overall maintenance management and the actions that maintenance performs. Ongoing feedback and results It is too soon to report consolidated results from Inquitex and Goizper, as the project is still being implemented. Still, it is worth noting that each of these companies has created a continuous feedback system that provides more and better information on their processes, which, in turn, helps enhance the quality of the decisions that are made. In addition, both of these organizations are looking to implement a CMMS within their respective operations.

With regard to the MCC site, results from previous research help illustrate the effectiveness of the adapted RCM process. Fig. 5 illustrates the positive evolution of the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) of an MCC painting station. These results were obtained mainly through implementation of maintenance improvement actions that were launched through the adapted RCM
process.

Acknowledgements
The companies involved in this research wish to thank Iñaki Urkullu, Manex Ezeiza and Josune Garitano, the junior engineers who supported the implantation projects presented herein, for their collaboration and effort. In loving memory of Xanti. MT

References
1. D. J. Storey, Understanding the small business sector. London: Routledge, 1994.
2. R. Narasimhan, M. Swink, and S. Wook Kim, “Disentangling leanness and agility: An empirical investigation,” Journal of Operations Management, 2006.
3. T. L. Saaty, The Analytic Hierarchy Process. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980.
4. M. Gardella, E. Egusquiza Pérez, and A. Goti, “Parametrization of the Risk Ponderation Number for the development of auto-updating FMECAs,” E. Viles and A. J. Fernández Pérez, Eds. San Sebastián: Tecnun, 2007.
5. Synterprise, “Synterprise Global Consulting, Pre CMMS Planning/Vendor Evaluation,” 2004.
6. R. Kaplan and D. Norton, “The balanced scorecard – Measures that drive performance,” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 70, No. 1, pp. 71-79, 1992.
7. Balanced Scorecard Institute, “What is the Balanced Scorecard?” 2007.

Aitor Goti, Miguel Egaña and Alfredo Iturritxa are researchers and consultants from Spain’s Mondragon University who specialize in the field of reliability and maintenance. Marc Gardella is with the Spanish consulting group Ingeactiva. For more information regarding this article and the research project on which it is based, contact Dr. Goti through the Mechanical and Manufacturing Department Faculty of Engineering at Mondragon University as follows: agoti@eps.mondragon.edu

Mitsubishi Electric Automation has introduced the D700, its latest compact variable frequency drive (VFD). Replacing the corporation's popular S500E VFD, this “new-from-the-ground-up” model offers a host of benefits for users—even for existing S500E customers who will find it easy to move over to the D700.

According to the manufacturer, the S500E and D700 have the same 'footprint,' which means mounting arrangements will be unchanged. All the terminal markings and parameter numbers that the two drives share will be the same. Moreover, while the D700 provides superior dynamic performance to the S500E, it can copy the very same performance characteristics of the S500E. Thus, machines that have been tuned over the years to work with the S500E will not see the difference. Moreover, the D700 will still be able to operate with any programming originally developed for the S500E.

Among other things, the D700 features:

• Improved speed range… 150% or more motor torque is now possible at 1 Hz using General Purpose Magnetic Flux Vector control, giving a smooth open loop speed range of 60:1.
• More interoperability… Communications include Modbus RTU as well as Mitsubishi Electric's own RS 485 programming protocol (supported as standard).
• Remote operation… Drive I/O can be remotely operated over any supported network, regardless of what the drive is doing.
• Easy mounting… In smaller panel spaces, the D700 can be “bookshelf ' mounted without a gap in between; DIN Rail mounting also is possible.
• 100kA fault-withstand rating… This simplifies panel construction.
• Safety stop function… The D700 comes standard with a safety stop circuit allowing the removal of a previously required external contactor and is EN951-1 Category 3 and IEC60204-1 Stop Category 0 compliant.
• RoHS compliance… This means that the D700 is approved for installation on Europe-bound machines.
• High accuracy… Analog inputs/outputs provide master/ slave control.
• Maintenance-free operation… Intelligent fan control, fewer moving parts, more robust bus capacitors and custom-made intelligent power modules are all designed to have a 10-year operating life so that users can install the D700 and forget it.

The D700 is covered throughout North America by Mitsubishi Electric's five-year limited warranty program. MT

Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc.
Vernon Hills, IL

For more info, enter 30 at www.MT-freeinfo.com

Coronary artery disease is a leading cause of death in the world. A substantial amount of effort is spent preventing, diagnosing and treating this disease, with treatments including a variety of drugs and surgeries.

Common sense suggests an effective treatment for a restricted artery would be to expand the artery and support it with a tube to prevent further blockage. The tube is medicated with the same drugs taken orally that also help to prevent restricted blood flow.

The procedure, called "angioplasty and coronary stent implantation" is expensive, but nevertheless proved to be a popular choice made by patients and physicians for the preventive treatment of stable, long-term heart disease.

There was only one problem with this common sense preventive solution: it is inefficient.

The evidence says stents are no better than the cheaper and safer option of medication alone. The evidence in this case consisted of properly collected and analyzed data on groups of patients who underwent the two treatments. The process by which medical decisions are based on the best available research is called evidence-based medicine and is considered the gold standard in modern medical practice.

What does this have to do with asset management? Common sense and expert judgment play a role in maintenance and replacement decisions, but the underlying assumptions should be tested with data that has been properly collected and analyzed. We call this process Evidence-Based Asset Management, or EBAM.

Four key asset management decision areas are:

1. Preventive maintenance strategies;
2. Inspection decisions;
3. Capital equipment replacement decisions;
4. Resource requirements.

The value of EBAM to each decision area is easy to see. Consider preventive maintenance. A reliability engineer communicated to me the case of a piece of equipment whose components were being preventively replaced according to manufacturer recommendations. The engineer kept careful records of component lifetimes and failure causes. He concluded:

"I found that the hazard rates obtained were decreasing…due to poor quality components and questionable maintenance practices. Overhaul on these components has been suspended… Quality issues are also being addressed."

The asset management decision was based on the best available evidence.

Consider the following capital equipment replacement decision. A fleet operator I met from a large marine cargo handling firm in the U.S. with approximately 2400 pieces of powered lift equipment. He said:

"We have no corporate strategy on equipment repair/replacement, lease/buy, economic service life, etc. These decisions are based often on strength of personalities and number of mechanics' complaints, not objective analysis… On the plus side, we do have a CMMS and 4 years of ‘pretty good' equipment information and cost history."

Conclusion: the available data should be used to implement an EBAM approach.

I feel very fortunate to be linked with the blue-chip organizations that support the Centre for Maintenance Optimization and Reliability Engineering (C-MORE). They have made it their goal to adopt EBAM, from training right through to the support for development of evidence-based decision-making software tools. I encourage all organizations to do the same. MT

jardine@mie.utoronto.ca

The opinions expressed in this Viewpoint section are those of the author, and don't necessarily reflect those of the staff and management of MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY magazine.

Van Holten’s Pickles certainly knows its stuff. Founded in 1898, the company has been producing individually wrapped Pickle-in-a-Pouch products since 1939. Originally based in Milwaukee, Van Holten’s moved to a larger plant in Waterloo, WI in 1956. That’s where it recently opened a new 53,000 square foot facility—and where it now produces approximately 18 million individually pouched pickles annually.

These days, Van Holten’s is finding that connecting and disconnecting pumps, conveyors and other equipment in its operations has become much easier and safer than in the past, simply by using combination plug/receptacle and disconnect switches. The company has turned to Meltric Decontactor™ Series switch-rated plugs and receptacles that allow workers to safely make and break electrical equipment connections, even under full load. And, because they are UL switch and horsepower rated, the Decontactors meet NEC requirements for a motor "line of sight" disconnect. These devices also cost less than conventional connectors over the longterm.

Yesterday and today
Previously, Van Holten’s connected its many pumps and conveyors with twist type or pin-and-sleeve connectors partnered with separate disconnect switches. The combination of salt, moisture, acid and heat used in the pickling process caused the switches and plugs to fail regularly. Safety also was an issue because of the potential for a worker to insert or remove a plug without first verifying deenergization at the local disconnect switch.

Decontactor plugs feature an OFF switch/pawl that can be used as an emergency disconnect switch for conveyors.

According to Wingate, the heat and harsh atmosphere ruined the previous plugs because the brass contacts often corroded together.

He points out that the long-term operating cost was a big factor in selecting the Decontactors, which feature more corrosion resistant solid silver-nickel contacts. "Our company has been in business for 100 years, and I try to look at the long term when I buy things for the plant. We had been buying a lot of the previous plugs for replacements. When we designed the new facility, we looked at ways to keep the cost down without sacrificing safety or our other needs," he says.

In addition to the long-term cost savings in replacement plugs, Wingate liked the Decontactors’ integrated disconnect switch, which meant there was no need for a separate plug and disconnect box. "It not only costs less," he notes, "it eliminates one more thing to go wrong in our environment. Before, it was too easy for someone to disconnect something and forget to lock it out properly." That’s not a problem with the Decontactor plugs. They can be locked out just by inserting a lock through a hole in the plug shroud.

Going forward
While moisture and other harsh conditions are prevalent in many areas, some of the NEMA 4X rated Decontactors are located in areas where they regularly are subject to being splashed with brine. According to Wingate, there have been no problems during the year they have been installed. "We’ve not had any scoring of the contacts because of the quick break, and we don’t have to worry about arcing or corrosion buildup."

Most of the applications at Van Holten’s are on 440-volt power, with some on 230-volt equipment. In addition to the production equipment, the company also uses some Decontactors on maintenance equipment such as welders and saws. Several have even been installed along one exterior wall, where they are used to provide power to a large cucumber-loading machine when it needs to be moved along the back of the building.

Wingate reports that the company is planning to triple the size of its tank yard soon and will convert it to the Decontactors as part of the project. "We will use them on pumps and conveyors, and also on the low-pressure blowers we use to help move product along," he adds. MT

Although thermal imagers may be simple to operate, they are most effective in the hands of a qualified technician who understands electrical measurement and the equipment to be inspected. For anyone using this type of imager, the following three points are especially important.

• Point 1: Loading
The electrical equipment being inspected must be under at least 40% of nominal load in order to detect problems with a thermal imager. Maximum load conditions are ideal, if possible.

• Point 2: Safety
Electrical measurement safety standards still apply under NFPA 70E[1]. Standing in front of an open, live electrical panel requires personal protective equipment (PPE). Depending upon the situation and the incident energy level (Bolted Fault Current) of the equipment being scanned, this may include:
- Flame resistant clothing
- Leather-over-rubber gloves
- Leather work boots
- Arc flash rated face shield, hard hat and hearing protection, or a full flash suit

• Point 3: Emissivity
Emissivity describes how well an object emits infrared energy or heat. This affects how well a thermal imager can accurately measure the object's surface temperature. Different materials emit infrared energy in different ways. Every object and material has a specific emissivity that is rated on a scale of 0 to 1.0. The higher emissivity the better it is for thermal imagers to report accurate temperatures.

Objects that have high emissivity emit thermal energy well and usually are not very reflective. Materials that have low emissivity are usually fairly reflective and do not emit thermal energy well. This can cause confusion and incorrect analysis of the situation if the user is not careful. A thermal imager can only accurately calculate the surface temperature of an object if the emissivity of the material is relatively high, and/or the emissivity level on the imager is set close to the emissivity of the object.

Most painted objects have a high emissivity of about 0.90 to 0.98. Ceramic, rubber and most electrical tape and conductor insulation have relatively high emissivities as well. Aluminum bus, copper and some kinds of stainless steel, however, are very reflective.

The good news is that most thermal imaging performed for electrical inspection purposes is a comparative—or qualitative—process. Users typically do not need a specific temperature measurement. Instead they should look for a spot that is hotter than similar equipment under the same load conditions—spots that are unexpected.

