AMMJ

Asset Management And Maintenance Journal

July 2014 Issue

This is a “Complimentary” AMMJ

It is for personal use only and is not for use in a company
or government departments and it cannot be printed.
Go to page 59 to see the benefits of being a full
paying subscriber to the AMMJ.

AMMJ July 2014 Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page

 AMMJ PLANT ENGINEERING

Contents AND SERVICES

47 Balancing By The Component

July 2014 Method
49 Replacement of Main Trunnion
Click On The Page Number/Title Bearings On BOS Plant Vessels at
To Go To That Page
Steel Plant
52 Equipment, services & people NEWS

MAINTENANCE AND
RELIABILITY
3 Planned Maintenance - Knowing
How To See
7 Why Trending is Important to
Predictive Activities
9 5 Keys to Lean Maintenance &
Improving Maintenance
12 Save Money by Optimising your
Maintenance Strategy
14 Rotating Machinery Troubleshooting
17 A Day In The Life - Poor Planning
or Good Planning
24 Maintenance Courses - New
25 Useful Key Performance Indicators
for Maintenance
31 Picture of health - An Integrated
approach to asset health
management
35 Vibration Monitoring On A Paper
Machine Calender
38 Maintenance and Reliability NEWS
STORES, PURCHASING,
PARTS AND MATERIALS
55 When Fast Inventory Optimization
Is Slow
56 Stores, Purchasing, Parts, and
Materials NEWS
58 TECHNICAL REPORTS AND
RESEARCH PAPERS
- Water Utilities - Asset Management
Performance Improvement Project
- Maintenance Costs: Comparative
Analysis Between Diesel vs CNG
Fuelled Vehicles
- How Four-Channel Measurements
Diagnosed a Ghost Frequency Issue
59 Become an AMMJ Member
60 AMMJ Information Page

AMMJ July 2014 Go To First Article Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page

 Planned Maintenance =
Planning and estimating maintenance jobs
includes consideration of all the material, labor
and supervision that are required to do a safe,
high-quality, and complete job. The sequence of
every job follows the same steps: preparation;
travel to and from the job; work content at
the job site; and cleanup and put-away. All of
these steps must be considered in a good, all-
inclusive job estimate.
Field Check
Prior to the job start a planner goes to the job site
to do a field check. This step can involve speaking
with the requester to make sure the requester’s
scope of work and needs are met. At the job
site, the estimator prepares a job plan, which
contains four parts: the work plan; material plan;
special tools and equipment plan; and safety plan.
The safety plan is last because it is customized
depending on the other three parts of the job. The
content of each part of the plan is as follows:
3
AMMJ July 2014
“Knowing How to See”
Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1503)
Thomas A. Westerkamp USA
Work Plan
Standards, or “should-take” times, have been
applied to work for decades to aid in answering
the questions: How much work can I assign to
my crew? How will I know the crew is performing
well? When will the next assignment be needed?
How much work is in the backlog by skill? The
standard hours for a job are based on work content.
Work content is the statement of work, not the
statement of a problem. “Motor doesn’t run” may
be the requester’s description. But the estimator’s
description will be “Remove and replace motor”,
or “Disassemble pump and remove blockage from
impeller”. The determination of the work to be done
requires a lot of experience, so the best planners
are those who have worked in maintenance, are
good at troubleshooting, and know the best tools
and procedures for getting the job done. Notice that
each description is brief but contains the essentials
of the job—a verb or action word, a nown describing
what is worked on, and any descriptive data to
clarify it.
Go To Next Article Go To Contents Page
Two essential parts of the work plan are the skill
and standard time estimate. The number of workers
required for each skill used and the labor-hours
required are based on the work content. If the job is
“Remove and replace 30 Hp AC motor”, then the time
is .75 labor-hours, plus time for preparation and travel,
and two electricians are required because heavy lifting
is needed. If the preparation and travel time - from
pre-established tables - adds another hour, then total
standard hours for the job are 1.75 hours, or about 0.9
hours duration for two electricians. If the actual time
taken was two hours, then performance against the
standard was 88% ((1.75/2.00) x 100). The standard
time is an excellent training tool. It tells the supervisor
when an apprentice needs more training, or has
achieved mastery of the job. It also answers all the
supervisor’s questions above. Also, delays that hinder
the job are revealed and can be reduced as planning
improves.
Material Plan
The material plan contains a parts and materials list
that the job will require. Each item on the material list
contains quantity, size, and description, e.g. “(4) C96
V-belts, matched”. Depending on the stores setup, a
stores inventory number may be required.
Go To Last Page
 Special Tools and Equipment Plan
This part of the plan contains a list of any special
tools required, not carried in the employee’s
tool box, that must be drawn from company tool
supplies, e.g. 1/2-ton come-along”, or “2-ton chain
hoist”, or “oxy-acetylene welder”. To prevent delays,
this equipment is reserved in advance and so the
job start will depend on having the equipment
available.
Safety Plan
Now that all the job elements are planned, the
safety issues are considered. Personal protective
equipment to be worn depends on job site
conditions. For example, a hard hat may be required
in all areas or only some, depending on danger of
overhead obstacles or falling objects. Other PPE
includes safety glasses, gloves, safety shoes, fall
protection, welding goggles, air packs, and the
like. In some confined space jobs, both air packs
and a safety harness must be used and an outside
person must be available to winch the worker out if
necessary. Other safety devices may include ladder
shoes, traffic cones, or fire watch after welding is
completed. Permits may be a part of the safety plan,
for example, allowing access to restricted areas that
are locked.
The key to good estimates and high
productivity is an exact and
complete work plan
With emergency maintenance, the plan is:
“troubleshoot”. Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1503),
well-known as the artist who painted Mona Lisa,
was also an engineer, architect, highly talented
and creative. He conceptualized and sketched
technology centuries before its time: the tank,
helicopter, calculator, and solar power.
4
AMMJ July 2014
Da Vinci taught at a studio in Milan, where he
expounded to his art students on “saper vedere”-
knowing how to see. He said the key to art is
perspective. Creativity is knowing how to see. He
stressed altering perspective, viewing the subject
from several directions, until one sees and fully
understands the subject.
The successful Facility Manager is the modern
Leonardo da Vinci. The FM is constantly challenged
to imagine, often under difficult time constraints,
ways to achieve maintenance cost and functional
objectives. The cost objective results when a
workable budget is completed and funds are
approved, actual cost versus budget is maintained,
and optimum life cycle cost is approached more
closely. The functional objective is achieved when
the facility meets design intent and continuous
improvement is institutionalized as a reliable,
sustainable way of life.
To stay ahead of all the demands, the FM uses
Predictive Maintenance (PdM), a highly effective
means to achieve ‘saper vedere’ when used as an
integral part of the annual preventive maintenance
program. PdM employs da Vinci’s principle
by extending the senses of touch (vibration,
temperature), sight (vision, thermal imaging), and
trending (rate of change of conditions). These are all
examples of how to see each part of the facility from
different perspectives. Each of these PdM measures
offers a different perspective to: improve estimate
accuracy; improve understanding; identify optimum
repair intervals; and optimize life cycle of structural,
mechanical, and electrical assets. It uncovers
hidden, impending breakdowns before they occur,
averting safety and health issues and major damage
costs. Energy and cost savings, continuous
improvement, greater reliability, and getting more
out of budget dollars are all realistic outcomes.
Some real life examples of PdM to estimate work
are the following:
Go To Contents Page
Improving HVAC/R systems. Using a clamp-on
ammeter to measure compressor amps; then adding
compressor oil and seeing amps drop, electric bills
decrease, and compressor life extended. Also a
refrigerant leak detector with the new semi-conductor
sensor is very sensitive to small leaks of most
refrigerants in use today.
Optimum constant temperature and RH is maintained
to protect facilities and contents with intelligent
thermostats, and temperature and relative humidity
recorder-controller to document trends.
Roofs and exterior wall integrity checks using coring,
contact moisture meters, and thermal imaging. Roof
leaks are a nightmare. Often tracking the source
takes weeks of trial and error. Preventive inspections
reveal roof damage allowing repairs to be done earlier,
often before they are visually obvious, reducing roof
maintenance costs and extensive interior damage.
If the estimator introduces such simple cautions as
soft shoes, using protective walkways, and care in
walking or setting equipment on the roof, the crew
avoids punctures that turn into new leaks. Frequently
checking roof flashing, joints and seals around
penetrations, and resealing them will add years to
roofing systems. And frequent use of imaging to locate
moisture under the surface will lower costs by avoiding
interior damage that remains hidden in walls and
above ceilings until major water damage has occurred.
Go To Last Page
 Piping system. Camera inspections,
test specimens, and use of flow sub-
metering to see where all the water is
going are ways ‘knowing how to see’
can save. Some facilities use routine
cleaning of all piping on a scheduled
basis to keep piping clear; but not all
pipelines become blocked at the same
rate. Some pipe disassembly is wasted.
Also the frequency may be too often,
in which case the cost is higher than
needed. In other cases, the frequency
is not often enough, in which case the
piping becomes blocked, interrupting
service and costing emergency rates to
fix. On the other hand, if the estimator
schedules inspections, using fiber-
optic cable and a camera, the piping
is cleaned at optimum intervals,
and condition recorded, minimizing
unscheduled downtime and cost.
Test specimens are useful for measuring
rate of piping wall corrosion and erosion
so replacement is done at optimum
intervals. The technician prepares a
specimen of the same material as the
pipe wall, threaded on one end and
rod-shaped on the other. The diameter
of the rod end is measured with a
micrometer to the thousandths of an
inch. A bushing is welded to the pipe
wall at the test location, near an elbow,
for example, where high erosion is
likely. The specimen is threaded into
the bushing and remains for a recorded
period of time, say a year. It is removed
a year later and measured. If the original
diameter of the machined rod was 0.500
inches and the diameter a year later was
found to be 0.400 inches, then the rate of
wall loss is 0.100” per year.
5
AMMJ July 2014
The years of life are calculated by
dividing the original wall thickness, say
0.250”, by the rate of loss, 0.100”, or
two-and-a-half years. This method is far
better than the play-it-safe approach—
changing the pipe before it wears out,
or the take-a-chance method—letting it
fail before replacing it.
Sub-metering water consumption can
find leaks and high usage areas early,
measure the effects of upgrading to
low-flow fixtures, and control water cost
even when rates are going up.
My vibration routes seem endless.
Electrical distribution system infrared I need to collect data faster, so I can
scanning for hot spots. The electrical spend more time fixing problems.
YOU CAN DO THAT
distribution system is one of those
‘out of sight, out of mind’ elements
of the facility. Distribution system
design, motor and control design,
and switchgear have benefitted from
major design improvements over the
years. Almost no problems happen.
But wait. What about power outages?
What about transformer explosions?
Lightning strikes due to faulty insulators
and breakers? Relay outages due to Spend time on high impact tasks with faster data collection. The CSI 2140
overload? Downtime does happen is the fastest vibration analyzer available. With triaxial accelerometer and four-channel monitoring
capabilities, you can finish your route in half the time. Use your valuable time to solve problems
in the wider infrastructure and can instead of collecting data. Scan the code below or visit www.EmersonProcess.com/WorkFaster
happen inside the facility too. The to learn more.
way to find out if hidden problems are
threatening the distribution system is
‘saper vedere’. You could go around
and visually inspect, but you won’t see
much out of the ordinary. You could
touch motors, controls, conduit and
switchgear looking for hot spots. But a The Emerson logo is a trademark and service mark of Emerson Electric Co. © 2013 Emerson Electric Co.
safer, more sensitive way to do this is
with non-contact thermal imaging.
Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page
 Energy efficiency through lighting upgrades that
enhance constant lumen output and improve
longevity. Are those incandescent lights costing too
much and providing diminishing output over their
short lives? Are fluorescent lights in the shops,
garage, halls, offices, classrooms humming? Are
ballast replacements happening frequently? You
could keep using old technology, but 100- and
75-watt incandescent bulbs and T12 fluorescent
tubes—these were introduced in 1938--are no
longer legally manufactured in the U.S. When
supplies are gone, upgrades will be needed.
Measuring lumen output may indicate significant
lighting loss in these old lamps. Switching to LEDs
or other high-efficiency lighting will improve the
lighting level and life cycle, and switching to more
efficient lamps will improve function and save many
dollars in energy and maintenance cost. LEDs last
50,000 hours or more—that’s five years without
changing at an energy cost that is as low as ten
percent of incandescent cost for the same lighting
level. Induction lighting lasts even longer and gives
greater lumens per watt.
Lube program. Another PdM technique estimators
can employ is facility-wide lube analysis. Using
the right lubricant, applied with the right method,
at the correct frequency, in all the right locations,
sounds simple. But in fact a comprehensive lube
program requires a lot of careful planning and can
be aided by lube analysis, lubricant supplier doing
an assessment, and setting up an annual program.
Vibration Analysis. Blower motors, bearings and
drives; pumps; vent fans; generators, turbines,
compressors all have one thing in common—they
have rotating elements. Since the 1950s, vibration
analysis has been used to predict the remaining
life in rotating machines. Measured amplitude
and frequency of vibration tell the estimator a lot
about condition and remaining life. Actual vibration
amplitude close to the breaking point on a general
severity chart means an impending breakdown.
6
AMMJ July 2014
The frequency of the high vibration identifies the
component. For example, if the high vibration is at
a frequency of four times the rotating speed, and
the pump has an impeller with four blades, then the
impeller is the cause and needs to be rebalanced or
replaced to avoid serious damage.
Estimators employ vibration analysis acceptance
testing to see how equipment fits the application,
ensuring long life for new rotating equipment
installations.
Studies show that, if not tested, after five years fifty
percent of circuit breakers do not function normally,
mostly due to mechanical problems. With circuit
breaker vibration analyzers, estimators perform trip
tests, recording and comparing first trip with later
trips to identify problems such as spring weakening
and excess friction. An accelerometer circuit breaker
analyzer app uses the same iDevice capability that
senses pull of gravity and rotates the smart phone
picture from landscape to portrait to differentiate
horizontal from vertical axis tests.
Ultrasound. Facility Managers can apply ultrasound-
-acoustic emission--analysis to detect high
frequency noise inaudible to the human ear. It
detects leaks in boilers, condensers, steam and
air systems, and other big energy consumers.
It is also very effective in detecting electrical
discharges such as arcing, tracking and corona.
A manufacturer saved nearly $80,000 annually by
correcting numerous leaks in the air system after a
brief ultrasound inspection. Other ultrasound uses
for estimating include bearing, lube and machine
condition monitoring.
Go To Contents Page
Six Steps to Initiating
Predictive Maintenance
Is PdM right for your facility? If you want to find out,
have an outside firm run a pilot test on a sample of
mission-critical equipment and provide a savings
versus cost analysis before committing to purchase
of PdM analyzers. Once the justification is achieved,
selling the program is easier. Once the all-in decision
is reached, a six-step PdM installation program
consists of the following:
1. Select the assets to include
2. Design a history record for each asset as part
of the CMMS
3. Select PdM analyzer(s)
4. Establish measurement intervals as part of the
preventive maintenance program
5. Initiate readings, record results
6. Analyze records and intiate corrective action
Payback for PdM analysis costs have been shown
to be very rapid, often less than a year. What is the
worth of one roof or pipe leak avoided? One electrical
transformer fire avoided? One arc flash fire avoided?
Knowledge gained allows the maintenance planner to
estimate the work based on an accurate assessment
of work content. Saper vedere makes obsolete other
costly, unreliable ‘take-a-chance’ or ‘play-it-safe’
strategies. Estimators more accurately decide what
and when to repair, and make repair plans, keeping
the facility in A-condition, and getting rave reviews
from management, employees and visitors alike.
Thomas A. Westerkamp has been a maintenance
mechanic, manager, trainer, and consultant. He has
written over 200 articles on maintenance, and is author
of Maintenance Manager’s Standard Manual, 5th
Edition, 2013, www.bnibooks.com
Go To Last Page
Why Trending is Important
to Predictive Activities
Mark A. Latino
This case history takes place in a packaging
facility in Virginia. The packer on module E5
was checked for vibration integrity during
a pre- machine care evaluation. A problem
was detected in the folding arm gearbox. The
frequency characteristics indicated a bearing
was deteriorating.
This seems very straight forward but let’s put
the reality of the situation into the problem
detected. The gearbox is located in a section
of the packer that is not easily accessible.
To do the necessary repairs it will require
separating the two sections of the machine.
When the packer is split it will take an
additional two days of work before the unit
can be restored to service.
The maintenance leader is not a believer
in the ability of the technician to make a
vibration call correctly. He has vowed to
bring the technician and the technician’s
boss under the scrutiny of the organizations
leadership for poor performance if the call is
wrong. The product this packer is packing is
in a sold out position.
7
AMMJ July 2014
Reliability Center, Inc. USA
With this reality understood other dynamics come
into the situation. Now the technician and the boss
discuss their confidence level in the vibration call they
have made. The added pressure of the maintenance
leader has caused the vibration technician to look for
other means to confirm the call to replace the gearbox
bearing.
The original call was based on a vibration signature
that showed a frequency peak at 36.9 with harmonic
side bands at amplitude of .10 inches per second
(IPS). What this means is there is frequency where
there is not supposed to be. The amplitude of this
frequency by most standards is not considered to be
a serious problem and the machine was running fine.
Not a good set of circumstances to ask for repair work
to be performed.
In order to be confident in the call several things must
be done, first is to go back and look at the trend data
on this particular gearbox.
This was done and fortunately the data was taken
on a regular basis (once per month), which was
exactly what was needed to determine how fast the
deterioration was taking place. The second thing done
was to retrieve the packer’s gearbox drawings and
find out exactly what kind of bearing was installed in
the gearbox, what it was driving, the particular gear
that was installed, etc.
Go To Next Article Go To Contents Page
The last thing done was to explore other alternative
tests that could be performed to increase the confidence
of a correct call.
After looking at the drawing it was determined the
bearing was a 1208 roller bearing. With this information
the technician could look more closely at the match
of frequency placement to the characteristics of the
bearing.
The results were close but not on the money. The
frequency placement and the bearing characteristics
were off by a small amount; this added some doubt
about the original call.
Now what? Back to the trend data once again the
frequency was so close and had all the characteristics of
a bearing based on past experience, that the reliability
management was convinced the problem was a bearing
and that over a four month period had doubled in
amplitude. If this gearbox were to fail catastrophically
during operation the loss would calculate to several
million dollars in parts, labor, and lost production
opportunity. This was significant and the call had to be
right.
The technician had explored other tests that could be
done to add confidence to the call and decided to use
Go To Last Page

