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reliability engineering

Why Single-Source Supply Contracts Can Disappoint - PART 2

by Heinz P. Bloch

Part 1 of this article in the Dec/Jan 2014 issue of Uptime introduced the premise that all manufacturers operate with business models that emphasize quality, low price, or innovation. It started with the common sense position that a manufacturing entity that simultaneously and consistently achieved all three would soon become the only surviving provider of the asset in question. Part 2 looks at the caveats in process pump engineering addressed by machinery quality assessment (MQA).

Reliability Engineering for Maintenance

Seven Abilities of Reliability

Good equipment reliability requires that several abilities be taken into consideration for success:

1. Design-Ability: Most equipment is designed with the focus of being "on-time" and "on-budget", but not to be reliable. It is very difficult for your Maintenance Department to overcome poor equipment design. Poor equipment design will create recurring issues that will require repeated maintenance over the life span of the equipment.

2. Install-Ability: Equipment that is not properly installed will continually require maintenance resources to keep it operational upon demand. Additionally, large amounts of equipment defects are introduced during the installation process.

3. MaintainAbility: Maintainability is a characteristic of design and installation. The machine should be designed and installed so that maintenance activities can be easily completed in a timely manner restoring the equipment to its normal operating state, safely and with a reliability focus.

4. MeasurAbility: Equipment design, installation, operation and maintenance must be measured. All of the "abilities" should be designed and implemented in a way that allows performance and adherence to be measured. Otherwise, continuous improvement will be very difficult.

5. UsAbility: The equipment should be designed with its intended users (operations and maintenance) in mind. The equipment must be efficient to use, easy to learn to operate and maintain.

6. AccountAbility: Create reasonable expectations that challenge people, provide them the required means (tools, etc.) to do their job, offer support and hold them accountable for their efforts. Do not be oppressive! Be rewarding instead! A management style that is oppressive and punishes people for mistakes will create a work force that hides things. A management style that rewards people for their successes will produce an environment of employees that want to make continual improvements.

7. SustainAbility: Consideration and planning should be given to the long term implementation and sustainability of any reliability program. This includes ensuring that funding, management support, training, resources, etc. are provided continually and not just for a few months, or the first year, etc. A large percentage of reliability programs fail because they are not implemented in such a way as to make them sustainable over the longer term.

Condition Monitoring can help with these aspects of reliability. Condition Monitoring can help identify design related issues, installation related issues, maintenance tasks that should be completed, identify where processes tend to fail (accountability), etc.

Watch our ReliAbilities video tutorial

Tip Provided By: Ludeca

Part1 - Why Single-Source Supply Contracts Can Disappoint

by Heinz P. Bloch

Selecting from among the many equipment or component manufacturers requires forethought. Experience shows that picking the right bidders is an important prerequisite for choosing the best machine, or selecting critically important components, such as bearings and fluid sealing devices. Let’s take a look at several examples to support this contention.

SensorData Technologies Introduces Industry Exclusive

SensorData Technologies (SensorData) (www.sensordata.com), a renowned industry supplier of standard and custom force, torque, load and strain sensors, transducers, and related instrumentation, has announced the global market introduction of the Model M411-106-10K wireless diagnostic system, designed to aid factory floor personnel in the real-time evaluation and predictive maintenance of conveyor systems, with remote data transmission capabilities of up to 750 feet.

AAC Announces AC & DC Current Transducers for Rail and Light Rapid Transit System Monitoring

American Aerospace Controls (AAC) (www.a-a-c.com), an ISO9001 and AS9100C certified leading manufacturer of AC & DC current, voltage, power and frequency transducers, has announced its complete line of high-reliability standard and custom electrical transducers for rail, heavy locomotive, high-speed train and light rapid transit monitoring.

L-com Introduces HyperLink® Spatial Diversity/Cross Polarized Sectorial Panel Antennas

L-com, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of wired and wireless connectivity products, announced today that it has introduced two new HyperLink® brand 2.4 GHz Spatial Diversity/Cross Polarized Sectorial Panel Antennas. These outdoor all weather antennas are designed with two identical and independent internal cross polarized antennas fed via four connectors.

Reliability Engineering for Maintenance

Where Do Reliability Engineers Come From?

by Dr. Klaus M Blache

Where do reliability engineers come from? To address this, we need to start with a few definitions, then reliability engineering can be best explained by listing some examples of what reliability engineering can do towards improving your operations.

Valve Industry Bullish about Hiring According to Employment Snapshot

The valve industry employs 50% more people than a decade ago, provides great jobs and is expecting to add many more this year, reported the Valve Manufacturers Association (VMA) during a briefing at its 75th Anniversary Annual Meeting—the premier gathering of valve and actuator industry leaders in North America. During the meeting, VMA unveiled the Employment Snapshot Report, new member research that provided insight about industry employment and discussed new trends affecting the economic outlook of the valve industry.

Honeywell To Supply Control Systems For New Process Plants at Russian Refinery

Experion PKS to be Deployed in Third Construction Stage of Antipinsky Oil Refinery
Refinery Doubles Capacity to Help Meet Demand for Clean Fuels, Oil Products
Selection Result of Honeywell’s Focus on High-Growth Regions
Follows Opening of New Honeywell Office in Tyumen, Russia, Serving Oil and Gas Customers in Western Siberia

Reliability Engineering for Maintenance