Troubleshooting electrical systems
There are specific things to check when chasing breaker problems or load performance issues. Once repairs are complete, another thermal scan should be obtained. If the repair was successful, the previously detected hot spot should have disappeared. (Note: Not all electrical hot spots are loose connections. For a correct diagnosis, it's smart to have a qualified electrician either perform the thermal scan or be present while it's completed.)

Three-phase imbalance
Capture thermal images of all electrical panels and other high-load connection points such as drives, disconnects, controls and so on. Wherever higher temperatures are discovered, follow that circuit and examine associated branches and loads.

Compare all three phases side-by-side and check for temperature differences. A cooler-than-normal circuit or leg might signal a failed component. More heavily loaded phases will appear warmer. Hot conductors may be undersized or overloaded. However, since an unbalanced load, an overload, a bad connection and harmonics all can create a similar pattern, it is important to follow up with electrical or power quality measurements to accurately diagnose the problem. (Note: Voltage drops across the fuses and switches also can show up as unbalance at the motor and excess heat at the root trouble spot. Before it is assumed the cause has been found, double-check with both the thermal imager and a multimeter or clamp meter current measurements.)

Connections and wiring
Look for connections that have higher temperatures than other similar connections under similar loads. That could indicate a loose, over-tightened or corroded connection with increased resistance. Connection-related hot spots usually—but not always—appear warmest at the spot of resistance, cooling with distance from that spot. In some cases, a cold component is abnormal due to the current being shunted away from the high-resistance connection. Broken or undersized wires or defective insulation also may be found. The NETA (Inter-National Electrical Testing Association) guidelines say that when the difference in temperature (DT) between similar components under similar loads exceeds 15 C (~25 F), immediate repairs should be undertaken.

Fuses
If a fuse shows up hot on a thermal scan, it may be at or near its current capacity. Not all problems are hot, however. A blown fuse, for example, would produce a cooler than normal temperature.

Motor control centers (MCC)
To evaluate an MCC under load, open each compartment and compare the relative temperatures of key components: bus bars, controllers, starters, contactors, relays, fuses, breakers, disconnects, feeders and transformers. Incorporate the foregoing guidelines for inspecting connections and fuses and identifying phase imbalance.

Transformers
For oil-filled transformers, use a thermal imager to look at high- and low-voltage external bushing connections, cooling tubes, and cooling fans and pumps, as well as the surfaces of critical transformers. (Dry transformers have coil temperatures so much higher than ambient, it's difficult to detect problems with thermal imagery.) Incorporate the previously noted guidelines for connections and imbalances. The cooling tubes should appear warm. If one or more tubes are comparatively cool, oil flow is probably restricted. Remember: like an electric motor, a transformer has a minimum operating temperature that represents the maximum allowable rise in temperature above ambient (typically 40 C). A 10 C rise above the nameplate operating temperature will probably reduce the transformer's life by 50%. (Note: For a thermal imager to detect an internal transformer problem, the malfunction must generate enough heat to be detectable on the outside. That means that a malfunctioning bushing connection, for example, will be much hotter than the surface temperatures read by the imager.) MT

Reference
1. For PPE guidelines, reference NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) Standard 70E Tables 130.7 (c)(9) (a), (c)(10), (c)(11).

Michael Stuart manages thermography products for the Fluke Corporation and has previous experience in electrical and insulation resistance testing. Telephone: (800) 760-4523; e-mail: michael.stuart@fluke.com

Most people in the reliability profession probably have heard the saying that the maintenance of today is the capacity assurance of tomorrow. Many in our field would agree that business trends already have taken the industry to that day of the future. Our teams no longer maintain the status quo. What we do is strive to assure our assets' capacity by constantly optimizing equipment availability to make the product when it is scheduled to be made. We work hard to make sure that machines don't generate scrap. And we ensure that the equipment runs as close to the expected productions speeds as possible. For today's capacity assurance managers, overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) works very well as the key performance indicator of our success.

Our business leaders understand the importance of the reliability effort, too. But, they also understand the need to control manufacturing overhead. As a result, they must clearly see how a reliability effort contributes to the bottom line. What's the best way to make this type of business case?

Keep it simple
A reliability effort does contribute to an increase in the return on assets. The most direct and easy-to-understand impact resides in the expenses section of the income statement. There, it is apparent that the greatest part of the reliability financial benefit lies in the conversion costs reduction.

Let's think in simple terms. We expect a machine to be available for a certain period of time to make a specific number of product units. When the hard work of our maintenance teams leads to higher machine reliability, the company spends less time making those expected units of product. The machine is operational and the operators are standing by. Their labor costs in dollars per unit already are accounted for.

Table 1. Basic Conventions Used To Translate Logic Into Dollars

Is that simple enough? Let's see if we can translate that logic into dollars and cents. The basic conventions that we will start with are shown in Table I.

Suppose that a business needed to make X number of product units and scheduled N number of hours to do it. In actuality, however, the equipment only ran at UT1 uptime. So, to make the intended units of product the number of run hours was:

N + (1 - UT1) • N = (2 - UT1) - N (1)

Similarly, at improved UT2 uptime the time to make needed number of units would be:

(2 - UT2) • N

We can express the Total Direct Labor Costs without Uptime Improvemetn in two different ways by using either hourly wage or the labor costs per unit:

TLC1 = W • (2 - UT1) • N = VL1 • X (2)

Solving for W:

W = (VL1 • X) / ([2 - UT1] • N) (3)

Applying the same reasoning:

W = (VL2 • X) / ([2 - UT2] • N) (4)

Therefore:

([VL1 • X] / [(2 - UT1) • N]) = ([VL2 • X] / [(2 - UT2) • N]) (5)

VL2 = VL1 • ([2 - UT2] / [2 - UT1]) (6)

Plugging in the above findings to derive the conversion costs per unit of product we will get:

CCU1 = V + VL1 (7)

CCU2 = V + VL2 = V + VL1 • ([2 - UT2] / [2 - UT1]) (8)

And now, if we apply some more basic algebra, we easily come to the conclusion for the reduction in conversion costs per unit:

= CCU1 - CCU2 = VL1 • (UT2 - UT1) / 2 - UT1

Fig. 1. Conversion costs variance due to uptime change (copyright Mike Shekhtman 2008)

Any reliability practitioner after looking at that statement and thinking for a few minutes would say: "I knew that!" There is no doubt that it is somewhat intuitive for the insiders. For maintenance and engineering managers, it is quite empowering in that it can be applied to any time interval and any area of the production process or piece of equipment to prioritize the allocation of resources. This statement also appears to be a straightforward tool for quantifying the reliability objectives for the business leadership and showing them the gains triggered by the improved uptime. Let's demonstrate.

Say, for example, that last year a manufacturing area produced 100,000 widgets at $8.00 of labor costs per every widget and at 85% physical availability or uptime. This means that due to equipment reliability issues the machines ran only 85 out of every 100 scheduled hours. This year, our hypothetical maintenance organization has committed to increasing the uptime to 90% by improving reliability. Then:

VL1 = 8 ($/Widget)    UT1 = 0.85     UT2 = 0.90

If we plug in the numbers from Formula 9, the maintenance objective for the reduction in conversion costs per unit for this year is:

= 8 • ([0.90 - 0.85] / [2 - 0.85]) = 8 • (0.05 / 1.15) = 0.35 ($ / Widget)

Table II. Semi-Random Examples of Calculated Conversion Costs Variances Related to Uptime Changes Caused by Increased or Decreased Reliability

Accordingly, the total commitment by maintenance for this year to reduce labor costs and consequently the overall conversion costs at the same production levels of 100,000 caused by either increased or decreased reliability. The widgets is:

0.35 ($ / Widget) • 100,000 = $35,000

Table II shows a few semi-random examples of calculated conversion costs variances related to uptime changes caused by either increased or decreased reliability. The numbers in Column 6 of this table result from plugging all values into Formula 9.

If absorption is a company's costing method of choice, the fixed costs are treated as product costs just like labor. Since in that scenario fixed costs are assigned to each unit produced, the same uptime driven proportionality factor that is demonstrated in Fig. 1 can be utilized to derive the fixed costs variance. The improved uptime will demonstrate a favorable variance for the reporting period.

Crunch your own numbers
It may make for an interesting exercise to apply this approach to a few hypothetical scenarios for your own business—and crunch some numbers of your own. Some results may appear puzzling, though.

One important thing to keep in mind is that the numbers are not constant. What this means, more often than not, is that companies take advantage of improvements in reliability and uptime by making more units of product. That additional capacity without added labor costs translates into higher labor productivity, which prompts lowering the number for the labor costs per unit produced for the next round of calculations. So, ultimately, the model needs to be readjusted for every consecutive time period.

It is possible that such a model can be taken further to try to predict the impact of various reliability trends on the bottom line. It also is possible—especially when analyzed on a smaller scale—that the savings may never materialize into something measurable. But then the numbers can be reported to management as intangible labor productivity gains.

In its present form—with all other factors but uptime being irrelevant—the method seems to be surprisingly simple and elegant. We can choose to analyze a quarter or a month or even a week. We may decide to run the numbers for the separate machines or for the entire plant or multiple plants.

As long as the data being used are accurate, the numerical results will show what the business leadership really needs to know. Hopefully, this will help enable business teams to effectively rank priorities and make the right choices on funding and resource allocation. MT

From the time centrifugal fans first entered the marketplace, they have been subject to vibration-related problems. These problems range from simple unbalance conditions caused by mass variations on the fan rotor to more complex issues related to shaft alignment, bearing fatigue and resonance. In many cases, excessive vibration levels in fans lead to unplanned outages to perform maintenance. While these outages are necessary, they also can be very costly from both a maintenance and lost-production standpoint.

Fig. 1. This vibration severity chart shows the commonly accepted criteria for vibration levels in most rotating equipment.

Condition-based maintenance
A condition-based maintenance program requires an initial review of the following common causes:

Shaft misalignment…
Proper alignment between a drive motor shaft and a fan shaft needs to be addressed during new fan installation or if a shaft/rotor assembly is replaced. Misalignment between a drive motor shaft and fan shaft typically results in a 1X and 2X harmonic component of vibration.

Often, misalignment conditions will lead to excessive levels of axial vibration. Because most fans are not equipped with axial vibration probes, this is often not detected unless the 2X vibration component exists. Misalignment can be caused by careless installation of new equipment, but is more commonly caused by bent shafts or improperly seated bearings.

Resonance…
Resonance problems are often two-fold on large fan assemblies. The first component to address is critical speed. Mapping of critical speed typically is handled during new fan design. Most fans operate below first critical speed. The factors in avoiding critical speed in fan design include overall rotating mass, span between bearings and necessary operating speed to produce the required airflow. If a fan operates above first critical speed, careful attention must be paid to vibration levels as the fan accelerates to operating speed and coasts down to a stop from operating speed. Excessive levels of vibration while passing through a critical speed can lead to severe damage to bearings, seals and other equipment.

The second factor to address is structural resonance, which can be quite challenging to predict. Every structure has a natural frequency at which it will resonate. If a fan operates at a structural resonance point that is not corrected, it can lead to component failures. Structural resonance can occur at 1X operating speed or at a harmonic frequency (2X, 3X, …). Structural resonance will vary, depending on operating speed. It can be identified through a signature plot that maps vibration amplitude versus frequency versus rotational speed.

Mechanically loose connections…
Looseness in any mechanical connection between bearing caps, bearing pedestals or foundations can cause excessive vibration levels or amplify an already existing unbalance problem. A mechanically loose connection will yield harmonic levels of vibration (2X, 3X, …) and may also yield sub-harmonic levels of vibration (X/2, X/3, …). Vibration caused by mechanically loose connections frequently is misdiagnosed due to the presence of sub-harmonic vibration levels.

A second type of vibration caused by mechanically loose connections can take place if there is looseness in the connection between the fan rotor and fan shaft. This will induce an extremely high unbalance-related vibration level that is not necessarily at 1X operating speed. In most cases, properly designed interference fits between the rotor hub and the fan shaft can be implemented to avoid this condition.

