by T.A. Cook, Part of Accenture | Jan 4, 2021 | SPONSORED INFORMATION
From T.A. Cook Staff T.A. Cook (tacook.com) The following questions and answers come from an interview conducted with Andreas Weber, Ph.D., Vice President of Commercial Interface & Development, Evonik Operations, GmbH. Among other things, Dr. Weber is also a...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Jan 3, 2021 | Newsletter Column, RAM's Human Factor
As maintenance and reliability professionals, we love rules of thumb and other easy-to-implement, tried-and-true solutions to problems. Experts who specialize in the human factors of failure refer to rules of thumb as “heuristics.” The reason we like...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Jan 3, 2021 | Asset Management, RAM Tools & Methods
A little over a year ago (Nov. 18, 2019), I wrote a newsletter column titled, “The Most Wonderful Time of Year” (see link below). In it, I highlighted how maintenance departments often go on shopping sprees with unspent budget dollars at the end of the...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Jan 3, 2021 | Electrical Reliability, Motors & Drives
In some cases, a significantly greater set of data is required to make improvements to a troubled system. When using individual technologies, most technicians are looking for single problems that relate specifically to the selected technology. Consequently, they will...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Jan 2, 2021 | Maintenance Management, RAM Tools & Methods
Many of the tens of thousands of preventive maintenance (PM) and repair work instructions I’ve reviewed over the decades have been sorely lacking in details. That means they’ve left a lot to the mechanics’ discretion. At the same time, many production...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Jan 2, 2021 | Plant Operations, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
As promised in my Dec. 19, 2020, article on delegation of responsibilities (see link below), here’s a proven, four-step approach for how to do it. The process consists of task definition, careful selection of the designee, provision of adequate resources, and...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Dec 20, 2020 | Maintenance Management, Newsletter Column
Reliable equipment depends on an alignment of the right things: The right application, operating conditions, duty cycle, operation, maintenance, replacement parts, input/output, performance data, and people following detailed work instructions. This column begins a...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Dec 20, 2020 | Electrical Reliability, Motors & Drives
A loose base is a common electric-motor consideration in new applications and following the aging of a motor-system application. In this case study we explore the use of Electrical Signature Analysis (ESA) and motion amplification to discover the issue and confirm the...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Dec 19, 2020 | Plant Operations, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
In our book, ‘Machinery Failure Analysis and Troubleshooting’ (now in its 4th edition), Fred Geitner and I explore competing approaches to such troubleshooting. One of them is the “Mr. Machinery Approach,” whereby sole responsibility for a facility’s...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Dec 19, 2020 | Asset Management, Lubrication Corner
In my Dec. 12, 2020, article, “ Improve Hydraulic System Reliability For Just Pennies A Day” (see link below), I used the term “creep to failure.” It describes mechanical systems that continue to work, albeit inefficiently, for long periods of time,...
