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Belts are a critical part of the design and function of belt-driven equipment. The majority of belts never reach their intended design life due to improper selection, storage, and installation. Unfortunately, this results in compromised equipment operation, lost capacity, and increased costs. Do not condemn your equipment to death through improper belt installation practices. Below are some guidelines to help your facility ensure belt-driven equipment reliability:

  • Follow all site-specific safety procedures.
  • The same basic installation steps are required for both synchronous and V-belts.
  • Loosen motor mounting bolts or adjustment screws.
  • Move the motor until the belt to be replaced is slack and can be removed easily without prying or any other means of force. Prying off a belt or chain can damage a sheave or sprocket and increase the risk of injury. Never use a screwdriver to remove belts, because this may damage belt cords, sheaves, and sprockets.
  • After removal, inspect the old belt for unusual wear that may indicate problems with design or maintenance issues.
  • Visually inspect and replace sheaves or sprockets that have excessive wear, nicks, rust, pits, or are bent.  Grooves that appear “shiny” or polished could indicate heavy wear and should not be ignored.  Never sand or scrape groves.  Doing so will insert points of wear leading to a premature belt or sheave failure.
  • Sheave gauges should be used to measure for excessive wear and determine if sheave replacement is necessary.  Total wear should not exceed 1/32 in or 0.8 mm.
  • Sheaves and sprockets should be checked for proper alignment.  A laser alignment tool is the recommended means.  Most major belt manufacturers recommend a nominal tolerance of 0.5 degrees.  However, better alignment tolerances should be achieved if possible.  The table below can be used to determine proper alignment. For maximum resolution, always mount the laser alignment tool on the smaller sheave and the targets on the larger sheave.  Ensure that the alignment tool being used can indicate misalignment in all three degrees of freedom (axial offset, horizontal angularity, and twist angle).

Note 1: Check and correct any run-out conditions prior to belt installation.  Tighten bolts in the proper sequence to prevent axial run-out.
Replace all belts on multiple belt drives with new belts from the same manufacturer. Never replace a single belt or a portion of a multiple belt drive. Mixing old and new belts will create unevenly shared loading and lead to premature belt failure and/or sheave wear.

  • When installing the new belt, ensure that enough clearance is available to slip the new belt(s) over the sheave or sprocket. Never pry or use force to install the belt(s). Never use a screwdriver to roll belts into position, because this may damage belt cords, sheaves, and sprockets.
  • Adjust the motor base until the belts are tight. The motor should be checked for soft foot conditions using a feeler gauge or other suitable means and corrections made if required. No reading of soft foot should be greater than 0.002 inches or 0.05 mm.
  • Use a tension gauge or sonic tension meter until the correct tension is measured according to specifications.
  • Rotate the belt drive by hand a few revolutions and re-check and adjust belt tension as necessary.
  • Re-check the sheave or sprocket alignment and re-adjust if necessary.
  • Secure motor mounting bolts to the correct torque specifications.
  • Replace equipment guards and follow any other site-specific safety requirements to return the equipment to operation.
  • Upon equipment startup, listen and visually inspect for any unusual vibration, noise, or heat. Other corrective actions may be required (lubrication, tension adjustment, etc.) to ensure equipment is ready for proper operation.

Note 2: Contact the belt manufacturer and provide the drive information to receive the most accurate tension information for the required operating loads.  Belt tension charts may specify more tension than is required by the application.  The proper tension for the belt is the minimum tension required to prevent the belt from slipping at maximum load.  A good guideline in the absence of any other information is to use a spring scale and press down on the belt in the approximate center of its span (on the tight side), to deflect the belt 1/64″ per inch of span length and observe the force required to do so. If you are not sure of the belt span length you may also use the center-to-center distance of the pulleys, which will be similar. Tension the belts until the force required for this deflection equals the belt manufacturer’s maximum recommended force values for the specific belts you are using.

Note 3: Belts should not squeal on startup when adjusted to proper tension.  This can be an indication that the drive is not proper for the application. 