Cracked shafts or rotors…
Crack propagation in either a fan shaft or rotor can lead to one of the most dreaded failure modes in any type of rotating equipment: catastrophic failure. Luckily, early crack detection is possible if vibration trending and analysis is done on a piece of equipment.

The common symptoms of a crack propagating in a fan are an emergence and growth of a 2X component of vibration along with a change in the phase and amplitude of the 1X vibration component.

Rotor mass unbalance…
Rotor mass unbalance is the most common cause of excessive vibration in rotating equipment and fans. The primary symptom of rotor mass unbalance is a high 1X vibration level.

Rotor mass variation leading to an unbalanced condition usually stems from the following:

1. Variations in manufacturing that lead to unevenly distributed mass in the fan rotor
2. Exposure to high air stream temperatures that cause uneven growth of the fan rotor
3. Deterioration of the fan rotor caused by either high-speed particle collisions or corrosive material passing through the fan
4. Uneven material accumulation or fouling on the fan rotor. Large chunks of material flaking off and causing sudden, excessive vibration can compound this issue.

Excessive amounts of rotor mass unbalance can have two detrimental effects on fans. The primary concern is the excessive long-term, fatigue-inducing beating forces incurred by running at elevated vibration levels. The second (although uncommon) concern in fans is related to the equipment’s passing through critical speeds on startup or coastdown. Excessive amounts of rotor mass unbalance also can amplify other vibration conditions, such as a loose bearing cap or instability in a foundation.

Correcting unbalance in fans
Removing particulate build-up from the rotor or performing a mechanical balance of a fan are ways to reduce the amount of unbalance in these types of units. Both of these actions, however, require that the fan be stopped.

Two methods for making a mass unbalance correction to compensate for 1X vibration include using a manual balancing system, often portable, that can be deployed on multiple pieces of equipment, or using a dedicated active balancing system.

Manual balance corrections…
A manual balance correction—or off-line balancing procedure—is a common action that takes place during new equipment installation or during a maintenance procedure in a planned outage. This six-part process is as follows:

1. Clean the impeller of any particulate build-up.
2. Measure the initial vibration phase angle and magnitude.
3. Stop the fan and add a known trial mass at a known location.
4. Start the fan and measure the resultant vibration phase angle and magnitude. Use this information to compute the fan sensitivity or response to unbalance.
5. After completing the foregoing calculation, stop the fan and determine the proper amount of mass for the balance weight and where to attach the weight.
6. Attach the weight and restart the fan.
   

Steps three to six may be repeated multiple times depending on the operator experience level and the equipment sensitivity.

Although a manual balance correction typically is necessary for new equipment installation and during planned outages, it does have drawbacks—especially if there is a need to employ this technique regularly between planned maintenance intervals.

• The amount of time required to perform a manual balance correction can be difficult to determine.
• Multiple starts and stops may lead to shortened life expectancy of the motor and other associated equipment.
• Variable-speed applications can result in different balance corrections needed for different operation speeds.
• Although uncommon in most fan applications, the excessive vibration levels experienced while equipment passes through a critical speed can lead to excessive bearing and seal wear.

Fig. 2. The balance ring in an automatic or active balancing system is permanently attaced to the fan's shaft, and contains internal weights that can be repositioned as needed to offset imbalance.

Because active balancing systems continuously monitor fan vibration levels, the user must program a fixed tolerance range for the vibration level. When vibration levels reach the upper limit of the tolerance range, the control system determines the necessary magnitude and phase angle of the required balance correction. The control system sends power and data to a stationary actuator that communicates with the rotating balance ring. The actuator commands the internal weights in the balance ring to move to new positions to offset the unbalance and bring the 1X vibration level back within the tolerance range. Fig. 3 provides a schematic of a typical system configuration.

Fig. 3. A typical active balancing configuration

The most visible benefit is the ability to improve fan reliability and availability. This leads to reductions in both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance outages used for more conventional means of correcting unbalance problems, as well as the potential for extensions in planned maintenance outages. Secondary benefits include extended equipment life—i.e., motors, bearings and seals last longer—and reduced fuel and power consumption from limiting the number of starts and stops of the process.

One of the most useful pieces of information obtained from an active balancing system is an event log that tracks use of the balancing system. The log will display beginning and ending vibration levels and phase angle, as well as the amount of time required to complete a balance correction. This information can be accessed through Windows-based control software.

The balancing system also can be accessed via a remote interface module that allows the system to be linked to a plant’s network through an Ethernet connection. This provides a secure connection for remote users to download history data, access and change parameters, and monitor vibration levels.

A vibrating fan solution
When running 121-in. diameter, 13-ton double-wide, double-inlet ID fans, it is particularly inefficient to have emergency shutdowns for unplanned maintenance.At U. S. Steel’s Fairfield Works in Fairfield, AL, the level of vibration on fans responsible for pulling air, gases and materials off the basic oxygen furnace would creep to unacceptable levels during operation. With furnaces heating steel to nearly 2800 F, these enormous fans are critical in successfully turning out product.

At this facility, imbalance and high vibration levels caused by excess build-up of particulate on the fan rotors resulted in chunks of build-up falling off the rotor. Maintenance team members had to clean and manually balance the fans at least every three months. Moreover, it took three to five balance attempts to successfully perform a manual fan balance. This often resulted in a violation of the time recommended between starts on the motor, creating a high potential for motor failure. And, when a fan was stopped due to high vibration, it would result in a production shutdown.

Since the installation of balancers, Fairfield Works has averaged one scheduled maintenance shutdown and one interim cleaning per year. Because a typical shutdown can last eight to 12 hours, savings are significant. Beyond saved revenue and time from reduced shutdowns, the online balancing technology continuously maintains the balance level of the fans below 0.8 mils, as compared with the previous 1.0 mils low-level field balance. Additionally, motor and bearing life was increased, resulting in fewer motor rebuilds at roughly $200,000 each.

What’s in it for you?
Active balancing systems can help solve one of the most common causes of excessive vibration in rotating equipment by compensating for rotor mass unbalance. These corrections, made while equipment remains in service, help a company avoid costly outages. Reductions in 1X vibration amplitudes, caused by rotor mass unbalance, also help minimize the effects of other vibration conditions, such as looseness in bearings or inadequate stiffness in bearing pedestals or foundations.

An active balancing system provides detailed trending information for outage planning and for identifying other vibration problems that are not strictly displayed at 1X operating speed. Proper use of these types of systems allows organizations to increase equipment availability, while running more stable production processes and safer, more reliable operations. MT

Andy Winzenz, a staff engineer for LORD Corporation based in Cary, NC, has spent 11 years in the balancing and vibration industry. Telephone: (919) 468-5981; e-mail: Andy_Winzenz@lord.com

For want of a nail, the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe, the horse was lost.
For want of a horse, the rider was lost.
For want of a rider, the battle was lost.
For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost,
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail…

This old proverb—which can be traced back to the 1390s—has been used countless times in a variety of ways over the centuries. Benjamin Franklin, for example, included a version of it, preceded by the words, "A little neglect may breed great mischief," in Poor Richard's Almanack in 1758. (That's when the American colonies were tangling with the English Parliament.) Many years later, during World War II, the verse was framed and hung on the wall of the Anglo-American Supply Headquarters in London to remind everyone of the importance of seemingly trivial repair parts and inventory replenishment. I'm borrowing it here to make the same point to today's capacity assurers: We're only as strong as our weakest link.

Case in point
It is highly unlikely that anybody, upon seeing an unshod horse, ever thought a kingdom would actually fall because of a missing nail. In the heat of the battle, hardly anyone would have time to notice the work of the lowly blacksmith. Few would truly appreciate the value of a properly fitted horseshoe affixed with nails when the horse is in full gallop—except the smithy himself. When catastrophe strikes, however, 20/20 hindsight really brings the nail into a much sharper focus, and the smithy gets the blame. There are real-life historical examples of the truth behind this proverb.

Consider this: On the bloodiest day in American history—September 17, 1862—the Civil War Battle of Sharpsburg (also known as Antietam) resulted in nearly 23,000 casualties. After crossing the Potomac River into Maryland on September 9, 1862, Confederate General Robert E. Lee divided the 45,000-man Army of Northern Virginia and spelled out the location for each group on written dispatches (Special Order No. 191) sent to various commanders. All but one of these dispatches were delivered by couriers on horseback to the commanders. The one that didn't make it accidentally dropped from the courier's pocket when he he stopped along the way to relieve himself. Unfortunately for General Lee, this secret dispatch—in an envelope wrapped around three cigars—was found by a Union soldier a few days later. When it was delivered to Union Army Commander George B. McClellan, it gave him and his 90,000-man army the exact locations of their enemy, leading to a strategic Union victory—in other words, for the want of a rider…for the want of a message. (Of course, it is important to remember that such root-cause thinking is typically seen in hindsight. Who would have thought that cigars in a message envelope would have led to foiled military plans and to the loss of a Civil War battle.)

Take-aways for today
Horseshoe nails are not self-installing, so let's go back to the original proverb and explore days gone by to see what happens before the "nail" is ever struck. (My apologies to Ben Franklin and others before him.)

For want of an apprentice, the blacksmith was lost.
For want of a blacksmith, the shop was lost.
For want of a shop, the hammer was lost.
For want of hammer, the nail was lost.
For want of a nail, the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe, the horse was lost.
For want of a horse, the rider was lost.
For want of a rider, the message was lost.
For want of a message, the battle was lost.
For want of a battle, the war was lost.
For want of a war, the kingdom was lost,
All for the want of an apprentice…

The point here is that while the nail is truly important, the apprentice who is in training to properly shoe the horse with all the skills and knowledge of a blacksmith is by far the most important element of sustainable success. The success of a kingdom rests with apprentices in training! Think about that point a bit deeper—before the apprentice.

What if the society in the days of horse-mounted warriors had not really valued the work of the "lowly" blacksmiths. What if that society had not encouraged its younger generation(s) to become skilled at the blacksmith's trade? How would horses have been properly shod? Could they have performed their tasks with ill-fitting, loose and missing shoes? Would riders be lost in battle? The deeper meaning of this proverb is simple: The end result depends entirely on the functional capability of every component, every element or preparation. A process is only as strong and reliable as its weakest link. That's a powerful message for today's business world.

Most of us recognize that the goal of any mechanized, capital-intensive business is to consistently and safely deliver highly valued goods or services to the customers at the lowest cost and the highest profits. Without reliable equipment and processes, competitive advantage is lost regardless of the type of capital-intensive business. So, let's analyze this expanded age-old proverb and see how it fits in today's business of maintenance and reliability.

The apprentice represents a dedicated, young, eager, able student—the assistant and trainee. The blacksmith represents a skilled journeyman mechanic or technician who also keeps the shop as a well-organized and stocked workplace. The hammer represents the proper tools used in working with the nail, or a bolt that holds the motor in alignment. The horseshoe represents the motor for a critical pump. The horse represents the machine or unit of equipment. The rider represents the in-control production line or manufacturing process. The message (or mission statement)—on time, high-quality, low-cost producer—guides us to success in a battle for on-time customer deliveries. The war most businesses are in is for market share. And, of course, the kingdom is the business of the company that supports investors and employees and benefits the community. Here's the modern-day antithesis of the centuries-old nail proverb:

Because s/he was an apprentice, the journeyman mechanic was highly skilled.
Because of the journeyman mechanic, the shop was also efficient, well-organized and stocked.
Because of the efficient, well-organized and stocked shop, the tools and parts were available.
Because of the tools and parts, the bolts were torqued by the highly skilled mechanic.
Because of the torqued bolts, the motor was aligned.
Because of the aligned motor, the equipment remained reliable.
Because of the reliable equipment, the production process was effective. Because of the effective production process, the mission is possible. Because of the shared commitment to the mission, the customer deliveries were on time.
Because of the on-time customer deliveries, market share was won.
Because of the added market share, the business of the company was victorious,
All because of the apprentice.

