by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Mar 6, 2022 | Asset Management, Electrical Reliability
As maintenance and reliability professionals, we know that the life of bearings and other components will be reduced through misalignment. Still, there’s a question: What is the impact associated with misalignment, meeting basic alignment tolerances, and...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Feb 27, 2022 | Asset Management, Newsletter Column
If your answer to that simple question is “yes,” you might be part of the problem, not the solution. I’ve been in the reliability-engineering and asset-management business for more than 30 years. And, over time, I’ve often heard senior and...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Feb 19, 2022 | Asset Management, Plant Operations
It’s too bad I cannot share all the details of a consulting experience that dates back a few years. Doing so is often thwarted by clients who first make a competent advisor sign a non-disclosure agreement and, occasionally, a non-defamation clause. In...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Feb 19, 2022 | Asset Management, RAM Tools & Methods
This week, we continue our exploration of metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) that support effective management of equipment assets in manufacturing, process, and other heavy industries. Here, our focus is on the balance sheet. But first, some recapping is...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Feb 19, 2022 | Asset Management, Electrical Reliability, The Sustainable Plant
Take it or leave it, the discussion of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions has been relatively dominant in energy industry circles since the early 1990s. These days, industrial operations look to projects that will reduce energy (which directly impacts the bottom line) and...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Feb 14, 2022 | Asset Management, Plant Operations, The Bloch Files
To recap, the author’s previous article for The RAM Review (Feb. 6, 2022, see link below) discussed a letter from mechanical engineer in South America who was seeking guidance on steam turbines for a combined-cycle-power-plant. The suitability of one type of...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Feb 14, 2022 | Asset Management, RAM Tools & Methods
In my Feb. 6, 2022, article for The RAM Review (see link below) I addressed the important key performance indicator (KPI) Return on Net Assets (RONA). A measure of management effectiveness, RONA is calculated by dividing an organization’s income statement by...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Feb 14, 2022 | Asset Management, Lubrication Corner
This conclusion of a three-part article on “cradle-to-cradle” (C2C) management of a site’s lubricants examines practices that help ensure those products are and remain the best they can be. And, more important, that they provide the highest levels of...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Feb 13, 2022 | Asset Management, Electrical Reliability
During the 1990s, the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE, energy.gov) and industry partners developed additional methods for load and efficiency testing that could be easily performed in the field with standard electrical instruments. While they may not be as exact as...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Feb 7, 2022 | Asset Management, Electrical Reliability
In 2010, an independent study was conducted at Dreisilker Electric Motors (Glen Ellyn, IL) to compare field-efficiency-testing methods to laboratory methods. Investigators used the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) MotorMaster Plus 4.0 (MMPlus) and a commercial ESA...