Note 4: A run-in procedure may be required for V-belt drives or other installations to ensure optimal belt life and equipment reliability.  It is recommended to check and adjust belt tension under full load after 20 minutes, 24 hours, and 48 hours of operation to properly seat the belts in the sheave grooves.  Consult belt manufacturer and engineering specifications to determine if a run-in period is required and the length of time.

by Trent Phillips CRL CMRP - Novelis

Unfortunately, proper storage of belts is often overlooked.  I visit a lot of plants and almost always see equipment belts improperly stored to the detriment of optimal reliability.   Ensuring that the belts used in your equipment are properly stored will result in:

  • Fewer failures upon startup
  • Longer belt service life
  • Better equipment performance
  • Improved safety
  • Preservation of belt warranty coverage

Below are some belt storage tips to help ensure that your equipment functions as healthily and long as possible:

  1. Belts should be stored in a cool and dry environment with no direct sunlight.  Storage temperature should be below 85°F/29.5°C with a relative humidity no higher than 70%. Belt performance is reduced by 50% for every 15°F / 9.5°C above 115°F / 46°C.
  2. Do not store belts in areas exposed to:
    • Airborne chemicals
    • Heat sources
    • Direct sunlight
    • Airflow from heat sources
    • Transformers, refrigerators, motors, or other sources that create ozone
  3. It is not recommended to store belts on the floor. If floor storage is required, the belts should be stored in a protective container and never exposed to foot traffic.
  4. Never twist, bend or crimp belts during storage and handling. Doing so will damage them.
  5. Do not hang belts from pegs as they will distort over time. Do not store belts under any state of tension.
  6. V-belts may be stored by hanging on a wall rack only if hung on a saddle with a diameter at least as large as the minimum diameter sheave recommended for the belt cross-section. If coiling a V-belt for storage, consult the supplier for limits. It is always best to store belts flat on a shelf.
  7. Store belts in the original box. Stacking of belts on top of each other should be limited. Ensure that the belts on the bottom are not damaged by the weight of the belts on top.

by Trent Phillips CRL CMRP - Novelis

As Published by Maintenance Technology Magazine September 2017 issue

If greater reliability and uptime are of any concern to you, then precision maintenance is a key component in achieving it. This means having clear and simple, yet meaningful, procedures in place for the different tasks involved. Two such tasks are precision alignment and balancing. LUDECA’s  5-Step Procedures will help guide your facility and maintenance staff to achieving precision maintenance.

Get your own copy of these 5-Step Procedures:

Download 5-Step Shaft Alignment Procedure

Download 5-Step Balancing Procedure
Why is precision maintenance so important?  The reasons are clear:

  1. Safety
    The alignment and balancing procedures lay out the basic steps required to align and balance machines safely, reducing the risk of injury and increasing the likelihood of a quality outcome. Checklists simplify the workflow and serve to remind employees of the processes required to consistently and safely perform the precision maintenance task.
  2. Reliability
    Well-aligned and balanced machines run more reliably, with a greatly reduced probability of failure. This allows for better maintenance planning, greatly reduced repair and maintenance expenses, increased uptime, and more profits.
  3. Efficiency
    A good alignment procedure ensures that machines are aligned to the proper tolerances for the running condition of the machines, taking into account such things as thermal growth and anticipated positional changes. This ensures that the greatest efficiency is achieved in your running machinery, prolonging their health and reducing power consumption. Studies have shown that well-aligned machines result in a 3% to 10% reduction in power consumption. Noise and heat generation are reduced, producing a safer work environment.
  4. Production Quality
    Good alignment and balancing result in better product quality since vibration is minimized, resulting in more uniform and higher product quality. Unexpected breakdowns in production machinery may lead to costly waste from scrappage and high restart costs for the production line.
  5. Training & Procedural Consistency
    Once implemented, a procedure ensures all employees involved in the activity face clear and consistent expectations and processes, leading to a better understanding between all staff in the facility. Training expenses can be reduced since often only refresher training is required to update understanding of the technology utilized as updates are rolled out. Records should be kept that document employee training.