Where we are now
The truth is we have neglected to encourage today's younger generation's active and purposeful pursuit of applied skills and knowledge for careers in industrial maintenance and reliability. In fact, most teachers, counselors, parents and students have no idea of how satisfying and financially rewarding careers in industrial maintenance and reliability could be with one to two years of technical education beyond high school graduation. Consequentially, shop classes, industrial arts, career education and career preparation classes are few and far between in our nation's public schools—making us truly a kingdom at risk!

To highlight the worsening career education disconnect that began back in the 1960s, I will share one of my favorite and highly appropriate quotes from the 1964 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient John W. Gardner as a point to ponder:

"The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water."

And lastly, another of Gardner's memorable quotes from more than 40 years ago:

"Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often, we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants."

We must do everything we can to help our youth, our executives, our leaders, our educators, our politicians and our governmental agencies appreciate the dead-end road that our nation is travelling. Capital-intensive businesses truly generate original wealth and are one of the most critical building blocks of our nation's economy. Assuring the capacity to produce efficiently and effectively depends on reliable equipment. Reliable equipment depends on our people—their applied skills and knowledge—doing things right the first time.

Think about it. For the want of a nail, the kingdom was lost. For the want of an apprentice, an industry will be lost. MT

RobertMW2@cs.com

BLACHE JOINS MRC AS ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

Klaus Blache has accepted the position of associate director with the Maintenance and Reliability Center (MRC) at the University of Tennessee. In making the announcement, MRC's director Tom Byerley noted that Blache is a recently retired GM manger with a rich history of education,training and experiences, much of which is directly in the area of reliability and maintenance. He was an early chairman of the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (SMRP) and has championed reliability and maintenance initiatives within GM for years. He has numerous honors and awards, holds several certifications and has a MBA, an MS in Plant Engineering and a PhD in Civil-Mechanical Engineering. Working half time for now, he will be focusing on MRC's Membership and Research programs and gradually taking over the UT-Monash Graduate Study program.

DINGO ANNOUNCES MANAGEMENT CHANGES

Dingo Maintenance Systems has announced the promotion of Steve Bradbury to chief operating officer and the naming of Bob Williams to vice president of sales. Williams will report to Bradbury, who joined Dingo in 2005 as vice president, Operations, following a distinguished career with Air Control Science where he served for eight years leading Alliances and Contracts and Business Development. Williams joins Dingo after leading business growth and operations in a variety of industries, including British Oxygen Company, Siemens Energy and Automation, Invensys and Leica Geosystems.

EMERSON & MITSUBISHI IN POWERFUL NEW ALLIANCE

Emerson Process Management has announced the formation of an alliance with Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas, Inc. (MPSA) of Orlando, FL. The alliance, which combines Emerson's expertise in power plant automation and control with Mitsubishi's experience in gas and steam turbine design and service, applies to North American and Latin American turbine retrofit projects supporting W251, W501D5, W501D5A and W501F gas turbines, as well as all models of Westinghouse technology steam turbines. MPSA has unique and valuable expertise on these turbines because they were involved in the design and development of the Westinghouse technology since the 1970s and continue to support and modernize the original Westinghouse technology platform.

"Leveraging the respective strengths of Emerson and MPSA results in a complete turbine solution, giving power generators an OEM alternative for gas and steam turbine retrofits, and long-term service and support," said Bob Yeager, president of the Power & Water Solutions division of Emerson. "Together, these companies can offer customers a level of turbine reliability, durability and operability that they don't always get from their existing suppliers."

For decades, Emerson's automation technology has been helping customers to control critical power generation processes, increase plant efficiencies and megawatt production, and realize long-term O&M savings. As a leading control systems supplier to the North American power market, Emerson has supplied more than 1200 steam and gas turbine control systems.

Mitsubishi is one of the largest OEM service providers for gas turbine outages in North America with a proactive turbine service program focused on enhanced performance, turbine life extension, protection against avoidable damage and prevention of unplanned outages. Mitsubishi brings a wealth of service support experience to the alliance including form-fit equivalent product modifications, long-term service agreements, gas and steam turbine outage services, and new and extended-life parts, as well as U.S.-based manufacturing, shop repair and engineering support.

Emerson and MPSA have already successfully collaborated on a number of turbine retrofit projects. These include performing mechanical upgrades and installing controls at the Termocandalaria power plant in Cartagena, Colombia and for the San Juan Repowering Project in Puerto Rico.

DANFOSS TURBOCOR OPS RECEIVES ISO CERTIFICATION

Danfoss Turbocor Compressors Inc. (DTC), a joint venture between Danfoss, Inc. and Turbocorp, has announced that its manufacturing facility in Tallahassee, FL has received ISO 9001:2000 certification. The certification applies to the design and manufacture of highly efficient, oil-free compressors for commercial air conditioning and refrigeration applications. DTC operates a 38,000 sq. ft., stage-one manufacturing plant in Tallahassee. It is designed for machining, sub-assembly, quality assurance and final assembly operations, including run testing prior to shipment. State-of-the-art automated assembly and computer-controlled, manufacturing work centers enable an annual plant capacity of more than 10,000 units.

VACON AND EATON MAKE NEWS IN DRIVES

AC drives manufacturer Vacon will build new office and factory premises in Chambersburg, PA, with completion expected by the end of 2009. According to Dan Isaksson, president of Vacon, Inc., the new facility will allow the Finnish company to expand its product portfolio in the local market and also offer shorter delivery times to all parts of North America. "We will also have our product development and test laboratory under the same roof. This will further help us to serve our North American customers with the commitment Vacon is famous for around the world."

Vacon, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Vacon Plc, was founded in December 2007. On January 1, 2008 it acquired the AC drives business of TB Wood's. Its announcement that it will build a new U.S. factory came shortly after news of Vacon extending its supplier agreement with Eaton Corporation with regard to variable speed AC drive technology. Vacon will provide Eaton with its design expertise and latest VFD hardware. Eaton will promote its VFD offering throughout its global organization, including the recently acquired Moeller business, through which the corporation expanded its position as a worldwide supplier of electrical control products and power distribution, as well as power quality equipment and systems.

Vacon has sales on all continents and R&D and production on three continents.

ASSOCIATION NEWS: ASSE CAUTIONS AGAINST CUTS IN WORKPLACE SAFETY

The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) cautions employers against cutting back on workplace safety in time of economic difficulty and encourages them to explore creative ways of generating temporary and long-term savings in safety and training expenses, while still ensuring that the safety needs of employees and safety regulations are met.

Laura Comstock, president-elect of the ASSE South Carolina Chapter, cites the possibility that employers seeking to cut expenses in a down economy may target variable operating costs such as travel, training and safety. She notes that while some safety-related purchases and testing can be deferred, other purchases, including those for employee personal protective equipment like hardhats, safety glasses and respirators, are critical to operations. She also notes that it is especially important for companies to show support for their employee safety during challenging economic times. Employee morale may be low and employees may be carrying additional workloads, including working additional hours or doing unfamiliar tasks due to cutbacks, which can make them more prone to injury and accidents than in the past.

Comstock, who holds Masters Degrees in occupational safety and business, adds: "In order to remain viable long-term, a company must maintain a solid safety program and strong safety performance even through difficult times. The most successful companies in the long term also have the strongest safety performance."

Employers should remember that some safety-related training is driven by regulation, is time sensitive and cannot be delayed. According to Comstock, however, savings can be generated through streamlining and implementing some simple solutions. Those types of solutions include using online or electronic safety training services, rather than face-to-face classroom safety training, even if employees and employers prefer classroom settings.

"Even if a company doesn't have a high-tech system, having employees view a simple presentation may meet the company's need for safety training," Comstock said. "Employers that have safety and training professionals on staff can save on costs related to training by conducting training on-shift and at the jobsite to prevent overtime or taking employees off the job for extended periods."

ASSE Region VI vice president Jim Morris agrees with Comstock. "Money cut from safety programs now could have an enormous cost later; this can be from fines, employee morale, or worst of all, employee injury or even death." As he puts it, there are better and smarter ways to protect the bottom line. Good safety is good business.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: In recent remarks to occupational safety and health students from Oklahoma State University and the surrounding area, ASSE President Warren K. Brown emphasized the fact that investing in safety pays and contributes positively not only to a great working environment, but to a business' bottom line. Brown reported that businesses spend about $170 billion a year on costs associated with workplace injuries and illnesses and pay almost $1 billion every week to injured employees and their medical providers. He also referenced a recent Goldman Sachs study in Australia that showed valuation links between workplace safety and health factors and investment performance. That research revealed that companies who did not adequately manage workplace safety issues underperformed those that did and that workplace safety and health factors have potentially greater effectiveness at identifying underperforming stocks.) MT

Stress-corrosion cracking (SCC) is one of the most prevalent—and one of the most studied—forms of metallic materials failure. This phenomenon is responsible for significant economic losses in many industries and operations, including chemical and petroleum processing, nuclear and fossil fuel power generation, pulp and paper production, underground pipelines and commercial and military aircraft. Materials subject to SCC include mild and low alloy steels, stainless steels and alloys based on nickel, copper, aluminum, titanium or magnesium. (As discussed later in this article, a related process is hydrogen embrittlement [HE].)

Although SCC has received more fundamental study than any other form of corrosion-related attack, many questions still remain. This article is a brief introduction to the topic. It will review a few of the important characteristics of SCC, as well as some related cracking processes in common materials, and show how these results can be used to help minimize loses. References provided at the end of the article list some sources for more in-depth inquiries.

Keep in mind that guaranteed SCC prevention is impossible. Unexpected combinations of the governing factors commonly occur and control measures are not 100% effective. Certain actions, however, can be taken to reduce the frequency of failures. As in many equipment reliability improvement areas, the keys to significant initial progress are first to gain awareness and then to apply known but often under-utilized information.

The general nature of SCC
SCC is a synergistic failure process that occurs due to the combined actions of corrosion and mechanical cracking. The three vital interacting factors are the alloy, local stress level and local environment. One of its unique features is that a specific combination of a particular corrosive and a particular alloy is required for SCC to occur. Table I lists several of the combinations of materials and corrosive media where the process has occurred. Note that certain corrosive media cause SCC on specific classes of materials, but they have no similar effects on other alloys.

Cracks produced by SCC are caused by tensile stresses— not by compressive stresses. Compressive surface stresses retard SCC and shot peening; imparting these helpful stresses is one control method that can help.

The minimum level of tensile stress necessary for SCC is below the yield strength of a susceptible material. There have been reports of SCC in materials where the stress level was as little as 10% of the yield. This illustrates the effect of time. Depending on the relative severity of the corrosion-affecting parameters and other factors, SCC can occur at very low stress levels if given enough time.

It is well known that SCC occurs in metallic materials. However, cracking and related degradation processes also can occur in polymers and ceramic engineering materials. These materials fail by different mechanisms and are not discussed here.

Factors important to SCC incidence
Effect of residual tensile stresses…
This is a major cause of problems. Applied tensile stresses can and do produce SCC in susceptible materials in specific environments. Unrelieved residual stresses often are overlooked, yet frequently produce the stress that causes SCC.

Residual stresses frequently are associated with the heat-affected zone (HAZ) of welds. As weld metal solidifies after welding, it contracts. This means that residual tensile stresses are generated in the adjacent HAZ. The situation is made worse if the weld joint is constrained. Residual stresses also can be generated due to several other manufacturing processes where plastic deformation is created.

If done correctly, stress-relief heat treatment can be effective in reducing residual stresses to low levels. Other problems can be created if the stress relief is done incorrectly. This process should always be considered as a practical measure to control SCC.

Effect of temperature…
The corrosion process itself is, obviously, an integral component of any SCC mechanism. This electrochemical process occurs at significantly faster rates at higher environmental temperatures. The rates of most chemical reactions occur about twice as fast for each 18 degree F (10 degree C) rise in temperature. Table I provides examples where SCC is a recognized problem at the noted higher temperature but not at lower temperatures. As will be subsequently discussed, corrosion fatigue is related to SCC in several ways—and it is similarly affected by temperature.

