by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | May 2, 2020 | Plant Operations, Workforce Issues
Have COVID-19, the global economic downturn, self-quarantine measures, and shelter-in-place directives taken a bite out of your business? Few, if any sectors, have escaped the turmoil. Countless employees and contractors across the industrial landscape have been...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | May 2, 2020 | RAM Tools & Methods, The Bloch Files
A machine manufacturer rediscovered the old axiom regarding extrapolations after experiencing many bearing failures in its 40-hp air blowers. The design incorporated life-time lubricated (sealed) blower bearings in rotors that spun 20-mm shafts at 22,000 rpm, and the...
by Jane Alexander, Managing Editor | Apr 26, 2020 | Solution of the Week, Solution Showcase
The ENTIS Tank Inventory System from Honeywell, Houston, offers new capabilities that improve integration and security, and enable compliant, reliable and accurate tank inventory operations for oil-storage terminal operations. Built on the company’s Experion...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Apr 26, 2020 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations, Safety Matters
It has been 56 years since I changed from a career path in high-speed machinery to employment in the petrochemical and refining industries. Over the course of my work, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting hundreds of value-adders. Conversely, I also have dealt with people...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Apr 26, 2020 | Asset Management, RAM Tools & Methods, Workforce Issues
Over the past few months, I’ve devoted a great deal of my attention and energy to the topic of creating a “defect-avoidance culture” in the plant. Culture isn’t an easy thing to change. It’s even harder to sustain because of a phenomenon referred to as psychological...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Apr 25, 2020 | Learning from Mistakes, Plant Operations
What is about to happen could be a tsunami of reshoring critical manufacturing. Numerous supply chains have been interrupted by the COVID-19 virus pandemic. But, more important, many people at all levels of the business world have realized that our critical supply...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Apr 25, 2020 | Planning & Scheduling, RAM Tools & Methods
In the world of maintenance and asset management, equipment failure is an all too common occurrence. Unfortunately, setting in place a strategy and methodology to understand and learn from each equipment failure is not a common occurrence. It’s through an acute...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Apr 19, 2020 | Newsletter Column, Workforce Issues
Writing is a chore for some and a creative outlet for others. Writing columns and articles for The RAM Review is an important task for those of us who do it. In my opinion, though, writing about what we know, what we have learned, what we have experienced (good, bad,...
by Jane Alexander, Managing Editor | Apr 19, 2020 | Solution of the Week, Solution Showcase
The Mobilair M500-2 from Kaeser Compressors, Fredricksburg, VA, is said to have been built with reliability, fuel efficiency, and flexibility in mind. According to the manufacturer, this portable, oil-free screw compressor delivers up to 1600 cfm, with a pressure...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Apr 18, 2020 | Electrical Reliability, Motors & Drives
This article continues a multi-part discussion on research conducted by EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute) and IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). As noted in the two previous installments of this series (see links at the end of this...