The next step in precision maintenance and reliability is the Implementation of formal specifications that detail every step in a task from safety to activity process to documentation, to ensure that anyone involved can follow the procedures and guidelines without confusion, and reach the desired outcome for all machinery types in the plant. Such specifications typically take from two to three months to develop and a further two to three months to roll out and fully implement. LUDECA has written a number of these specifications for customers worldwide. Let us help you as well.

by Alan Luedeking CRL CMRP

The word “thrashing” can mean many things.  Words like flogging, whipping, beating, head banging and many more are always included in the definition.  Do you constantly feel these effects when trying to manage or participate in a reliability project?  As a result, does the project become overwhelming, or lack support, or have steps and goals that keep changing and a desired outcome that is never reached?

One of the most overlooked ingredients for a successful project is overcoming resistance to change by key individuals.  These individuals may resist because they do not agree with the project steps, the outcome, or simply believe they will not benefit.  You must look at things through their eyes!  You cannot wait until the project is near completion to let these individuals “thrash” it and for you to “see” it from their perspective.  Schedule time and welcome thrashing at the beginning of the project.  As a result, you will be able to better convey project value, identify crucial things that should be included in the project design and then focus on the target completion date (ship date) and returning value back to your company.

The unfortunate fact is that we cannot stop our reliability projects from being flogged, beat up and whipped.  Take advantage of this reality and understand key aspects from everyone’s viewpoint early in the project.  Otherwise, you run the risk of having your project delayed and yourself beaten to death at the end.

by Trent Phillips CRL CMRP - Novelis

In order to determine what a Reliability Engineer should be, we must first look at the definition of Reliability.  Reliability can be defined as the probability that a device, system, or process will continue to perform its given function without failure for a known time in a known environment.  Based on this, the role of a Reliability Engineer can be easily defined as increasing the probability that assets will operate when required by determining and driving strategies that prevent failures.  In order to do this, the Reliability Engineer must apply analysis techniques that identify causes of failures, apply practices that prevent these failures, and determine strategies that mitigate the consequences of failures that cannot be prevented.  In other words, keep equipment and processes running well.  When they do not, find out why and do something about it.  If you cannot do anything about it, then find a way to protect the processes or mitigate the consequences.

Reliability Engineers have a strategic and tactical role within an organization.  This means being a leader, mentor, and teacher.  Developing, supporting, and maintaining a reliability roadmap in accordance with clear reliability targets that contribute to the operational goals of the company.  Support efforts that ensure the reliability, operability, and maintainability of equipment and processes.  And provide education and analysis that contributes to all of the above.

A Reliability Engineer should be many things, but definitely not a part-time position, a firefighter, parts expeditor, or reactivity manager when a failure occurs.

As an interesting exercise, write down how you define the role of a Reliability Engineer.  Ask several people to write down the top five things they believe define the role of a Reliability Engineer within your company.  The answers may be quite surprising and very telling about the real reliability culture within your company.

by Trent Phillips CRL CMRP - Novelis

Bearings are a critical part of the design and function of most mechanical equipment. The majority of bearings never reach their intended design life due to improper selection, storage, and installation. Unfortunately, this results in compromised equipment operation, lost capacity, and increased costs. Do not condemn your equipment to death through improper bearing storage practices. Below are a few storage tips to help your facility ensure bearing reliability:

  • Store bearings in a clean, dry, and low humidity environment (moisture from the environment, gloves, etc can result in corrosion and/or etched sections creating fatigue on the bearing.) Avoid storage near direct sunlight, air conditioners, or vents.
  • Eliminate shock/vibration.
  • Do not store bearings on the floor (will introduce contamination, moisture, and vibration/shock.)
  • Store bearings on a pallet or shelf in an area not subjected to high humidity or either sudden or severe environmental changes.
  • Store bearings flat and do not stack them (lubrication and anti-corrosion material may squeeze out.)
  • Do not remove bearings from carton/crate or protective wrappings until just prior to installation in the machine (be careful of bearings in wooden crates as these could attract moisture – perhaps best to remove them from those cases.)
  • Do not clean bearings with cotton or similar materials that can leave dust and/or contamination behind (use lint-free materials.)
  • Do not handle bearings with dirty, oily, or moist hands.
  • Do not nick or scratch bearing surfaces.
  • Always lay bearings on clean, dry paper when handling.
  • Keep bearings away from sources of magnetism.
  • Do not remove any lubrication from a new bearing.
  • Lubricant in stored bearings will deteriorate over time. The bearing manufacturer should specify shelf-life limits. These dates should be noted on the packaging and monitored to help ensure bearings are fit for use when needed.
  • The following visual inspections of bearing integrity should be completed periodically and just prior to use:
    • Examine packaging for indications that the bearing could have been damaged during shipment or storage. The bearing should be discarded or returned to the supplier if signs of damage are found.
    • Examine the grease or oil for evidence of hardening, caking, discoloration, separation, etc. Re-lubrication for continued storage or replacement may be required.

