Infrared Inspections Of Photovoltaic Systems
Defective cells or wiring within solar panels can cause hotspots that compromise the power output. Luckily, those hotspots are readily detected with a thermal imager while panels are exposed to sunlight.
Facing The Post-Pandemic Labor Shortage
While employment rates in some sectors are nearing pre-COVID-19 levels, manufacturing is facing a disturbing quit rate and struggling to attract new talent. This article details strategies for dealing with today’s labor challenges.
Parts & People In Short Supply: Taking Care Of What We Have
The challenges in today’s operations are many. One of the most obvious solutions for some of them is to overcome disconnects between top-management decisions and plant-floor realities.
Why NOT To Use Decades-Old Pump Packing
Commissioning of a plant that had sat idle since its construction 29 years earlier sparked questions about installed equipment. That led the author to question the questioners’ decision-making skills.
Part 1: Electrical-Grid Reliability, Resilience, And Why It Really Matters
Despite evolving impact and types of use and generation, the existing U.S. power infrastructure has not changed significantly in design since the 1920s. That situation is finally being corrected.
Back In The Saddle. . . Again
What’s changed in the reliability-improvement arena over the past five years? Have obstacles to those improvements changed? Info gleaned from a PdM users group may shed some light on the issues.
Reporting From The Hill: Workforce And Infrastructure Meetings In Washington, DC
Recent face-to-face discussions with legislators and Federal-agency staffers covered plenty of ground on a number of crucial issues. The author represented a number of organizations in these meetings.
EAM/ERP Upgrade Or Just A ‘Lift & Shift’ (Part 1): The Strategy
Upgrading your organization’s Enterprise Asset Management and/or Enterprise Resource Planning systems offers a big opportunity. Effective configuration of these systems can create big value for a business.
Get The Facts On Pumping Of Ammonia
Getting at facts may take time, including time away from the office. Reading, studying, and communicating facts are not just fruitful technical endeavors, though. Engineers who consistently do those things will also be respected.
Calling Out Industry’s Top Maintenance Challenges
The real problems for maintenance organizations are long-term challenges, the ones at our doorsteps or those looming just over the horizon that we often put off tracking. Are they timeless or do they change over the years?.
