This fourth and final “Fingerprint to Footprint” series installment focuses on the collaboration between the maintenance and operations groups to understand and map out how each equipment piece, manufacturing-process line, and vehicle is operated on a day-to-day basis and determine how its loading affects asset health, emissions, and energy use. The resulting information can then be used to optimize the asset loading for efficiency, longevity, and sustainability.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR CURRENT ASSET-LOADING STATE
Documenting your current asset loading state is achieved by keeping a daily equipment/line log, for a minimum period of time (one week or more preferred), to document idle hours, operating hours, speed, raw material/product, product throughput, and energy consumption figures.
If different products, using different raw materials, are manufactured on the same equipment or line, or if equipment use changes based on a seasonal requirement, each change in operational use should be charted and analyzed separately. If the product or material run is less than a week, then log for the actual duration of the production run.
Additionally, it’s good practice to have the operator(s) and maintenance practitioner(s)—if called in to work on equipment during the log period—document the date and time of any noticed change in machine characteristics, e.g,. noise, vibration, smell, leaks, smoke, etc.
Physical assets consume energy at a known calculated rate when producing work at a manufacturer-recommended design throughput rating. If the asset is loaded erratically with rapid acceleration and braking, small run times, or with heavier than normal load demands, the user can expect to pay handsomely in terms of energy, emissions, and component wear life. A good example of this can be seen in how we drive our automobiles.
Short “stop and go” trips at slower speeds around town always get poorer gas mileage than longer highway drives at or near the speed limit (the speed at which most cars are designed to be the most efficient). Again, overloading the vehicle past the MRGVW (Manufacturer’s Recommended Gross Vehicle Weight) will yield poorer gas mileage than the same vehicle loaded within its design limits.
Similarly, erratic use of a vehicle caused by long idle times and constant direction and speed change in traffic will create an increase in mechanical component wear, a decrease in fuel economy, and an increase in emissions proving a direct link between efficiency and load condition.
ACHIEVING A FUTURE ASSET OPTIMIZATION STATE
With a current operation profile available for each equipment piece or line, the maintenance and operations groups can work together to develop and implement an Asset Optimization Strategy (AOS). This is achieved by focusing on these three specific areas:
1. Perform Basic Maintenance Practices
♦ Implement a simple asset cleanliness program in which both operators and maintainers ensure equipment is and areas around the equipment is kept as clean as possible. A cleaning program provides the ability to troubleshoot equipment problems faster, and has been proven to reduce the parasitic effect of energy conversion to heat caused by a dirt-based thermal blanket coating on machine power and transmission components.
♦ Implement an engineered lubrication management program to ensure delivery of the right lubricant, in the right place, in the right amount, at the right time, can reduce energy and associated emissions by up to 20%.
♦ Remember that alignment, balance, and fastener torqueing techniques all work together to eliminate energy-robbing vibration, emissions, and premature component wear.
2. Optimize Equipment Operation
♦ A study of equipment idle time by the Research Institute for Energy Economics concluded that in a single 8-hr. shift, machine tools accounted for a disproportionate 30% of total energy consumption when they were left idling during operation break and non-productive time periods., So, if your current asset-loading state state reveals idle-time opportunities, operations may want to investigate using that idle time for production with “back-up staffing” or working with maintenance to explore utilizing the time to perform planned maintenance tasks, thereby reducing wasted energy and emissions.
♦ Using the current state log data, the asset use profile can be reviewed to determine if the equipment throughout /line speed can be equalized to produce at a consistent rate of manufacture, thereby eliminating energy surges caused when an asset is consistently being asked to perform above its design specification in an erratic manner.
3. Leverage Energy-Efficient Design
♦ Today, there’s no excuse for not specifying and purchasing new equipment with properly balanced and aligned mechanical systems, engineered and fully automated lubrication-delivery systems, and high-efficiency electrical components that require less energy to run and reduce startup loads on driven systems, i.e., VFDs (variable-frequency drives).
BOTTOM LINE
Adopting a collaborative asset-management approach over a pure maintenance approach forces us to consider how the asset is being loaded and analyze the consequence of our current loading practices. This encourages both maintenance and operations to act proactively and work as a team toward setting up a true sustainable and profitable approach to manufacturing that is both wise and energy-wise.TRR
TO READ PREVIOUS INSTALLMENTS IN THIS SERIES,
CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINKS
Introductory Column: (The Fingerprint to Footprint Challenge)
Part I: (General Action Items)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ken Bannister has 40+ years of experience in the RAM industry. For the past 30, he’s been a Managing Partner and Principal Asset Management Consultant with Engtech Industries Inc., where he specializes in helping clients implement best-practice asset-management programs worldwide. A founding member and past director of the Plant Engineering and Maintenance Association of Canada, Bannister is the author of several books, including three on lubrication, one on predictive maintenance, and his latest, Energy Reduction Through Improved Maintenance Practices (Industrial Press). He’s also writing a new book on planning and scheduling. Contact him directly at 519-469-9173 or kbannister@theramreview.com.
Tags: lubrication, energy management, lubrication, sustainability, Green, RAM, lubricants, used oil, fluids disposal, hydraulics, filtration, contamination control. asset optimization