A related alloy cracking process (covered later in this article) involves hydrogen. There, the effect of hydrogen in the metal possibly may combine with the SCC process in some situations and be independent of it in others. Defining when one or the other result is occurring often is unclear. Thus, the effect of temperature can be unclear.

Effect of concentrating aggressive ions…
SCC is a localized form of attack. Consequently, physical features that increase the number of aggressive ions in one area on a stressed metal are more likely to produce SCC in those specific areas. A classic and costly example entails chloride or other aggressive ions that are leached out of thermal insulation and then concentrated on hot, austenitic stainless steel piping or vessels covered by that insulation. This can happen when there is a gap in the rain shielding over insulation, and rain (or other moisture sources) leaches out the aggressive ions and deposits them on the metal.

Another example involves crevices created in fabricated equipment, e.g., at bolted flanges or at lapped plates where skip (or tack) welds are used instead of continuous welds. Crevices create areas that are partially—but not fully— closed to the environment. Aggressive ions in solution will tend to concentrate at the openings of and inside crevices. If tensile stresses exist, SCC likely will occur near these areas.

Effect of sensitized alloys…
Some materials become susceptible to intergranular corrosion—called IGA— when metallurgical changes result in segregation of certain corrosion-resisting alloying elements in the metal. The classic and most common example occurs in certain 300 series austenitic stainless steels. When these alloys are exposed to a temperature range of approximately 800 to 1600 degrees F for an extended period, carbon in the alloys preferentially joins with chromium and precipitates out of solid solution to the grain boundaries of the metal. This frequently takes place during cooling immediately following welding. The materials are then made susceptible—or sensitized—to IGA if they are then exposed to certain (but not all) corrosive media. Accelerated corrosion may occur in areas immediately adjacent to grain boundaries because those areas are deficient in chromium.

Somewhat similar results also can occur and produce sensitized conditions in precipitation-hardening stainless steels, in some nickel-based alloys and some aluminum alloys.

Besides IGA, sensitized alloys are much more susceptible to SCC. The resulting cracking that occurs is intergranular in nature—that means any generated cracks follow along the grain boundaries. For particular corrosive media and sensitized alloys, intergranular SCC may occur when sufficient stress exists and IGA can occur when there is insufficient stress.

Comparison with other cracking processes
SCC shares some characteristics with associated mechanisms—corrosion fatigue (CF) and hydrogen embrittlement (HE). But, it also has differences.

CF, just like SCC, begins on the surface of an exposed and susceptible metal. Tensile stresses start and propagate the crack into the metal by both processes. Physical features on the metal surface that concentrate the tensile stresses are most frequently the initiation points for both types of attack. These include, for example, sharp radii at changes in cross-section or at corrosion pits. In general, traditional corrosion control measures that apply to SCC also apply to CF.

Unlike the static stresses that act in SCC, the primary stresses in CF are cyclic—as in “pure” fatigue where there is no corrosion involved. Another difference is that CF (as well as hydrogen-related cracking) produces cracks that typically follow one central path with little or no branching. The cracks due to SCC usually will have branching with many very small extensions— somewhat like a tree’s underground root system.Apart from these differences, CF might be considered as a special case of SCC.

Hydrogen-related cracking occurs when atomic hydrogen (as opposed to the molecular form) enters a susceptible metal, diffuses through it and causes embrittlement. Much of the metal’s ductility is then lost so that it can be fractured at a lower stress compared to its original condition. The embrittlement can take place throughout the metal or the effects can be localized around stress concentration areas, e.g., at the tips of cracks created by SCC or at stress concentration points on the metal surface. There are several possible ways for charging hydrogen into susceptible alloys.

Cracking due to HE can occur independently, when no active corrosion is proceeding, OR it may interact and contribute to the mechanical cracking portion of an SCC process. There’s still uncertainty about the specific role of hydrogen in many SCC processes. This is probably because no one mechanism has been found to be a valid description for all of the many possible cases of SCC.

The negative effects of HE occur primarily in high-strength alloy steels, high-strength martensitic or participation-hardened stainless steels, certain high-strength aluminum alloys and certain titanium alloys. The obvious key is “high-strength”— the higher the strength, the greater the probability of cracking due to hydrogen acting alone or in conjunction with SCC.

Traditional corrosion control measures don’t apply when cracking due to HE is acting alone—that’s because no corrosion is taking place. In those incidents, the best controls are to prevent hydrogen from entering the metal and use alloys with less than maximum strength and hardness. There are technical standards that provide guidelines for implementing the latter precautions.

SCC control methods
If stress-corrosion cracking is an issue in your operations, you have a number of control methods to consider. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Avoid the specific material/aggressive media combinations in Table I. Choose alternative alloys.

• Reduce applied tensile stresses in service and always consider residual stresses. Use stress-relief heat treatments after welding or after manufacturing processes that included plastic deformation of the alloy. Assure that the stress-relief heat treatment is done correctly.

• Minimize conditions that concentrate aggressive ions, e.g., chloride and other halide ions leached from thermal insulation or any damaging species concentrated by crevices.

• Avoid sensitizing susceptible alloys during cooling from welding and/or extended exposure to damaging temperatures in other heat treatments or in service. SCC or IGA can result without attention to this potentially problematic effect.

• Determine if shot peening (to impart helpful compressive stresses) on metal surfaces susceptible to SCC is practical in the given application.

• Consider if any of the traditional corrosion-control techniques besides materials selection, i.e., adding a coating, using a chemical corrosion inhibitor or cathodic protection (CP), are practical for the particular SCC-susceptible application. If CP is feasible, assure that the potential (voltage) level used can provide protection but is not too low, i.e., too cathodic, so as to produce hydrogen problems in susceptible alloys.

• Plan preventive maintenance inspections and proactive actions with SCC control in mind. For example, pay special attention to the material/ corrosive media combinations in Table I; look at welds, around crevices and at plastically deformed areas for evidence of SCC. Look for gaps in thermal insulation where moisture can enter and create conditions for SCC on the insulated pipe or vessel. Always expect more severe fatigue problems in equipment subject to cyclic stresses plus an aggressive, corrosion environment due to CF, e.g., in rotating equipment and due to flow-induced vibrations in shell & tube heat exchangers. Anticipate and plan for corrective actions that may be used if problems are found. MT

References

1. C.P. Dillon, Corrosion Control in the CPI, 2nd Edition, MTI Publication No. 45, 1994, pp. 83-91 & pp. 317-327.
2. Gregory Korbin, Corrosion, Vol. 13, ASM Handbook, ASM International, 1987, pp. 325-332.
3. W.R. Warke, Failure Analysis & Prevention, Vol. 11, ASM Handbook, ASM International, 2002, pp. 823-860.

Gerald O. “Jerry” Davis, P.E., is a principal in Davis Materials & Mechanical Engineering, Inc. (DMME), a consulting engineering firm based in Richmond, VA. He holds graduate degrees in both engineering and business and spent a total of 31 years working in mechanical, metallurgical and corrosion engineering functions for several organizations, including the U.S. Air Force, Honeywell and Battelle Memorial Institute. Website: www.dmm-engr.com; telephone: (804) 967-9129; e-mail: dmme@verizon.net

In today's increasingly competitive environment, maximizing productivity is a MUST, especially for small- and medium-sized machine shops. Typically, these businesses cannot match the overall production capabilities—in terms of volume—of their larger rivals. Furthermore, larger competitors often have more equipment, more people and more resources than small- or medium-sized businesses.

So how can small- and medium-sized businesses gain a competitive edge?

Implement a proactive maintenance strategy
One of the most valuable things any company can do is to incorporate a proactive maintenance approach as opposed to staying in a reactive mode. A proactive maintenance strategy is what many of the most successful companies in the industrial sector utilize—be they large or small.

A proactive stance considers equipment maintenance not as a cost, but as a strategic investment. Guided by this maintenance philosophy, companies recognize that when they invest in protecting their assets (equipment) they can yield significant payback in terms of exceptional equipment durability and efficiency, as well as maximized performance and productivity.

For smaller companies specializing in machine shop applications, this maintenance mindset is essential. After all, for many machine shops, a few pieces of specialized equipment often represent a significant portion of the company's entire operations. Without that equipment running efficiently, an organization's productivity and bottom line can be severely impacted.

The most essential and cost-effective component of a successful proactive maintenance strategy is the implementation of a comprehensive oil analysis program.

Oil analysis is a series of tests that help determine the condition of internal hardware and in-service lubricants. With this information, you can extend the useful lives of both, identify early warning signs such as contamination and wear and minimize unscheduled maintenance. For maintenance professionals and business owners that want to implement an effective oil analysis program—that also can save time and money—there is ExxonMobil's proprietary online Signum Oil Analysis Program.

For example, this program offers customers immediate access and direct control of their lubricant sampling program. With a few keystrokes, users can manage all their oil analysis needs, including:

• Update equipment registrations and select analysis options based on their equipment or maintenance needs;
• Track the status of samples at the lab;
• Direct actions based on analysis results, request sample kits; and,
• Share critical results with colleagues in a secure, password protected environment.

Streamline inventory management
Another great way for small- and medium-sized machine shop businesses to maximize productivity within their operations is to have an efficient inventory management strategy.

When addressing inventory management, there are several factors you should consider. Perhaps the most important is recognizing that inventory costs will include the initial purchase price of materials plus costs associated with handling and storage. Other items to consider when developing an inventory management strategy include estimating the replenishment quantity and determining appropriate times to submit reorders.

A crucial component in determining proper reorder quantity and timing involves accurately gauging how much available space can be dedicated to storage. Typically, most machine shop owners/managers don't want to devote valuable space to the storing of excess inventory. Thus, a best practice is for them to work closely with their suppliers to develop an effective cycle fulfillment process, through which deliveries are received just as previous order supplies are about to be drained. Another best practice is to periodically examine the products and supplies they use— especially lubricants.

One common way for machine shop owners to efficiently utilize inventory space is to review the list of lubricants the operation is using. Lubricants take up a significant amount of storage area. Fortunately, the number of products used frequently can be consolidated to a lower number of highperformance lubricants.

Capture the benefits of high-performance lubricants
Whether your company specializes in producing simple bolts, complex gear sets or high-precision valves, keeping your machinery running efficiently is the real key to your profitability. After all, in a machine tool, the active physical interrelationship taking place in the equipment requires that your lubricants work together effectively—i.e., your slideway oil must work seamlessly with your choice of cutting fluids.

In a machine tool, mixing oil with the coolant is unavoidable. Some way oils may not separate readily from the coolants and result in excessive "tramp oil." Excessive tramp oil will compromise the effectiveness of the metalworking fluid by shortening its effective life and altering cutting performance. Excessive tramp oil also can lead to bacterial growth in water-soluble coolants, resulting in foul odor, short coolant life and potential employee health and safety concerns.

To avoid these issues and help ensure that your equipment runs smoothly over the long haul, choose a highperformance lubricant specifically designed to deliver excellent frictional properties and coolant compatibility across a range of way and slide applications. Lubricants from the Mobil Vactra Oil Numbered Series are an example of this type of product. Ideal for multiple applications, including both as slideway lubricants for steel on steel and steel on plastic ways and as fluids for moderate service machine tool hydraulic systems, these products offer a number of performance benefits.

When choosing a high-performance oil, you should look for:

• Exceptional coolant separability… which enhances the performance and life of water-based metal working fluids
• Excellent frictional properties… which enable increased machine accuracy and reduce chatter and stick-slip
• Rust and corrosion protection… which helps reduce the deterioration of sliding services and associated maintenance.

For today's machine shop operators, maximizing productivity is not an option—especially for those with small- and medium-sized businesses. Leveraging the strategies discussed in this article is an effective way to get a real productivity boost around your shop. MT

There are perhaps a thousand and one ways to make money and earn a living. Why have you chosen your line of work, your particular management position and your specific company?

