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A famous line from one of my favorite movies was spoken by Sam Elliot. He said, “Some days you eat the bar, and well, some days the bar eats you.” This is basically stating that at any given moment everything can go straight down the tubes. And in the industrial setting, this basically means more money and time are about to be spent. I have found that if you are willing to spend more on one, you save on the other.

The interesting thing about working in industry is that we should always look to eliminate defects as we go, to keep this from happening, yet the pace we all work at almost eliminates the inspections part every time. Either the time crunch is killing us (we got to have this project done by “x deadline”) or inspections are viewed as an encumbering task, preventing us from just getting the job done (and most of the time, we don’t find anything really wrong). This is the exact moment when we invite Mr. Murphy in the door, right in the middle of the job.

Let’s start with basic installation of large equipment. The days of having a prepped surface, with enough mass to absorb the amount of force the equipment generates are just about gone. We used to see large inertia blocks, cleaned to a machine type surface with just enough surface roughness for industrial grout to bond with it and the equipment skid or pedestal. That next step of grouting in was crucial in bonding the platform to the block for structural rigidity and vibration absorption. Now we see large equipment, 1000+ horsepower, sitting in a sandbox. The thought is that the equipment will embed itself into the sand and make a happy nest for itself. Right up until it actually starts running. Or if it rains in an open-air situation.

The next step would normally be the equipment installation. Having the measurements from the fabrication shop is very handy. If you can duplicate the measurements in the field, the assembly can go very smoothly. The trick is that there will always be some adjustments to be made. Once the unit was picked up by a crane, a pallet jack, even a simple dolly, everything changed. The whole purpose of making measurements (such as elevations and alignment) in the shop is to prove that it can be done, with nothing in a bind or in an unhealthy condition. Some industries run on the premise that “it was aligned in the shop, and we are ready to run”. But there is always some kind of movement. Even when the load is supported by multiple straps and a spreader bar. Field alignment is always needed.

After the installation comes the actual running of the equipment. This is where every carefully performed task can be instantly undone. An operator with no real understanding of the design and implementation can doom the equipment to an early departure from this planet through their actions. Is there a warm-up phase? If so, how warm? Is there a specific sequence of events that must occur to make sure the load can be handled? Are there RPM restrictions, and if so, what do the RPM settings change about machine operation? All these questions and more should be considered before handing machinery over to someone who might not ever have to actually work on that equipment.

Once the equipment runs for whatever length of time, there is always some sort of service interval. This is where more defect elimination should take place. Little issues that inevitably creep up, just from operating the machinery. Checking clearances, resetting adjustments from a wear-in period, observing trends in components. Most of this is done on a strictly time-based schedule. In some cases that time base is shortened by some perceived issue that someone wants caught before it becomes a larger issue, which can lead to an “over serviced” item. Moreover, the act of doing the task repeatedly could introduce another large issue. This is where condition monitoring could step in. What is that strange noise under that cover? Is it a loose fastener? Is it stray voltage? How about vibration? Is it in sync with the run speed? Or does the bearing pass frequency? Vane pass? Let’s find out what really needs attention and correct it in a way that either prevents a larger problem or trend the issue in a way that tells us when to address it instead of “it’s Tuesday, so it’s time to pump another 8 shots of grease into that bearing”.

Looking at all these phases of equipment life should highlight what could be done to keep the job from turning on the technician. Using quality calibrated tools for crucial measurements, such as the Easy-Laser XT alignment system, should help with the fabrication and installation. Condition monitoring with something as simple as Sensoteq wireless vibration sensors, all the way up to permanently installed systems such as those from Betavib CORTEX, would help monitor when maintenance should be planned and scheduled. The Crysound 8128 ultrasonic imager and the Betavib Vibworks LT portable vibration data collector would enable quick inspections, with enough data to help with that planning.

In any step of the voyage, we can stay out of the way of Murphy’s Law. Because no one needs the bar eating them.

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