Articles

The Perfect Pair: Shock Pulse and Vibration Monitoring Combo Pays Off at Boliden Mine

by Tim Sundström

IN THE MINING INDUSTRY – one of the most capital-intensive industries in the world – preventive maintenance makes good business sense. In a process involving high costs and specialized equipment, the grinding mill is not only the most energy-consuming processing unit, it is also a highly critical application. It stands to reason that optimizing this bottleneck is of pivotal interest to the industry. Swedish mining company Boliden successfully combines a shock pulse measurement technique and vibration analysis to do just that.

Leadership for Reliability

Ethics in Business…and What Do I Get?

In a society where the scale of values emphasizes individual issues first, then the person’s own family and ultimately society, I purposely begin this article with the provocation of the question above.

I believe we are all at a certain point on the scale, from one to 10, according to our moral development and the education we received. Frequently, we recognize the lack of ethics in others, but hardly recognize (sometimes even realize) our own lack of ethics. So, let’s start this article by answering the question.

by Luiz Alberto Verri

Reliability Engineering for Maintenance

Myths of RCM Implementation - PART 1 of 2

by Carlos Mario Perez Jaramillo

Reliability centered maintenance (RCM) focuses on identifying what should be done to assure the functions of a system or asset in a safe, cost-effective and reliable way. RCM analysis is carried out by a group of experts, called the analysis team, for the equipment, asset, or object of the study. It is their responsibility to answer seven questions (above) about the asset being analyzed.

7 questions to ask when analyzing your assets:

What are the functions and performance associated with the asset’s standards in its current operating context?
In what ways does it not perform its functions?
What is the cause stopping it from performing its function?
What happens when each failure occurs?
What is the impact of each failure?
What can be done to predict or prevent every failure?
What should be done if adequate work could not be performed before the failure?

Monitoring Plain Bearings With Ultrasound

by Gus Velasquez

Friction: friend or foe? The answer all depends on your particular situation. When driving your car aggressively over wet or icy roads, friction, as well as a good set of tires, is your friend and will save you from some stressful moments. If you’re in the reliability game and are tasked with extending the life of your bearings, then friction is the enemy. While zero friction is neither practical nor even possible, you search for the best ways to minimize these forces between the elements of your bearings.

Asset Condition Management

Equipping A Field Service Team to Do Shaft Alignment

by Alan Luedeking

I am often asked, What tools and equipment does a millwright team need to do shaft alignment? Beyond the obvious safety equipment, such as hearing protection, steeltoe shoes, work gloves, hard hat, safety glasses and fire retardant clothing, some of the other essential equipment is not so obvious. So here’s a little list, with commentary, based on nearly 30 years of field experience.

Leadership for Reliability

Amazing Risk Management

by Sam R. Harkreader

Managing risk is like working a maze, the kind you find in puzzle books.

Each maze has a beginning and an end, and often rules are applied. It would be unwise to begin a maze without first learning the end point and the rules of the game. If the rules allowed you to simply pick up your pencil and jump to the end, the game would be simple, albeit not very fun. If, on the other hand, the rules required you to start at the beginning, not lift your pencil and not backtrack, the game would be more difficult and challenging. Clearly, the strategy for winning differs based on the rules.

Leadership for Reliability

Q&A with an Industry Leader

While at IMC 2013, Uptime® Magazine had an opportunity to catch up with Rey Marquez, CRL, with Goldcorp, Inc. Rey is based in Toronto, Canada, while corporate headquarters is in Vancouver. Rey is the Manager of Maintenance and Mechanical Engineering Canada and USA. He is responsible for leading the development and implementation of maintenance reliability strategies for Goldcorp mine sites. He supports regional, site and project business plans. Additionally, he is responsible for the application of reliability strategies, root cause analysis and team based problem solving.

Articles

Five Things Every Leader Should Do

Torque Monitoring: The Secret Weapon

The Perfect Pair: Shock Pulse and Vibration Monitoring Combo Pays Off at Boliden Mine

Ethics in Business…and What Do I Get?

Route-Based Oil Analysis Enables Condition-Based Oil Change

Myths of RCM Implementation - PART 1 of 2

Monitoring Plain Bearings With Ultrasound

Whose Job Is Leadership, Anyway?

Critical priority

Equipping A Field Service Team to Do Shaft Alignment

Amazing Risk Management

Q&A with an Industry Leader