Are you working in your particular field because you think it is the one in which you can earn the most money? In MBA parlance, are you maximizing your total earning potential vis-à-vis your available talent resources by this decision option? Perhaps it is the job itself that you enjoy, the people with whom you work or the challenge to apply special skills you have developed.

On the other hand, perhaps you have simply drifted with the currents and tides of opportunity. Maybe you passively accepted whatever life choices were the simplest, easiest or the most lucrative, and simply have ended up where you are. Be that as it may, if you really wanted to do so, you could quit work today and look for a new job.

If you as a manager don't know why you are doing your job, how do you expect to lead? Can you lead other people if you, yourself, do not have a clear idea of what it is you want to do? More personally, if you have no enthusiasm for your job, do you think that you can work with your cohorts, day in and day out, and not telegraph your feelings to them? When your co-workers and subordinates see the little things that give away your private thoughts, will they mistake this as contempt for them and what they do? Are they not a part of your job, too?

It is said that a fish rots from the head. This also applies to the workplace. Subordinates study their manager. They learn over time what makes a manager happy and how to avoid those things that displease him/her. They hone this activity to a science. Every move a manager makes is weighed and carefully measured by his employees and subordinates. Knowing the character of their manager is important because he controls their pay, their professional development, their working conditions and, to an important extent, how happy they will be when they get back home.

If a manager brings to the job a consistent sense of purpose, integrity and fairness, subordinates will follow that pattern. They will realize that to get ahead in your department, they also will need to demonstrate these qualities because you—as their manager—value them.

Work groups that are honest, fair, and purposeful are fulfilling places in which to work. Their managers have no problem finding employees who want to work there.

So, let's start over again.

Why are you a manager, and why do you do this type of work? MT

The opinions expressed in this Viewpoint section are those of the author, and don't necessarily reflect those of the staff and management of MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY magazine.

Stock car racing as popularized by NASCAR has given us many insights into the world of competitive motorsports and, in some respects, into our day-to-day industrial environments.

Some race fans enjoy the sport racing for what it is—drivers and machines pushed to their limits. Others wait for bumping and banging and a big wreck coming out of turn four heading to the finish line. Race fan or not, however, we can learn much about planned/preventive maintenance execution from the modern-day race teams and their pit crews.

Racing passion
Stock car racing has always fascinated me. The movies Thunder Road (1958) and Days of Thunder (1990) have a cherished place in my heart, as do historic stock car racing films from the '50s through the '80s. My love for the sport is not a new thing; it spans my childhood days at dirt-track fairground races to more recent times in my professional career, in the pits at the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis, in modern race shops and at pit crew training and practice sessions.

In fact, over the past 16 years, I’ve studied numerous NASCAR Cup-level teams and spent hundreds of hours behind the scenes, learning their secrets that we could apply to industrial maintenance and reliability. In the process, I’ve been fortunate to meet and learn from several true racing legends—Smokey Yunick, Leonard Wood, Donny Allison, Rick Hendrick, Benny Parsons, Ray Evernham, Jeff Hammond and Jeff Gordon to name a few. One thing that has stood out after every meeting, every conversation and every shop visit with these racing giants has been their "passion for competitiveness/their passion for winning." They know each race they are in and they strive to do their very best. While they all can’t be winners, they know they have to be "excellent" to even qualify for a race. Then, it’s the best of the best that usually win. (OK, sometimes it’s luck, being in the right place at the right time that wins the race. But even with luck, it takes a high degree of excellence to be there in the first place.)

In the pit
Pit stops always have been important in auto racing in that they always have been intended as routine planned/preventive maintenance events: changing tires, adding fuel, making adjustments, cleaning and giving the drivers something to drink. Beyond that there are always occasional pit stops for repairs and various routine work. Since the '60s, though, pit stops have become a competitive advantage—that is IF you can have a faster pit stop and gain track position. Gaining positions in this way is much better than driving hard and putting cars and drivers at risk to pass others on the track.

In the '60s, the Wood Brothers were the first to "choreograph" a pit stop. Their "lightning fast" 20- and 25-second stops were legendary. Eventually, other teams figured out how to make their own pit stops faster and faster. In fact, pit stops of 12 seconds or less are quite common these days. Moreover, top-performing pit crews have become real "rock stars" in the field of racing, second only to the top drivers.

Still, it’s important to keep things in context. Routine pit stops in racing really are planned/ preventive maintenance downtime for the racecars—racecars that generate revenue for their business. Therefore, a pit stop is not about speed as much as it is about doing things right the first time. That’s right! In the overall scheme of things, pit-stop speed is not as important as the accuracy of every pit-stop task. Errors, rework and omissions can hurt a race team; that means lost positions, damages, accidents, injuries, financial losses and more. Consider what would happen if a modern-day auto racing pit crew carried out its pit stops the same way that some plants perform their planned/ preventive maintenance.

Imagine this
It’s the final pit stop of the race and the driver expertly brings the racecar down pit road and slides to a stop, much to everyone’s surprise, 10 laps sooner than planned. After he stops, he announces that the car is "handling like a bread truck." He’s not sure what’s wrong, but it must be fixed fast and fixed now!

Hearing all the commotion on their radios, the pit crew members interrupt their break and hurry back to pit road. When they arrive at their pit area, they find only three tires and send the tire carrier back to get another one—or two. (They’re not sure how many tires they might need.) Now the tire changers begin looking for the two race guns (air impact wrenches). They find only one that works but figure they can make do with it. Over the wall they go!

The jack man is still looking for the jack—it’s not where he left it after the last pit stop. The gas man finds one full gas can and another leftover from the last pit stop that’s still half full. That’s all they’re able to put into the car since escalating fuel prices have caused the team owners to clamp down on the gas budget. The gas man soon notices that the fuel is going into the fuel cell much slower because the catch can probe is broken and the fuel cell vent is closed. After a quick search, the jack man finds the jack behind a stack of old tires and sprints to the racecar only to trip going over the pit wall. A bit dizzy (but not suffering any debilitating injuries), he jacks up the left side of the car and waits.

The tire changers on the right side of the car have successfully removed all of the lug nuts and are waiting for the jack man to do his thing. Realizing that something is wrong, the jack man tells the "stupid" tire changer to come back to the other side of the car and get these tires off. A brief argument ensues and the jack man decides it’s probably best to do the right side tires first. So, he begrudgingly drops the jack and ambles over to the other side of the car, slams the jack down and jacks up the car. Now that the right side tires are finally off, the tire carrier notices that the new right front tire is flat, tosses it over the wall and grabs another. The rear changer flawlessly indexes the new rear tire—and the changer tightens five lug nuts in a record 1.2 seconds! They high-five and pass the race gun to the front tire changer.

The front changer finally gets a good tire on the car and drives home the four lug nuts (he knows there should be five but the inspector doesn’t notice one is missing). By this time, the fuel is in the car. The windshield and grille have been cleaned, and the left side tire change is begun as the jack man laments, "I told you we should have done the left side first!" As luck would have it, though, the second race gun appears from the bottom of the toolbox and is in the capable hands of the rear tire changer. Five lug nuts come off each of the front and rear wheels without a hitch. The jack man, however, is struggling with the jack—it won’t go up! It’s stuck. He yells to someone to toss him the big hammer, whereupon he beats the tar out of the jack and it finally begins to work. Unfortunately, the racecar is too close to the wall and the jack handle hits the wall with each pump. After a heated exchange between the jack man and the driver who "put that stupid car too close to the wall," the jack man gets the car raised up enough with 20 to 30 pumps—that’s a record 15 seconds!

Two left-side tires off, two new tires on, the jack drops the car and it stalls! The entire pit crew scowls at the driver who is feverishly trying to start the vehicle. At this instant, the driver, crew chief and engineers decide why the racecar is handling so poorly and announce the plan to make a chassis adjustment. Since the gas man is available, the engineer passes the wrench to him and the crew chief announces "two rounds of wedge down on the right side." After swapping wrenches to get the right one, the gas man begins making the adjustment only to hear from the pit box "No! No! Turn it the other way, dummy."

By now the pit crew is beat. They sit on the pit wall, waiting for instructions on what to do next. The crew chief looks up from his computer, sees what’s happening and yells at the crew to "drop your tools, get off your rears and push the car to get it started!" As the crew pushes the racecar down pit road, it finally starts and makes it back on the track—a 2-minute, 45-second pit stop successfully completed. (Successful? "The car’s back on the track isn’t it?") The crew throws their tools, hoses and gloves in a pile and promptly goes on break.

One lap later, the driver brings the racecar down pit road again—this time with dangerously loose front wheels. After a faster than normal tire change (once the pit crew had returned from their break) the car gets back in the race. Alas, it runs out of gas 10 laps before the end of the race and posts a solid last-place finish. After the noise of the race dies down, someone notices that the air hose to the front tire changer’s race gun had been leaking. Apparently when the flat tire was tossed over the wall, the rim hit the hose causing, a deep gash.

Back to reality
Why don’t we see auto racing pit stops that look like this example? Because such a team CANNOT compete, no matter how good the racecar, no matter how experienced the driver, no matter how much money is thrown at the team!

In auto racing, much like a capital-intensive business, what makes a competitive team—a winning team—is when everything works together flawlessly. In other words, the equipment, tools, team members, work processes (methods and procedures) and leadership all are focused on common goals.As a business, a team will win or lose together. It simply can’t be competitive with high-performing machinery and less-than-stellar maintenance. It just doesn’t work that way—at the race track or in an industrial environment.

My sincerest apologies to my friends in NASCAR racing, drivers, crew chiefs, pit crew coaches and pit crew members. You and I know pit stops do not, cannot and will not happen like the hypothetical one described here. Aren’t you glad? Sadly, we see a lot of similarities between this imaginary pit stop and how planned/preventive maintenance is carried out in some of our plants and facilities in America—and we wonder why we are struggling to compete. MT

• A 1/2" waterline connection attaches to a regulator to control the water pressure.
• A drain is located on the back side.
• The shaft 'floats' on a water barrier directly on the shaft.
• Without any moving parts, there is zero contact, zero wear and zero frictional drag.

Inpro/Seal Shaft Seals are custom-engineered to suit individual applications and are easy to install. Split designs allow for installation directly on the shaft without the removal of couplings and end plates. According to the company, once these products are installed, problems associated with shaft deflection, radial run-out axial displacement and misalignment that have caused previous sealing methods to fail become a thing of the past.

Typical applications include: screw conveyors, mixers, blenders, rotary valves, feeders, gates, clinker grinders, bucket elevators, diverters, scales, bagging machines, dust collectors, discharges, classifiers, screens, extruders, separators, shredders, sifters, gate valves, metal detectors, pulverizers, crushers, coolers, aerators, mixers, agitators, transfer pumps, fillers and similar wet and dry powder and slurry processing equipment. MT

Inpro/Seal Company
Rock Island, IL

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There's no need to extol the virtues of predictive maintenance (PdM) to any maintenance professional who hasn't been marooned on a desert island for the past 20 years or so. Numerous organizations have cut their maintenance costs dramatically through effective PdM efforts—while at the same time improving quality, safety, reliability and productivity. Unfortunately, there are some veritable tiger traps into which unsuspecting organizations can fall as they seek to capture the countless benefits this approach offers. Understanding and recognizing these traps will enable you to steer clear of them and set up a truly effective PdM program.

Pitfall #1: Capital expenditures for equipment, but not for training
When maintenance budgets are submitted, and ultimately pared down, many companies fail to provide dollars for adequate training to support the new  equipment. Take, for example, the organization that hired this author for vibration and oil analysis. When they were questioned about infrared thermography, company personnel pointed to a camera they had previously purchased. A year and a half later, the camera was little more than an expensive dust collector. To this day, no one knows how to properly use it or interpret the results.