fiber optic technology to take a visual
look at the bearing. The equipment
was borrowed from a sister plant and
set up behind the packer.
This particular unit had a visual
monitor attachment, which enabled
several people (including the
maintenance leader) to view the test
live as the camera was viewing the
bearing.
The packer was shut down, the oil
drained, and the inspection covers
were removed for access. There was
just enough room for a small person to
get far enough in to do the inspection.
The results were conclusive the visual
images showed the damage on the
bearing rollers.
Now there was complete confidence
in proceeding forward with the repair.
When the maintenance crew had
completed the removal of the gearbox
assembly a thorough visual inspection
was conducted in order to determine
the failure mechanism.
The results of the inspection revealed
that the cam that the gearbox drove
had significant damage because
the cam follower bearing had failed,
the closest gear to the gearbox had
tooth damage, and the 1208 bearing
that had shown up on the vibration
signature was a double roller bearing
instead of a single roller bearing as
the drawing had indicated.
This explained why the frequency
placement didn’t line up. The primary
8
AMMJ July 2014
failure was the cam follower bearing
had failed the secondary failures
were the 1208 bearing damage, Cam
damage, and gear damage.
After the work was completed and
the equipment restored to service the
lessons learned were explored.
1. The trend data was significant in
making a correct call. Without it
there would have been too many
gaps for a confident call.
2. There were two different roller
configurations in the stock room
with the same stock number.
3. The cam follower bearing was too
delicate for the service it provided.
4. The maintenance leader is now
confident in the technician’s
vibration calls.
5. Other reliability tools should be
purchased for the facility such as
a fiber optics camera.
The job of the reliability department
as far as this writer is concerned
is to Trend, Trend, and Trend.
Trending is the primary activity a
reliability department depends on
to learn failure mechanisms. The
understanding, documentation,
and sharing of reliability lessons
learned are the future of a company’s
success.
Mark Latino is President of Reliability
Center, Inc. (RCI).
mlatino@reliability.com
LogbooksOnline
Get a grip on your
production performance
with the LogbooksOnline
web based solution...
For more LogbooksOnline information visit:
www.omcsinternational.com/downloads/
Production Log DemoV3_r1.pdf
information@omcsinternational.com
www.ReliabilityAssurance.com
Telephone: +61 3 9315 0330
Facsimile: +61 3 9315 0332
Go To Contents Page
Web-based logbooks are the way of the future
and OMCS International is leading the way,
offering users a configurable system which can
be used for any form of operation – power, water,
pipelines, transport, oil and gas, mining etc...
Imagine the capability to design
your own logbooks... for every
part of your business... without the
costly overhead of professional
developers to keep it up to date as
your requirements change!
Using LogbooksOnline
is like using a whiteboard.
Users can create their
own fields, data types,
calculations, trigger points
and trigger functions!
LogbooksOnline is a result of over a decade of research across all industry
types. It is a simple and effective tool for improving methods of data collection
and loss reconciliation and is designed to sustain any reliability initiative.
LogbooksOnline lets you produce production run reports with spectacular
graphs which can be printed, e-mailed or embedded into reports.
LogbooksOnline is a module of one of the best reliability assurance software
available, PMO2000®.
Production Run
Log Record
Log Book Plant Downtime Supervisor
Entries Readings Input Records Instructions
Go To Last Page
 L e a n
e y s t o a n d
5K c e c e
t e n a n t e n a n
i n i n
Ma M a
ro v i n g
Imp
Assetivity Australia
This is the first in a series of articles on improving
Maintenance Productivity through the use of Lean
Maintenance techniques. This article provides
a brief introduction to the “5 Keys to Lean
Maintenance and Improving Maintenance” Each
of these 5 keys will then be detailed in future
issues of the AMMJ.
Many companies measure and understand productivity
when applied to the creation of the product or delivery of
the service they provide – it’s the ratio between output
and input. This is a measure of the efficiency with which
we use scarce resources – we’re asking “how much
wasted time, energy and material goes into making
product X or delivering service Y?”
What many asset intensive companies do not measure
or understand is that the principles associated with
measuring productivity can be applied internally and
particularly to their maintenance programs – after
all, maintenance is a service. When maintenance
productivity is optimised, asset intensive companies
often realise a significant commercial advantage over
their less effective competitors. Recent studies in a
number of asset intensive industries have demonstrated
that maintenance “tool time” (actual time doing
beneficial maintenance on the asset) can be as low as
20% of the total time “doing maintenance”.
9
AMMJ July 2014
1. Doing the right work
Doing work for work’s sake is simply a waste of time and
resources – and can even be counterproductive in terms
of equipment reliability. Every maintenance task needs
to be directly aimed at creating the best “value” from the
assets. So how do we select which work we do and to
By comparison, those that are doing things right are what level of detail? The key to achieving this holistically
achieving maintenance “tool time” as high as 55-65% is to use the principles of Reliability Centred Maintenance
. This gives the successful companies a massive (RCM), an extension of Failure Modes and Effect Analysis
competitive advantage by allowing them to operate with (FMEA), to identify the right work, at the right frequency, to
much smaller maintenance workforces – potentially manage the risk of failure.
as much as one-third of the size of less efficient
Compare the two situations illustrated below in Fig 1.
organisations.
Prior to reviewing its preventive maintenance, the
Is your organisation interested in organisation is swamped with breakdown work, which
reducing costs by 25%? is inherently poorly planned and inefficient, because the
Successfully applying Lean Maintenance techniques wrong preventive maintenance can’t prevent failures. After
may allow you to reduce your maintenance costs by Figure 1
more than 50% (for example, by
increasing tool time from 30% to
60%). If Maintenance costs account
for 50% of the total cash costs of
production (as is the case in some
industries), the opportunity may
exist to reduce total costs by more
than 25% with no adverse impact
on equipment performance.
This makes it simply too important
an opportunity to ignore.
If you haven’t already, maybe now
would be a good time to assess
your maintenance “tool time” vs
total maintenance time. How well
are you delivering the maintenance
service? If you find you’re in the
bottom part of the range, here are 5
key techniques you can try to catch
a break on your competitors:
Go To Next Article Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page

an appropriate review, the organisation has identified the
necessary preventive maintenance, which can be executed
efficiently to reduce the breakdown downtime leaving
the maintenance workforce with the correct amount of
work, and possibly the opportunity for some improvement
initiatives. And don’t forget – optimising the maintenance
program should not be seen as a “set and forget” – reviews
should take place regularly, and especially when things
change.
2. Doing the work right
Once we’ve established a maintenance program with
the right work, what’s next? To get the best from limited
resources, the work needs to be executed efficiently and
effectively. The key to this is the application of a rigorous
Work Management process, as illustrated in Figure2.
Without these processes in place, maintenance staff waste
time and effort on discovering what they should be doing,
prioritising tasks, identifying resources (tools, parts, people)
required, working out when work can be done, waiting,
travelling; all time that could be used for “real” maintenance
activities!
Figure 2
10
AMMJ July 2014
Figure 3
Associated with doing the work right is applying effort
to reduce the maintenance error rate – getting rid
of rework. The Work management process is more
than just a routine scheduling process – it includes
asking the question “how can I make it more likely
that work will be done right?” Focussing on areas
such as better planning and scheduling methodology,
more detailed and accurate work instructions and
better trained maintenance crews are major areas of
improvement.
3. Continuous improvement
Steps 1 & 2 only take productivity improvement so
far – further tools are needed to identify and eliminate
causes of issues such as equipment failures, service
overruns, lack of required resources and poor
schedule adherence. Reducing or eliminating these
issues will generate increased plant uptime and
throughput, reduced risk of safety and environmental 4. Environment for success
incidents, increased equipment reliability, increased
Any improvement process is headed for failure without the
proportion of planned maintenance work, reduced
buy-in and support of all those involved; it is imperative that
maintenance and operating costs.
the leadership and culture is focussed on being proactive
But don’t just focus on coming up to a standard – rather than reactive, and is performance driven. This is an
look at the standard itself! You should know what area which many people involved in maintenance miss, due
maintenance needs to be done if everything was to a natural bias towards technical processes.
perfect.
The development and implementation of a ‘balanced
But can you change that? Effort applied in areas scorecard’ of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and the
such as asset design changes, maintenance process support and communication from management are the
changes, converting “off line” maintenance to “on keys to delivering improvement. A real benefit is when the
line” maintenance, application of new/different maintenance manager/superintendent can “guard” the
technology and similar often has a dramatic effect on maintenance teams, keeping the non-value added, time
the amount and type of maintenance that needs to be consuming activities to a minimum, allowing the maintainers
provided. to maintain.
Figure 3 shows a simplified view of a suitable
continuous improvement/defect elimination process.
This needs to be supported by an appropriate set of
formal root cause analysis tools, such as “5 whys”,
cause and effect trees and fishbone diagrams.
Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page
 Figure 4

5. Think Holistically
The Maintenance department and maintenance service it provides don’t exist
in isolation to the rest of the business – it is part of a system. So what are your
enablers to the Maintenance department and performance of the service? It is not
unusual for organisations to focus on one or the other, but not both. The service
requires the right people, tools, information and spares at the right place and right
time – the department needs the right corporate policies and processes, funding,
people, tools, facilities, data and performance measuring. The key to addressing
both is fostering good interdepartmental relationships between Maintenance and
other areas such as supply, operations, training and human resources. Alignment
of departmental scorecards and meetings with attendance from the various
departments will assist with achieving the holistic approach required. This type of
engagement is fundamental to the discipline of Asset Management, and is a core
element of the recently released international standard ISO 55001.
It’s unlikely that your organisation is best practice in all of the above – and equally
unlikely that it is amongst the worst performers in every area. That means that you
have room somewhere to improve your maintenance productivity and reduce your
maintenance costs. To help you figure out where, watch out for our subsequent
articles detailing each of the 5 keys in more detail in future issues of the AMMJ.
Assetivity www.assetivity.com.au

11

AMMJ July 2014 Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page

 Save Money by
Optimising your
Maintenance
Strategy
ARMS Reliability.
www.armsreliability.com
Joel Smeby,
Senior Reliability Engineer,
and Michael Drew, CEO,
It’s a common phrase and one that is
thrown around often. But what does it really
mean to have an optimised strategy? If someone
asks if your strategies have been optimised, can
you answer with a resounding ‘Yes!’ and explain
exactly what that means?
An optimised maintenance strategy means that
your equipment is being maintained and operated
at the lowest possible cost with respect to labour,
spare parts, equipment, and failure effects.
Failure effects may consider cost of downtime,
safety and environmental considerations, or
operational impact. In these cases it means that
your facility is being maintained and operated in a
way that is within your corporate risk thresholds,
meets operational goals & has the
lowest overall costs.
12
AMMJ July 2014
So what steps can be taken to ensure that you
have an ‘Optimised Maintenance Strategy’?
Inspect, Replace, or RTF
How do you know which strategy is the most effective from a
cost, safety, or environmental standpoint? Does an inspection
provide adequate warning to predict a failure? Is it more cost
effective to replace a component on a scheduled basis given its
failure characteristics and the efficiencies gained with planning
the work? Or possibly there are minimal cost, safety, and
environmental effects, such that the most effective strategy
is run to failure. By using software that combines Reliability
Centred Maintenance logic with powerful simulation capabilities
you can evaluate each scenario and determine the optimum
scenario.
Go To Next Article Go To Contents Page
Shutdown Optimisation
By optimising each task an optimum task interval can be
found. However, these intervals may not always line up to
one optimal frequency. The decision then becomes what is
the optimal interval to group tasks to a scheduled shutdown
which will ensure a certain level of availability is achieved
while costs are kept as low as possible. By linking the
maintenance task and interval simulator to a reliability block
diagram, various shutdown scenarios can be evaluated
to find the optimal interval for both costs and availability
goals. In much the same way as an individual task can be
optimised, multiple tasks can be packaged together into
various task groups, and simulated. 
Modification of the
task description
1. Check drive motor.
Often the team that assembles
the maintenance strategy and
plan are experienced practitioners.
There may be times when a basic Still there,
task description is defined in the hasn’t gone
anywhere
maintenance strategy or plan, but !
further detail is required in order to
get the full value out of performing
the activity. The basic task may
lack quantitative acceptable
limits to accurately describe what
constitutes a failure, or it may require a modification of
the task description so it can better describe the work
needing to be performed. This is especially important with
new employees who are unlikely to have the familiarity
with the equipment like a seasoned veteran would. And
finally there may be opportunities to increase efficiencies
by adding additional information to the task within the
CMMS. By evaluating the task and the resources needed
for its completion, you can determine if equipment (such as
a crane), spare parts, or consumables could be added to
the task in order to make the workers more productive and
reduce time organising the job by preparing ahead of time.
Go To Last Page
 Removal of non-value added tasks
Very often tasks are performed without an
Making RCM work with
SAP & MAXIMO
understanding of the failure mode that it is
addressing. If the failure mode is random in
nature, and there are no detectable warning
signs that failure is imminent, it is likely that CLICK HERE
a time based inspection will have little to no In Summary
impact on the reliability of the equipment; it’s Can you look at your entire operation and say
TO VIEW
as likely to fail the day before the inspection
as it is to fail the day after the inspection. In
with confidence that you have an optimised
maintenance strategy? The answer for most
DEMO
situations like these it may make sense to people will be no, and that’s ok.
remove the task depending if the failure is
hidden or not. This can help save valuable
resources, especially during shutdowns.
Cost
Another example of where tasks can
be removed is performing a time based Software for Seamless Integration,
inspection on a failure mode that could also
be monitored with a predictively technology. Fast Analysis & Quality Data
More often than not condition monitoring will You!
KNOWLEDGE
produce more meaningful results without Reliability
the possibilities of introducing a failure as
some invasive visual inspections have the
tendency to do. WORK
Spares holding levels RCM STRATEGY PLAN INSTRUCTIONS UPLOAD HISTORY
One factor that can often be left out of
maintenance strategy projects is the spare What’s important is to understand what your
parts strategy. Although it’s common to critical systems are and which assets are LEGACY
have a strategy for high cost equipment driving costs, downtime and/or risks. From DATA
ONGOING MAINTENANCE PLAN
items, sometimes there is less focus here you can ensure that the top 20% (for
on lower cost items, even though they example) of assets have undergone an
may cause significant downtime if they analysis similar to the steps outlined above. OPTIMISED
fail. These items may be particularly After this you’ll be ready to reply, “Yes, we PUMP
STANDARDISED
important if they are not held in stock and have an optimised maintenance strategy MOTOR LIBRARY INITIAL MAINTENANCE PLAN WORK PACKAGES
if they have a long lead time. To take it a based on cost to the business, risk, and SAP OR MAXIMO
step further it is important to perform the reliability, and these are the steps we took to GEARBOX
analysis considering all instances where make it a reality!”
the part is installed throughout the plant.
By considering the cost of the spare part, ARMS Reliability is a global team of consultants
lead times, downtime costs, and failure that specialise in helping companies achieve
characteristics, the maintenance strategy cost savings and improved throughput by
analysis can optimise the spare parts improving the reliability of their new and existing
holding levels to ensure that the minimum assets, increasing availability, eliminating NORTH / LATIN AMERICA AUSTRALIA / ASIA / NEW ZEALAND EUROPE SOUTH AFRICA
defects and being proactive to reduce P: +1 512 795 5291 P: +61 3 5255 5357 P: +44 122 445 9362 P: +27 10 500 8232
amount of stock is held on site in the
vulnerabilities, risk levels and lifecycle costs.
warehouse so that maximum reliability is
www.armsreliability.com North America | Latin America | Europe | Asia | Africa | Australia
maintained.

13 www.armsreliabilitysoftware.com info@armsreliability.com

AMMJ July 2014 Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page

 Rotating
Machinery
Troubleshooting
Amin Almasi
Introduction
The key to machinery troubleshooting is a systematic
approach. Unsystematic methods such as trial & error
approaches are inefficient and could be damaging and
dangerous. Systematic methods, if properly used, can
result in fewer machinery upsets, quick and correct
responses to changing conditions (in machineries and a
plant) and a long-term profitable operation. It is important
for machineries (such as compressors, turbines, pumps,
fans, etc) to maintain safe, reliable, and continuously
operated for short- and long-term success of a plant.
Machinery Troubleshooting
A successful machinery troubleshooting relies on reliable
data collection and interpretation. These data could
be machinery data (for example, speed, lubrication
system data, seal system data, etc), machinery related
process data (such as flow, temperature, pressure, fluid
composition, etc) or machinery monitoring data (for
instance, thermal images, boroscope images, oil analysis
data, etc). It is extremely important that data (vibration
data, operating data, pressures, temperatures, flows,
etc) be collected during normal operating conditions,
preferably at the first opportunity after the plant start-
up when the desired production rate is achieved, to
establish the baseline information. Future machinery
troubleshooting will be difficult without the baseline
information. For some situations, if proper baseline data
do not exist, the troubleshooting would become “shots in
the dark”.
14
AMMJ July 2014
Rotating Equipment Consultant Australia
Many machinery failures and trips can be traced back to
a change in process, operation or machinery condition.
Identifying and responding quickly to these changes can
result in very fewer upsets and a more reliable machinery
operation.
Proper operation of machineries in a plant entails the
correct balance between capacity, energy and machinery
conditions. It is no longer acceptable to operate pumps
or compressors far from their best efficiency point
(BEP). It is not also acceptable to trip steam turbines
or centrifugal compressors 3 or 4 times a year. There
have been many steam-turbine driven or electric-motor
driven centrifugal compressors operated more than 3
years without a shutdown. Continuous gathering of data,
graphical representations and deep understanding of
cause-and-effect between different process and machinery
parameters are key aspects of a successful machinery
operation.
An important aspect of the machinery troubleshooting is
to get everybody involved. The team work is necessary
for successful troubleshooting exercises. Machineries are
generally complex packages, containing many mechanical,
electrical and control items. Various instruments and
actuators are also used. The process structure of modern
machineries is complex. In addition, technicians and
field engineers working with machinery packages at site
have first-hand information and experiences regarding
recent changes, historical data and day-to-day operation
of machineries. These data and information play an
important role in the machinery troubleshooting.
Go To Next Article Go To Contents Page
The following case studies help operators and plant
engineers for keeping their machineries in safe and
reliable working conditions.
Case Study: Air-Compressor Inlet Filter
The possibility of driving rain into the air inlet of an air-
compressor in a plant was raised by operation team. It was
suggested that the rain water in the air filter could cause
operational problems and even a compressor trip. Proper
weather hoods or louvers should be used on any inlet air
systems. Particularly they are essential for air-compressors
and gas turbines in areas with rainfall or snow. Weather
hoods or another comparable weather protection system
are strongly recommended for all air filter systems (with high
efficiency filters). The downward orientation of the air inlet or a
louver (or cowling) to minimize the entry of driving rain, snow,
or sand to the air filter should always be considered. The
first improvement option is usually wider louvers compared
to existing ones. For example, for this air-compressor, the
first proposed solution was 300mm-louvers to replace the
existing 100mm-louvers. If a wide louver is not sufficient,
other advanced options can be used. For example, double-
bank louvers can offer a higher degree of the rain protection
compared to regular single-bank louvers, especially when
wind is driving rain to louvers. The air-compressor inlet filter
system was thoroughly studied. Different options such as
wide louvers, regular single-bank louver options, double-bank
louvers, etc were studied for this air-compressor.
There were the following observations and suggestions:
• The old air inlet (single-bank 100mm-louvers) system
seemed acceptable and sufficient for most of experienced
rain situations. However, there have been rare weather
situations with considerable rain and strong wind in the area.
• A change in the inlet filtration system (including wide louvers
or other options) may restrict air flow and might drive the air
compressor toward the surge. This change might also result
in the compressor performance reduction and operational
issues. Any proposed change on the inlet filtration system
could be risky, complex and expensive, therefore require
thorough engineering studies.
• Another option could be a separate (extended) roof on a
compressor air inlet (intake section) to minimize the rain on
the air inlet. This roof might introduce some air flow restriction
rather than the protection against the rain.
Go To Last Page

