by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Mar 7, 2021 | Asset Management, RAM's Human Factor
Making equipment reliable is more than an engineering project. More than precision maintenance. More than good data. And much more than many organizations consider at the onset. Reliability improvement requires many factors, elements, actions, and individual skill...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Mar 5, 2021 | Asset Management, RAM Tools & Methods, The Bloch Files
Years ago, I had to learn about the associated filter-related terms “Beta Ratio” and “Beta Efficiency.” I had read that we can calculate fluid-filter efficiency after ascertaining the Beta Ratio. By convention, Beta Ratio is a measure of a filter’s efficiency....
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Feb 27, 2021 | Asset Management, Lubrication Corner
When was the last time you performed an interior physical inspection of your oil-system reservoirs? Is performing a reservoir cleanliness check (interior and exterior) part of a regular preventive maintenance (PM) checklist for all hydraulic,...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Feb 27, 2021 | Asset Management, Plant Operations, The Bloch Files
Articles on “Eliminating Cooling Water from General Purpose Pumps and Drivers” date back to about 1976. The rationale for dispensing with cooling water in the bearing housings of most process pumps was later explained in many books. However, despite the...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Feb 21, 2021 | Asset Management, Electrical Reliability, Plant Operations
With the extreme polar vortex dipping south into Texas recently, there’s been plenty of discussion about the reliability of wind turbines in supplying power. The issues raised have ranged from turbine icing to the notion that Texas might have been relying too...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Feb 20, 2021 | Asset Management, Electrical Reliability
Here’s a bit of history to ponder, or for RAM pros of a certain vintage, to vividly recall. “Drive 80 mph and freeze a Yankee,” was a popular bumper sticker in Texas during the 1973 – 1974 energy crisis. I lived in Northern Michigan at the time and...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Feb 13, 2021 | Asset Management, Lubrication Corner
Over the past year, one effect of COVID-19 has been to turn us into a population of stockpilers and hoarders of consumable products. As a result, many are now more aware of a consumable item’s “best before date,” found on most product packaging and labeling materials....
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Feb 12, 2021 | Asset Management, Safety Matters, The Bloch Files
The overwhelming majority of small-turbine-overspeed-trip devices are mechanical: They incorporate a spring-activated trip bolt that moves out and contacts a trip lever whenever a preset overspeed is reached. The overspeed trip setting is selected at the time of...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Feb 6, 2021 | Asset Management, The Sustainable Plant
As noted in the first part of this short article series (Feb. 1, 2021, see link below), the idea of reducing cost and decreasing the environmental impact of a manufacturing or process plant by focusing on management of parasitic frictional losses is a very compelling...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Jan 30, 2021 | Asset Management, The Sustainable Plant
“Think Local, Act Global” is a phrase typically attributed to Patrick Geedes, an early 20th-century urban planner in Scotland. Geedes’ thinking seems quite applicable to the overall global climate-change challenge and, by extension, in today’s RAM...