While training is essential, not just any training will suffice. Investment in the right kind of training is critical. Vendors may provide basic how-to-use training, but it may be inadequate to ensure the success of a PdM program. Vendor training is usually abbreviated—in some cases, only a few hours at most. My personal preference is brand-neutral or independent training for a particular technique. The independent training focuses on every aspect of the technology and less on "why our equipment is better than theirs." Brand-neutral sessions are typically more in depth than vendor training, and may last up to a week. For example, in thermography training, maintenance personnel might spend an entire day on electrical inspections. Students receive practical, hands-on experience. In addition, independent trainers usually conduct a competency test, and may provide certification for those who pass. They also may teach the principles of reflection, emission and transmission.

In contrast, vendor training may instruct students to simply leave the emissivity at a certain figure, such as .95, but then fail to define what emissivity is and how it can—and often will—affect the reading. Information obtained from thermography without an adequate understanding of these concepts can lead to false or missed results. Although someone might be able to operate a thermographic camera and perform basic scans, without a grasp of the factors that can affect the image, he/she could fail to accurately interpret the information. This would, in turn, result in unnecessary work orders or machine breakdowns for the company.

Training dollars should be allocated for more than one employee. A company might choose to invest in just one individual as the "in-house expert" to use the equipment, interpret the results and relay the information to the planning and scheduling function. That can be disastrous for any number of reasons, including the fact that people often leave companies or—heaven forbid—ask for promotions or transfers.

Remember, people may come and go, but systems will sustain. Predictive maintenance needs to be a position—not a person—with minimum training requirements built into the job description. We often hear maintenance managers lament losing people they have trained to other companies. The sadder scenario—and bigger danger—involves making do with the ones that are not trained, not losing the ones that are.

Pitfall #2: Applying one predictive technique for all situations
If the only tool you have is a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail. For instance, if you only have a vibration analyzer, would you be able to identify loose connections in an electrical enclosure? Understanding the proper application of the different predictive tools is paramount to implementing and sustaining your system.

The most practical way of selecting which PdM technique to either purchase or contract is to identify the most expensive problems the plant has experienced. At that point, you can look for a predictive tool or technique that could have identified the problem early. Most predictive techniques work in concert to improve reliability, aid in root cause analysis and improve safety. They will provide the time necessary to properly plan, kit, schedule and execute corrective maintenance work orders.

For example, listening with an airborne ultrasonic device before opening a switchgear door to perform an infrared inspection is very prudent. The user may hear arcing and tracking before opening the door and exposing himself/herself to an arc blast. Likewise, looking at shaft couplings with an infrared camera to determine which one needs to be realigned can save downtime.

Experiment with different techniques when you find a problem. If something has been identified by infrared thermography, look at it with a different device, such as a vibration analyzer. You may find a better way to detect or verify that the problem condition exists.

Organizations have obtained good results using a combination of predictive techniques like contact ultrasound, vibration analysis, oil analysis and thermography on gearboxes. Doing so—and identifying a failing component instead of replacing the entire assembly—they have been able to cut repair costs significantly. This approach can be successful throughout your facility.

Pitfall #3: Failing to properly re-inspect after corrective work is complete
Regrettably, the following scenario occurs all too often, in far too many operations.

Charlie finds an anomaly with the infrared camera—it's a hot connection at a circuit breaker in an electrical panel. A corrective from predictive work order is planned and scheduled. The supervisor gives it to Sparky, who tightens the connection, fills out the paperwork, wipes the sweat from his brow and heads back to the shop.

How does Sparky know his repair was effective without using the same technique that identified the problem initially? The job plan should include re-inspection, preferably immediately after the repair, to ensure the repair was successful. Ideally, this re-inspection should be done with the infrared camera. If an air leak were discovered with airborne ultrasound, that air leak should be inspected again with the same technique to ensure proper repair. This particular area is critical to ensure success.

Predictive maintenance identifies problems that usually are undetectable by human senses. If the problem could only be seen with the predictive equipment, then the same reasoning should be applied when re-inspecting it. There are many instances where a repair has left the equipment in worse condition than before. For example, corrosion develops inside an electrical connection and maintenance makes the situation worse by tightening the connection. Or, in disassembling piping to repair an air leak, mistakes are made when putting the piping back together.

Without proper re-inspection, we would have no idea of the havoc we have caused in our own system. When you are using predictive techniques to identify a problem, ensure that your system requires re-inspection to be done using that same technique. Don't fall into the trap of relying on human senses.

Pitfall #4: Corrective work orders falling through the cracks
Organizations that haven't made the transition from reactive or breakdown maintenance to preventive maintenance will not be very effective in adding predictive maintenance to their plan of attack. In a reactive environment, those who scream the loudest will get their work done. There is no formal prioritization of work orders. Thus, when it comes to corrective from predictive work orders—which deal with equipment that is functioning—no one is being a "squeaky wheel" until something breaks down. Maintenance supervisors, when distributing work, will tend to allocate craft time for more obvious problems.

One example of this that stands out in my mind occurred when I was conducting vibration analysis and found a problem with a gearbox. The maintenance manager wanted to remove the offending unit and have it rebuilt. A technician was given a corrective from a predictive work order to complete the job. He went out to the machine, looked at the gearbox that was to be changed and didn't see a problem with it. Reasoning that it didn't need to be changed out, he promptly closed the work order.

On my next visit to the site with my vibration analyzer, I was puzzled by the fact that the bad gearbox hadn't been changed. Checking into it, the maintenance manager showed me the closed work order.

We investigated further and found the new gearbox had been placed back on the shelf in the storeroom. The maintenance technician apparently didn't have a good ave a good understanding of why he was to have changed the gearbox; neither did he include any comments on the work order.

All personnel involved in the maintenance process—especially those that have been working in a "reactive" maintenance mode—need to understand that predictive work orders are a priority. The savings can be tremendous when parts are replaced before they fail. Personnel also need to understand that they will not see the usual carnage of broken parts when they go to do a repair. Predictive maintenance replaces parts before they fail—and this is a mindset that only comes with training and practice.

Pitfall #5: Lack of a supporting maintenance system
A preventive/predictive maintenance program can be likened to a one-legged chair—it may take some of the load off, but in and of itself, it's not very stable. For the chair to be reliable, the other legs need to be attached.

Those other legs include a work order control system, good storeroom practices, planning and scheduling and training. The glue that holds them together consists of auditing, metrics, PM Optimization and continuous improvement. Results must be measured and adjustments made accordingly. These all contribute to an efficient maintenance system.

While many companies will spend enormous amounts of time and money on tools, equipment, parts and materials, they will not focus on developing the foundation of a good maintenance organization—the maintenance system. Using predictive techniques without an effective maintenance system in place only optimizes your reactive maintenance program. It will result in marginal savings and less-than-anticipated payback. Predictive maintenance is good, but you must have the other programs in place to support it.

Watch your step
In summary, recognizing and avoiding the five pitfalls of PdM can add substantial value to a maintenance organization. Getting where you want to go is not especially difficult. You'll just want to put some real thought into the journey and tread carefully on your way to success. MT

Mark Pond is a Sr. Consultant with Marshall Institute Inc., an international maintenance and reliability consulting and training company based in Raleigh, NC. With more than 25 years of maintenance experience at a Fortune 500 company, Pond has, among other things, been responsible for facilitating and overseeing machine maintenance, energy conservation and implementation of a TPM program. Telephone: (919) 834-3722; e-mail:mpond@marshallinstitute.com

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"Price" is not enough
Usually, in order to make procedures in procurement and purchasing more efficient, administrative processes are tightened and streamlined. Although initial successes can frequently be realized in this way without regular readjustments, all participants tend to fall back into the old patterns and ways. This so-called "Philosophy of Procurement Power" is driven to such an extreme, for example by automotive suppliers, it can lead to problems in manufacturing and assembly, thus negating the short-term savings. For instance, when suppliers are continually changed, the quality wavers and promises of guarantee to the customers cannot be upheld.

In order to counteract this and to obligate suppliers to good practice, many large enterprises impose ambitious agendas. Time and again the bar is raised too high and the whole selection process proves overambitious. The enterprise dictates the manner of collaboration and ignores the interests and strengths of individual partners. The supplier must simply conform to each change in price and product strategy if it wants to remain involved. The problem is that many potential suppliers do not manage the leap into the pool of partners; for others the risk of adapting to the contractor is too great. The consequence for enterprises is that the number of suppliers from which they can choose diminishes, and in turn their own flexibility is weakened.

Thinking further
The time is ripe for a new approach. Most chemical industry companies already have developed internal processes that span across departments. But with the new definition of procurement procedures, optimization is both possible and necessary, especially at the point of interface with partners. Even if many enterprises have already prescribed to the "think global, act local" strategy, putting it into practice is at times more complicated. Management may allow the central purchasing department to search worldwide for a suitable supplier but then decides on site that, for example, a suggested spare part from another continent does not fulfill the local needs. A lack of service or differing business mentalities could be further knockout criteria. The central purchasing department's well-meant work is ultimately in vain, as it is based exclusively on economic criteria and doesn't take into account the actual local requirements.

Enterprises that want to gain the competitive advantage must be aware of the local particularities of their products, services and customers. Furthermore, they should incorporate in their analyses the specific skills and motivations of their employees as well as those of their potential business partners within their respective business cultures. Only in this way is it possible to accurately judge the necessary scope and corresponding specifications for an optimal procurement process. New ideas and techniques are out there. They not only employ and expand on enterprises' current technical and procedural know-how, they also put historically-conditioned practices and presumptions to the test.

Our recommendations to clients essentially encompass the following five approaches. They nurture an understanding for the real requirements at hand and pave the way for the best individually tailored procurement process.

#1. Improved internal interaction and understanding between departments, as well as between the enterprise and suppliers…
The bidding process should go beyond requests for quotations or a mere sales call. Instead, suppliers should be invited to view on-site conditions, utilization and safety requirements and offer innovative ways for the delivery, installation and operation of an asset. Payment should then be conducted on a performance-related basis. That cannot apply, of course, to all products and service, but with price-intensive and maintenance-intensive products this way of involving the supplier usually makes sense.

#2. More information and better mutual understanding on all sides…
Purchasing departments need to develop greater understanding of what information and support a supplier requires. Precisely because many businesses have begun to outsource, cut back on staff, reorganize and change owners, it is essential to newly define expectations and requirements of all participants. Both in-house procurement specialists and the service providers should know the requirements that they want to satisfy. Aside from good teamwork, this necessitates a virtual moratorium on technical changes (or at least as few as possible), realistic delivery deadlines, accurate planning of quantities and, not least, clearly defined roles and responsibilities within the management structures.

#3. Clear definition and comprehensive understanding for the respective investment, asset strategies…
Owing to the spate of mergers and acquisitions in the chemical sector, changes in asset strategies are a daily occurrence. However, this development and the way an acquired product is used ultimately influences the procurement process and not only on the part of the enterprise. If suppliers know the expectations on performance, material composition, business indicators and such, then they can tailor their bids more specifically. Furthermore, the maintenance history, experience of production workers and knowledge of actual (as opposed to subjectively perceived) workloads all have a tremendous impact on the procurement process.

#4. Improved estimation of critical factors within the total life-cycle cost…
Under constantly changing market conditions, strategic decisions become ever more difficult and, in turn, flexibility and the ability to adapt become more significant. In order to secure the latter and to be able to realize short-term business opportunities, particular procurement criteria are required for those products and services that are decisive for ensuring the necessary availability of assets. For example, it can make sense to spend more money in order to secure indispensable resources for short-term, highly profitable products. With fewer critical investments, businesses can be more sensitive to price.

#5. Improved business risk assessment in the procurement process—from the selection of the manufacturer and the evaluation of suppliers, to the drawing up of contracts…
Instead of estimating non-payment risks with preset standard values, it is better to differentiate the various assets according to their importance for the business. For example, in a refinery the same kind of valves are installed by default in all factory units. In some units their malfunction would cause above-average expenses, while in other units simpler and thus cheaper valves would suffice. Or the origin of certain equipment is first specified by default as "West European." These days, though, the statement of origin is often of little meaning as so much is either partly, or sometimes completely, produced in the Far East. Today, products from the Far East are able to offer the required quality, too. To compare the desired specification with the planned application is a task that doesn't make great demands on time but can considerably reduce total costs.

