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Disclaimer: The author is not trying to present himself as an authority on all available CM standards. This blog post is simply an attempt to help those who may be unaware that such guidance exists or of the extent of such standards.   We previously discussed a series of international standards pertaining to condition monitoring […]

It seems that every maintenance department has at least one Hercules that uses more muscle than technique to complete maintenance activities.  Brute force and strength are occasionally required to complete a task.  Having Hercules around is important when those moments arise. However,  applying care and good technique are usually better. Over 90% of rotating equipment has defects at startup […]

Shaft Alignment is a critical step in any world-class maintenance program, and when done properly, can help decrease unscheduled downtime and keep equipment running longer and more efficiently. This means machines need to be aligned within the recommended tolerances based on the RPM of the equipment. However, this is sometimes easier said than done, especially […]

We welcome you to read the previous blog in this series, “What is Machine Train Alignment and How Important Is It? Part 1”   ANALYSIS 1: ALL MACHINES IN THE TRAIN CAN BE MOVED  Since ALL 4 machines in the train can be moved we have many options. Option 1: Let’s see what the minimum […]

Disclaimer: The author is not trying to present himself as an authority on all available CM standards. This blog post is simply an attempt to help those who may be unaware that such guidance exists or of the extent of such standards.   We previously discussed a series of international standards pertaining to condition monitoring […]

Do your washers resemble cones? If so, you could be falling victim to a common headache experienced in some shaft alignment jobs. What could mistakenly be diagnosed as soft foot or coupling strain, “dished” or “cupped” washers center themselves in the feet causing the machine you are aligning to move laterally as you tighten the […]

What is Machine Train Alignment? Machine Train Alignment is a multi-coupling alignment where two or more consecutive machines can be adjusted. For example, a 3-coupling train (4 machines), such as a Gas Turbine driving 3 Compressors. NOTE: A 2-coupling (3 machine) train such as a Pump–Gearbox–Motor, where the Gearbox in the middle is determined to […]

Oil Filter Performance Ratings You may have heard someone say, “a filter is a filter.”  Although catchy, this phrase is very misleading.  It is said assuming any filter will get the job done.  Not all filters and lubricants are created equally.  There is no one size fits all in this world of lubrication.  Lubricants and […]

As stated by Daniel Keys Moran, “You can have data without information, but you cannot have information without data.” The driving factor for any reliability program is data; but how do you gather and record the right data to achieve your maintenance and reliability goals? By documenting and generating clear reports with the necessary data. […]

Disclaimer: The author is not trying to present himself as an authority on all available CM standards. This blog post is simply an attempt to help those who may be unaware that such guidance exists or of the extent of such standards.   We previously introduced a series of international standards pertaining to condition monitoring […]

Belt-driven rotating equipment is commonly found in all types of facilities. Typical applications include rolls, fans, motors, shafts, and blowers. It is important to maintain that equipment in order to increase its reliability. Maintenance is essential in today’s industrial environment to ensure assets and equipment are running as reliably as they should. Like any part […]

We previously discussed in our series of soft foot, Types of Soft Foot: Part 3 Squishy Foot. In this follow-up blog, we will discuss Induced Soft Foot. What is induced soft foot? Induced Soft Foot: Occurs when stress-induced external forces such as pipe strain, electrical connections, or severe misalignment combined with a stiff coupling pull or […]

When performing shaft alignment, the best way to accomplish the horizontal (side-to-side) corrections is using jack bolts. You do not want to hit your machines with a hammer in order to move them. Always remember to back off the jack bolts on the opposite side. Remember that once you are done with your side-to-side correction, […]

Disclaimer: The author is not trying to present himself as an authority on all available CM standards. This blog post is simply an attempt to help those who may be unaware that such guidance exists or of the extent of such standards.   Are you looking for some guidance on a well-designed approach to condition […]

Belt-driven machines are the Rodney Dangerfield of the maintenance industry – “they don’t get no respect!” For example, look at the image below. Belt-driven machines do need a little bit more TLC than they currently get. I want to show you two innovations that will greatly improve your maintenance efforts on these highly efficient drives. […]

We previously discussed in our series of soft foot, Types of Soft Foot: Part 2 Bent Foot. In this follow-up blog, we will discuss Squishy Foot. What is squishy foot? Squishy foot: also known as spring foot, occurs when the gap between the foot and base has already been filled with an excess of shims […]

A few things that should always be inspected during belt PM’s are: Inspect grooves for V-belts for wear using a sheave gauge following supplier recommendations. Rusted or pitted sheaves should be replaced. Otherwise, belt damage/wear and premature failure can easily result. Shiny grooves should not be overlooked and can indicate heavy wear. Corrosion on the […]

When it comes to condition-based monitoring, no matter how hard you try, you can never have 100% failure protection. At some point and on some level—even at the smallest levels—something is going to go wrong and your assets are going to fail. The best choice is to always plan for those sudden failures to minimize […]

A pump housing must be installed so that the surface is flat and level to the required installation tolerances. Doing so requires great precision and ideally the task would be easy to accomplish. In the application below, the user needed to perform such a measurement.  This task was usually reserved for a separate crew that […]

From a reliability perspective, commissioning a machine requires precision shaft alignment to the correct tolerances and proper documentation. Ideally, these alignments should be performed using a laser system with built-in ANSI alignment tolerances such as the Easy-Laser XT770 and with the ability to generate a detailed graph report of the alignment, both as found and […]