For a roof solution, a roof at least 350 mm
above the top of the air inlet housing (to
minimize the air flow restriction effects)
with a horizontal extension of at least 3
m was initially proposed. This roof could
be expensive and complex. For a roof,
the cost, complexity and expenses would
probably be more than the advantages.
Since this process air compressor was a
very critical machine for the plant, and any
operational problem or trip/alarm (which
might occurred in rare weather situations
with considerable rain and strong wind)
was assessed unacceptable, the selected
solution was the double-bank louvers.
Case Study: Fan Bearing Issue
This case study is about a 120 kW fan
with 1785 rpm speed. The vibration
measurements showed a relatively high
vibration for fan bearings (ball-bearings).
Investigations showed some defects on fan
bearings. The fan bearing was changed
with a new bearing (the same type).
However, some operational issues and high
vibration components continued. Based on
these issues and problems, the operation
team suggested replacing ball-bearings
with sleeve bearings (hydrodynamic
bearings). There were large machines
(above 300 kW) with sleeve bearings that
operated without bearing issues.
Generally, the replacement of a rolling-
element bearing with a sleeve bearing
is a complex and risky task. Sleeve
bearings usually are not used for small
rotating machines. Based on API-673, the
hydrodynamic radial and thrust bearings
are mandatory for fans with rated power
greater than 225 kW. For fans smaller
than 180 kW, proper rolling-element
15
AMMJ July 2014
ALL FLUKE.
bearings have been commonly used by
fan manufacturers. In many cases, the
replacement of a rolling-element bearing with
ALL WIRELESS.
All standard with Fluke Connect. ™
a sleeve bearing cannot be implemented on
an existing fan because of some practical
restrictions.
The following important issues should be
considered:
• Tolerances, applications, mechanical
structures and general behaviours of a
sleeve bearing are completely different with
a rolling-element bearing. Such a bearing
replacement for many rotating machines
requires new machine designs.
• The dynamic behaviour and rotordynamics
responses of a rotor with rolling-element
bearings are completely different with the
same rotor using sleeve bearings.
• For some small rotating machines, the
machine with sleeve bearings can become
a prototype with completely unknown
and strange mechanical behaviours
(performance, reliability, etc).
• A sleeve bearing system usually requires A camera for every job and every budget.
a new (complex/expensive) lubrication
oil system. This new lubrication oil system
may not be feasible for many small rotating
machines (because of size, cost,
complexity, etc).
The replacement of ball-bearings with sleeve
bearings was not approved for this small fan.
It was decided that the root-cause of bearing
failure should be found and eliminated for a
long-term trouble-free operation. There are
generally three causes for rolling-element * All Fluke Ti9X, Ti1XX, Ti2XX, Ti3XX, Ti4XX models are
enabled with Fluke Connect™
bearing issues and bearing high vibrations: ShareLive™ TrendIt
™ AutoRecord™
EquipmentLog
™
Fluke Cloud
™ ©2014 Fluke Corporation. All trademarks are the property of their
history
respective owners. Smart phone, wireless service, and data plan
video call graphs measurements storage not included with purchase. The first 5GB of storage is free.
• The sizing, selection and rating of the Compatible with Android™ (4.3 and up) and iOS (4s and later). Apple
and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the
U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.
bearing. Now more reasons to connect with Fluke.
Google Play is a trademark of Google, Inc.
• The installation conditions such as proper
tolerances, correct installation, proper
machine set-up, etc. Learn More www.fluke.com/au/connect
• The operational conditions, for example,
proper lubrication, etc. Contact Fluke Australia:
 www.fluke.com.au +61 2 8850 3333  auinfo@fluke.com
Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page

Based on experiences, there are following
root-causes for fan issues related to rolling-
element bearings and high vibrations:
• Many defects and failures of fan rolling-
element bearings are related to lubrication
(or grease) problems.
• The rub is a common problem for many
fans. A well-known place for rubbing
is the fan seal. Any rub can cause high
vibrations and damages.
• Another common problem for many fans
(especially for non-API manufacturer’s
standard fans) is a natural frequency
(any natural frequency) located within
±20% of the operating speed (or its
harmonics), which could cause high
vibrations and often damages.
• The axial vibration should be investigated
for any case of fan high vibration. In many
cases, the axial natural frequency of a fan
rotor assembly was in the vicinity of
operating speed which could cause high
vibration, operational issues and even
damages.
• Another concern is the electric discharge
on the bearing.
• Aerodynamic excitations could be the
root-cause of high vibrations and even
bearing damages. The blade passing
frequency is important in this regard.
A common problem could be the damper
instability at inlet or discharge of a fan.
A damper can be used to control the
fan’s air flow. Usually, small and medium
fans in plants are fixed-speed fans and
relied on dampers for the capacity control.
• Excessive loads can cause bearing
problems.
• The unbalance and misalignment could
16
AMMJ July 2014
be the root-cause of high vibrations and
bearing damages.
• If both bearings are tightly fitted, any
thermal expansion (or contraction) can
9th World Congress on Engineering
cause bearing damages and high vibration.
If this is the case, a proper non-locating
Asset Management
bearing should be used in one side of the
fan rotor. This issue can also show itself as 28–31 October 2014, Pretoria, South Africa
a looseness because an uncontrolled
expansion (or contraction) can result in the “Towards Engineering Asset Management Body of Knowledge and Standards”.
looseness.
• EAM investment strategies
Investigations showed the misalignment was
the root-cause of the bearing failures. The • EAM operations and maintenance
alignment procedure was modified. The fan strategies and practices
was aligned properly to solve the problem. • Asset condition, risk and
Case Study: Additional Filter for a vulnerability assessments
Turbine Control Oil System • Asset data, records and
For a conventional steam turbine driven performance measurement
pump, it was requested to install an • EAM systems and technologies
additional 2 micron filter for the control oil • EAM guidelines, standards
system. Usually the control oil for a rotating and certification
machine package (such as the control oil for • EAM education, training
steam turbines or gas turbines) is extracted and knowledge
from the lubrication oil system. There are • Private and public sector case studies
some cases where an additional fine filtration
• Panels, plenaries, keynotes, tutorials,
(1 or 2 micron filter) is required for a special
workshops and industry visits
control oil system since commonly-used 5 or
10 micron filters in lubrication oil systems are
not sufficient. Examples are control systems Visit: www.wceam.com WCEAM 2014
with special valves that have very close
internal clearances or high-speed gear-type
couplings. However, for some conventional
control oil systems, an additional fine
filtration unit is not required. Studies showed
for the control oil system of this conventional
steam turbine, an additional fine filter is not
required.
Amin Almasi specializes in rotating machines
including centrifugal, screw and reciprocating Inspiring new ways
compressors, gas turbines, steam turbines,
engines, pumps, subsea, offshore rotating
machines, LNG units, condition monitoring
and reliability.
amin.almasi@ymail.com
Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page
 A Day in the Life -
PART 1
This has five short narratives
typical of maintenance with
inadequate or no planning
help.
These accounts - unfortunate
and frustrating - are sure
to be recognized by many
hands-on managers who
know what can go on in a
workforce.
PART 2
Recounts the misadventures
of Part 1, but with each
situation flourishing with
proper maintenance
planning.
Richard (Doc) Palmer
Richard Palmer and Associates
docpalmer@palmerplanning.com
www.palmerplanning.com
This Is the 6th In A Series of
Articles From Doc Palmer
17
AMMJ July 2014
Part 1
Inadequate or No Planning
Bill, Mechanic at Delta Ray, Inc.
With No Planning
Bill reported to work on time and went
straight up to the crew break area. There the
supervisor gave out the assignments for the
day. Bill received two jobs: one was to take
care of a leaking valve on the southwest
corner of the mezzanine floor and the other
was to check on a reported leaking flange
on the demineralizer. The supervisor did not
think they would take all day and told him to
come back for something else to do when
they were finished.
Leaking stuff. Sounded pretty messy, so Bill
walked by his locker to put on his older boots.
Aaron was at his locker and the two chatted
for a moment while they got ready.
The first thing Bill did was swing by the jobs.
This was always a good idea in case the job
needed special tools or something. Maybe
the job would not require him to lug his whole
tool box there. As he went by the first job,
he easily found the deficiency tag matching
the tag number on his work order. Bill had
the work permit and there were hold cards
everywhere so he knew it was safe to work.
The valve was at chest level so there would
not be any scaffolding or a lift truck needed.
Go To Next Article
The valve was a 4-inch, high pressure globe
valve. Bill decided to look over the other job,
then go obtain a valve rebuild kit.
At the demineralizer, the area was also
cleared and Bill had the right work permit. But
Bill was uneasy. The deficiency tag was hung
near a pipe flange, but Bill wondered if the
line was an acid line or a water line. In either
case, Bill knew the operators would have
drained the line, but it would not hurt to put
on some acid-resistant gear just in case there
were drops or anything.
Bill headed for the storeroom for a valve
rebuild kit and the tool room for some acid
gear. There was a line at the storeroom so Bill
changed direction and went toward the tool
room first. On the way, Bill had an idea. He
knew Aaron was an experienced technician
and had worked on the demineralizer many
times. Maybe he would know if the flange
was on an acid or water line. After asking
around, Bill caught up with Aaron at the pump
shop. After a few minutes Aaron came to a
good time for a break and walked over to the
demineralizer with Bill. Aaron was confident
that the line was only for water so Bill decided
to skip the acid gear. It was now break time
so Aaron and Bill headed for the break room.
After break, Bill got in line at the storeroom.
The storeroom happened to have a rebuild kit
for the 4-inch valve. Bill took the valve kit and
his tool box up to the mezzanine floor and
got to work. This was an interesting type of
valve. Bill was hoping that it could be rebuilt
in place. After unbolting several screws on
the top of the valve, Bill was able to remove
the internals. Bad news. Although Bill had the
right kit to replace the valve internals, it was
obvious that the valve body was shot. The
whole valve would have to be replaced. The
only problem was that Bill was not a certified
welder and this high pressure valve had
welded connections.
Go To Contents Page
Bill went straight to his supervisor and
explained the situation. The supervisor
wanted to complete this job today and
called the crew’s certified welder on the
radio. The welder could come over in
about an hour and start the valve job.
The supervisor asked Bill to return the
valve kit to the storeroom and check out
a replacement valve for the welder. Bill
waited again at the storeroom to make
the exchange, then took the new valve to
where the welder was and explained how
far he had gotten along. Then Bill took his
tool box over to the demineralizer to be
ready to go after lunch.
After lunch, Bill took the flanged connection
apart at the demineralizer. In order to
obtain access to the leaking flange, Bill
had to dissemble two other connections
as well. All three flanges looked like they
had Teflon gaskets, so Bill went to the tool
room for material to cut gaskets. Since he
was waiting in line at the tool room, it was
a good time to call the dentist to make
an appointment for next month. With the
gasket material in hand, Bill went to his
work bench and cut three gaskets using
one of the old gaskets as a template. Bill
realized that with these gaskets, he could
finish up this job in no time. He wondered
what the next job would be if he went back
to his supervisor. It would probablybe
cleaning under the auxiliary boiler. He
hated that job. Why couldn’t he be given
a pump job or something important? Well,
there was no sense worrying about it.
Bill gathered up his gaskets and started
toward the job. On the way he passed Gino
cutting out some gaskets at his work bench.
After stopping to compare notes for a few
minutes, they both noticed it was almost
break time, so they decided just to stay in
the shop and talk.
Go To Last Page
 After break Bill started reassembling
the flanges. Most of the bolts looked in
good shape, but a couple looked a little
ragged. Bill thought that the plant had a
good handle on completing most of the
maintenance work. It would probably be
a wise use of time to go to the tool room
and replace those bolts. The tool room
had an open crib for bolts so he did not
have to waste any time in line acquiring
new bolts. Soon Bill finished the job and he
wiped down and cleaned up the area. He
then reported to his supervisor so the work
permit could be signed off and taken to
the control room. By then, there was about
an hour and a half left in the work day. It
was customary that the crew could use
the last 20 or 30 minutes of the day filling
out time sheets and showering. Therefore,
instead of starting a new job, the supervisor
decided to have Bill go assist Jan who was
finishing up a job on a control valve. Bill
helped Jan complete her job. Then he filled
out a time sheet and headed to his car at
the end of the day.
On the way out to his car, Bill reflected how
you had to keep busy all day long just to
finish one or two jobs. He wondered if he
did enough work.
Sue, Supervisor at Zebra, Inc.
No Planning
Sue considered herself a capable
supervisor. She knew that to keep the
operations group satisfied, the maintenance
crew had to respond to urgent maintenance
requests. She worked the crew hard and
kept on top of high priority work. Whenever
a priority-one work order came in, she
assigned it immediately even if it meant
reassigning someone from a lower priority
job. The crew knew the importance she
placed on completing high priority work
18
AMMJ July 2014
and was always willing to work overtime when
required. In return for their cooperation, Sue
did not push the crew when there were few
high priority jobs. She was sure that the crew Advocate, collaborate
and innovate
would eventually complete the lower priority
jobs, but the operations group really needed
the higher priority jobs completed or production
would suffer. Download This Paper From The AMMJ’s
Her normal method of job assignment was to WSAA is Technical
the peak industry
Reports body
Section for
(page 58) the Australian
assign one job at a time to each technician,
putting persons on what they did best.
urban water industry. Our members provide water
IWA-WSAA
Waterservices
and sewerage Utilities to
- Asset
over Management
17 million Australians
Sometimes this required the art of deciding 2012 Asset Management
and many of Australia's largest Project
Performance Improvement
Performance Improvement Project
who would receive which jobs. Since all she Project Summary
industrial and
had to go on was the work request from the commercial enterprises.
Thirty seven (37) water sector utilities participated in
operations group, it was sometimes difficult this project from Australia, Canada, New Zealand,
to tell what craft skill was required and for Philippines and
Advocate, collaborate andthe United States of America,
innovate
how long. Her experience came to her aid
frequently, but she still preferred to assign one WSAA acts providing
on behalfaofunique opportunity
all members, for international
providing a strong,asset
national
management process comparison
voice for the sector. and learning. The project was co-sponsored
job at a time and trust the individuals to work by the International Water Association (IWA), and delivered through a consultant
expeditiously. She knew the crew worked hard consortium led by GHD Pty Ltd and including Marchment Hill Consulting and
because they rarely lounged either on the job CH2MHill. The WSAA supports
project purposemembers
was to raisein their
the engagement
level of asset with other members,
management
or in the break room. When they finished the practice in thecustomers,
global waterstakeholders and the
industry through community.
identifying process improvements and
jobs they were on, they would come to her for leading practices that can be shared across the industry.
other assignments. WSAA is proud of the willingness of members to innovate and
Earlier in the day, Jim came in for another Work on the 2016 project
always seekwill commence
smarter ways early nextthings.
of doing year and companies interested
in participating can contact WSAA’s Greg Ryan, Manager, Asset Management,
job. After looking through the backlog in the
file cabinet, she assigned a pump repair. Jim greg.ryan@wsaa.asn.au
For more details on WSAA and membership benefits visit
was great working with pumps. She noticed www.wsaa.asn.au. For membership inquiries please contact
a higher priority, air compressor job in the jaimie.hicks@wsaa.asn.au or 03 8605 7605.
file, but Donna knew the most about air WSAA is the peak industry body for the Australian urban water industry. Our
compressors and she was on leave for the members provide water and sewerage services to over 17 million Australians
week. A few moments later, another technician and many of Australia’s largest industrial and commercial enterprises.
came into the office. This particular technician
had not earned Sue’s confidence so she • WSAA acts on behalf of all members, providing a strong,
assigned that technician to go help Jim. national voice for the sector.
Lately it seemed that all the work was high • WSAA supports members in their engagement with other
priority and production was suffering. members, customers, stakeholders and the community.
She used to feel that sometimes the operations • WSAA is proud of the willingness of members to innovate
crews would exaggerate the priority of minor and always seek smarter ways of doing things.
jobs just to make sure they were done. For more details on WSAA and membership benefits visit www.wsaa.asn.au.
However, from looking at the recent work For membership inquiries please contact: jaimie.hicks@wsaa.asn.au or 03 8605 7605.
orders, there really were many urgent jobs,
some bordering on near emergencies.
Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page
 She knew the crew was beginning to tire
of working in a near panic mode and it
seemed some of the crew was slowing
down. Hopefully, after they completed this
recent batch of jobs, things would calm
down. In order to keep the crew moving
along, Sue decided always to make sure
that each technician had a personal
backlog of at least two or three jobs to do.
Next Sue began to monitor starting and
quitting times closely in addition to break
time. Nevertheless, things did not seem to
be improving.
Juan, Welder at Alpha X, Inc.
Has Planning
Juan received two jobs for the day.
Planning had planned one, but not the
other one.
Both were jobs to replace valves that
were leaking through. Eli in the predictive
maintenance group had used thermography
to find the problems. Juan hoped he could
finish both jobs before quitting time.
Juan got to the site of the planned job and
looked at the work order again. The west
economizer drain root valve was leaking
through. The work plan called for replacing
the valve and gave a detailed plan.
The plan gave the following steps:
• Obtain valve from storeroom, 15 minutes.
• Obtain welding machine, welding
materials, and chainfall from tool room,
20 minutes.
• Make sure the work area is cleared by
the operations group, 3 minutes.
• Clear the immediate area of combustible
material since welding is involved,
15 minutes.
• Unwire & set aside equipment tag, 1 min.
• Support the old valve to be removed with
a chainfall from the tool room, 5 minutes.
19
AMMJ July 2014
• Use a cutting torch to cut out the old valve,
30 minutes.
• Prepare both pipe ends, 25 minutes.
• Check new valve for obvious defects and
move into place with chainfall, 10 minutes.
• Make root pass, 10 minutes.
• Finish welding, 45 minutes.
• Grind to smooth edge of weld if necessary,
10 minutes.
• Heat treat weld areas for 5 hours or as
directed by supervisor, 4 hours.
• (During heat treating, clean up area, 20
minutes.)
• Replace equipment tag with wire, 1 minute.
• Take old valve to scrap and return
equipment to tool room, 15 minutes.
• Turn in work permit and fill out paperwork,
10 minutes.
• Total time: 3 hours 15 minutes plus
4 hours for heat treating.
Juan thought the plan was ridiculous. He
did not mind having the valve identified
and reserved. Nonetheless, Juan felt that
the planner must think he was an idiot not
knowing how to weld. Juan was a certified
welder for which the plan called, after all.
Juan also figured that the planner being an
apprentice explained why the heat treatment
information was all wrong. This type of
job required preheating with a torch and
temperature stick for about 5 minutes. A
simple wrapping with an electrical treatment
blanket at the end of the job kept the valve
from cooling too quickly. Juan could go on to
another job and come back in 2 or 3 hours
to retrieve the blanket. Juan also seemed to
remember working on this valve last year. Did
he have to drain the water through the root
valve before he could cut out the valve? It
just seemed that planning was not all it was
cracked up to be.
Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page
 Jack, Planner at Johnson Industries Inc.
Has Planning
Jack came in ready to go. As a planner for 20 technicians, he knew that each day he
needed to plan about 150 hours worth of work orders. Standard preventive maintenance
work orders that needed no planning would add about 50 hours. That would keep 20
technicians busy for a 10-hour shift. He could not afford to become bogged down.
Reviewing the work requests from the previous day, Jack got to work. He decided first
to make a field inspection for eight of the most pressing work orders. He hoped to have
them planned before lunch and start on another group. He gathered the eight work orders
on his clipboard and headed for the door. At the door he met George and Phil. They
had just started a pump job and wanted the pump manual. Jack agreed to help them
look through the planning files for the book. After some minutes they found a copy in the
technical file section with the other OEM manuals.
Jack had no problem finding and scoping most of the jobs, but one job was hard to find.
Jack made a trip to the control room and waited a few minutes for an operator to be
able to take a look with him. While he waited, he received a radio call from the Unit 1,
mechanical crew supervisor. Jack’s plan had indentified the wrong valve for a job and
the supervisor wanted him to help the technicians at the storeroom pick out the right one.
Telling the operator he would have to come back, Jack headed for the storeroom.
Once there, Jack agreed that the application called for a globe valve. It was now about 10
a.m. and Jack decided to meet with the operator after break.
After break, Jack and the operator found the elusive job site. Jack made a mental scope
of the job and headed for the planner office. Once there, another technician, Jim, caught
his attention and pleaded for help. He was replacing some bearings on an unplanned job
and needed size information. Together, they searched, but did not find a manual nor any
information in the equipment files. This required a call to the manufacturer who was glad
to help. Then two more technicians working unplanned jobs came in and asked his help
finding parts information. Since their jobs were underway, it was logical that he should
stop and help them. After all, he was very adept at finding information and his job existed
to support the field technicians.
So it was after lunch that Jack finally sat down to write detailed work plans for the jobs he
had scoped. The equipment files had parts information for two of the eight jobs.
Jack went ahead and wrote those work plans for about 12 hours of technician work.
Looking through the storeroom catalog yielded parts information for three jobs. One job
needed no parts and the last two jobs required parts not carried in stock. Jack requested
Charles, Predictive Maintenance Technician
at Beta X, Inc. No Scheduling
Charles had just been assigned a few weeks ago to the maintenance department’s
predictive maintenance group and trained on using an infrared camera. Already he had
found numerous problems in the plant with the thermal imaging device: valves leaking
through, motors running hot, and loose electrical connections, just to name a few. He
had written each problem on a new work order with the appropriate priority. None were
emergencies or so urgent that they needed attention this very week, but each issue
should be resolved in the next week or so before more serious problems such as outright
failures of the assets occurred, taking down assets or even systems. But that was just the
problem. The maintenance crews never seemed to get to the work orders he had written.
Although the crews were busy, most of their time seemed to be on reactive work, and the
work orders he had written still were in the “Ready to Schedule” status, planned, and ready
to go. Charles was particularly frustrated when one motor he had noted as running hot two
weeks ago actually failed yesterday.
FLIR’s T-Series Thermal Imaging
Cameras Now Have More Built-in
Features for Even Greater Efficiency
If you want powerful communication and onboard
infrared camera tools, superior thermal imaging, and
the most ergonomic way to get more IR surveys done,
FLIR T-series is as good as it gets.
• Touchscreen & Simple Buttons – As intuitive
as a smartphone’s
• GPS & Compass – Automatically embeds
pointing direction and geo-location