Conclusion
Many enterprises have only half-heartedly pursued one or the other of these approaches. A more consistent approach alone would therefore pay dividends. The key lies in the communication of real and current data, which facilitates ambitious and fruitful discussions between all participants. Most participants will gladly contribute to change. The central task of senior management in this process is to create a constructive environment in which change is possible. MT

Dirk Frame is managing director and operations director UK, for T.A. Cook Consultants.

Larry Olson is operations director for T.A. Cook Consultants, based in Raleigh, NC. Telephone: (919) 510-8142; e-mail: l.olson@tacook.com

WITSOE APPOINTED NEW CEO AT LINEAGE POWER CORPORATION

Lineage Power Corporation, a Gores Group company known for its energy-efficient AC/DC and DC/DC switching technologies, has named Craig A. Witsoe as its new CEO. Witsoe will be based at the company's Dallas headquarters and report to the board of directors. He most recently had been serving as president and CEO of Tyden Group, a leading producer of product identification and cargo security technology. Prior to joining Tyden, Witsoe spent 16 years in various executive positions at General Electric. Word of Witsoe's appointment comes shortly after Lineage's recent announcement that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Cherokee International, a provider of custom power solutions for datacom, telecom, medical and process control applications. Under this agreement, Cherokee will become a division of Lineage.

COASTAL TRAINING ACQUISITION GROWS DUPONT SAFETY BIZ OFFERING

DuPont has acquired Coastal Training Technologies Corporation, a leading global producer and marketer of cutting-edge training programs, headquartered in Virginia Beach, VA. The transaction is expected to fuel significant growth for DuPont Safety Resources, a consulting business within the DuPont Safety & Protection segment. Terms of the agreement, which includes transfer of all customer agreements, patents, copyrights, brands, equipment and personnel, were not disclosed. The acquisition will allow DuPont, an established global leader in industrial safety services programs, to provide a broader mix of delivery systems to a growing global audience. Coastal Training Technologies, with offices in the United States, Mexico, Europe, Brazil, India and the Philippines, will gain access to DuPont's broad customer network for its extensive library of training products.

The Coastal deal is part of DuPont's strategy to expand its presence in emerging markets and safety industries. It complements the corporation's current safety training and consulting business, creating a single-source training leader with the greatest variety of safety programs for companies, governments and organizations seeking training and consultation.

Founded in 1984, Coastal Training Technologies Corporation has developed and markets an extensive offering of award-winning DVDs, e-learning products, print materials and instructor-led courses available in 29 languages. About one third of the company's 600 employees reside in the United States.

CARTER IS NEW EXECUTIVE EDITOR AT APPLIED TECHNOLOGY PUBLICATIONS

Rick Carter has joined Applied Technology Publications (ATP) as executive editor. Bringing more than 25 years of magazine experience to his new position, he is expected to play a key role in shaping the organization's electronic editorial products, as well as its growing seminar and Webinar offerings. He also will support the overall editorial missions of Maintenance Technology and Lubrication Management & Technology magazines. Over the course of his career, Carter has served as editor-in-chief of both Advanced Design and Manufacturing and Industrial Maintenance and Plant Operation magazines, and as editorial director of Reed Business Information's Manufacturing and Processing publishing group.

COOPER INDUSTRIES UNVEILS NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART TECH CENTER

Cooper Industries is helping to celebrate its 175th anniversary with the grand opening of the Cooper Technology Center in Houston. This first-of-its-kind, 35,000-square-foot facility features an auditorium, conference room and multiple training rooms designed to help facilitate industry-specific education and demonstrate the entire line of industrial solutions the company offers. Products of all eight Cooper divisions are represented in the Technology Center via dedicated displays and products used in the building design itself. A replica of an industrial operation helps complete the learning experience with more than 250 of Cooper's industrial offerings installed as they would be in an actual refinery. Coupled with hands-on classrooms and curriculum reflecting the corporation's vast expertise and global product offering, the model refinery has been designed to serve as a highly practical learning environment for end-users, distributors and engineering and procurement professionals.

According to Cooper CEO Kirk Hachigian, the corporation's vision for the Technology Center came from industry's thirst to keep current with the latest technology and products that facilitate increased productivity, enhanced energy efficiency and maximum safety for both workers and facilities. "Now," he says, "professionals who design and build industrial facilities can see our entire industrial offering under one roof, from the newest lighting technologies and electrical fuses to transformers and energy automation solutions to mass notification systems." In the past, Hachigian notes, a person would have to visit different Cooper facilities located across the country, including those in Syracuse, NY; Milwaukee, WI; Atlanta, GA; and Raleigh, NC, among others, to see the breadth of the company's offering.

ITT PARTNERS WITH MERCY CORPS FOR WATER-RELATED DISASTER RELIEF

ITT Corporation has announced a strategic partnership with Mercy Corps as part of ITT Watermark, the industrial giant's corporate philanthropy program. Mercy Corps, a global relief and development agency, collaborates with the United Nations to implement water and sanitation solutions during worldwide disasters. The new partnership includes a three-year, $1 million commitment to help provide safe water during emergencies created by natural catastrophes such as floods, droughts and earthquakes. Under the arrangement, ITT, a leader in the transport and treatment of water, will support Mercy Corps' relief and recovery efforts, which include the provision of dewatering and water purification equipment. In addition, ITT will aid Mercy Corps' on-the-ground staff with rebuilding and recovery of water and sanitation infrastructure long after disaster strikes. As part of the its Watermark initiative, ITT has established an Emergency Response Committee responsible for the coordinated deployment of the corporation's resources directly to disaster sites during water-related emergencies. The committee will work with Mercy Corps during the balance of 2008 to develop a plan for reducing risks and implementing turnkey emergency response protocol. MT

Many maintenance and reliability professionals will remember the old song "the thigh bone's connected to the knee bone, the knee bone's connected to the…" It was all about being connected with one's self. Within today's streamlined maintenance department, being connected and communicating valuable information between departmental peers has never been more important for task accomplishment.

In reality, maintenance connects on many different levels, influencing the decisional outcomes of the entire department—and organization—on a daily basis through both action and non-action. On any given day, many thousands of decisions are made throughout the corporation. Leading up to any decision is a series of connective events, linked via pre-established business processes determining at which point a decision is required to make the next connection.

For example, in a simple PM event in which a piece of equipment must receive a basic oil and filter change, events and connections required to set up and execute the PM are broken down into three stages. They are as follows:

Stage 1 – Set-Up
Setting up an oil change event requires the maintenance planner to develop a work plan. To do so, he/she must first connect with the engineering department, connect with the machine manufacturer and connect with the lubricant supplier to determine the required lubricant, filter, recommended change-out procedure and initial change-out interval.

With the work plan established, all materials must be purchased and added to the storeroom. Depending on the business process, this will require the maintenance planner to now connect with the maintenance inventory control person, who in turn connects with the purchasing agent, who in turn connects with the material supplier. Of course, if this is a new supplier, the purchasing agent also must connect with accounting department personnel to set invoicing and payment schedules.

Once materials are shipped and received, the receiver connects with the inventory control person, who in turn reconnects with the maintenance planner to advise that the oil change materials are now in stock, allowing the department to move to Stage 2, in which the event can finally take place.

Stage 2 – The Event
At this point, the maintenance planner now connects with the maintenance scheduler, who in turn connects with the applicable trades foreman, who then connects with the trades person or lubrication specialist to pass on the work order to perform the oil and filter change.

The lubrication specialist proceeds to the inventory crib and connects with the inventory control person to pick up the oil and filter materials, along with any special tools that may require a connection with a tool crib person. The lubrication specialist then travels to the jobsite where he/she may or may not need to connect with the production foreman and/or equipment operator to receive control of the equipment and commence work.

Once the oil change is completed, the lubrication specialist reconnects once again with the production supervisor and/or operator to give back control of the equipment, after which he/she may reconnect with his/her direct supervisor to deliver the complete work order and to report for the next assignment.

Stage 3 – The Paperwork
With the event completed, recording of the event is required. The trades supervisor may choose to connect with the production foreman and/or equipment operator to perform a work quality check. Satisfied the work is completed, the trades supervisor connects with the CMMS administrator to have the work order closed and filed.

While performing the oil change, were the lubrication specialist to find a problem requiring further maintenance attention, he/she would need to connect with the trades supervisor to discuss the new findings or write down the requirements on the work order. The trades supervisor would then connect with the planner to hand over a work request, after which the planner would repeat the entire connection cycle by commencing with the new work requirement at Stage 1.

Mapping the thread
In this typical oil change scenario, a series of purposeful connective events have taken place involving both maintenance and non-maintenance departments. Setting up and executing a simple oil change can require up to 20 connective events in which information is passed from one individual to another.

The connection path will change according to availability of repair parts, tools, trained resources, equipment, communication tools, etc. How smoothly these connections occur will depend greatly on the systems and business processes in place—both at the department and the organizational level.

Mapping of the connective thread throughout your organization can be an especially effective way to help make things run smoothly, and is well worth the time required to do so.

Mapping the thread will show the efficiency—or inefficiency—of the current process, exposing actions that are taken, as well as where no action is taken. Don't overlook the connective map. It is a valuable tool in building successful maintenance partnerships. MT

Ken Bannister is lead partner and principal consultant for Engtech Industries, Inc. Telephone: (519) 469-9173; e-mail: kbannister@engtechindustries.com

Type (Design A, B, C, D)…
There are four NEMA three-phase motor designs, each with different overall motor system efficiency implications due to variations in speed, slip, starting torque and starting current. Design A and B motors are the most common. Both are considered general-purpose motors and often are used in similar applications, including pump and fan systems. Design A motors, however, have slightly greater breakdown torque and higher starting current.

Design C motors are intended for applications that require high starting torque, normal starting current and low slip; they typically are used where breakaway loads are high at starting. Design D motors have very high starting torque, high slip, low starting current and low full speed, which enables them to handle shock loads.

Efficiency…
With today's high energy prices, many facility managers are discovering benefits to their bottom
line through the use of NEMA Premium efficiency motors. While NEMA Premium motors often are more expensive, the incremental cost is typically overcome in as little as 18-24 months through reduced electricity consumption. These savings really add up over the motor's expected 15- to 20-year life.

Size, Speed and Load…
Achieving energy savings requires that the motor is the right size (horsepower) and speed, and that it is properly loaded. A study conducted by Advanced Energy, in which efficiency and load data from 100 motors was measured, found that nearly 30% of them were operating below 50% load. (Motors achieve peak efficiency when they operate at 75 to 100% full load.) The research also found that many motors had been dramatically oversized. Remember: a motor that is larger than the application calls for will waste significant energy.

Drive System…
Adjustable speed drives help match a motor's speed to the load requirements at any particular time. For centrifugal loads, the resulting reductions in flow can yield impressive energy savings. For details, see the National Electrical Manufacturers Association's Application Guide for AC Adjustable Speed Drive Systems.

Several organizations can help you navigate issues related to selecting the right drive for an application, including your local electric utility, motor distributor, motor service center and government agencies. These organizations sponsor the Motor Decisions Matter (MDM) campaign to raise awareness about motor management, promote repair-replace decisions based on life-cycle costing and provide a central resource to assist with motor decisions. Visit MDM's Website for help in developing a motor management plan based on your company's needs and decision-making criteria.

The U.S. Department of Energy also addresses these issues in Improving Motor and Drive System Performance: A Sourcebook for Industry. MT

The Motor Decisions Matter campaign is managed by the Consortium for Energy Efficiency, a North American nonprofit organization that promotes energy-saving products, equipment and technologies. For further information about MDM, contact Kellem Emanuele at kemanuele@cee1.org or (617) 589-3949, x225.

For more info, enter 1 at www.MT-freeinfo.com