Blog

Do you know when your machinery will fail? Don’t wait until 2014 to find out!

December 31, 2013

Do you know when your machinery will fail? The answer may surprise you: 6% of machines fail during the infant mortality period (startup) 11% of machine failures are due to age 89% of machinery failures are random [Source: United Airlines Study] This means that your equipment is as likely to fail after a few months […]

8 Common Root Causes of Bearing Failures

December 26, 2013

What are some of the common “Root Causes” of bearing failures? Imbalance and misalignment account for a large percentage of premature bearing failures Improper lubrication Improper mounting methods (using a hammer,  etc.) Improper application for the installed bearing Manufacturing defects Excessive vibration after installation Excessive vibration before installation (during storage, transportation, etc.) Exceeding normal bearing […]

The Importance of Belt Alignment

December 19, 2013

How important is belt alignment? Misalignment can occur between the driver and driven components no matter what mechanism is used to couple them together. This includes belt-driven equipment as well.  Unfortunately,  proper alignment of belt-driven equipment is frequently considered non-critical and often forgotten about by maintenance departments.  Belt misalignment is one of the main causes […]

7 Abilities of Reliability

December 17, 2013

Good equipment reliability requires that several abilities be taken into consideration for success: 1. Design-Ability: Most equipment is designed with the focus of being “on time” and “on budget”,  but not to be reliable.  It is very difficult for your Maintenance Department to overcome poor equipment design.  Poor equipment design will create recurring issues that […]

Plant floor realities can create a problem when planning shutdowns

December 12, 2013

Often,  “plant floor” realities can create a problem when planning shutdowns because sometimes power transmission components like sprockets, idler rolls, sheaves, timing belt wheels, couplings, etc. can’t be inspected properly without shutting down an entire process. In such cases, there are times when a simple “visual” inspection would be enough to reveal the need to […]

Emergency Preparedness: with LUDECA you are never in the dark!

December 10, 2013

LUDECA’s commitment to customer service goes far beyond the obvious,  such as meticulous hands-on customer training,  free tech support, free loaners while your equipment is being repaired, and all always having all accessories in stock for immediate delivery. With LUDECA you are never in the dark. An on-site propane-powered 150 KW fully automatic generator set keeps […]

Value Delivery Through Reliability Leadership. What we learned @SMRP from @TerrenceOHanlon

December 5, 2013

An organization’s culture is defined by the manner in which their direct leader treats employees During their workshop “Uptime Elements – A System for Asset Reliability and Performance Management” at the SMRP-2013 Conference in Indianapolis,  Terry O’Hanlon and Ramesh Gulati pointed out that Asset Reliability is an important part of an asset management plan and […]

Condition Monitoring: 10 Common Management Mistakes

December 3, 2013

MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY • November 2013 Management’s decisions are major factors in the success of most efforts around a facility, including ensuring equipment health and uptime. The wrong ones can erect obstacles. How does your management team stack up? Management is responsible for ensuring that a facility performs in line with certain safety,  operational, maintenance, environmental, competitive, […]