the purchaser to order them. Technicians twice more interrupted as Jack wrote out plans • Annotation – Add voice or text comments to images
for the six jobs. Near the end of the day, he completed the six job plans totaling about 50 or use the touchscreen to sketch

hours. Jack realized he had only completed plans for 62 hours of technician work that • Illumination – LED lights up dark areas and laser
pointer adds markers for visible images
day.
He had hoped to complete some of the other work orders. Maintenance seemed to be in
a cycle where crews would have to work unplanned jobs because there were few planned
Find out more at www.flir.com.au/ammj
jobs available. Then crews would need parts help for the jobs already underway, which 1300 729 987 NZ: 0800 785 492 info@flir.com.au
kept him from planning new jobs. Something was not right. The images displayed may not be representative of the actual resolution of the camera shown.

20

AMMJ July 2014 Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page


PART 2
An Alternative Day in the Life
This section has five short narratives typical
of maintenance with proper planning help.
These accounts are revised versions of the
misadventures set forth in Part 1.
Bill at Delta Ray, Inc.
With proper maintenance planning help
Bill reported to work on time and went straight to the
crew break area. There the supervisor gave out the
assignments for the day. Bill received the four jobs he
was expecting because he had seen the daily schedule
sheet posted the previous day. He was there for a 10-
hour shift and the job estimates totaled 10 hours. There
were three jobs for 3 hours each and a simple 1- hour job.
The big jobs were fixing a leaking valve on the northeast
corner of the mezzanine floor, replacing a gasket on a
leaking flange for the demineralizer, and regreasing the
coupling and laser aligning a boiler fill pump. The last job
was to lubricate and change the packing on a valve that
was becoming difficult to operate.
Bill had worn his old boots since he knew about the valve
jobs. The first thing Bill did was review the job plans
written on the work orders. All four jobs were staged in the
tool room. Bill went to the tool room and presented the
work order numbers to the attendant.
The attendant shortly brought out a box with the parts
for all four jobs. Copies of the work orders he had in his
hand were attached to groupings of the parts. There was
a 4-inch valve body with two gaskets and eight bolts
with matching nuts. There was a sheet of Teflon gasket
material and 12 bolts with nuts. There was a package
of grease for the pump. And there was an applicator for
grease to be used on the valve. Bill wanted to go ahead
and check out the laser alignment kit. Since there were
only two of them, the tool room attendant told him that his
supervisor had reserved one for him for the afternoon.
21
AMMJ July 2014
Normally, since Bill knew what size the bolts were for the
mezzanine valve and demineralizer flange, he would just
take a couple of wrenches with him. But since he had the
pump job which was near the other jobs, he might need an
array of other tools, so he decided to take his whole tool
box along. In addition, the planner had not noted what size
packing was needed, so any of the different size pieces
of packing he normally carried in his tool box might be
needed.
The first job was cleared as expected and Bill started
unbolting the old valve. Bill remembered the old days when
the work orders were not planned to specify whether a
mechanic would be needed for a bolted valve or a welder
might be needed for a socket welded valve. Bill noted
that the work plan stated that he should replace the valve
because the valve had failed after being repaired twice
this year so far. “So that’s why I’m not just repairing it,” Bill
thought. Bill replaced the valve, gaskets, and bolts and
was soon cleaning up. Bill radioed his supervisor to turn
in the work permit so the operations group could begin
unclearing the valve instead of waiting until the end of the
day. Bill was a little ahead of schedule and decided to go
ahead and take a short break. This would be a good time
to call the dentist from the break room.
After break at the demineralizer, the area was also cleared
and Bill had the right work permit. The deficiency tag
was hung near a pipe flange. The planner had noted that
this was a water line and not an acid line, so Bill took
the flanged connection apart at the demineralizer. Just
as the planner had anticipated, in order to obtain access
to the leaking flange Bill had to disassemble two other
connections as well. With the gasket material in hand, Bill
went to his work bench and cut out three gaskets using
one of the old gaskets as a template. The planner had
requested that Bill draw a copy of the gasket template on
the back of the work order for keeping in the file for next
time. Bill realized that with these gaskets, he could finish
up this job in no time. That would allow him plenty of time
for the other two jobs. Bill gathered up his gaskets and
started toward the job. On the way he passed Gino cutting
out some gaskets at his work bench. After stopping to
compare notes for a few minutes, they both noticed it was
almost lunch time, so they decided just to stay in the shop
and talk.
Go To Contents Page
After lunch Bill started reassembling the flanges. Most of the
bolts looked in good shape, but bolts were inexpensive and
the policy was to not take a chance on worn out bolts. Bill
replaced all the bolts and nuts using the supplied items from
the tool room.
Soon Bill finished the job and he wiped down and cleaned
up the area. He then radioed to his supervisor so this work
permit could be signed off and taken to the control room.
By then, there was about an hour left before break time so
Bill took his stuff over to the boiler fill pump.
The pump was cleared and Bill sat down for a moment to
look over the pages of the pump manual the planner had
attached to the job plan. The coupling came apart easily
and Bill wiped out all of the old grease. He then applied new
grease and fastened it back together. Then Bill headed for
the tool room to pick up the laser kit before break time.
After break, he set up the laser device and aligned the
pump. This time, however, the job ran into problems. No
matter what he tried, the pump would not go into alignment.
Bill finally called his supervisor, who came over to help.
After a while, Bill told his supervisor that it did not look like
he was going to finish his last job, repacking the valve.
The supervisor said that was okay and it could be done
tomorrow. The supervisor ended up by calling a mechanic
with more expertise to look at the pump problem and the
three of them finally got the pump aligned. Bill really enjoyed
working with pumps and was glad they had enough time
to do it right. The supervisor’s main concern was writing
down on the work order the specific alignment problem and
resolution for the history file.
It was customary that the crew could use the last 20 or 30
minutes of the day filling out time sheets and showering. Bill
had about 40 minutes left after the pump job and really did
not want to start the repacking since sometimes a simple
repacking job would run into trouble. But he did take his
tool box, the lubricant, and the packing to the valve site so
he could knock it out the next day. Then he filled out a time
sheet and headed to his car at the end of the day.
On the way to his car, Bill felt good about his performance
against today’s schedule.
Go To Last Page
 Sue, Supervisor at Zebra, Inc.
Sue considered herself a capable supervisor. She knew in order
to keep the operations group satisfied, the maintenance crew
had to keep the equipment from failing. She worked the crew
steady and kept on top of all of the maintenance work that would
keep problems from developing. Whenever a priority-one work
order came in, she assigned it when someone was finished with
what he or she was doing. She never interrupted jobs already
in progress unless it was a priority-zero emergency. The crew
knew the importance she placed on completing high-priority
work and was always willing to work overtime when required.
Normally, however, the crew worked steadily on a batch of work
orders that the planning group would assign for the week and did
not require much overtime. The planning group would take her
estimate of how many labor hours she would have for the next
week and give her that much work to assign. Sue recognized
that plant management supported preventive maintenance
because the weekly backlog contained a sufficient portion of it.
She was sure that this mix of work was in the best interest of the
plant in keeping production at high capacity.
Her normal method of job assignment was to assign to each
technician a full day’s worth of work. She knew how long each
job should take and what type craftperson she should assign
because the planning group planned each job. Sometimes this
required the art of deciding who would receive which jobs. She
simply could not hold back the critical jobs for certain persons
or she would not be able to complete all the work. She would
simply have to provide coaching for persons whose skills were
not yet up to par.
She selected the day’s work one day ahead of schedule from
the week’s backlog from planning. Thankfully, she did not have
to dig through the entire plant backlog each time she wanted to
assign a job. She knew the crew worked productively because
they generally completed much of the work assigned each week
and made few extra trips to the tool room or storeroom.
Lately it seemed that fewer higher priority work orders were
being written with urgent problems. This enabled the crew
to work without interruption to maintain the plant’s capacity.
She used to feel that sometimes the operations crews would
exaggerate the priority of minor jobs just to make sure they were
done. However, from looking at the recent work orders, there
seemed to be a team atmosphere between the maintenance and
operations groups with both sides writing low priority work orders
to head off problems. She knew the crew was enjoying receiving
planned work orders where they had a head start on what to do
22
AMMJ July 2014
and could suggest future improvements. Sue’s supervisory
approach was to assign the work from the weekly backlog and
monitor how much work the crew and individuals completed.
She was usually in the field seeing where she could provide
help to do work in a quality fashion. Since there was some
schedule pressure, she sometimes had to remind technicians
that doing the job right was more important than meeting the
precise time estimate. She just needed feedback to know why
they needed changes. Things were fairly calm. The crew kept
moving along with the visible goal of daily work. Break times
never seemed to be a problem, and neither were starting or
quitting times. Things seemed to be fine.
Juan, Welder at Alpha X Inc.
Juan received three planned jobs for the day. Two were 4-hour
jobs for valves that were leaking through. Eli in the predictive
maintenance group had used thermography to find the
problems. The third was a 2-hour job to pull up and tighten the
packing on a number of boiler valves to prevent problems. It
looked like a full day of work.
Juan and his helper got to the site of the first job and Juan
looked at the work order again. The west economizer drain
root valve was leaking through. The work plan called for
replacing the valve with one he had checked out of the tool
room per the job plan tool list. The plan gave the following
steps.
• Cut the seat using kit instructions.
• Cut new packing.
• Cut out and replace valve.
• Record title and page # of procedure
from company welding manual.
• Total time: 4 work hours for certifield welder.
• Duration: 6 hours (including heat treatment).
Juan noticed the plan called for recording information to
keep in the valve file for the future. Juan also noticed that
the planner had identified the cost of the valve at $1200. The
planner had also written special instructions for the operations
group to drain this particular root valve during the night. The
history file showed that a job done last year had been delayed
3 hours waiting for the leg to drain. Juan remembered that
drawn out job. Juan began cutting out the valve seat. It made
sense that planning would take care of all the little details so
Juan could go to work.
Go To Contents Page
Jack, Planner at Johnson
Industries, Inc.
Jack came in ready to go. As a planner for 20
technicians, he knew that each day he needed to
plan about 150 hours worth of work orders. Standard
preventive maintenance work orders that needed no
planning would add about 50 hours. That would keep
20 technicians busy for a 10-hour shift. He could not
afford to become bogged down.
Reviewing the work requests from the previous day,
Jack got to work. He decided first to check the minifiles
and then make a field inspection for eight of the most
pressing work orders. He hoped to have them planned
before lunch and start on another group. Jack found
and took the minifiles to his desk for six of the jobs.
The files had plans and part numbers used previously.
Four had small equipment manuals. Jack hoped that
knowledge of the previous work would help him scope
the current jobs. He gathered the eight work orders on
his clipboard and headed for the door. At the door he
met George and Phil. They had just started a pump job
and wanted the pump manual.
Jack pointed them toward the technical file, OEM
section. He cautioned them to copy what they needed
if they found a manual. They should leave it on the
table when finished so he could put it on the right shelf
later. Then he went out the door.
Jack had no problem finding and scoping most of the
jobs, but one job was hard to find. Jack radioed the
operations coordinator assigned to help planning. He
agreed to come to where Jack was to help. While he
waited a moment, Jack hoped the other jobs he had
planned last week were going smoothly. He knew the
technicians or supervisors would take care of any
problems and give him feedback on the completed
work orders to help future jobs.
Go To Last Page
 Jack and the operations coordinator found the elusive job
site. Jack made a mental scope of the job and headed for
the planner office. Once there, he noticed Jim searching
the files for bearing size information on an unplanned
job. Eventually, Jim called the manufacturer who was
glad to help. Jack asked Jim to make sure to write down
the tolerances on the work order so Jack could file it for
future use. Even though Jack was very adept at finding
information, there were 20 technicians to support. From
the very first days when they began establishing the
files, it made better sense for the supervisor and all the
technicians to search for information the first time they
performed a job.
Jack’s value added was filing the information once
found and then retrieving it to avoid repeating a search.
Over time, maintenance technicians usually repeated
jobs requiring the same information. The technicians
understood if they did not receive certain information on
a job, that it was not readily available. Then they would
Doc Palmer
Charles, Predictive Maintenance Doc Palmer is the author of
the Maintenance Planning and
Technician at Beta X, Inc.
Scheduling Handbook published by
Charles had just been assigned a few weeks ago to the McGraw Hill. This article is based
maintenance department’s predictive on material within Doc’s book.
maintenance group and trained on using an infrared camera. To purchase this excellent
Already he had found numerous problems in the plant with Handbook, 3rd Edition, go to either:
the thermal imaging device: valves leaking through, motors
running hot, and loose electrical connections, just to name a McGrawHill:
http://www.mhprofessional.com/
few. He had written each problem on a new work order with product.php?isbn=0071784128
the appropriate priority. None were emergencies or so urgent
that they needed attention this very week, but each issue or Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/
should have been resolved in the next week or so before Maintenance-Planning-Scheduling-
more serious problems such as outright failures of the assets
Handbook-Richard/dp/007178411X
occurred, taking down assets or even systems. Charles was
pleased that the maintenance crews completed the work
orders in a timely manner.
Initially, he had been

Condition Monitoring
The
have to hunt for it themselves and count on Jack to file concerned that the work
it for the next time. Jack’s job existed to support the orders would be forgotten if
field technicians and supervisors. He was able to give he did not mark them urgent,

Solutions
technicians a head start on jobs from past information. but he had personally followed Group
of Companies
He was able to give supervisors time estimates and craft a few through the planning
information to allow better job assignment. and scheduling process.
After break, Jack sat down to write work plans for the Not only did the planners The apt Group provide a
jobs he had scoped. He wrote the craft, time estimate, process and move them comprehensive range of portable
and objective of each job along with parts information along, but the scheduler also & on-line instruments, along Vibration & patented Shock Pulse Instruments to measure the severity
available from the file. He only had to consult the seemed to have some sort of with software, for predictive technology for machine & bearing of AC motor stator & rotor problems,
storeroom catalog for two of them. He called the a system or methodology for & preventive maintenance on monitoring (down to sub-1 RPM). DC motor field winding problem,
storeroom to reserve parts for six jobs. He asked the working them into the weekly industrial equipment. Laser alignment & dynamic balancing. power problems & cable issues.
purchaser to procure parts for the other two jobs. Jack schedule in time to avoid
had completed plans for 62 hours of technician work. asset or functional failures.
Not only were they scheduled,
For a total Condition Monitoring Package, contact us today
He then chose another batch of eight work orders. Jack
planned to check the minifiles for these jobs and complete but then the maintenance aptgroup.com.au | info@aptgroup.com.au | 1300 700 002
some of the field inspections before lunch. That should crews also completed them.
allow him to finish the plans well before break. Then he Charles was comfortable
could plan a few more work orders and still have time that the maintenance crews
for reviewing and filing information from completed work were focused on completing
orders before the day ended. Maintenance seemed to be the proactive work he had
in a cycle where the information from previous job plans identified in time to head off
and feedback made it easier to plan new work orders more serious problems.
more helpfully. It just seemed that everything was fine.

