The operations or production departments must take enough ownership of their equipment that they are willing to support the maintenance department's efforts. Operational involvement, which varies
V-Belt Maintenance is a requirement if you want to insure optimum belt drive performance. This process requires proper maintenance and discipline in order to insure effective belt operation and a long service life. When coupled with a regularly scheduled maintenance program, belt drives will run relatively trouble-free for a long time.
General Rules: (if you want to stop V-Belt failures)
1. Insure proper alignment of sheaves both parallel and angular using a sheave laser alignment tool. Do not use a straight edge or string if one expects optimal
One of the main fears of most reliability and maintenance engineers is that, at the time of actual need, the required spare part will not be available. This is commonly referred to as a stock
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Because inventory requires a significant financial investment and that investment involves significant ongoing costs, it is also important to measure the financial performance. Tracking the The ...
Although maps may be a thing of the past for most of us, getting lost isn't. A majority of us have a GPS to help us navigate and avoid getting lost in our personal lives, but, what about at work?
Portable instruments have evolved through several iterations to encompass as much data collection, analytical, and correction tools as possible in a single, convenient, and light-weight package.
Maintenance Supervisors should use this tool to train their maintenance techs, welders and contractors - 10-20 minutes - Post them in the Maintenance Shop after use
Do we hold the right levels of spare parts? Have we done the right analysis? These are two questions that keep maintenance and reliability engineers awake at night. Determining which approach ...
I have used this method of improving settings for packaging line equipment but can also be applied to most equipment where that piece of equipment can be affected by movement.
I have used this basic maintenance tip mainly with pumps but can also be applied to most equipment where that piece of equipment can be affected by internal or external forces. When you have
One of the most mission critical elements of any SAP EAM implementation is a successful data conversion. The amount of effort required for data conversion is often overlooked, as the attention
I recently facilitated a Planning and Scheduling course for a large group of Planners, Supervisors, and Production personnel. Via the work management process, Planners are typically given lots
1. Never over torque a Fastener. To over-torque a Fastener can cause it to stretch beyond normal limits causing Fastener breakage, or loosening of Fastener 2. Never under torque Fasteners because it can cause the Fastener to loosen to break 3. Ensure you know the torque specification 4. Ensure you know the torque specification if you are using a Fastener with lubricant on it or dry 5. As a general rule Fasteners should be lubricated unless manufacturer states otherwise 6. Know how to use a torque wrench. When all else fails read the instructions. 7. When unsure whether a Fastener should be torque to a specification, torque it 8. Do not re-use a Fastener if: - If it was installed with an impact wrench - If it could result in a safety risk
Fastener Failure Modes:
• Overloading - Force exceeds Fastener strength, Fastener loosens or shears • Over-Torque - damaging the threads and deforming the hardware • Under-Torque - allowing a joint to come loose. It may also allow the joint to flex and thus fail under fatigue. • Brinelling - caused by poor quality washers, leading to a loss of clamp load and failure of the joint • Corrosion - caused by the disintegration of an engineered material due to electrochemical oxidation of metals in reaction with an oxidant such as oxygen, this is why Fasteners must be lubricated unless stated by the equipment manufacturer.
So many have forgotten some of the old school tricks. One that comes to mind is when you have a bolt that has seized use bees wax to help get it loose. As you heat up the part with your torch
When using your EAM or CMMS software, or paper based system if that is what you use for work management, insure you measure your backlog or 'open work' by using the 'Duration' field on the work
Now that many more of us are looking at motor nameplate data, with emphasis on finding out what the efficiency is, what the heck is "Guaranteed Efficiency"?
Guaranteed minimum is another efficiency that is sometimes noted on a nameplate. This value is determined from a mathematical relationship that assumes the worst efficiency of any motor in a batch - used to determine the average (nominal) value - could have losses as much as 20% higher than the average. As a result, each nominal efficiency value would have a corresponding minimum efficiency value. You can view these values in Table 12-8 in NEMA MG-1.
Remember, when working with energy cost analysis programs not to confuse this with the Full Load Efficiency. You want to use Full Load Efficiency for your analysis.
To stock or not to stock, that is the question. One of the major flaws in most spare parts management systems is the absence of clear criteria on when to stock an item and when not to stock an