Miss Part 1 of 2? Here it is: Has your Equipment Been Condemned to Death? Proper Lubrication

Download Bearing Storage Best Practices.

by Trent Phillips CRL CMRP - Novelis

Reliability professionals face a lot of challenges in their profession and deserve a lot of credit for the positive impact they have within an organization. Your efforts provide a greater return on deployed assets by reducing risk, unscheduled downtime, and cost while helping to improve capacity, quality, safety, and other factors.

As much credit as reliability professionals deserve, one individual stands above them all for his influence within a company and never receives just recognition. Not everyone is aware of the impact he has on our daily lives. Who is this person, you ask? Well, let me introduce him to you. His name is “Not Me”. Do you know him?

“Not Me” is the most dedicated employee in your company. He always arrives early, leaves late, works weekends and holidays, and never complains. He sure does get around! He works in your company and lives in your home. Spouses, children, coworkers, and politicians eagerly give him responsibility for the things that happen.

If you don’t believe me, just walk around and ask people who were responsible for something. “Who created that safety issue by leaving the fork truck running when not in use and with the forks raised at eye level?” “Who left a tripping hazard in that walkway so someone could get injured?” “Who traversed that walkway, noticed the tripping hazard, and yet did nothing about it so an injury could be prevented?” “Who noticed a coworker not wearing proper PPE and said nothing to prevent them from being injured?” “Who broke that toy, cracked that window at home, and put the dent in your new expensive car?” “Not Me” is ready to take full responsibility for each of those actions and many others.

Who is responsible for the improper design and installation of that critical machine that has resulted in a lot of unnecessary downtime and cost for your company? Who is responsible for ensuring that maintenance workers repairing that machine are properly trained, have proper tools, are given adequate time, and are provided parts and a well-written job plan? “Not Me” is responsible for it all.

Stop giving “Not Me” credit that he does not deserve for the things that are done. Remember, that by giving him so much credit we prevent ourselves, others, and our company from learning and improving. We should start taking responsibility for our actions and ask others to do the same. Ask “Not Me” to find a different job and role in your company and life.

by Trent Phillips CRL CMRP - Novelis

Rotating equipment produces a sound (ultrasonic) signature during operation. This signature can be measured and trended over time. As the machine components begin to fail a change in the ultrasonic signature will occur.

The change in sound level can be used to alarm that could be related to lubrication or bearing damage. A key factor to using an ultrasound tool successfully to determine machine health is collecting the measurements at the same location every time. The first step is to identify a measurement test point for each bearing to be monitored.

One method for data collection is to use a magnet that should be attached to a metal pad epoxied to the measurement location. The use of a magnet and mounting pad will allow for repeatable and consistent data for accurate trending and alarming. If access to measurement locations is restricted, then a sensor can be permanently installed so that measurements can be taken remotely. Ultrasound is an extremely valuable tool that can be used to detect bearing problems with slow-speed applications.

Ultrasound is an important part of any reliability-based condition monitoring program and can provide early warning of mechanical failure. This early warning can lead to reduced downtime and increased plant reliability.

