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Articles

The New World of Collaborative Asset Management

Praveen Agrawal and Sajit Kumar

Machine to machine [M2M] communication and social media enabled collaboration are two of the most disruptive technological advancements the world has seen in recent times, but both can have a profound implication on the way we manage assets, especially in the aftermarket. This optimal blending of machine to machine communication and the power of social media is what is going to shape up asset management in tomorrow's world.

Leadership for Reliability

Q&A with an Industry Leader

Recently, Uptime caught up with Nick Jize, Facility Operations Maintenance Manager at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in Livermore, California. NIF is home to the world’s largest and highest energy laser, as well as 192 of the most powerful lasers in the world. Nick has more than 20 years experience in RCM and predictive maintenance leadership.

Asset Condition Management

Oil Analysis and Its Role In Equipment Reliability

by Mike Johnson & Matt Spurlock

For decades, oil analysis has been considered a cornerstone for predictive maintenance programs in a variety of industries. If something rotates and requires oil to reduce friction between surfaces, then oil analysis is a great tool to diagnose machine condition. Over the past two years, however, focus on oil analysis as a reliability tool has waned. With several reliability trade shows having a noticeable absence of oil analysis related presentations, it begs the question: Why? Both as a topic of discussion in conference presentations and as an actual condition monitoring tool, oil analysis should, at a minimum, be proportionally represented alongside other condition monitoring tools and should be considered the primary tool for low speed and hydromechanical machines.

Macro-Managing Your MRO Inventory

by Doug Wallace

The mission of the maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) warehouse is to have the right parts at the right place at the right time. Too often, that objective is achieved by simply stuffing the storeroom to the gills. Some organizations do a better job of trying to determine realistic stocking plans based on criticality, estimated requirements, supplier lead times and other variables, but then fail to review them periodically to ensure the assumptions used in developing the stocking plans are still valid.

Journey to Maintenance Excellence

by Marc Begijn

After 48 years, Volvo Cars Gent received an award from the Belgian Maintenance Association (BEMAS) for the continuous efforts in its maintenance department. As the maintenance manager, I received the title of “Maintenance Manager of the Year 2013.” Here is why our maintenance achievements attracted the attention of the non-profit organization for maintenance professionals.

Tucson Electric Power: Builds Award-Winning Predictive Maintenance

by Gary Gardner

In 2012, the predictive maintenance team at the Tucson Electric Power Springerville Generating Station (SGS) helped the company avoid more than $1 million in maintenance and replacement costs. In the first three quarters of 2013, predictive maintenance efforts at SGS saved more than $750,000. This documented return on investment is one of the factors that led Emerson Process Management to recognize Tucson Electric Power (TEP) with the Reliability Program of the Year Award for 2013, an honor for which 64 programs around the world were nominated.

Work Execution Management

Users of Enterprise Asset Management Systems Who and How Important Are They?

by Rajesh Gopalan

There are many factors contributing to a successful enterprise asset management (EAM) implementation, not the least of which is the strategic relation between IT and the business during an implementation or product development lifecycle. While synergy between IT and business strategies is essential, another core element is the EAM user’s participation in the implementation and product development process. In fact, it’s one of the most critical elements to a successful EAM system.

Machinery Health Monitoring

by Wayne Tustin

This is Part 5, the last installmnt of the five-part series entitled, Machinery Health Monitoring Depends on Accelerometers. Part 1 covered the mechanical aspects of selecting and using accelerometers, while Part 2 presented the electronic aspects of dealing with those small signals. Part 3 addressed calibrating accelerometers to determine their sensitivity. Part 4 started and Part 5 concludes with seeing accelerometers attached to various machines so they can report on machinery health. The goal of the series is to assist newcomers and those considering machinery health monitoring.

Work Execution Management

10 Things Your Equipment Operators Can Do Today to Improve Reliability

by Doug Plucknette

There’s no denying that the equipment that makes your products and the operators who operate it are the most valuable assets an organization has. So unless you are actually manufacturing product and putting it out the door, you are overhead. From the janitorial services to the CEO, you are just another additional cost that has to be included in the cost of the product.

Automate Performance Metrics To Drive Productivity

by Mohammad Naseer Uddin

Massive improvements in data storage and visualization techniques in today’s age are changing how companies do business for improved profitability. Applying real-time data handling capability to automate performance metrics improves decision support by making better decisions faster. This article shares some examples of automated equipment performance metrics using real-time process data to make timely decisions for improved asset reliability.