by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Jul 18, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations, The Bloch Files
If you don’t believe the above title, consider the following: Think about a healthy individual who seeks medical advice at the first sign of illness. Then compare his or her chance of recovery with that of a person who waits around and battles several different...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Jul 18, 2021 | Asset Management, RAM Tools & Methods
For most, a simple mention of the term “little black book” can conjure up thoughts of secret names, thoughts, event records, occurrences and the like. Yet, most of us, in one form or another, be it electronic or hand written, will keep a diary, logbook, memorandum...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Jul 18, 2021 | Electrical Reliability, The Sustainable Plant
As usual, you get up early in the morning to go to work, leaving your house about the same time as all your neighbors. As you drive, you begin to notice that you’re catching all green lights on the main thoroughfares, and cross traffic has less time for its...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Jul 18, 2021 | Asset Management, Plant Operations
In my July 11, 2021, “Dispatches From The Plant Newsletter” column (see link), I discussed how the global marketplace is currently confronting supply-chain shortages of just about everything these days. This situation has led to a perfect storm, one...
by Jane Alexander, Managing Editor | Jul 12, 2021 | Solution Showcase
Honeywell Process Solutions, Houston, TX, recently announced that the company has added Operator Advisor to its Experion Highly Augmented Lookahead Operations (HALO) suite. The new software solution uses machine-learning-powered analytics to gather insights from...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Jul 12, 2021 | Asset Management, Planning & Scheduling
My recent articles on leading metrics designed to drive proactive behaviors at a site have focused on improving Mean Time Between/ To Failure (MTBF/MTTF) of plant assets. These included Overall Inspection Effectiveness (OIE), Overall Lubrication Effectiveness (OLE),...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Jul 11, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations
History has shown that counterfeit materials have tended to thrive whenever there are shortages of commodity materials and goods, accompanied by opportunities to charge exorbitant prices. Increased online marketing has also fueled the growth of counterfeit product...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Jul 11, 2021 | Asset Management, Lubrication Corner
The online resource Dictionary.com defines the word “clean” as “free from dirt,” “free from foreign and extraneous matter.” To most, “clean” is a subjective term, the interpretation of which depends on the subject matter and the interpreter’s standards for...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Jul 11, 2021 | Electrical Reliability, The Sustainable Plant
In the vernacular of smart grids, your facility might already be considered a “microgrid.” One of the concepts that became part of the smart-grid framework we discussed in my July 3, 2021, article (see link below) had to do with the definition of...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Jul 9, 2021 | Asset Management, Plant Operations, The Bloch Files
This is a brief history of equipment-procurement practices, as described by “X,” a long-time friend and colleague. In an enlightening 2020 conversation, “X” suggested that reliability-focused engineers had been entangled in flawed...
