Reliability Connection - February 2017

February 2017

Reliability Consulting

In This Issue

Reliability’s Future is Now from Maintenance Technology

Reliability Tip

Upcoming Events

White Paper: Implementing a “Best Practices” Predictive Maintenance Program: Avoiding the 10 Most Common Pitfalls

In an effort to increase equipment reliability and reduce unscheduled downtime, many organizations have taken the proactive step of implementing a Predictive Maintenance (PdM) Program. Unfortunately, only an estimated 20% of these initiatives actually achieve the anticipated results, but knowing how to avoid the ten most common pitfalls substantially improves PdM results.

In a global marketplace, it is imperative that industrial and manufacturing organizations operate as competitively as possible. Maintenance has an enormous impact on an organization. It influences equipment reliability, equipment availability, production throughput, and eventual bottom-line profitability, so it is critical that informative and cost-effective equipment management strategies be employed. PdM/Condition Monitoring, if implemented properly, is a very effective strategy.

To read the whitepaper, click here.

Article - Reliability’s Future is Now from Maintenance Technology

With Plants and Processes growing increasingly complex, it’s essential to have a sustainable reliability program in place. The big question, though, is how does an organization go from having few or no reliability solutions to imple¬menting a successful holistic asset-management plan? Nathan Pettus, vice president of Emerson Process Management’s Reliability Solutions business (emersonprocess.com, Austin, TX), offered several tips:

Focus on the culture. Make reli¬ability a cultural institution. Ensure that every employee knows he or she plays a key role in keeping the organization safe and productive.
Rank asset criticality. Know which assets matter most and prioritize equipment that the organization simply can’t live without.
Don’t be afraid to start small. Even small changes in an organiza¬tion’s reliability culture can have a large impact. Many companies that started with a simple reliability training initiative have found their way to sustainable reliability plans.
Take action. Reliability and safety cannot wait. Identify areas that need improvement and start taking steps right away

To read the article, click here.

Reliability Tip:

Don’t depend on flexible couplings to correct misalignment issues

Flexible coupling manufacturers often publish tables that state the maximum allowable parallel and angular misalignment that their couplings can withstand. These are indeed accurate – for the coupling! However, these tolerances do not take into account the premature wear and damage to bearings and seals in the driver and driven equipment. In addition, most experts agree that power consumption will also be increased in misaligned equipment.

The goal of shaft alignment should not be how far out of alignment can we get away with, but how close we can get the alignment in a reasonable amount of time. The closer the alignment, the longer the equipment will last and the lower the operating cost will be. The initial investment in alignment tools and training will pay for itself in short order.

UPCOMING EVENTS

MARCON - University of Tennessee 2017
March 6-9, 2017

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