on Maintenance Reliability

A listing in reverse chronological order of articles by:

James Reyes-Picknell — Conscious Asset series
James Kovacevic — Maintenance and Reliability series
Mike Sondalini — Plant Maintenance series
Doug Plucknette — RCM Blitz series

The Two Faces of RCM

I had a conference call this morning with some potential clients in regard to rolling out a RCM Blitz™ effort. The sad thing about Reliability Centered Maintenance is the reputation the tool has acquired over the last 40 years has one of two faces.

The sad, tragic and more popular face is that if the Resource Consuming Monster. The reputation that RCM is too detailed, that it takes too long, and that by the time you finish your analysis there are no recourses and there is no money left for implementation. According to a survey conducted on ReliabilityWeb.com nearly 70% of all RCM implementations fail, with statistics like this, it is a wonder the tool still exists. [Read more…]

by Mike Sondalini Leave a Comment

Job Safety on Hazardous & Dangerous Work

See www.jsaprograms.com for innovation in hazard control.

Doing a job safely is no accident! Like all good outcomes safety is a result of good planning. As the Chinese philosopher Confucius said, “In all things success depends on previous preparation and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.” If you want safe work it needs to be planned as part of the job.

The other important fact about safety is that it is a personal responsibility. It is up to you to do the job safely. There is not a manager or supervisor in the world that wants to go to prison or be fined for a death or maiming because of his negligence. That means people in-charge want jobs done safely too. All they ask is that the safety procedures and practices used on the job be the least that are adequate while still meeting all the safety issues. [Read more…]

by Doug Plucknette Leave a Comment

Reliability Amnesia!

The condition that occurs when an Engineer, Supervisor, or Manager who once had responsibility for the reliability of your assets gets promoted or transferred to the operations side of the group.

Symptoms of Reliability Amnesia

1. Ignoring information from Condition Based Technologies that clearly show a major component is in the process of failing. The subject may be overheard saying something like “I can’t afford to stop the line now, if we do I won’t make my production goals.” [Read more…]

by Mike Sondalini Leave a Comment

Centrifugal Pump Life Extension – The Volute

What readers will learn from this article.

Pump volute problems and fixes.
Pump set-up and piping connection issues to get right.
Process conditions that will cause problems.
What to watch for with pump shaft designs.

[Read more…]

by Doug Plucknette Leave a Comment

Old School Team Building

I’m facilitating an RCM Analysis this week in a second-floor conference room that overlooks a company courtyard complete with manicured landscaping, picnic tables, park benches and walking path complete with distance markers. While this park like setting has been mostly empty the first few days this week today there is a group of 30 people milling around. Some small groups of 2 or 3 are clustered together talking and most everyone is checking out their smart phone for various unknown reasons. I can’t help but wonder what is going on so I ask the team I’m working with why so many people are in the courtyard. [Read more…]

by Mike Sondalini Leave a Comment

Heat Exchanger Design and Use

What readers will learn from this article.

Basic theory of heat exchange across walls.
Necessary properties of fluids to make heat exchangers work.
Protecting and checking heat exchangers against corrosion.
Issues with using shell and tube heat exchangers.
Issues with using plate heat exchangers.

This article introduces readers to heat transfer in heat exchangers. It explains the concepts of temperature gradients across walls and parallel- current and counter-current flows. Both shell-and-tube and plate heat exchanges are discussed along with their common operational problems and remedies.

