by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Jan 4, 2020 | Cut the FLAB, Maintenance Management, Plant Reliability in Dollars and $ense, RAM Tools & Methods, The Sustainable Plant
Happy New Year! It’s the time when we tend to reflect on the past year and resolve to make changes that will make this year even better. It’s particularly beguiling that this is the year “2020”—which is the term that optometrists and ophthalmologists use...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Jan 3, 2020 | Asset Management, The Sustainable Plant
There’s little doubt that the 2020s are destined to be the decade of a true awakening. Sustainable action focused on containing and reversing the adverse effects of climate change on the planet and our daily lives can no longer be put off. Seemingly endless—and...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Dec 23, 2019 | Newsletter Column, Workforce Issues
“Unplanned equipment downtime and changeovers are eating up our productivity. Our equipment has to perform better, be more reliable. We need to change the way we operate around here.” When the above type of directive comes from top management, there’s no doubt...
by Jane Alexander, Managing Editor | Dec 22, 2019 | Solution of the Week, Solution Showcase
According to Emerson, Minneapolis, MN, its Rosemount MS Slurry Sensor with the Rosemount 8782 Slurry Transmitter is a magnetic flow meter designed for applications that involve fluids with large solids, mining ore, pulp, or sand, or those that experience high process...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Dec 22, 2019 | Cut the FLAB, Maintenance Management, RAM Tools & Methods
Of all the various strategies associated with the maintenance and reliability of production equipment in the manufacturing and process industries, none is more salient than precision maintenance when it comes to increasing production availability and reducing...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Dec 20, 2019 | Electrical Reliability, Motors & Drives, Safety Matters
Voltage unbalance and its most severe form, single phasing, cause up to 14% of power-quality-related motor failures. It’s important to understand that maximum current unbalance is not defined in standards for electric motors in their operating environment,...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Dec 20, 2019 | RAM Tools & Methods, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
It was a regular routine. In the few decades from 1960 until 2000, during my daily drives in to work, I would make it a point to spend time deciding what to tackle once I arrived. Then, on my drives home, I would mull over what I had (or had not) accomplished on a...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Dec 16, 2019 | Asset Management, Newsletter Column, The Sustainable Plant
As the second decade of the 21st century draws to a close, we find ourselves, as individuals and businesses, facing what is arguably the greatest challenge in the history of civilization: the reduction of global warming. The influence of the RAM community on the...
by Jane Alexander, Managing Editor | Dec 15, 2019 | Solution of the Week, Solution Showcase
Sullair, Michigan City, IN, is offering an enhanced LS160 oil-flooded rotary screw air compressor with a larger, higher-efficiency air end than those found in LS160 units introduced in 2018. According to the company, the new air end offers greater free air delivery...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Dec 14, 2019 | Asset Management, RAM Tools & Methods
There’s been considerable chatter in the RAM community about the demise of root-cause analysis: That it’s obsolete. That it’s been replaced by so-called “learning teams” as a part of the human-performance-investigation/analysis (HPI/HPA) process. I don’t buy it. Any...