by Dave Leach CRL CMRT CMRP

The Easy-Laser E970 laser roll alignment system is a well-established product proven to be effective in many parallel roll alignment applications such as in printing presses, steel, aluminum, and paper mills. We recently completed a roll alignment at a stainless steel roll slitting facility.
e970-image1
Setting the system up was fast and easy, from establishing a reference roll to creating new benchmarks.  Rolls were measured for both level and skew.
e970-image2
Corrections were done on-site with live monitoring.  The system was able to accurately measure traditionally challenging rolls with unusual surfaces, including rewinder rolls and non-magnetic rolls, such as the guide roll with a rubber surface.
e970-image3
The asset owner requested that the slitters and guides be checked and asked whether that was possible.  The versatility of this system allowed for such an operation.  By profiling the laser to a reference roll, the slitters were checked for alignment and the required adjustments were made.
e970-image4
The job was scoped for two days, yet the entire job with slitter alignment was completed in less than one day.  This provided the time to complete a roll alignment on an entirely separate finishing operation.
e970-image5
The proof of good parallel roll alignment lies in the results, after running the machine: the laser aligned rolls produce consistent material thicknesses to tolerance, thereby saving tens of thousands of dollars of potentially wasted money in scrap product, not to mention if a roll had to be scrapped for this process.  The E970 is an accurate performer whose versatility is straightforward by all measures™

by Daus Studenberg CRL

As Published by Uptime Magazine December/ January 2017 issue

Do No Harm: The Hippocratic Oath Applied to Reliability

The Greek physician Hippocrates (c.460 BC – c.370 BC) is credited with an oath that was meant to provide certain ethical standards a physician was to uphold. While maintenance is not of the magnitude as being a doctor, organizations would do well to apply portions of the Hippocratic oath to their maintenance practices. Two such examples are: “…to teach them this Art, if they shall wish to learn it, without fee or stipulation; and that by precept, lecture, and every other mode of instruction, I will impart a knowledge of the Art to my own sons, and those of my teachers, and to disciples…” and “I will follow that system of regimen which, according to my ability and judgment … and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous.” This article focuses on the latter, “and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous,” or in 21st century vernacular: Do no harm.”

Maintenance reliability professionals have a responsibility to their superiors to deliver results that improve the bottom line via increased uptime and productivity. But they also have a responsibility to those technicians who are expected to assist them in the process of increasing asset uptime and improving reliability. Regardless of your certification or the acronym attached to your signature block, without the technician’s solid understanding and performance of the basics, you will not achieve either goal. Two key ingredients of any reliability effort are precision installation and maintenance practices. Without them, you will find yourself replacing the same motors, pumps, etc., repeatedly.

From the reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) teachings of Stanley Nowlan and Howard F. Heap, both engineers at United Airlines, and John Moubray, the originator of RCM2, it is learned that there are six distinct failure curves. Furthermore, as many as 68 percent of failures can be attributed to infant mortality or failure induced at start-up/installation.

Figure 1: Failure patterns
Figure 1: Failure patterns

Read the full article to learn how precision installation and maintenance practices are two key ingredients of any reliability effort.

by Ana Maria Delgado, CRL

The practice of reliability has many tools, processes, and methodologies that can and should be implemented within a facility. Try as we may, it is usually not possible to implement and sustain all of them. So the challenge quickly becomes deciding which aspects of reliability to implement and in what order!

Implementation and enforcement of standardized work procedures is a very critical aspect of reliability and should be at the very top of your list of required reliability tools! Standard procedures focusing on fundamentals such as proper torquing, alignment, balancing, bearing installation, and equipment installation, should be in place. In addition, standard procedures for work requests, work approval, planning, scheduling, and work execution should be implemented as well.

Make sure that standard procedures are in place to execute the reliability methodologies at your facility. Otherwise, your site may always find it difficult to achieve sustainable and best practice maintenance and reliability.

Why? Unfortunately, people are usually the biggest obstacle we face in our jobs. People do not like to change, forget or misunderstand what needs to be done. Standard procedures will help ensure that reliability processes are routinely followed and things do not fall back to the unreliable way they have always been done. Additionally, it will provide the ability to track how well your facility or company is doing at implementing, executing, and maintaining the reliability practices desired.

Watch our Reliability Matters videos

by Trent Phillips CRL CMRP - Novelis

Hopefully, your company has global, regional and facility resources dedicated full time to reliability initiatives.

These resources are necessary to help ensure improvements in maintenance, equipment run-time, capacity, profits, and much more.

The question you and your organization should be asking is “who is the reliability leader in your organization”?

The answer may seem simple but could be quite surprising when given serious consideration. The answer should be “everyone”. The truth is that most implementation efforts in a facility or company fail. Unfortunately, this is very true for maintenance and reliability improvements. The reason is that not “everyone” is committed to the effort. Sustainable reliability requires understanding and dedication from many different groups within an organization. Supply Side, MRO Stores, Engineering, Procurement, Maintenance, Management, Operations, and Training must all understand the strategic value in reliability efforts and cooperate with each other. Otherwise, failure and unsustainability may be guaranteed.

