What you will learn from this article:
- How shaft packing works.
- What to consider when selecting and using shaft packing.
- Good installation practices.
- Proper commissioning of shaft packing.
Shaft Sealing with a Packed Gland
on Maintenance Reliability
A listing in reverse chronological order of these article series:
- Usman Mustafa Syed — Aasan Asset Management series
- Arun Gowtham — AI & Predictive Maintenance series
- Miguel Pengel — Asset Management in the Mining Industry series
- Bryan Christiansen — CMMS and Reliability series
- James Reyes-Picknell — Conscious Asset series
- Alex Williams — EAM & CMMS series
- Nancy Regan — Everday RCM series
- Karl Burnett — History of Maintenance Management series
- Mike Sondalini — Life Cycle Asset Management series
- James Kovacevic — Maintenance and Reliability series
- Mike Sondalini — Maintenance Management series
- Mike Sondalini — Plant Maintenance series
- Andrew Kelleher — Process Plant Reliability Engineering series
- George Williams and Joe Anderson — The ReliabilityXperience series
- Doug Plucknette — RCM Blitz series
- Robert Kalwarowsky — Rob's Reliability Project series
- Gina Tabasso — The Intelligent Transformer Blog series
- Tor Idhammar — The People Side of Maintenance series
- André-Michel Ferrari — The Reliability Mindset series
First Step in Analyzing Repairable Systems Data
Using the right plot enables your team to know what is working or need improvement.
Part 4 of 7
Your facility has data and maybe too much data. Using simple plotting may be the key to unlocking how well your maintenance program is performing.
Building on the concept of reliability growth modeling James Kovacevic described a convenient way to quickly visualize your repairable system failure data is with a mean cumulative function (MCF) plot. [Read more…]
If You Want a Proactive Maintenance Program That Really Works, Then Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) Is The Way
This article is Part Two in my three part series about “PM” programs.
Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) is the world’s leading method for identifying maintenance and other activities required to sustain reliable performance of physical assets. If you want a proactive maintenance program that really works, then Reliability Centered Maintenance is the most thorough approach you can take to get there. [Read more…]
A Brief Introduction to Process Chemical Corrosion
Chemical corrosion can destroy the containment materials in contact with a process.
Means exist to mitigate and even prevent chemical corrosion. This article focuses on several such methods.
Acceptable corrosion
At times chemical corrosion is acceptable and one need only allow for it by using thicker materials. An example is the storage of sulphuric acid in mild steel tanks at ambient conditions and concentrations [Read more…]
Quantify the Improvements (or Gaps) In Your Reliability
Using a Crow-AMSAA [Reliability Growth Analysis (RGA)] to Quantify Your Reliability Improvements (or Losses)
Part 3 of 7
Imagine being able to predict the next time a failure will occur for a piece of equipment without a huge amount of work. Wouldn’t it be nice to know the approximate point in time that a failure will occur on a critical piece of equipment? It is possible, but I am not talking about using MTBF, as it is not a good measure (if you need to understand why, please visit http://www.NoMTBF.com). What I am talking about is a Crow-AMSAA analysis. [Read more…]
Preventive Maintenance “PM” Programs – Part 1 – The Basics
Do you replace your car headlights at regular intervals of six months? Do you wait to replace your tires until they wear through? Do you check your car engine oil with some sort of oil analysis before replacing it? Each component and system in your car has a function that is prone to failure. Each of those has consequences – some with little importance and others with great importance. [Read more…]
Tracking Large Rotating Equipment
What you will learn from this article.
- The importance of using datum for aligning kilns.
- How to set-up the necessary datum.
- The effect of trunnion alignment on the behavior of the kiln.
- How axial float is achieved by skewing the trunnions.
- Rotary dryers, kilns, mills, and reactors turn on tyres and trunnions.
The “What” & “Why” of Weibull Analysis
How to conduct a Weibull analysis and the questions the analysis will generate.
Part 2 of 7
Every failure is part of a puzzle. The equipment we are maintaining is trying to communicate with the use of each and every failure.
Often the message is not obvious.
There is the immediate failure. And, if we’re paying attention we can sort out the root cause of the failure along with replacing or repairing the damaged parts. Sometimes though the damage is caused by another issue with the system. [Read more…]
Ultrasonic Level Detectors
Consider these Experiences when making a Selection
What you will learn from this article:
- How ultrasonic level detectors work.
- Issues to consider when reviewing their suitability for use. Issues to consider when selecting their location.
- The importance of process and chemical compatibility.
Using the Maintenance Data You Already Have
Leverage the existing data in your CMMS to make sustainable improvements to your maintenance program
Part 1 of 7
Let’s face it, your technicians have been entering data into the CMMS for years, but you haven’t been able to use it to make improvements. Is it because the data isn’t codified or it doesn’t have the right data points? Generally, this is how most maintenance managers will view their data, but it is incorrect. The CMMS does have data that you can use almost immediately. [Read more…]
The Cost of Maintenance Destroys Your Capital Investment Returns
The cost of maintenance destroys your capital investment returns.
When equipment is first selected the buyer has the choice to buy for quality and long trouble-free operating life or to buy based on least cost. The least cost choice will result in high maintenance and operating expense for the life of the equipment.
When net present value cost of maintenance for cheap equipment is calculated in today’s dollars investors will discover that a large part of their capital will never earn them income but will be spent on maintenance and repair.
Keywords: replacement asset value, internal rate of return, opportunity cost [Read more…]
Flange Bolting-up Practices
What readers will learn in this article:
- Bolts and studs behave like springs when loads are applied.
- Gaskets behave like springs when loads are applied
- Introduced to the use of force diagrams to explain and analyze bolt and gasket behavior.
- Bolt torque-up issues and considerations.
- The effects of thread surface finish on friction.
- Proper bolting practices, sequence, and methods.
Protecting Bearings from Dust
What readers will learn in this article:
- Bearings in dusty environments require added protection against dust ingress.
- The use of shaft seals and how they protect bearings.
- Eight dust ingress control methods for bearings.
- Good contamination reduction practices when assembling bearings
and parts.
Dusty surroundings are one of the most difficult environments for bearings.
In equipment handling powders or in processes generating dust the protection of bearings against contamination by fine particles requires special consideration. [Read more…]
Open Trickle Chutes for Damp Bulk Product
What readers will learn in this article:
- The flow of bulk materials through chutes is affected by internal properties of the bulk product.
- Friction exists between the chute walls and a moving product.
- Momentum and velocity must be maintained when running bulk
materials through chutes. - Bulk materials chute design and use considerations.
For the effective flow of a cohesive (sticks to itself) product, a chute must be designed to maintain momentum & velocity. [Read more…]
Changing the Service Duty of a Pump
What readers will learn in this article.
- Centrifugal pumps can be moved to a new service.
- The impeller size, impeller speed, and motor power need to match the new service.
- That Similarity Law formula is used in calculating the new impeller size, speed, and motor power.
- Introduction to centrifugal pump curves and their use.
When there is a need to determine a new service duty for a centrifugal pump, and no performance curves are available, the recommended method is to use the Similarity Laws. These laws are derived by the use of [Read more…]
