by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Jan 2, 2022 | RAM Tools & Methods, Workforce Issues
From an early age, I have always enjoyed spending time with people who are older than me. While capitalizing on the energy and inventiveness of youth, I have also recognized that anything new is typically an iteration of something conceived many years previously, then...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Dec 13, 2021 | Asset Management, RAM Tools & Methods
In Part 3 of this series (see links below ) on Yield/Speed, the second element of Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), we discussed production-induced losses. This week, we address market and/or market- and marketing-induced Yield/Speed losses. One doesn’t commonly...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Dec 4, 2021 | Asset Management, RAM Tools & Methods
In Parts 1 and 2 of this series on the second element of Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), we discussed Yield/Speed in general, as well as various equipment-related issues of poor yield performance (see links to Parts 1 and 2 below.) This week, we are looking at...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Dec 4, 2021 | Electrical Reliability, RAM Tools & Methods
A bearing fails in a variable frequency drive (VFD) application. The response is to apply a shaft brush and insulated bearing. A critical electric motor shorts to ground. The response is to rewind or replace the motor and continue business as usual. When equipment...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Nov 27, 2021 | Electrical Reliability, RAM Tools & Methods
In Part III of this article series (Nov. 20, 2021, see link below), we discussed common and linear-type failure modes from mechanical systems as represented in the P-F curve. Mechanical equipment fails in terms of a “natural log” hazard curve,...
by Jim Seffrin, CMRP | Nov 21, 2021 | IR Thermography, RAM Tools & Methods
Process furnaces or heaters are critical components found in many petrochemical refineries. These large refractory-lined structures heat hydrocarbon product during the refining process. Performed properly, infrared inspections of furnace tubes can provide valuable...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Nov 20, 2021 | Electrical Reliability, RAM Tools & Methods
If you follow topics on reliability, you may have the impression that all equipment is born, lives, and dies in the same pattern as Europeans in the 17th century. That would be with a high rate of death at birth and during their early years, average across the middle...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Nov 15, 2021 | Asset Management, RAM Tools & Methods
In Part 1 of this series on the second element of Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), we discussed Yield/Speed as the ratio of the actual production rate divided by the Highest Sustained Rate (see ink below). We also raised another important issue about this...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Nov 15, 2021 | Electrical Reliability, RAM Tools & Methods
One of the most powerful and straightforward measurements of equipment reliability is Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF), which lets the reliability engineer roughly estimate conditions surrounding a system. Some will criticize the use of MTBF as a reliability tool...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Nov 8, 2021 | Asset Management, RAM Tools & Methods
Having explored Availability, the first element of Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), in detail, we will now be examining OEE’s second element: Yield/Speed. As we begin this new discussion, keep these points in mind: Availability quantifies the...
