Your Reliability Engineering Professional Development Site
A listing in reverse chronological order of these article series:
Thirty-three years ago, I graduated as a Journeymen Pipefitter from a three-year skilled trades apprentice program and went to work as a Journeymen at Eastman Kodak. At that time in my life I had no idea where this training would take me. I was simply honored to work alongside those who in mentoring me, passed on a set of skills that would last a lifetime. [Read more…]
The 5 s method of operation – A Five S program focuses on having visual order, organization, cleanliness and standardization throughout the workplace and the operation. It is a structured method to put operators and maintainers in control of what they do. [Read more…]
Grease and oil are the key lubricants used throughout industry to reduce friction between metal parts. Lubricants can only reduce friction if their immediate environment sustains their lubricating properties. Once the operating conditions are known a suitable lubricant with the right properties can be used. When the lubricant is in place it is necessary to maintain the environment and the machine to the specified design standards and protect it from changes to the design conditions. There are six key factors to address for trouble- free life where grease or oil lubrication is used on machinery. [Read more…]
Discipline, look it up in the dictionary and you will find the following definition; the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.
People tend to get nervous when the word Discipline pops up at the top of a presentation. Truth is there are several definitions to this word. As an example, Discipline is also a branch of knowledge one studies in higher education. [Read more…]
The Big Bang – starting and stopping equipment under load. When a machine starts-up its parts move from zero speed to operating speed in a short time (the reverse when stopping). During this short period the biggest forces that the machine experiences act on its components. If during the start-up or slow-down the product or process loads are added to the machines own self-loads the forces acting on the machine’s parts are horribly magnified. If these impulse forces exceed the machine’s design allowance, or cause gradual fatigue, then the stressed parts will shatter without warning. [Read more…]
Imagine being able to easily share information across sites or even organizations. Or how about utilizing a risk management framework that is recognized and agreed upon by all in the organization. Benchmarking made easy? Standards enable this. [Read more…]
Rotating shafts under bending stress. It is common to transmit motion using rotating shafts. The shafts are mounted in bearings and turned by force through a drive arrangement. The shafts usually also carry a load. These loads cause bending and the shaft reacts by producing counter stresses within itself. Provided the reactive stresses are within the shaft’s strength range it will take the load. But if the stresses are greater than what the shaft can take it will bend. Even if the stresses are below the load limit but fluctuate, it is possible that the shaft will break from fatigue. The point of highest stress can be found by looking at the arrangement of the shaft supports and loads and calculating the forces and stresses.
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One of the best things about my job is from time to time I get to work with some fantastic young people who have a passion for the Maintenance and Reliability business and have made the decision to pursue a career in this business. I really enjoy being a mentor, guiding the ambitious and offering advice on where to find information, articles and real, workable solutions. [Read more…]
Imagine if every day you had to relearn a process or use a different CMMS. Chances are you would get virtually nothing accomplished, leaving your plant operating poorly. Now we all know that we having to relearn a process every day or using a new CMMS is not practical nor is it rooted in reality (not to be confused with the Rooted in Reliability podcast). But this type of thing happens more often than you may think. [Read more…]
Orifice plate meter flow measurement. An orifice meter is a circular piece of metal plate placed between flanges in a pipe. In it is a square-edged round hole machined 0.5 to 0.8 pipe diameter in size. Pressure tapping points are placed either side of the plate at specified distances. The orifice causes a flow restriction and produces a pressure drop from one side of the hole to the other. The amount of pressure difference is proportional to the flow of fluid through the hole. The flow is calculated from the pressure difference and flow areas using accurate mathematical formulas. [Read more…]
I recently had a very interesting discussion with a craftsman at a large automotive manufacturer. During this discussion, he outlined a few of the issues he saw in his plant, and why they weren’t able to overcome them.
The craftsman indicated that he had been reading my previous posts and that it all made sense. In fact, he stated, ” it is common sense, but we don’t have that here”.
This topic is provided by http://www.isixsigma.com/library/
It’s important when resolving a problem that you address the problem and not a symptom of the problem. Determining the real problem is called finding the root cause. There are special techniques for determining the root cause of a problem. One technique is known as “The 5 Whys.” [Read more…]
Something to think about in a day and age when most companies post their Mission, Vision and Goals on the company web page. Do we really stand behind these statements and demonstrate the behaviors that clearly show we are willing to do what it takes to create a safe workplace? [Read more…]
NOTE: This post will be a little different from my normal posts. Instead of discussing a specific topic, I will be covering my journey in understanding Asset Management and some key takeaways from the journey. [Read more…]
Roller bearing vibration measurement is one of the major condition monitoring tools in regular use. By measuring the velocity, acceleration and frequencies emitted from a rolling bearing it is possible to tell its condition and the likelihood of imminent failure. The technology is well established and well proven but requires a good understanding of equipment vibration characteristics before a user can draw good interpretations from the results.
Keywords: out of balance, vibration analysis, bearing life [Read more…]
