by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Sep 19, 2021 | Plant Operations, The Bloch Files
Whatever the project may be at a site, reliability and, by extension, the meeting of uptime goals don’t just happen. As the title of this article implies, in the plant-equipment area, owner-contractor interfacing activities typically will occur during several...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Sep 12, 2021 | Plant Operations, The Bloch Files
In my Sept. 6, 2021, article for The RAM Review (see article link below), I explained how truly world-class petrochemical and refining companies invested roughly 5% of the cost of equipment in pre-purchase reviews and reliability audits. This week, I am discussing a...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Sep 6, 2021 | Plant Operations, The Bloch Files
Placing review engineers at a design contractor’s office should be part of the budgeted cost of plant projects. Compared to the incredibly shortsighted, yet popular, “as cheap as possible” approach still taken by many operations, the incremental cost for such MQA...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Aug 30, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
This week’s newsletter column is a follow-up to my previous column on “How To FIND A Job” (see link below). My argument in that discussion emphasized the importance of communicating effectively. To be clear, strong communication skills (oral and...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Aug 22, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
This column’s title is similar to that of an article in a periodical I enjoy reading. The author made the point that “many people lose their jobs, not because of lack of technical skill, but because they lack the ability to communicate effectively.” Well...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Aug 15, 2021 | Asset Management, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
Some of today’s top RAM professionals take exception to the notion that technical books dealing with reliability, availability, and maintenance (“RAM”), and/or equipment-asset management can become outdated over time. They rightly dispute that...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Aug 8, 2021 | Learning from Mistakes, Lubrication Corner, The Bloch Files
The subject of lubrication is rarely, if ever, taught in U.S. universities. That’s regrettable. Misunderstandings and lube-related errors abound in plant operations and cost industry millions of dollars each year. The following collection of real-world case...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Aug 2, 2021 | Asset Management, The Bloch Files
Some pump specialists have expressed the belief that process plants are lacking when it comes to applying fundamentals and that chasing after high-tech solutions makes little sense if a plant has not mastered the basics. You can easily check if this notion is true...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Jul 25, 2021 | The Bloch Files, Training & Qualification
In virtually every modern process plant, we will always find operating, maintenance, and reliability/technical job functions. The most profitable of these facilities have managed to train their personnel. They also will have implemented organizational and other...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Jul 18, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations, The Bloch Files
If you don’t believe the above title, consider the following: Think about a healthy individual who seeks medical advice at the first sign of illness. Then compare his or her chance of recovery with that of a person who waits around and battles several different...
