M-News Edition 43
|
| Plant Maintenance Resource Center
M-News Edition 43
| |
|
Edition 43, February 2004 |
|
|
ContentsIn this edition...
If you wish to receive notification of future copies of this newsletter by email, please register at www.plant-maintenance.com/registration.shtml. If you have any feedback on the newsletter, or have something to contribute, please send me an e-mail. Ron Moore, the author of the highly rated book "Making Common Sense Common Practice" is running a Reliability Leadership workshop in Perth, Western Australia on March 19, 2004. Don't miss your chance to hear this entertaining and motivating speaker.
Feature Article - 5 Points to Failure-Free DesignIn September of 2002, a stamping plant located in the Chicago area was having press availability problems caused by an electronic transfer feed (ETF)system. The ETF is used to transfer parts between the various dies in the press. The plant stated that the ETF was in a "death spiral" and they could not meet the current production schedules. Overtime and maintenance dedicated to keeping the ETF running was consuming the budget, and the engineering group was being held accountable for all of the overtime associated with the ETF failures. In this case study, Doug Malcolm of DRM Techologies outlines how these problems were overcome using a "5 Points to Failure-Free Equipment Design" You will find his article at http://www.plant-maintenance.com/articles/ReliabilityDesignProcess.pdf. Note that you will require the free Adobe Acrobat reader to be able to view this file. Feature Article - Operation and Maintenance of Compressor ValvesThe suction and discharge valves are key parts of every reciprocating compressor. Valve failure is the single most reason for a scheduled or unscheduled shut down. This article from Andreas Cronenberg of MT Sealing Technology Inc compares alternative valve designs and their performance and maintenance. You can read it at Feature Article - Adjustments - Friend or FoeAdjustments are an excellent way to get an equipment set up to standard (ie. Manufacturers specification). They also, however, can be used very effectively to get equipment out of standard. How many times have we seen a situation at shift change where an operator takes over a machine or a line and the first action they take is to change settings even though the machine has been performing well over the previous shift? How many times have we walked past equipment where guards on machine components have nuts missing, holes in machine frames where something should be or places where things should be attached and are not? Were these issues deliberately left like this or have things gone missing and we just don't know where or why they have.So what can be done to overcome these issues? Read the article (contributed by Rob Meyer of Rheem Australia) at http://www.plant-maintenance.com/articles/adjustments.pdf. Again, you will require the free Adobe Acrobat reader to be able to view this file. Feature Article - Vibration measurement and diagnosis of valve seat generating machineAnother vibration analysis case study contributed by Madhusudan.N This time, diagnosis is made of a Valve Seat Generating machine, which is experiencing problems with manufacturing accuracy, and high levels of vibration. The case study can be read at http://www.plant-maintenance.com/articles/valveseatvibration.pdf. Yet again, note that you will require the free Adobe Acrobat reader to be able to view this file. 2004 Maintenance Salary SurveyThe 5th annual Plant Maintenance Resource Center maintenance salary survey continues until March 15, 2004. Find out how your salary compares with others in your country and your industry. To date, we have received 286 submissions and we are hoping for a lot more. Please visit http://www.plant-maintenance.com/survey.shtml to participate. It will only take 3 to 5 minutes of your time, and online live results will be displayed following submission of the form. Let all your colleagues and friends know so that they can participate also. Site Feature - Maintenance Jobs BoardWe have recenlty launched our new Maintenance Jobs Board at http://www.plant-maintenance.com/maintenance_jobs. This new jobs board has some significant benefits over our previous jobs board, including:
There are also some behind the scenes administrative improvements as well, such as better capability to prevent unauthorised or inappropriate postings to the board, the ability to automatically archive old entries etc. Visit our new board at http://www.plant-maintenance.com/maintenance_jobs. Our old board remains in place at www.plant-maintenance.com/jobs, but will not be accepting any new entries. Book Review - Complete Guide to Preventive and Predictive Maintenance by Joel LevittI read this book several months ago, and have so far resisted writing a review of it, on the basis of my mother's sound advice - "if you cannot say something good, then say nothing at all". However, this book has now hit our "Top Ten" best sellers list, and I feel obliged to let prospective purchasers know about the shortcomings of this book before they consider purchasing it. To read the full review, visit http://www.plant-maintenance.com/books/0831131543.shtml Recommended BooksHere are ten Maintenance-related books that we have reviewed recently, and strongly recommend:
Get more information on these and other books at http://www.plant-maintenance.com/maintenance_books.shtml. On the Lighter Side - Engineering HumorMaintenance Engineers vs Lawyers Engineer. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it,"
I hope you have enjoyed this newsletter. All feedback, comments and contributions to future editions are very welcome (as are enquiries about contributions to, and sponsorship of, this newsletter). Alexander (Sandy) Dunn
Copyright 1996-2009, The Plant Maintenance Resource Center . All Rights Reserved.
|
|