23

AMMJ July 2014 Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page

 BIG DISCOUNTS For Early Registrations
Maintenance
The Speakers:
Len Bradshaw ( Australia)
Len Bradshaw is a specialist
in maintenance management,
maintenance planning/control and
Seminars & Workshop
asset management, with over 35
years of experience in these fields.
He has worked in Maintenance
in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australasia. Len helped
create the Maintenance Management programs at
Venues: Sydney 10 - 12 Nov 2014 Melbourne 12 - 14 Nov 2014 Monash University. Over 6000 have attended his
seminars. He is currently Publisher of the Asset
Management and Maintenance Journal that reaches
over 120 countries and every Continent..
The Why, How, When, Who and What of Maintenance 1 Day Seminar
Presented By Len Bradshaw (Australia) Comments from Maintenance Personnel and
Past Attendees of Len’s Seminars:
* Consequences of Good or Bad Maintenance
* Improving Maintenance by Better Understanding your real Objectives and Capabilities • I have known Len Bradshaw for some twenty years
* What Maintenance Activities can you Perform and Manage as a maintenance professional, a maintenance trainer
* From Repair to Proactive Maintenance and more recently as the editor of the AMMJ, a renown
publication in the asset management industry. His
* Inspection and Condition Monitoring - what is possible
maintenance training courses have long been a source
* Maintenance People and Structues - what may work for you
of extensive, sound and proven maintenance knowledge
* Monitoring, Reporting and Measuring Maintenance, Plant, and People Performance
for Australian industry and have helped to shape current
* Maintenance Management to Asset Management best maintenance practices. I know the maintenance
Maintenance Planning and Scheduling 1 Day Seminar training provided by Len is top class and of great value.
Presented Doc Palmer (USA) • I found the Maintenance Seminars extremely
informative with real life practical experiences. Anyone
* The Business Case for Planning and Scheduling
in maintenance leadership will come away with new
* What is Effective Planning and Scheduling skills or better ideas from Len’s knowledge and
* Handling Reactive Maintenance experience.
* Issues of Quality versus Productivity and Empowerment
• Good presentation and pacing. Len’s skills are
* Integrating Proactive, Preventive, Predictive, Projects
* Integrating Engineering and Operations exceptional. The instructional quality is first-rate. The
presentation of seminar was precise when required,
* The Work Order System and Effective Workflow
and general when conceptual material was all that was
* Roles of Managers, Supervisors, Trades/Technicians, Engineers, Operators, and Contractors
needed. The effect was to give valuable insight into the
* Measuring Work and Performance - Metrics and Key Performance Indicators maintenance techniques and the tools
Maintenance Planning and Scheduling 1 Day Workshop • Len Bradshaw was instrumental in my training,
Presented By Doc Palmer (USA) development and ultimate success in maintenance and
related areas. Through Len’s tuition I not only learnt
This 1 Day workshop looks in more detail at the processes and tools used in about maintenance and reliability but about real world
Maintenance Planning and Scheduling via Workshop case studies and exercises. application of the theory.
* Case Study for Effective Planning and Scheduling
* Computerized Maintenance Management System • His understanding of reliability and maintenance
* Exercises - Planning and Advance Weekly Scheduling theory and practice is clear and concise in what is
often a somewhat misunderstood area of study. He is
* Craft Crew Supervisors creating Daily Schedules and Managing Work Execution
one of the few I have complete faith in when it comes
* Materials Management including Staging or Kitting to understanding the practicalities of the maintenance
* Shutdown Planning
arena
* Review of More Case Studies
Who Should Attend: ( Attend one, two or all three courses )
Download Brochure From: www.theammj.com/maintcourses.pdf
Maintenance Planners & Schedulers, Supervisors, Trades, Technicians, Engineers & Managers.
24
AMMJ July 2014 Go To Next Article Go To Contents Page
Richard (Doc) Palmer (USA)
Doc Palmer has over three decades
of industrial experience as a
practitioner within maintenance. He
was responsible for overhauling
maintenance planning in a
major utility. Publisher McGraw-
Hill subsequently sought out Palmer to author the
Maintenance Planning and Scheduling Handbook
published in 1999 and now in its third edition (2013). He
is recognised as one of the best in the World in providing
training and consulting in the area of Maintenance
Planning and Scheduling.
Attendees Comments from Doc’s
Workshop Held in Australia in May 2014:
• I have been in the maintenance world for over 40
years and had Doc’s book and concepts since 2008.
Attending and meeting Doc face to face brought the
concepts to life and my investment in two days of
training will return tenfold I am sure.
• The content was more than just conceptual – I
particularly enjoyed the practical examples and
exercises that helped to demonstrate the concepts, and
completed the course feeling confident that I would be
able to use these tools in the workplace. The course
content is relevant to anyone involved in maintenance,
and I appreciated that the concepts were considered
from the viewpoints of the numerous stakeholders
involved in maintenance.
• I found the two day workshop very valuable, it has
definitely given me some fresh ideas to take back to
my workplace on how to tackle backlog and setting
achievable targets, and some new approaches for
when dealing with the people who see maintenance
a secondary priority! I’ll be speaking with my boss to
recommend that others in the maintenance area are
given an opportunity such as this when it next becomes
available.
• Great workshop, Already using the knowledge to
increase our planned work.
• Maintenance planning is a function often overlooked
and taken for granted. This training is not just for
Maintenance Planners but also for people who manage
maintenance planners. The right management of the role
will enable maintenance organisations to do the right
jobs and to make the most of its resources.
Go To Last Page

Useful Key
Performance
Indicators for
Maintenance
Mike Sondalini
www.lifetime-reliability.com
A useful Maintenance Key
Performance Indicator (KPI) drives
reliability growth while guiding
your choices for improving
maintenance effectiveness and
efficiency.
A useful maintenance KPI lets you
identify the issues causing your
maintenance effects and helps you
select the right strategy to either
support or correct the actions
producing the results.
It is important that when you select
a range of maintenance KPI you
pick those that let you improve
both equipment reliability and
maintenance performance and
not simply tell you that you have
problems in your business.
25
AMMJ July 2014
Figure 1 – Control Pyramid of Business Objectives
You measure a thing to learn something about it. To
know how heavy an item is you weight it. To know
its size and shape you measure its dimensions.
From its volume and weight you can calculate its
density. Measurements help you better understand
a thing, how it works and how you have to work with
it. Measuring maintenance is no different in intent.
Useful maintenance measures are of two types—
those that improve Maintenance effect on business
performance and those that drive good reliability-
building behaviours.
The key performance indicators (KPIs) that you use
ought to help you to understand what Maintenance
is doing, what it is achieving for the business
and what more it can do to improve operational
performance. Maintenance performance can be
improved by making it more effective and more
efficient. Effective maintenance is doing the right
maintenance: that which brings higher equipment
reliability and lower operational risks. Efficient
maintenance is doing maintenance right so that
reliability and risk reduction are achieved with the
least resources and time.
Go To Next Article Go To Contents Page
Maintenance Supports Business Strategy
The work done by Maintenance needs to support the business
aims and operating strategy.
The ideal way to show that is to have maintenance performance
clearly linked to the reasons your company is in business. In
Figure 1, the pyramid of objectives, and Figure 2, the objectives
cascade, you can see how KPIs are matched to business
objectives and how maintenance and reliability activities
cascade from the hierarchy of business purpose and aims1.
Developing useful maintenance KPIs starts by creating ‘KPI
pathways’ from top to bottom of the organisation so you
connect activities across the operation together with a corporate
purpose. Note that you build the ‘KPI pathways’ top-down,
but the corporate goals are achieved bottom-up. Operational
success actually starts on the shopfloor by doing those causes
that bring success.
Once you have a clear link between business goals and the
maintenance activities needed to achieve them everyone can
see the benefits that maintenance brings to the business.
With interlinked cascading objectives connecting the business
together from top to bottom you can use KPIs to measure and
check if they are being achieved.
Go To Last Page
 Examples of Maintenance KPIs
A warning often heard about KPIs is to select those
with outcomes that can be controlled by the group
or persons responsible for meeting them. If you are
trying to produce results that you cannot greatly
influence there will be much frustration and running-
in-circles. You need measures that are relevant
to what Maintenance does each day and which
Maintenance can mostly control.
It’s interesting to see what experienced and
successful operators have done when it comes to
measuring maintenance performance.
Figure 2 Cascaded Objectives to Achieve the Business Purpose
Figure 3 lists the KPIs used by DuPont Chemicals to
monitor their operating process plants; along with the
target benchmarks those plants are required to meet.
As an example of not having control over the outcome
of a performance measure we can consider the
reliability indicator measure of ‘Mean Time Between
Failure’ from Figure 3. MTBF is affected by original
equipment manufacturing quality, by capital project
design selection, by the quality and accuracy of initial
installation, by the severity of operating duty, by the
quality of operator practices, by the maintenance
activities performed or not performed when due,
by the quality of parts storage and by maintenance
Figure 3 – Examples of Site Maintenance KPIs
workmanship. A KPI that shows MTBF is not greatly
under Maintenance control because of the extent of
life cycle influences that Maintenance has no way of
affecting. For a company to greatly improve the MTBF
of its equipment the whole life-cycle needs to be
addressed and not only its maintenance performance.
If Maintenance is charged with improving MTBF you
would have to develop a company-wide training scheme
to teach people at each phase of the life cycle what to
do to improve reliability, and follow that with a business-
wide project to change business processes to those that
produce higher reliability. (That is what DuPont did.)

26

AMMJ July 2014 Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page

 Many companies only measure maintenance
performance with historic indicators.
A maintenance performance KPI that appears in
a monthly report delivered mid-month is already
six weeks out of date for the first week. Historic
information is interesting, but as shown in Figure 4,
feedback control means a lot of time passes before
effects are observed and you can act in response.
Useful and relevant maintenance performance
indicators are those that drive the actions and
behaviours needed to meet the goals you set
at the lowest level in Figure 2, the Objectives
Cascade. If we can do the cause of high reliability
well it automatically follows that we will get a good
operating effect that feeds into the corporate goals.
The measures listed in Figure 3 are historic
outcomes and indicate the effects of past actions
taken. In terms of Figure 1 they are site-level
performance measures. They are fine for checking
a site’s overall maintenance performance but they
are struck too high up the Objectives Pyramid to
Figure 4 Historic KPIs Provide Tardy Feedback and Promote Slow Response
27
AMMJ July 2014
tell you if you are doing the right maintenance rightly
until a lot of time passes and the effects confirm or
condemn the actions taken. You also need KPIs
set below the site measure level to confirm the
right causes are being done to produce equipment
reliability and operating risk reduction.
The types of maintenance KPIs to develop which are
useful to the business are those that:
• Identify what are causing your equipment failures
(measure the influence of life cycle factors)
• Direct what Maintenance is doing with its time and
resources (measure effectiveness and
efficiency of the Maintenance Group)
• Identify if Maintenance is removing the causes
of failure (measure the reliability improvement and
operating risk reduction results of the
maintenance effort)
• Drive the business benefits delivered by
Maintenance (measure the business value
contribution of Maintenance)
Go To Contents Page
Measure Where Equipment
Problems Comes From
A useful maintenance KPI to collect and present is why failures
are arising. Today’s failures have root causes in the past and
across several departments. Collecting the causes of repairs
(i.e. corrective and breakdown work) under separate life cycle
categories lets you identify where to focus your reliability
improvement efforts. This is a business quality system and life
cycle management indicator that drives defect removal and the
adoption of better asset life cycle practices.
The categories initially start with broad coverage such as
manufacturing defects, production process causes, materials
selection causes, equipment installation factors, human error
causes, vendor produced causes, procurement errors, storage
failure, poor quality workmanship, etc. Your aim is to find-out
why you are doing repairs and what can be done to remove the
causes of those repairs.
This KPI requires assessing each corrective and breakdown
work order and allocating it to a suitable life cycle category.
Typically a well experienced maintenance engineer or
maintenance planner would investigate the failure and identify
the categories (there maybe more than one category) that
influenced the failures. A pie chart or bar chart of work orders
per category each month would be a good way to show this
KPI.
As time goes by and data accumulates you develop additional
categories within the major categories to further target the
actual factors contributing to the repairs and failures. This KPI
justifies efforts to eliminate root causes of failure.
Measure What Maintenance is doing
with Its Time and Resources
The sorts of KPIs in this category are those that identify where
Maintenance allocates their time, people and money each
month. Unfortunately Maintenance is often the ‘tail of the
dog’—it is an afterthought. If Maintenance has no focus on
delivering business objectives Maintenance ends up doing
anything and everything to keep the operation running.
Go To Last Page
 Over the centuries we have come to understand that successful Measure if Maintenance is targeting
maintenance is not about fixing things; it is about not having to fix things. the Causes of Operating Problems
When done well Maintenance delivers reliability and lower risks that Equipment fails because a part’s atomic For electrical equipment the six major
liberate fortunes of expenditure year-after-year. structural integrity collapses from overstress causes are—contamination, induced
The secret is not to focus on doing maintenance; rather focus on creating or degradation. There are six major causes vibration, over temperature, moisture,
reliability and removing operating risk. Maintenance has the duty to stop of mechanical equipment failure—lubricant distortion and power supply stability.
problems starting and where there are problems they are responsible to contamination, out-of balance, misalignment, I call these ‘The Big 6’ maintenance
remove them so that reliability and risk reduction are produced. You only working component distortion, incorrect problems and they should be purged from
need to measure how much effort is being made in your company today to fastening and induced vibration. your plant by Maintenance.
improve it and make it a better place tomorrow to predict its future. If you
KPI Maintenance on the factors listed below and they are not a significant
use of its time and resources then it is easy to predict the future of your
operation—it will be the same as it is today and highly likely to get worse
• Maintenance work orders spent on improving equipment
The Institute of
• Maintenance time and effort spent removing breakdown causes CPD HOURS Asset Management
• Maintenance time and effort spent improving maintenance procedures
• Maintenance time & effort spent improving maintainer skills/knowledge
• Maintenance time and effort spent reducing operating problems
• Time spent removing wasted effort & cost from maintenance processes
The asset Management Conference
Call fOR PaPeRS COnfeRenCe
• Efforts spent improving stores management processes and stored
parts reliability 27 - 28 November 2014 | Millennium Gloucester Hotel, London, UK
• Maintenance work orders spent improving safety
Abstract submission deadline: Friday 25 July 2014 The 2013 conference was a huge success with
Efficient maintenance is only partly about having the smallest maintenance record numbers of delegates. Also record numbers
crew. It is mostly about having the least equipment failures because the The annual Asset Management Conference was of papers were submitted that covered all aspects
equipment is properly maintained. Efficient maintenance means doing high attended last year by over 300 asset management of Asset Management.
quality work right-first-time. The size of the crew is only a reflection of the professionals from around the world representing a Experiences were shared from across different
effectiveness of your work processes and the amount of business process wide range of asset intensive industry, public and sectors and countries which provided genuine
academic sectors. knowledge transfer and professional networking
waste you will tolerate. In a reactive maintenance business maintainers opportunities.
average about two hours of ‘tool time’ work a day per eight hour shift. Visit the website today to see how you
Any individual or organisation that wants to
In a highly planned and organised maintenance operation they average can submit your paper, and other ways benefit from engaging with the Asset Management
to get involved!
four hours ‘tool time’ per eight hour shift. In a world-class, reliability- community needs to attend this event.
driven business the maintainers spend most of their time designing and James O’Neill, UK (2013/2014 Conference Organising
Committee Chairman), EA Technology
Media partners
doing production productivity improvements on equipment and removing
maintenance costs. When people have more engineering knowledge, use
precision skills, create standardised work management processes and The Institution of Engineering and Technology is registered as a Charity in England and Wales (No. 211014) and Scotland (No. SCO38698).

build supportive quality management systems you can run your business in Find out more at www.theiet.org/asset #IETasset
very profitable ways.
28 IET_2318_ASSET_MANAGEMENT_HALF_PAGE_v2.indd 1 10/06/2014 10:47

AMMJ July 2014 Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page


Proactive maintenance behaviour prevents the ‘Big
6’ from happening whereas reactive maintenance
fixes them after they happen. You want Maintenance
to go and find the ‘Big 6’ problems in both
mechanical and electrical equipment and get rid of
them before they cause failure. This requirement
is far beyond just using condition monitoring to
observe equipment health.
Condition monitoring accepts failure as a possible
outcome, but the strategy of ‘Big 6’ prevention is all
about never allowing the defects that produce those
failures to arise.
You need KPIs that measure if Maintenance
is focused on eliminating the ‘Big 6’ and how
Figure 5 Scientific Method Promotes Proactive Behaviour and Rapid Improvement
29
AMMJ July 2014
successful their efforts are. You don’t want your
operation living with risk of failures but instead
you want to be proactively creating certain
reliability. To make this happen in your operation
you need to use maintenance KPIs in a different
way—the scientific method.
Scientific Maintenance
The scientific method says that you first suggest
the effect that will result from doing things in a
particular way. You then test your theory and if the
experiment’s result was not as you postulated,
your suggestion was wrong and you look for a
better approach. The way to apply the scientific
method in Maintenance to improve reliability is
Go To Contents Page
to propose such things as, “If we filtered our gearbox and
hydraulic system oils to remove wear particles we should
triple and even quadruple the MTBF.” Another postulate is, “If
we reduce atomic level stress in roller bearings by removing
machine frame and bearing housing distortion we should get
multiple increases in their MTBF.” A third, “If we remove pipe
stress from our flanges we will stop all flange leaks.”
With proposals like these we can design experiments with
specific causes to test. We know exactly what was done to
produce the results. The KPIs to use as measures are also
clear. The wear particle removal experiment would have
gearbox failures trended against numbers of gearboxes
filtered each month. The expectation would be that as more
gearboxes are regularly filtered the breakdown count falls
significantly. The atomic stress reduction experiment is
measured by electrical power consumption before and after
rectification as well as bearing MTBF.
An alternate measure would be to trend vibration of
corrected bearings over the following months. A successful
experiment would show that as the numbers of work orders
raised and completed to rectify machine and bearing
housing distortion (by using high precision methods) rises
the bearing failure rate falls.
These are hypotheses that we can scientifically test and
measure in our operation to see if they are true or not.
We apply what we think are the causes of higher reliability
and then measure their effects with monthly KPIs. Now
our maintenance activities become proactive and each
monthly report confirms the success (or not) of our reliability
improvement efforts. We can immediately make useful and
sensible adjustments to our ‘experiment’. If there are lower
maintenance and operating costs in subsequent months we
know exactly what caused them and we can repeat them
with certainty again and again.
Figure 5 highlights how the scientific approach lets
Maintenance quickly take control of reliability improvement
and operating risk reduction and deliver good results.
Go To Last Page