If the answer to the question is that the “Reliability Engineer” and/or “Global Reliability Leader” are the individuals responsible, then your journey may not be complete. Your organization should have training in place to demonstrate the value and create understanding in all of these groups about reliability. Procedures should be in place to ensure that proper reliability best practices are considered in the design, procurement, installation, operation, and maintenance. Failure to do so will result in increased life cycle costs of the equipment, reduced capacity, and reduced profits.

Remember that your maintenance department cannot overcome poor equipment design, installation, or operation.

by Trent Phillips CRL CMRP - Novelis

As Published by Maintenance Technology Magazine August 2016 issue

Clinging to a single approach that made economic sense for your plant ‘back in the day’ could be an expensive strategy.”

Overall values are the most common measurements and calculations used in vibration analysis. What’s more, some reliability and maintenance programs rely solely on them. The goal is to remove monitored equipment from service once the overall vibration level exceeds a certain threshold. Although this approach would appear to be quite cost-effective, in reality, it frequently isn’t. In fact, overall vibration monitoring can become extremely costly for a facility.

If you are asking yourself questions such as: What should you do once an overall vibration level exceeds your target amplitude and the equipment is removed from service? Who should collect routine vibration data? What other valuable condition-monitoring data might be missing? Or how do you motivate others to take corrective actions? then this article is definitely a must-read.

by Trent Phillips CRL CMRP - Novelis

Reliability Culture Change

Nothing Changes Unless You Make it Change”

For a while now I have been inspired by this quote from Samuel Jackson in the movie The Samaritan (2012). I probably heard similar quotes in the past but it wasn’t until I heard it in this movie that its message finally resonated with me. Trust me, I did not expect a line from a drama thriller to have such an impact on both my personal and professional life. Professionally, I realized that while I was not out in the field in the plants, as an industrial marketing professional I could nonetheless play a role in the much-talked-about Reliability Culture Change within our industry.

My commitment to Reliability started by becoming a volunteer with SMRP (Society for Maintenance & Reliability Professionals) to help create awareness of the value of their CMRP & CMRT certifications and their mission of Reliability Excellence. Later, I studied the UPTIME® ELEMENTS™ to become a Certified Reliability Leader (CRL) in support of their holistic approach to Reliability. Both gave me access to valuable knowledge that as a marketer I could use to start my Reliability Journey and hopefully contribute to change.

Naturally, my research also included the areas of expertise of my company and I was pleasantly surprised to confirm that Precision Alignment, Precision Balancing, Ultrasound Testing, and Vibration Analysis as technologies in the field of Asset Condition Management could contribute so much, not only to asset reliability but also to safety, by minimizing reactive work which poses a higher risk of injuries. My journey included working with our amazing engineering team to capture their expertise, to create and deliver to our customers resources such as short Know-How videos for proper machine installation, Soft Foot correction, etc.; a Shaft Alignment Fundamentals wallchart; Infographics for a Balancing Procedure and for Leak Management, etc.; to help customers implement best practices and do a better job with the tools and resources available to them.

I have defined my role to be: Learn, Create, Communicate and Lead by Example. What’s your role in Reliability Culture Change? Remember “Nothing Changes Unless You Make it Change”. Declare Reliability and be part of the culture change.

by Ana Maria Delgado, CRL

The Potential to Failure Curve (or P-F Curve) gives the user information on how an asset behaves before a failure occurs. This example is focused on failure due to misalignment. The goal of a reliability-focused plant is to be as far to the left on the curve as possible. While some companies are doing predictive maintenance work in an effort to reach the left side, many companies today are on the right domain of the curve, doing reactive work.  Being in the reactive domain—putting out fires as they say— increases maintenance costs. This forces a company to perform unplanned work causes unscheduled downtime, and higher costs to expedite parts. Using technologies like ultrasound, thermography, and vibration analysis will catch an asset in a pre-failing state. This allows time to plan and schedule the repair to take place. However, with the right processes in place, the technician should recognize the misalignment of the machine before it causes components to fail. The ultimate goal is to be so far left on the curve, that it is off the chart, at the point where all the efforts (flat and rigid bases, accounting for thermal growth, eliminating soft foot, precision alignment, etc) are made so that the machine never runs misaligned.
PF_Curve