Shell-and-tube and plate heat exchangers (HXCH’s) are recuperative type devices, meaning that flowing fluids exchange heat through a dividing wall. The exchange of heat occurs from the hotter liquid to the cooler one. The hotter liquid is at a higher energy level than the colder liquid and the energy flows from hot to cold in an attempt to reach a steady equilibrium state at an intermediate temperature. [Read more…]

by Doug Plucknette Leave a Comment

The 6 Things Every Asset Management Strategy Needs to Be Successful

I want my customers to be successful, every one of them. Yet there are times I can see the writing on the wall and I know as hard as I might try to show them a clear path to what it takes to be successful they have their own plan. Some of them are so complex that people become confused just trying to make sense of them, and others get so hung up in the minutiae of even the simplest of steps like listing a 3 part failure mode they will word-smith themselves to a point where folks just give up. I find myself asking “why do people have to make what is really so simple into something that appears to be complex?” [Read more…]

by Mike Sondalini Leave a Comment

Air Compressor Operation & Care

What readers will learn from this article.

Basic theory of reciprocating compressor operation.
Introduction into work and power calculations for a compressor.
Explanation of Free Air Deliver (FAD).
Issues with using rotary screw compressors.
Issues with using reciprocating compressors.

Compressed air is one of the most used service fluids in industry. This article introduces the basic design concepts of an air compressor and discusses some of the common problems and solutions found in both reciprocating (piston goes up and down) and rotary screw (twin, meshed, rotating, helix) air compressors. [Read more…]

by Doug Plucknette Leave a Comment

The 5 Differences Between Leaders and Managers

The 5 Differences Between Leaders and Managers – Can Someone Be the Best of Both?

While working in the field of Asset Management formerly known as Maintenance and Reliability for over 30 years I have worked with my share of Managers and Leaders. Those who have known me for years know that I started in the field as a Pipefitter Apprentice, worked as a Journeyman and Team Leader for a number of years, did a stint as a Maintenance Supervisor, went to night school to become a Reliability Engineer and then as a business owner working with customers around the world. [Read more…]

by Mike Sondalini Leave a Comment

Process Logic Controller (PLC) Basics

What readers will learn from this article.

Overview of how a programmable logic controller (PLC) operates.
Communication methods used to connect the PLC to equipment.
Dangerous practices that will lead to trouble if not corrected.

A process logic controller is a computer designed for monitoring and controlling equipment. The personal computer that many people have at home is designed to accept signals from the keyboard or mouse and use instructions (software) to display the resulting effects on a screen (monitor). A PLC accepts signals (inputs) from sensors located throughout a piece of equipment or process plant. It then follows the instructions (program) within its memory and sends out commands (output) to operate equipment. [Read more…]

by Doug Plucknette 1 Comment

The Elevator Pitch, and No it’s not a Major League thing….

I was taking questions from the audience following my presentation at a conference last spring when a young lady stood up and asked me if I could give my Elevator Pitch.

She must have noted the confused look on my face because she repeated herself this time adding further details.

“If you were riding an elevator with someone and you had a quick minute to sell your RCM services what would you say?” [Read more…]

by Mike Sondalini 1 Comment

Sealing Threaded Pipe Connections

Threaded connections on process chemicals and utilities piping can be difficult to seal. Leaks from threads in steam and compressed air service are common. This article looks at pipe thread design and the proper sealing of threads. [Read more…]

by Doug Plucknette 1 Comment

5 Reasons Why Your Top Performers Leave and What You Can Do to Keep Them!

Those who know me well know I am a voracious reader. From newspapers and magazines to business related books and novels it’s a rare site to find me without my Kindle or some type of printed reading material. Lately I have noticed a number of articles on the reasons why your best employees are leaving your business and I have to say I saw this problem trend coming more than a decade ago. [Read more…]

by Mike Sondalini 1 Comment

Hazardous areas for dusts and flammables

Many explosions in the processing, manufacturing and bulk materials handling industries involve flammable gases or vapours and explosive dusts or fibres. Such chemicals are known as hazardous materials. This article provides a basic overview of the design requirements for hazardous areas.

[Read more…]

by Doug Plucknette Leave a Comment

The 6 Signs of a Reliable Plant

Having visited hundreds of manufacturing plants in the last 17 years, someone recently asked me if there were any traits the most reliable plants all had in common. I have listed below the top 6 signs of a reliable plant. [Read more…]