But more importantly, we may have a money-making
business case that if experimentation proves successful will
let Maintenance generate a lot of money for the company by
stopping failures. We will create a proactive atmosphere in
management and on the shopfloor with people eagerly seeking
successful maintenance outcomes. These are the type of
activities to use Maintenance for if you want to make a lot of
money fast from your maintenance efforts.
Measure What Business Benefits
Maintenance is Achieving
Maintenance makes serious money for a company by delivering
operating equipment reliability and operating equipment
risk reduction. You see the effects of both good and bad
maintenance in the cost of your products. Bad maintenance
policies and practices add operating cost whereas excellent
maintenance policies and practices lower costs.
Figure 6 Make KPIs Visual so Performance is
Clear for All to See
30
AMMJ July 2014
A useful site level maintenance KPI to measure
is the proportion of operating costs attributable to
Maintenance per unit of production. The Maintenance
Group then has bottom level KPIs identifying where
the cost contributions come from that make-up the
maintenance proportion of the unit cost of production.
This KPI directly links Maintenance to operating
profit. You would be aiming to get a steady downward
trend in maintenance cost per unit of production as
evidence of continual improvement. The unit cost of
production values may need to be identified by using
Activity Based Costing, since financial accounting
is often not detailed enough to differentiate the
individual cost components of your products.
Use Visual Management Principles to
Display KPIs for Action
Where possible show KPIs visually rather than in
lists or tables. This encourages people to meet their
obligations by employing psychology to drive good
behaviours—we all want to be seen as competent
and professional in what we do.
An example is the stacked bar chart in Figure 6
where the group’s performance in meeting their
targets is clear to everyone2. This visual management
device shows current progress in meeting a
necessary target. If targets are not met people see
that there is a problem and start to query and resolve
the cause(s).
The example bar charts are of an electrical
maintenance group’s preventive maintenance
inspection requirement and we can see how they are
progressing monthly in meeting the annual inspection
targets. The group has 12 months to complete all
inspections. Each month the KPI graph tells us how
they perform. Green means inspections complete,
red means inspections overdue and blue are
inspections remaining to be done not yet overdue.
The use of this KPI proved to be highly successful
in getting the inspections completed. Previously
their assets suffered high rates of breakdown.
Investigations identified that barely 80% of condition
Go To Contents Page
inspections were being done in a year. Since
maintenance is a risk control activity any
inspections not completed meant undetected
problems that would inevitably lead to failures.
When the graphs were made public the persons
in charge of resources began to plan and
schedule work to meet target dates. Within the
first year the overdue inspections fell dramatically
and breakdown rates plummeted. Changing
behaviour to the right practices is a powerful use
of a KPI.
Conclusion
KPIs are useful if they drive the right behaviours
that produce good corporate outcomes. It’s easy
to choose KPIs that present information but are
not directly actionable. When KPIs are set too
high up the corporate objectives structure you
make changes by guesswork and live in hope
that a desired result will happen. Such KPIs are
not suitable for Maintenance because successful
maintenance is proactive and needs KPIs that
produce proactive performance. By applying
the scientific maintenance method to prove if
a maintenance action will produce a desired
reliability outcome you create useful KPIs to drive
proactive maintenance performance that will
permanently fuse into your business.
References:
1 Wardhaugh, Jim. Extract from 2004
Singapore IQPC Reliability and
Maintenance Congress presentation
‘Maintenance – the best practices’
2 Smith, R., ‘Monitoring and Reporting for
Success’, ICOMS 2007, Energy Australia
Mike Sondalini
www.lifetime-reliability.com
info@lifetime-reliability.com
Go To Last Page
 Asset analytics can characterize the

Picture
effect of various decision alternatives in
terms of their impact on the enterprise
performance indicators that matter.

of health An asset is a physical, capital-intensive, resource with

a life cycle and, unavoidably, costs (Figure 1). In asset-
intensive industries, managing assets well is critical to
business success. Due to increasing concerns such

An integrated as aging infrastructure, financial pressures, regulatory

concerns and loss of workforce skills through retirement,
traditional asset maintenance strategies relying solely
approach to asset on reactive-based or schedule-based actions no longer
meet the business objectives of many of ABB’s industrial
health management customers.
Asset decisions generally affect many business
processes, so decision makers must consider multiple
planning horizons and must trade off one set of objectives
against another. Knowledge-based asset analytics can
characterize the effect of various decision alternatives
Asset-intensive industries face increasing pressure Karen Smiley, Shakeel Mahate, Paul Wood, in terms of their impact on the enterprise performance
to improve how well they utilize and maintain their Paul Bower, Gary Rackliffe and Martin Naedele indicators that matter.
equipment. Asset health management is emerging ABB and Ventyx www.abb.com
as a critical business process due to the potentially Figure 1 The asset management life cycle
very significant bottom-line impact of asset
decisions on profitability, compliance and customer
Efficiency improvement
satisfaction.
To guide better-informed decisions and eliminate
wasteful expenses, ABB’s Asset Health Center
(AHC) blends business intelligence and asset
Develop Build asset Create, plan,
analytics, incorporating expert knowledge of Capital Asset
asset maintenance & schedule Execute
KPI
work registration reporting
industrial equipment and verticals. strategy budget work
ABB is now leveraging its expertise in power
transmission to help a large North American utility
optimize capital expenditures, and operations and Strategy improvement Effectiveness improvement
OEM Asset
maintenance plans. & RCM strategy
A new Subject Matter Expert (SME) Workbench will analysis review
further expand these analytics and extend asset
health management capabilities to other areas.
31

AMMJ July 2014 Go To Next Article Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page

 To achieve optimal results, customers
need actionable insights into how their
asset operations and maintenance
decisions and plans might impact their
objectives over time
Figure 2 Asset integration drivers (GTM Research, 2013) [Ref 1]
32
However, asset knowledge is often spread
throughout an organization and among its
service providers, and may be “stored” on
engineers’ desks, laptops and desktops in
word-processing documents, spreadsheets,
flowchart diagrams, etc. Capturing this
knowledge and making it usable in enterprise
asset analytics is a key challenge.
Multiple sources of asset data
Asset analytics can combine traditional asset
health records with operational performance
data, asset registry metadata and data
from sensors, tests and inspections. As
systems grow more complex and numerous,
these data volumes become greater. Asset
health data may be trapped, unutilized in
conventional offline or paper records, or live
data streams from smart assets may be lost
due to poor storage. Often, data is stored in
databases from different vendors and these
systems may even use different ways to
uniquely identify the same asset.
These data and analysis challenges are
solvable by combining careful thought,
instrumentation, data interchange and
innovation. In some regions of the world,
utilities are vigorously driving the deployment
of asset health sensors in their equipment
to increase visibility into asset performance.
However, data processing and analytics that
exploit the data a customer already has can
jump-start asset health management. For
instance, islanded data can be imported or
asset data can be extracted by scanning and
processing offline records.
Acting on asset data
Apart from the challenge of collecting and
integrating all the available asset data, there
is also the challenge of knowing what then
is to be done for each asset throughout
its life cycle. Asset analytics that leverage
subject matter expertise enable businesses
to capitalize on predictive, condition-
based maintenance strategies. Corrective
maintenance may, in some cases, be the
best choice, but without the right tools
in place, and integrated with each other,
businesses cannot make the most effective
asset decisions. To achieve optimal results,
customers need actionable insights into how
their asset operations and maintenance
decisions and plans might impact their
objectives over time. The ABB Asset Health
Center (AHC) is designed to surmount the
challenges in providing those critical insights.
Asset Health Center
The AHC’s goal is to capture and aggregate
data, draw insights and provide decision
support in order to achieve a broad range
of economic and noneconomic benefits
(Figure 2). AHC is based on ABB’s FocalPoint
business intelligence (BI) platform.
The FocalPoint platform has always provided
customers with industry-specific data
analysis and visualization so it forms a good
foundation to deliver asset analytics to the
asset-intensive industries ABB serves.
Using the platform’s capabilities to integrate
data from multiple, disparate systems
provides a comprehensive view of each
asset. In particular, bringing together data
from traditional IT systems (such as an
enterprise asset management program or a
mobile inspection tool) and systems such as
SCADA or a specialized sensor network, and
analyzing this data in a holistic manner, will
unlock new possibilities for assessing risk and
supporting decisions on asset maintenance or
replacements.
The AHC combines IT/OT (operational
technology) integration and analytics with
dashboards, such as in the asset monitor
(Figure 3) and domain-relevant visualizations
to provide insights to planners, decision
makers and executives.

AMMJ July 2014 Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page

 Figure 4
The ABB Asset Health Center integrates all components
needed for comprehensive asset management.
Benefits of the AHC
The four components of the AHC complement each other algorithms that form the core of these modules Asset Asset
(Figure 4). Asset master data, and asset performance and were developed by ABB’s experts in transformers decision service
support
condition data, are provided as input to the analyses; outputs and circuit breakers in power transmission and management
of condition diagnosis, recommendations and criticality distribution grids.
are visualized; based on the results from asset decision Asset health analysis data can be leveraged
support analyses, decisions are made and service actions throughout the enterprise. Indeed, a comprehensive
are triggered; and the service actions lead to updated asset approach to better asset management complements
information. generic BI toolkits by exploiting the knowledge of
Within its analytics fabric, the AHC executes the asset- such asset and domain experts.
Product
and domain Asset Asset
specific diagnosis, criticality and optimization modules. The knowledge analysis master
data

Figure 3 The AHC asset monitor provides easy-to-interpret insights into risk and consequence of
failure across an asset portfolio, such as this fleet of transformers.

Assets

Leveraging asset expertise in analytics

Subject matter experts (SMEs) understand how a complex system
is put together, its characteristics and tradeoffs, the key engineering
design decisions, the environments in which the asset may operate and
how maintenance updates or events can impact the health of an asset
or system. SME knowledge is leveraged in many types of industry-
relevant asset analytics, for instance:
• Asset condition: Asset performance models characterize the health
or condition of assets. This includes quantifying the likelihood of
failure or degraded performance, identifying likely causes of
particular conditions and recommending improvement actions.
• Asset importance: Asset criticality models describe the
importance of the asset by characterizing the impact of
changes in asset condition on the performance of the industrial
enterprise. This includes impact on operations, impact of
restoration activities and interdependencies with other assets.
• Asset decision support: Asset decision support analyses
combine knowledge and data to deliver effective guidance
on asset-related decisions.
As an example, a useful decision support analysis for a regional power
transmission company may consider total risk of failure (combining
health and criticality information) to determine the optimal overall
capital expenditure budgets and operations and maintenance plans for
each of the next two years.
33

AMMJ July 2014 Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page


Bringing data together from traditional
IT systems and OT systems such as a
SCADA, and analyzing it in a holistic
manner, will unlock new possibilities
for assessing risk and supporting
decisions on asset maintenance or
replacements.
Speeding up creation of analytics
by asset experts
Making it as easy as possible for asset experts to convert
their asset and domain knowledge into executable software
system modules is crucial. Three actions are key to this:
• Embed ABB expert knowledge in the software for the
wide variety of equipment & systems that ABB provides.
• Capture customer asset performance models to
complement the ABB subject matter expertise
(“end-user programming”).
• Enable third parties (eg, other vendors or expert
consultants) to contribute complex asset diagnosis
modules via an application programming interface (API).
The SME Workbench was created to meet these three
requirements and satisfy this goal. It supports asset
analytics across multiple industrial sectors with a
common development tool and enables asset, data and
performance experts to focus on what they know best.
Freeing asset experts to focus on knowledge
The SME Workbench enables the asset expert to build
algorithms without the need to know how data is fetched
or stored and frees them from understanding how the
algorithms will execute in an enterprise environment. Asset
SMEs can now naturally describe their expertise using
visual editors such as flowcharts, decision trees and other
familiar tools.
As a team of SMEs collaborates to build an asset
performance model, the artifacts of the model are stored
in a cloud repository, while the SME Workbench provides
infrastructure to test the analytic model locally.
34
AMMJ July 2014
Benefits of the SME Workbench
The SME Workbench enables anyone with asset expertise to
quickly develop new analytic model plugins. The visual drag-
and-drop interface helps asset experts to quickly convert their
ideas and algorithms into high-performance software modules.
Customized toolboxes provide SMEs with easy access to the
calculations and reliability analysis functions that are most
relevant for asset analytics. In addition to enabling SMEs to
efficiently share their knowledge, the SME Workbench can be
extended with new editors tailored to streamline development
of asset analytics for different domains.
The SME Workbench and APIs allow customers and third
parties, including non-ABB asset vendors, to contribute
analytics that can be seamlessly integrated into the AHC
analytics structure. This approach allows the capture and
dissemination of knowledge that can be spread throughout the
organization.
Reuse and extensions to new domains
The initial ABB AHC customers are power utilities, so the first
asset diagnosis analytics have been oriented toward power
grid equipment. A benefit of the AHC architecture is that the
BI platform and SME Workbench are domain-independent.
ABB has strong domain knowledge in many asset-intensive
industry verticals, such as oil and gas, water, mining and
marine. This asset health offering will be extended to these
other industries as ABB’s asset and domain experts use the
SME Workbench to contribute their knowledge.
The Internet of smart assets
ABB’s vision for the future of asset health management is
based on a system that integrates information about the
asset with diagnostic expertise, presentation of actionable
information and support for executing those actions. ABB can,
for this purpose, integrate asset diagnostics and analytics
developed by experts with its portfolio of powerful and proven
applications that cover:
• Enterprise asset management in capital-intensive industries
• Asset information visualization and drill-down
• Service crew scheduling and task support
Analytics, dashboards, visualizations and the ability to ask
questions and get meaningful answers are all necessary,
but not sufficient. Assets with health sensors and networking
capabilities will become more and more common, while asset
designs and knowledge will continue to evolve.
Go To Contents Page
The AHC supports a closed-loop solution that can predict
asset performance and that can help optimize operation
and maintenance, expenses and capital investments.
The AHC drives asset performance and optimizes
business results by continuously capturing information
from an array of smart assets, systems and sensors,
which the advanced analytics engine processes to
extract actionable insight.
Asset health management is emerging as an increasingly
critical business process because it impacts the bottom
line of customers. ABB is moving forward with an
integrated AHC that combines business intelligence
and analytics. By using the SME Workbench to facilitate
analytics development and integration, expertise can be
captured and applied to provide better decision guidance
to asset-intensive industries. ABB is now fulfilling a
contract to deliver this AHC solution to the largest
transmission equipment owner in North America. By
streamlining capture and use of subject matter expertise,
more knowledge can be leveraged to further enhance the
analytics and to apply the solution to other verticals.
Karen Smiley & Shakeel Mahate (USA)
ABB Corporate Research, Industrial Software Systems
Paul Wood & Paul Bower (USA)
Ventyx, an ABB Company
Martin Naedele ABB Power Systems,
Automation and Communication (Switzerland)
Reference
[1] GTM (GreenTech Media) Research (2013, July 26).
“Evaluating Asset Health: Prioritizing and Optimizing
Asset Management.” Available:
http://www.ventyx.com/~/media/files/whitepapers/wp-
assethealth-ventyx-gtm.ashx?download=1
Further Reading
“An Anatomy of Asset Management.” (2013, July 26).
Available: http://theiam.org/what-is-asset-management/
anatomy-asset-management
Ventyx. (2013, July 26). “Asset Health.” Available:
http://www.ventyx.com/en/ga/demand-asset-health.aspx
“ISO 55000 International Standards for Asset
Management.” (2013, July 26). Available:
http://www.assetmanagementstandards.com/
This article is reproduced from ABB Review 1/14
Go To Last Page
 Vibration Monitoring
on Paper Machine
Calender
Göran Almqvist Research & Development SPM Instrument AB
1 Introduction
This case study describes how to measure and monitor
the condition of calender rolls in a paper mill.
This case study from Stora Enso Kvarnsveden AB,
Sweden describes a super calender with twelve rollers
on one stack. Some of these rollers are soft (elastic)
and frequently become worn and corrugated; thus they
need to be grinded regularly. With the measurement
setup described here, the system generates one
vibration trend per roller, which helps the operators
determine when and which roll to replace.
Stora Enso Kvarnsveden AB is one of the largest paper
mills in Sweden. The plant has three paper machines:
PM8, PM10 and PM12. These machines all have
different kinds of calenders. The one in this case study
is a super calender on PM8.
2 Conclusion and summary
Vibrations in calenders are difficult to analyze with
traditional vibration measurement. With the system
setup described in this case study, the condition of
individual rolls in the calender can be monitored.
The operators decide when and which roll needs to
be changed and sent to grinding. To enable operators
to view measuring results, the readings are exported,
via OPC, from Condmaster to another system (Mill
Information System, MIS) installed in the calender
control room.
35
AMMJ July 2014
www.spminstrument.com
Calender rolls running for too long will become worn,
resulting in vibrations throughout the stack. Excessive
vibration levels in the calender will require speed
reduction, in turn leading to potential quality and
production losses. High vibration levels in the stack
overall will also increase wear on the other rolls in the
stack.
The condition measurements help operators decide
in a more optimal way when and which rolls need
to be replaced and sent for grinding, thus enabling
more stable operation of the calender and maximized
equipment lifetime.
3 Application description
A calender is a series of high pressure rollers, used to
create a smooth and glossy surface of the paper by
applying pressure, heat and steam. Calendering is part
of the finishing process and its purpose is to improve
the printability of the paper. Calenders integrated
with the paper machine are called online calenders.
Calenders run as separate units (offline) are also called
supercalenders, see Figure 1. The series of rollers are
also named a stack. A calender may contain one or
more stacks.
Calenders are composed of different kinds of rollers.
The blue rollers in Figure 1 are softer rolls which quickly
get worn and corrugated; some of the soft rolls only
Go To Next Article Go To Contents Page
Figure 1
Principle drawing of
a super calender.
run in the machine for a few days. The black and green
rolls are steel rolls with considerably longer working life.
The big roll of paper produced in the paper machine is
called a tambour. It is moved from the paper machine
to the supercalender by a trolley on rails. The paper is
manually fed between the twelve pressure rolls. When
the paper from a tambour has run through the calender,
with steam, heat and pressure, it is wound up onto a
new tambour and sent away, on the same trolley, to a
winder. The approximate time for one tambour in the
calender is 1.5 hours.
A corrugated roll will cause vibrations throughout the
machine and it is crucial for the lifetime of the other rolls
that the corrugated roll is replaced and sent to grinding
at the earliest possible time.
4 Background
The background for these condition measurements is a
period of very high vibrations in the calender, resulting
in reduced machine speed. Vibration analysis is one of
the measures taken in order to increase the availability
of the calender.
Go To Last Page