by Adam Stredel CRL

Guest post by Shon Isenhour, CMRP, CAMA, CCMP, Founding Partner at Eruditio LLC

So if you could sum up the common areas of focus during reliability improvement efforts what would they be?
The thought behind this blog post was if someone asks us what we are doing or what all is involved in a reliability improvement effort, how can we give them the scope in a concise, and memorable way. This could be used early on in the discovery or kick-off phase to outline without overwhelming.

I have listed nine things that I would focus on and they all start with P for ease of remembering:

Predictive Maintenance
Using technology to understand equipment condition in a noninvasive way before the functional failure occurs
Example: Vibration, Ultrasonic, Infrared

Preventive Maintenance
Traditional and more invasive time based inspections which should be failure mode based
Example: Visual Inspection of gears in a gear box

Precision Maintenance
Doing the maintenance craft to the best in class standards to prevent infant mortality
Example: Alignment, Balancing, Bolt Torquing

Process
Clear series of steps to identify, prioritize, plan, schedule, execute, and capture history with who is responsible for each
Example: Work Identification Process, Root Cause Process. Work Completion Process

Problem Solving
The process for understanding the real causes of problems and using business case thinking to select solutions that reduce or eliminate the chance of recurrence
Example: Root Cause Analysis, Fault Tree, Sequence of Events

Prioritizing of Work
The process of determining sequences of work as well as level of effort using tools like equipment criticality and work order type
Example: RIME index

Parts
These are the processes required to have the right part at the right time in the right condition at the right place for the right cost
Example: Cycle counting process, proper storage procedures, kitting process

Planned Execution
This piece is about taking the identified work and building the work instructions, work package and collecting the required parts, and then scheduling the execution.
Example: Job Packages, Schedules, Gantt Charts

People
This is where we deal with the change management and leadership portion which is required in order to truly make a change to the organization
Example: Situational Leadership, Communication Planning, Risk Identification, Training

So here are my nine “Ps” that you can share as early communication to get your organization on board with your reliability efforts and develop the Profit we all want.

What would you add?

by Yolanda Lopez

Published by Uptime Magazine – August / September 2016 Issue

The foundation of any great reliability effort is the reliability culture within the organization that sustains it. Everybody within the organization must be aligned with its ultimate goals and mission for the reliability effort to succeed. Therefore, the mission and values must be clearly communicated, with reasonable expectations for compliance.

A holistic approach to reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) relies on good asset condition management (ACM). This, in turn, relies on accurate condition-based maintenance (CBM), which can only happen with good data. Planning and scheduling (Ps) personnel cannot do their job properly if the maintenance technicians do not feed good data into the system in a timely manner. So, one of the first steps must be to invest in a good enterprise asset management system (EAM) or computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), train all plant personnel in how to use it effectively and impress upon them how they as individuals are important to the overall reliability effort. Remember, the reliability effort relies as much on good data as the culture of cooperation that stands behind it and supports it. Everybody in the organization must understand the importance of their individual role in the wider mission of the organization and, in particular, their interaction with this data system.

Plant management must understand and respect the fact that the boots on the ground (i.e., their technicians and operators) are their best source of information. They are the ones that wrestle with the day-to-day problems and fix them. They know how the machines should sound, smell, and feel. Respect their expertise and opinions. Train your technicians. Invest in quality competency-based learning (Cbl). The knowledge and experience gained will pay off multifold in advancing the entire reliability effort. Give them the tools to do their job right. This means buying a good laser shaft alignment system, vibration analysis tool, and ultrasound leak and corona detection system. This CBM approach will allow your organization to optimize the preventive maintenance effort (Uptime Element Pmo) required to deal with the problem.
ReliabilityChart
Read the full article to learn how you too can take your reliability efforts to the next level within your organization.

by Alan Luedeking CRL CMRP

Today’s more evolved ultrasound data collectors present results that take reliability practitioners beyond the single decibel. Using only an overall dB value may indicate something inside the machine has changed since the last readings were taken. But it provides no additional insight to determine what type of defect may be present.