Figure 2 A single vibration transducer per online
system monitors the whole stack.
5 System setup
5.1 Measuring equipment
Since corrugation occurs mainly on the soft rolls, the
decision was to monitor these only and exclude the
steel rolls.
An Intellinova online system and a VCM20 online
system are used to monitor the six soft rolls. The
reason for using two online monitoring units is
because measurements are time critical. The goal
was to perform four measurements on each of the
rollers while the paper from one tambour goes through
the calender. Since an unused VCM20 system was
available on site, this was incorporated in the technical
solution for the calender.
A single vibration transducer mounted on one of the
rolls (see Figure 2) is used per online monitoring unit
to cover the entire calender.
A single vibration transducer per online monitoring
unit was mounted on the same roll. In addition, one
RPM transducer was installed on each of the soft rolls,
see Figure 3. The reason for using only one vibration
transducer per online monitoring unit is that vibration
levels are similar throughout the stack.
36
AMMJ July 2014
Figure 3 Sensor placements in the calender..
Fig 4 A photo sensor measuring RPM on a roll. The
reading is used for time synchronous averaging (TSA).
The RPM sensor is a photo sensor & a piece of
reflective tape is mounted on the roll; see Fig. 4.
The photo sensor is used due to the difficulties
of mounting an inductive sensor and the fact that
the rolls are changed regularly. The photo sensor
works well, but the reflective tape is less optimal
since it is difficult to keep it clean.
Go To Contents Page
Figure 5
Magnet mounted in the roll.
Figure 6 Hall effect sensor mounted
in a pipe for easy adjustments.
The vibration level in a stack is quite similar no matter where
the measurement is taken. Vibrations from the rollers is spread
through the entire stack; signals of the same frequencies
therefore are found both on the top and bottom rolls. To enable
separation of the vibrations in the stack and create one vibration
trend per roll, a “Time Synchronous Averaging” measurement
(TSA) is used. The TSA measurement generates one vibration
trend per roller.
In an ongoing project, magnets are now mounted onto the rolls,
see Figure 5, and Hall effect sensors will be used instead of the
photo sensors, see Figure 6.
5.2 Condmaster setup
The rolls exhibit various kinds of corrugation, see Figure 7:
To cover all different cases, the highest factor of corrugation
was about 120X. The rolls were run at 300–400 RPM and the
F-max was therefore set to 1000 Hz, ( 400X120/60 = 800 Hz ). A
recommendation for the next setup of this kind of measurement
is to use Orders instead of Hz.
Figure 7 Different kinds of corrugation.
Go To Last Page
 Figure 10
Measuring results are displayed in the control room. Roll 3 has 6 Case descriptions
info@aptgroup.com.au become corrugated and replaced. The trends show that rolls 6.1 Case #1
www.aptgroup.com.au number 6 & The vibrations in the calender are mainly attributed to bad rolls and
2 have small
corrugation
speed. In figure 11, both factors can be seen. The roll is becoming
increases. corrugated and the speed has been varying.
Figure 11 It is evident from this trend graph that vibrations have a clear
Figure 8 Setup in Condmaster. correlation to rotational speed. In thiscase, the roll has become corrugated over
a period of time and replaced at the blue marker. The black trend is vibration
(mm/s RMS) and the red trend is the rotational speed of the roll.

In Condmaster, a single measuring point per online

monitoring unit was created for the entire stack,
with one measuring assignment per roll set up,
see Figure 8. The resolution is fairly high for a TSA
measurement, but the trial period showed that fault
symptoms were best calculated at this resolution. 6.2 Case #2
Symptom calculation is done because the In this example, two different rolls have become corrugated and
Figure 9 An example of how to set up the 1-6X symptom. operators doing the grinding of the rolls are replaced on different occasions (see Figure 12).
interested to know the nature of the corrugation. In Figure 12
the control room, the operators can monitor three Roll no. 4 replaced at the blue marker and roll 3 replaced at red marker.
trends per roll:
• Roll vibration LF (Calculating 1-6X), see Figure 9.
• Roll vibration MF (Calculating 7-17X)
• Roll vibration HF (Calculating 18-120X)
To enable operators to view the measuring results,
they are exported via OPC to another system
where all process data can be accessed. In the
control room, two screens show the roll vibrations,
see Figure 10.
The number of averages was tested over a
period of time. The goal was to perform four
measurements on each of the rollers while the
paper from one tambour goes through the calender.
An averaging of 75 proved optimal.
37

AMMJ July 2014 Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page

 Maintenance
News
& Reliability
Maintenance and Reliability
SKF Multilog cuts fan failures to
zero for US utility
The SKF Multilog IMx-S has cut fan rebuilds
from three-monthly intervals to zero over
twelve months for a major US utility supplier.
By identifying the cause of failure, the online
monitoring solution has enabled the utility to
eliminate downtime resulting from fan failures and
stop a costly series of fan rebuilds.
Despite a largely successful predictive
maintenance program at the utility, catastrophic
failures of semi-critical equipment was a regular
occurrence. With five fan rebuilds in just 15
months, the utility determined that the fans
required constant monitoring and urgently
sought a solution. Without resources for an
onsite solution the utility sought a trusted vendor
and contacted SKF, who prescribed an SKF
Multilog IMx-S online monitoring system to
collect vibration reports on the condition of the
equipment.
“The plant obtained an SKF Multilog IMx-S online
monitoring system and upgraded software to
continuously monitor the equipment in an effort to
determine the root cause of the frequent failures,”
explained Dave Staples, SKF Global Service
Manager for traditional energy. “The online
monitoring system provided the extra information/
data required to determine the root cause of
the failure, which turned out to be a looseness
that only showed up periodically: harmonics at
half of operating speed that never showed up
on monthly readings, but appeared when live
monitoring was turned on.”
38
AMMJ July 2014
News
The SKF Multilog
IMx-S online
monitoring system
is designed to
provide a complete
system for early
fault detection
and prevention,
automatic advice for
correcting existing or impending conditions, and advanced
condition-based maintenance to optimize machine
reliability, availability and performance.
The Multilog system is extremely versatile, with either
16, or up to 64 analogue signal inputs, configurable
for a variety of sensors. Signals, such as acceleration,
velocity, and displacement or other parameters, are
easily adopted, and each input can be configured for ICP
(accelerometers), proximity probes, 4-20 mA or ± 25 V.
Improving machine reliability further is the functionality to
set individual conditions for warnings and alarms for each
point, controlled by machine speed or load. The unique
built-in hardware auto-diagnosis system continuously
checks all sensors, cabling and electronics for any faults,
signal interruption, shortcuts or power failure, with any
malfunction triggering an alarm allowing remedial action to
be taken quickly.
With the SKF Multilog IMx-S online monitoring system
installed, the utility was able to identify the cause of
fan failure, address it and boost the life cycle of the fan
turbines. Instead of five rebuilds in 15 months, at the time
of writing no further problems have been experienced for
over a year. www.skf.com
Go To Next Article
VIZIYA Corporation expands into Asia-Pacific
Enterprise asset management software company VIZIYA Corp.
today announced it has expanded its global sales force by opening
offices in Australia in order to better serve emerging markets in the
Asia-Pacific region.
The expansion in to Asia-Pac complements and expands VIZIYA’s
strategy to provide bolt-on asset management solutions to new
customers in Asia. Most recently, VIZIYA expanded its reach in the
Middle East and Europe, by opening offices in Dubai, Brussels, and
Amsterdam.
VIZIYA has a long-standing history in Australia. VIZIYA sold its
first solution, the WorkAlign® Scheduler to one of the world’s
largest mining companies. More customers followed with the
implementation of Scheduler and Analytics solutions in Australian-
based Oil & Gas organizations and Mining companies. With the
latest expansion, VIZIYA hopes to provide customers in Asia Pacific
with bolt-on solutions that complement their ERP-based asset
management system.
Viziya WorkAlign® solutions run on JDE, Oracle, SAP, Infor and
Maximo asset maintenance systems.
VIZIYA’s Management Team said, “Opening offices in Australia
seemed like a logical move at this stage. The emerging trends in
the region give us an invaluable opportunity to gain new customers,
as well as show the world why VIZIYA is the industry leader in
the space. We support all major ERP and EAM systems, so
establishing offices world-wide, and expanding our global footprint
is the basis of our strategy.”
VIZIYA was ranked as one of the Fastest Growing Technology
Companies in North America for 2 years in a row, PROFIT
Magazine Ranking as one of the fastest growing companies in
Canada, as well as the GDS International Industry Leader of the
Year award at the Next Generation Oil & Gas Summit in San
Antonio Texas. VIZIYA’s success can be attributed to the company’s
ability to capitalize on the shifting trends in the ERP industry. New
products and a focus on innovation helped the company become
the industry leader in bolt-on asset maintenance software.
About VIZIYA
With over 45,000 users at 740 sites across 6 continents, the world’s
best companies use VIZIYA products to help them better maintain
their assets. Visit viziya.com for more information.
www.viziya.com
Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page

News
FLIR brings richer detail images to all its handheld
industrial & building cameras
Maintenance and Reliability
Innovative, FLIR patented MSX®
technology allows for faster and more
detailed electrical, mechanical and
building inspections.
Being able to share camera images with
your customers or coworkers is a great
benefit of thermal imaging technology.
However, a thermal image alone is not
always enough to help them understand
what they are seeing. For that reason,
FLIR Systems developed the MSX®
Multi-Spectral Dynamic image mode.
MSX® imaging brings together both
the visual and thermal spectrums in a
striking, innovative way. The technology
is now onboard most of FLIR’s thermal
cameras for the industrial and building
market. MSX® instantaneously generates
a definitive, all-in-one thermal picture
that easily orients you to the location of
the problem as soon as you see it on the
screen or in a report. With the FLIR format
you’ll save all images (MSX®, thermal and
visual) in one push of a button.
Thermal image without MSX®
39
AMMJ July 2014
Maintenance & Reliability News
to have the exact same temperature as the sticker they are printed on, so your thermal
Key details apparent to the naked eye like imager will not differentiate between them. With MSX® on the other hand this is clearly
numbers, labels, signage, and structural visible in the image.
features can get lost in a regular thermal
Thermal image plus high-contrast visual details
image, often requiring a separate digital photo
to reference the location of the temperature MSX® technology extracts high-contrast details from the images taken by an onboard
visible light camera, and etches or superimposes them onto the thermal images that the
issue you have found. A regular thermal image
only displays heat signatures, which can cause camera is taking. This all happens in real time, so what you see onscreen is a super sharp
image that allows you to make out unprecedented details in the image.
details to get lost in the haze if they present a
similar temperature. To overcome this, FLIR
cameras with MSX® use an internal digital
camera to enhance the thermal image. The
high-contrast skeletonized visual image allows
for key aspects of the visible spectrum to be
overlaid on top of the thermal output, while
still keeping the important thermal information
prominent.
Consider the elbow connectors (images
shown below) for example. Through the
thermal camera you can see that one of the
connectors is hot, and with your own eyes you
can see a label identifying each connection on
the panel. But the ink on those labels is going
Thermal image with MSX:
As compared to standard thermal images, Visual image Visible detail extracted
MSX® technology allows for the additional
detection of important details.
Visible detail extracted Thermal image with MSX®.
Note how the motor numbers are legible.
Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page
 Maintenance & Reliability News
News
MSX® uses visual data from a digital camera built
into several models of thermal cameras for the
industrial and building markets. Internal software
Maintenance and Reliability
then analyzes the image from the cameras to
super-impose the key aspects of that visual world
onto the thermal image. The visual spectrum never
blots out the thermal side of things, making sure
that all information is still at the highest level of
accuracy.
MSX® benefits
MSX® ensures easier target identification without
compromising radiometric data and the quality of
the thermal images is excellent. Thanks to MSX®,
thermal images look sharper, the orientation of the
target will be done quicker, the reports are clutter-
free and ensure a faster route to solutions. Users
can see the results of MSX® technology directly on
the touch screen of the camera, in real time.
Whether it’s presented in person, on a smartphone,
or delivered in a report, stunning and convincing
MSX® images give industrial and building
professionals an extra edge to help them tell a
much better story, get a faster yes for repairs, and
save customers’ and companies’ money.
Thermal image without MSX®
40
AMMJ July 2014
MSX® trumps traditional video blending,
overlay & fusion
Thermal imaging cameras of the past have
featured ways to blend, overlay or fuse a portion
of a thermal image into a visible light picture.
But these modes have only provided a partial
solution and typically take extra time to dial in and
interpret. They also tend to limit or obscure the
thermal view of the scene.
MSX® is completely different. MSX® technology
embosses digital camera detail onto thermal
video and stills. Therefore, MSX® delivers much
better, visible results than traditional methods,
which can dilute the thermal image.
Disclaimer: The images displayed may not be
representative of the actual resolution of the
camera shown. Images for illustrative purpose
only. Technical specifications subject to change
without notice.
Disclaimer: The images displayed may not be representative
of the actual resolution of the camera shown. Images for
illustrative purpose only. Technical specifications subject to
change without notice.
info@flir.com.au www.flir.com
Thermal image without MSX®, showing more detail
WANTED Your maintenance & reliability News:
News items must be sent to the AMMJ at least 2 weeks before the
publication date. Submit News items as PDF’s or Word Docs.
editor@theammj.com
FLIR Systems Announces Infiniti
Red Bull Racing Partnership
FLIR Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR) has announced that it has been
named an Innovation Partner with Infiniti Red Bull Racing. The winner of four
consecutive Formula One World Champions in both Constructor’s and Driver’s
categories, Infiniti Red Bull Racing will work with FLIR® – the world’s leading
supplier of thermal technology – to gather temperature data from its 2014
challenger, the RB10.
In the partnership, FLIR will develop solutions using world-class miniature
thermal cameras to provide the Infiniti Red Bull Racing team with unique
insights into the thermal characteristics of their cars’ components and
operations.
The introduction of 1.6 liter V6 Turbocharged engines with dual energy
recovery systems has presented significant cooling challenges for all Formula
One teams in 2014. Managing car temperatures effectively will be a key aspect
of ensuring reliability, a factor which is expected to play a significant role in
determining the outcome of this season.
Commenting on the collaboration, Christian Horner, Team Principal of Infiniti
Red Bull Racing, said “This year sees the most fundamental changes to
Formula One in well over a decade. The team which is most efficient in
gathering the relevant data, learning effectively, and adapting accordingly will
be the one which triumphs in this season of transition. The insights which FLIR
technology can give us will be critical to our understanding of the new car and
could give us a key edge over our rivals”
Thermal imaging has become a vital tool for controlling thermal management
and tire performance. FLIR’s background in designing and building military-
grade hardware will be a crucial factor in making this technology work in the
harsh environments seen on modern Formula One racing.
“This partnership comes at an exciting time for FLIR,” said Andy Teich,
President and CEO of FLIR. “With the launch of our revolutionary Lepton
thermal micro-camera, we see numerous applications for thermal technology
in the racing world. Also, as we are launching several new consumer oriented
products with this technology, we look forward to the broad awareness this
relationship will bring. We are thrilled to align the FLIR brand and technology
with the Infinity Red Bull team.” www.FLIR.com
Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page
News
Maintenance & Reliability News
Maintenance and Reliability
San Francisco Municipal Transportation
Agency Enables Asset Management in
the Cloud with Infor
Infor EAM Mobile Speeds Agency Services,
Enables Real-time Updates
Infor, a leading provider of business application software
serving more than 70,000 customers, has announced that
the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA)
has selected Infor Enterprise Asset Management (EAM)
Enterprise for Transit Management in the cloud.
The SFMTA, which oversees all public transportation
initiatives throughout the City of San Francisco, will
implement Infor EAM Enterprise to help eliminate
disparate systems by providing a unified, centralized asset
management application for agency-wide use. The SFMTA
will also employ Infor EAM Mobile to enable real-time system
access from any location, allowing employees in the field to
complete daily tasks faster and with greater efficiency.
The SFMTA initially selected Infor because of its proven,
industry-specific functionality for the transportation micro-
vertical. The latest version of Infor EAM will enable
simplified work order processes and automated information
sharing, helping to increase efficiency and promote greater
connectivity throughout the agency.
With the ability to register and track assets within a unified
system, the agency will be better equipped to meet federal
reporting requirements. Infor EAM will provide one point of
reference for users to help ensure that all employees are up-
to-date on current asset conditions.
With Infor EAM in the cloud, the SFMTA will not be
responsible for configuration, disaster recovery, future
updates or storage. This is expected to facilitate cost savings
by allowing them to manage the application without hiring
additional IT employees or purchasing supplementary
hardware. The agency can also spend less time focusing on
system maintenance, and more time addressing the needs of
citizens.
41
AMMJ July 2014
Infor EAM Mobile allows users to tag assets and update
work orders from different locations at any time using
an iPad. By eliminating the need to return to a central
point to input data, the SFMTA will help to speed services
and equip its employees with the most current asset
information.
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Quote
“Previously our employees had to return to a terminal
to update work orders, which was extremely inefficient
and time consuming considering that we manage assets
spread out across the entire city,” said Hoppers Hoppers,
IT manager, San Francisco Municipal Transportation
Agency. “Now users can make and receive real-time
updates while in the field, helping to significantly speed
our ability to service each transportation fleet. The City
of San Francisco as a whole is transitioning to a cloud-
based technology strategy, so it was important that we
move to the cloud as well in order to ensure consistency
across our systems.”
“Infor understands that successfully maintaining city and
state-wide transportation systems requires a unique set
of capabilities within an asset management system,”
said Kevin Price, senior product director, EAM, Infor. “By
deploying Infor EAM in the cloud, SFMTA will not only
Go To Contents Page
benefit from its specifically tailored functionality, but they will
also be well-equipped for the future with the ability to easily
change or add to their system.”
About San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
oversees light rail, bike and pedestrian programs, taxis,
parking and traffic control operations in the City of San
Francisco. The agency also manages the San Francisco
Municipal Railway, known as Muni, which includes the city’s
historic streetcars and the world-famous cable cars. For
more information, please visit www.sfmta.com.
About Infor
Infor is fundamentally changing the way information is
published and consumed in the enterprise, helping 70,000
customers in more than 200 countries and territories
improve operations, drive growth, and quickly adapt to
changes in business demands. Infor offers deep industry-
specific applications and suites, engineered for speed, and
with an innovative user experience design that is simple,
transparent, and elegant. Infor provides flexible deployment
options that give customers a choice to run their businesses
in the cloud, on-premises, or both. To learn more about
Infor, please visit www.infor.com
Go To Last Page
News