Moreover, a single dB only provides a useful trend if the inspector has control of the acquisition time during data collection. Acquisition time needs to be adjusted in concert with the speed of the machine. More time for low-speed applications and less for high. The aim should be to capture a minimum of 2-3 full shaft rotations.

The SDT270 takes inspectors beyond the single decibel by presenting ultrasound data in terms of machine condition. We call them Condition Indicators and there are four (RMS, Max RMS, Peak, and Crest Factor (CF)) and are abbreviated as 4CI. Ultrasound identifies defects in machines when those defects produce one or more of the following phenomena: FRICTION, IMPACTING, or TURBULENCE (FIT).

Some examples:

  • A bearing that requires lubrication will present higher levels of friction. Therefore, an RMS danger alarm will be triggered at 8 dB and an RMS/CF alarm when severity increases.
  • A bent shaft produces higher levels of friction and therefore presents danger and alert warnings with the RMS condition indicator.
  • Electrical defects such as arcing, tracking, and corona are first alarmed with the RMS condition indicator and severely alarmed with Max RMS and CF.
  • A faulty steam trap is detected with an elevation in Temperature and Max RMS.

Traditional ultrasound is useful for trending decibel levels that alert us when machine condition changes. Evolved ultrasound goes beyond the single decibel to recruit Condition Indicators that help inspectors determine the type of defect that is creating the alarm. SDT’s Four Condition Indicators demonstrate how ultrasound must be used for both defect alarm and identification.
SDT Troubleshooting Chart

by Allan Rienstra - SDT Ultrasound Solutions

The maintenance and reliability world is filled with key performance indicators (KPIs).  Properly tracking KPIs can be challenging due to difficulties in obtaining accurate data and the time required to obtain them.  The key is to pick KPIs that will help you identify and drive the behavior that you need to change right now. As advances are made, additional KPIs can be added which help identify and drive additional behavior changes and improvements.

It is very important to understand that KPIs can lead to false-positive indications and never actually result in value-added or sustainable improvements within your organization. You must understand and address the true root causes behind a deficient KPI and eliminate them.

For example, mean time to repair (MTTR) can be a very good indicator leading to great improvements.

Unfortunately, this indicator can also be harmful if misunderstood or given the wrong improvement focus. What if individuals decide to take deleterious shortcuts to quickly get a machine operational again?  MTTR may seem to improve on that machine, but did overall asset health and reliability really improve, in a meaningful way that provides real value back to your organization? These shortcuts may actually lead to additional machinery failures and greater downtime.

MTTR could be an indication that maintenance staff requires training on how to properly repair the machine. Too short and perhaps unwanted shortcuts are being taken. Too long may indicate that excessive time is being wasted hunting for tools or spare parts due to a lack of proper planning and/or kitting. Is a detailed and efficient work plan available, to guide your maintenance staff incorrectly repairing the equipment?  MTTR, if properly used and tracked can point you toward areas of substantial improvement.

Never forget to determine and address the root causes of equipment failure. Doing so may eliminate the need to work on the equipment in the first place. Prevention is always the best way to drive sustainable improvements in uptime and capacity.

Beware of driving improvements in KPIs for the wrong reasons. This can lead to a false sense of progress that never brings about real changes and advancements in reliability to your organization. Ensure that you understand the real variables driving the KPIs you have selected. Don’t let your chosen KPIs give you a false sense of improvement!

by Trent Phillips CRL CMRP - Novelis

How do you obtain the desired return on your assets?  Availability, maintainability, and reliability are foundational elements required for a proper return on your equipment. Condition Monitoring is a tool that can help you build these elements and obtain the desired returns.  Condition Monitoring can be completed while equipment is running to maximize uptime and help provide better overall reliability.  Conditional changes can be identified before functional failures that result in downtime occur, preventing other unwanted consequences.

Unneeded work can be avoided (unnecessary PMs, failures, etc.), and better planning and improved scheduling achieved through CM.

Use Condition Monitoring as a means to build a solid foundation for your facility!

by Trent Phillips CRL CMRP - Novelis