Maintenance & Reliability News

Maintenance and Reliability

New Fluke Connect™ system transfers

measurement data from test tools to smart
phones and the cloud, improving maintenance
team communication, safety and productivity
Maintenance teams make better, faster decisions by
having immediate access to historical records of the
machinery they are maintaining and being able to review
measurements in real time with team members and
supervisors. Yet historical data is usually only accessible
back in the office, and team members are rarely in the
same place at the same time. The Fluke Connect™ system
solves these problems while increasing the safety of
technicians working with energised equipment.
The Fluke Connect system is a set of tools and smart
phone app that let maintenance technicians capture,
securely store and share data with their teams from the
field. It helps them make better decisions faster by being
able to view all temperature, mechanical, electrical and
vibration measurements for each equipment asset in one
place. decisions. And TrendIt™ lets them instantly graph data
More than 20 Fluke tools connect wirelessly with the Fluke and share findings, helping to identify trends and quickly
Connect app — the largest set of connected test tools in make informed decisions.
the world. Compatible tools include digital multimeters, The Fluke Connect app can be downloaded for free from
infrared cameras, insulation testers, process meters and the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
specific voltage, current and temperature models. Fluke Cloud secure data storage
Technicians can add a comprehensive set of Fluke Cloud storage infrastructure has been built to be
measurements and infrared images to Fluke Cloud™ one of the most flexible and secure cloud computing
storage from wherever they’re working. The data is environments available today. The Fluke Cloud storage
automatically stored, eliminating the need to write down service provider uses state-of-the-art electronic
measurements and letting others see what the technician surveillance, multi-factor access control systems and
sees from other locations. 24x7 staffing at its data centres. Furthermore, the servers
Team collaboration is made easy with ShareLive™ video have built-in firewalls, encrypted data storage and secure
calls, which let technicians share measurements with other access specifically designed to protect data.
team members in real time, and get approvals for repairs or By having access to historical data and enabling
questions answered without leaving the field. collaboration among the entire maintenance team, Fluke
The Fluke Connect app features EquipmentLog™ records, Connect saves time, increases productivity and reduces
which let technicians assign measurements to specific the need for emergency repairs or costly shutdowns.
equipment, creating a history of test measurement auinfo@fluke.com at www.fluke.com.au.
data that helps them identify problems and make better
42

AMMJ July 2014 Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page


News
Pervidi Paperless Inspection Solution
Delivers Advanced Functionalities to
Maintenance and Reliability
Service Engineers
Pervidi Paperless Inspection Solution Delivers Advanced
Functionalities to Service Engineers
echs4Biz Corporation, a leading provider of software
products for managing field activities, announces the
release of Pervidi– version 6.15, including the ability to
view and annotate on drawings and references materials
on mobile devices.
The new Pervidi paperless inspection version is available
on all iOS and Android devices, and includes the ability to
automatically transfer relevant reference material such as
drawings, codes, pictures and other documents to your
mobile device
“Sending reference material to mobile devices is the next
step in the evolution of the mobile workforce.” says Eitan
Shibi, Techs4Biz CTO. “A field technician can now have
immediate access to ‘what the item should look like’ as
well as related PDF documents or code references” says
Eitan.
All reference material is accessible while the device is
offline; no wireless connectivity is required in the field,
and the technician does no experience any delays in
accessing this information.
“In addition to providing the ability to record information
related to any type of field inspection, the new Pervidi
version integrates picture taking and markups on your
pre-set drawings. Marked up drawings can be wirelessly
‘synched’ with the database in real time” says Eitan.
Pervidi 6.15 is offered as an enhancement to the current
Pervidi paperless inspection and is available to existing
Pervidi and iSafe customers.
About Techs4Biz Corporation
Since 1999 Techs4Biz has been implementing PervidiTM
within various organizations, business models and
processes. PervidiTM enables a shift in focus from paper-
based administrative tasks to improved management
and informed decision making by migrating from manual
activities to automated practices.
www.techs4biz.com
sales@pervidi.com australia@pervidi.com
43
AMMJ July 2014
eMaint Enhances X3 CMMS Customer
Experience with Fully-Interactive
Learning Management System
New eMaint University (eU) Enables Assigned Courses,
Self-Paced Training and Certification
eMaint Enterprises, a leader in cloud-based maintenance
management software (CMMS), is strengthening its
commitment to customer success by adding enhanced
training and certification features to their interactive
e-Learning system, eMaint University (eU).
Now a fully-interactive learning management system,
the new eU enables subscribers to participate in a host
of self-paced training sessions and seminars designed
to complement their eMaint X3 CMMS experience and
enhance their maintenance and reliability knowledge.
The web-based sessions can be accessed at any time,
via PC, Mac, Tablet or Smartphone, allowing clients to
train how, when and where they prefer.
The updated interactive features in eU enable users
to track where they are in the training process and
become certified at the completion of their assigned
courses. Additionally, system administrators will be able
to assign training courses, as well as access employee
status reports to see where they are in the training and
certification process.
“Studies have shown that a common reason for CMMS
implementation failure is a lack of training and system
adoption. The new eMaint University has been created
to counteract this,” said eMaint CEO and President,
Brian Samelson. “Our main focus continues to be our
customers and helping them derive the maximum
ongoing value from their CMMS investment. We believe
the new training and certification functionality, combined
with the industry best practices resources available
within eU, will be a tremendous benefit for our eMaint X3
subscribers.”
eMaint helps more than 18,000 global customers across
multiple industries achieve operational excellence. Its
multi-lingual teams provide knowledgeable, personalized
service and product support in English, Spanish,
Portuguese, French and German.
Visit www.emaint.com, www.emaint.eu,
www.emaint.com.mx or www.emanut.com.br
Go To Contents Page
Open Day success for TAFE
Queensland SkillsTech
More than 600 high school students and members of the public
experienced TAFE Queensland SkillsTech’s annual Acacia Ridge
Training Centre Open Day last Wednesday.
TAFE Queensland SkillsTech General Manager Mary Campbell
said Open Days were an invaluable way for people to gain first-
hand understanding of trade and technical training and related
career pathways.
“Our Open Days are collaborative events that involve our
teachers, students and staff, as well as our key industry partners
and providers,” said Mrs Campbell.
“They are also interactive, with people encouraged to participate
in light and heavy automotive, engineering, electrical, wet trades,
carpentry, plumbing, and foundry WorldSkills Try’aTrade activities.
“It also offers the general public an excellent opportunity to tour
our facilities and workshops which, in the case of the Acacia Ridge
Training Centre, is one of the largest trade and technical training
facilities in the southern hemisphere,” said Mrs Campbell.
The Acacia Ridge Open Day also included the Association of
Wall and Ceiling Industries of Australia’s Apprentice Challenge
to find Queensland’s most outstanding plastering and wet trades
apprentices.
“Another really important feature of these events is the fact
teachers, staff and even current students all take part to provide
as much information as possible about the benefits of trade and
technical training,” she said.
TAFE Queensland SkillsTech holds three annual Open Days at
its Bracken Ridge, Acacia Ridge and Eagle Farm training centres.
The final Open Day at Eagle Farm is on Wednesday 18 June from
4.00 pm to 7.00 pm.
Visit www.tafeskillstech.edu.au/about-us/events
Go To Last Page
 ww
News
TestOil Launches Industry’s First Oil
Analysis Report Interpretation App
Maintenance and Reliability
Users learn how, when and why to take action with their
oil analysis results
TestOil, an independent industrial oil analysis laboratory,
today announced the launch of PocketAnalyst™, the
industry’s first oil analysis report interpretation mobile
application. The creation of the app is in line with the
company’s commitment to continually offer information
and education to help oil analysis users solve problems.
Report interpretation is one of the biggest challenges
for most lubrication professionals. Yet, they rely
on oil analysis in their reliability programs as a
significant tool to help safeguard their equipment from
unplanned downtime. However, an inability to dissect
and comprehend a problematic report often yields
inappropriate action when abnormal results appear.
“The app was designed to help users go beyond basic
report interpretation by providing guidance and insight into
typical oil analysis issues,” explained Michael Barrett, VP
Sales & Marketing for TestOil. “It’s like having a TestOil
analyst in your pocket helping you decide how, when and
why to take action with your oil analysis results.”
TestOil’s PocketAnalyst™ was developed with the idea
of offering users high-level insight and recommendations
for typical oil analysis problems. The content was written
by TestOil’s team of analysts, all of whom are Certified
Lubrication Specialist (CLS) and have years of experience
in analyzing and interpreting report data. Users can
also utilize the app to communicate directly with
TestOil’s expert help desk to get assistance with report
interpretation or any other oil analysis questions.
TestOil’s PocketAnalyst™ is a robust reference tool
offering:
• Analyst insights
• Recommendations
• Alarm parameters, and
• Possible sources and effects
To access TestOil’s PocketAnalyst™ please visit
www.testoil.com
44
AMMJ July 2014
Adaptive shaft alignment with the
new tool Fixturlaser EVO
Fixturlaser has developed a new shaft alignment tool,
Fixturlaser EVO, which features our unique adaptive
user interface. The tool’s simplicity in its handling is
characteristic for all Fixturlaser tools; an alignment tool
that can be handled by all maintenance professionals,
and not only experts.
Few features in the shaft alignment world are as
innovative and time saving as the VertiZontal Moves.
Its adaptive interface shows how much a misaligned
machine requires for the vertical move by adding or
removing shims at the machine’s feet. Proceeding
with the measurement, it requires no remeasurements
in between vertical and horizontal adjustment during
the alignment process. The horizontal adjustment is
promptly carried out with real values displayed during
the entire process.
The Fixturlaser EVO is an all-digital shaft alignment tool
with wireless, built in Bluetooth in the sensor units. The
units are also fitted with a 30 mm CCD detector that
gives the user an unparalleled measurement accuracy
and precision.
The Fixturlaser EVO offers a compact display unit with
a 5” color touch screen. It is slim and balanced, allowing
you to hold it in one hand, leaving your other hand free
to touch the screen icons and rotate the sensors on the
shafts.
“We do not dare to claim that we match Albert Einstein’s
genius, as we quote him: “Everything should be made
as simple as possible, but not simpler.” says Hans
Svensson, CEO of Elos Fixturlaser AB. “We will,
however, claim to be the most innovative in our efforts
to make the life of maintenance professionals as
problem-free as possible.” www.fixturlaser.se
Go To Contents Page
Real-Time Maintenance for Factories
Proteus CMMS software offers real-time solutions in
facilities management, but did you know that a real-
time component is available for manufacturers? Eagle
Technology’s Proteus software will soon integrate with
programmable logic controllers (PLCs).
A PLC was designed to replace the necessary sequential
relay circuits for machine control. They monitor the state of
input devices such as temperature, humidity, and vibrations.
Conversely a PLC controls its outputs and can turn them
off and on. PLC real-time integration with CMMS software
is important because if there is a problem with a machine,
maintenance managers will receive the information in real-
time.
One benefit of integrating CMMS software with PLCs is
receiving maintenance notifications. Some machines need
maintenance based on the number of products that are
produced. Through integration with PLCs, CMMS software
can be programmed to send a maintenance notification
after the mandatory number of products have been fulfilled.
A work order is automatically generated, making machine
maintenance more timely and efficient. Other advantages of
integrating a PLC with a CMMS solution include:
• Providing a common protocol from multiple sources:
Providing a common protocol from multiple sources expands
the scope of control beyond a single machine.
• Remote diagnostics: Review the problem remotely from
a PC or mobile device, rather than having to check the
machine itself.
• Triggering a parts order notification/scheduling PMs:
CMMS software can be programmed to send notifications
for necessary parts and maintenance.
• Alarms: Receive real-time notification on mobile devices
when the machine fails or an emergency occurs.
• Tracking and Inventory: Know which machine needs
maintenance, which employee performed the maintenance,
and if the necessary parts are available.
Integrating CMMS software with PLCs as a real-time
maintenance solution for factories promotes efficiency and
fine-tunes operations. This leads to cost savings by taking
a preventive approach to maintenance and reduces labor
through scheduling and alerts. Real-time solutions have
many advantages for anyone who uses CMMS software.
www.eaglecmms.com
Go To Last Page
 Maintenance & Reliability News
News
Maintenance and Reliability
FLIR E8 Thermal Imaging Camera
Wins Red Dot Design Award
FLIR is committed to
developing infrared technology
that has a purpose in our
everyday lives. From saving
energy to saving lives, FLIR
Systems’ technology is making
a difference in our world.
The FLIR E8 is a winner of
the Red Dot Award: Product
Design 2014. The “Red Dot”
is established internationally
as one of the most sought-
after quality marks for good design. The expert
jury appraises the products submitted according to
different criteria such as innovation, functionality,
formal quality, ergonomics, sustainability, symbolic
and emotional content, and whether a product is
self-explanatory.
FLIR Systems developers teamed up with HOWL
to find the optimal design for a thermal camera that
meets the needs of a professional user.
Design Features
• A balanced camera for one hand operation.
• Can be operated with a gloved hand
• Withstand tough working environments.
• Simple user interface, eliminate the need of
manuals.
• The latest user interface “Dark Precision”
developed for readability and the touchscreen has
everything at your fingertips.
FLIR is the market leader for commercial infrared
systems and a significant player in the government
markets it serve as well.
“We are the best at what we do! We owe that, in
large part, to the competence and imagination of
our employees.”
info@flir.com.au www.flir.com
45
AMMJ July 2014
Upgrade of Bigfoot CMMS with
Enhanced Functionality, User Interface
for Unparalleled User Experience
Marius Basson, Long-time Smartware Group, Inc. has announces a major upgrade of its
Reliability-centered Maintenance award-winning Bigfoot Computerized Maintenance Management
Practitioner, to Lead The Aladon Network Software (CMMS). This latest version completely modernizes
the user interface design to further simplify the way maintenance
Aladon and Bentley Systems the leading company dedicated professionals manage asset maintenance for their organizations.
to providing comprehensive software solutions for sustaining Bigfoot CMMS will now be available in two editions, Bigfoot
infrastructure, today announced that Marius Basson, a long- CMMS Enterprise and Bigfoot CMMS Enterprise+, which
time Reliability-centered Maintenance (RCM2) practitioner is designed for multi-site environments with more complex
and Aladon member, has acquired the Aladon business from requirements. The maintenance management solution also
Bentley. Bentley Systems will remain a member of The Aladon boasts a number of new features across both editions.
Network and will continue to be its priority technology partner. The streamlined user interface matches how users view, scan,
The Aladon Network, which became part of Bentley through and interact with computer screens of any size, including
the company’s acquisition of Ivara in 2012, is a global smartphones, tablets, and iPads. The fluid, vertical-scrolling
community of reliability professionals whose members are design of Bigfoot CMMS’ user interface allows users to access
certified by Aladon as “practitioners” and “facilitators” in the all functions by scrolling down a single page, thereby eliminating
delivery of RCM2, as well as Maintenance Task Analysis the need to jump from tab-to-tab to access essential data.
(MTA2) & Asset Prioritization (AP). Basson will lead the
Aladon membership to further advance the discipline of
RCM2 and, in doing so, help make industrial operations safer
and more productive. Commenting on the announcement,
Al Gray, Bentley vice president, asset lifecycle information
management sales and services, said, “The Aladon Network,
as a global authority on RCM2, requires a dedicated and
passionate expert to lead it. That’s why Bentley is pleased
to hand over the reins of Aladon to Marius Basson, a
very capable and highly talented reliability practitioner,
accomplished business executive, and natural leader whose
steadfast commitment to the Network will serve its members
well & help them achieve even greater success.”
Basson was previously vice president, asset management,
at CH2M HILL, and also served as director, reliability,
at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Basson has successfully
implemented RCM2 in almost every industry, including
mining; transport; water, gas and electric utilities; fabrication;
manufacturing; and petrochemicals.
Basson said, “I look forward to collaborating with the Network
members to take the Aladon Reliability Practices to the next
level. With a worldwide presence and stellar reputation, the
Network is poised for exponential growth.”
www.bentley.com
Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page

News
This design, undertaken as part of the
software developer’s quest to produce
Maintenance and Reliability
intuitive, “Quick to Learn” maintenance
solutions for “Quick Results,” will further
increase a user’s efficiency as she
spends less time training and navigating
the software, and more time fulfilling
work orders, making emergency repairs,
and otherwise getting machinery back
online.
“The new Bigfoot editions are game-
changers for our industry, as they far
surpass the traditional user experience
provided by typical CMMS solutions,”
said Paul Lachance, President and CTO
of Smartware Group. “By combining
radical ease of use with the latest
maintenance management functionality,
we are bringing our mission to fruition.
The result is a CMMS solution that truly
stands out among the rest.”
Less Keystrokes, More Power
Both Bigfoot Enterprise and Enterprise+
model a maintenance department’s
work flow in a simplified manner, thus
reducing the number of keystrokes
and clicks needed for myriad functions,
such as entering equipment data,
creating work orders, generating a
preventive maintenance (PM) calendar,
and managing spare parts inventory.
For instance, with one click, users
can access a PM calendar showing
the entire estimated workload for the
day, including PM tasks, non-PMs
(unscheduled events and repairs) and
work orders. And it takes only three
clicks to fill out a work order, mark its
priority, issue a cause code and save it.
“If someone has to spend 30 minutes
inputting or searching for data in a
46
AMMJ July 2014
Maintenance & Reliability News
CMMS instead of using that time to repair
a machine and get it up and running,
productivity suffers,” Lachance said.
“And our goal, as always, is to enhance
productivity – which is why we made
sure our new user interface eliminates
complicated procedures and condenses
Bigfoot down to what users really need to
get their hands on quickly.”
Underneath the new Bigfoot design lies
a host of cutting-edge features. Location-
based work orders give users the ability to
manage work orders by both an asset and
a site. Users can also tap into a new parts
inventory to show one part in multiple
locations and the quantity of each on hand
at each location. Document management
has been enhanced so users can set up
an asset maintenance media library and
create files for spreadsheets, illustrations,
videos, and other applications. And with
improved multi-site management, users
are able to shut down a specific site for a
set period of time.
Bigfoot CMMS Enterprise and Enterprise+
also enable users to enter asset data with
the same nomenclature their organization
uses to refer to specialized equipment, as
opposed to limited generic terms dictated
by a typical CMMS. Users can preset
data views to check on corrective and
preventive maintenance alerts, and toggle
back and forth between these views –
without having to customize the program.
Other new configuration capabilities
include the user creation of drop-down
lists of specific fields for work orders,
rather than relying on standard, non-
configurable forms across the enterprise.
www.bigfootcmms.com.
New Tritex Multigauge 5700 Datalogger
Thickness Gauge
Tritex NDT have launched their new Multigauge 5700 Datalogger Metal
Thickness Gauge. The new gauge, has all the advantages of the very
popular Multigauge 5600 but with the added benefit of storing readings
on the gauge. The Multigauge 5700 Datalogger includes an onboard
memory for recording measurements in either a grid or string format, or
combination of both. The readings are then transferred to a PC or laptop
using wireless technology, which also allows remote gauging if required.
The versatile intuitive software includes simple wizards which guide the
user in setting up templates or files for various applications. The gauge
has been designed in line with Tritex’s concept of Simple, Accurate and
Robust.
The gauge utilises the Multiple Echo technique to ignore coatings up
to 6mm thick and just measures the metal substrate. No grinding or
removal of the coatings is required, significantly reducing preparation
time and ultimately saving both time and money when carrying out
inspections. All probes have Intelligent Probe Recognition (IPR), which
automatically adjusts settings in the gauge when connected, resulting in
a perfectly matched probe and gauge for enhanced performance. Also,
the Automatic Measurement Verification System (AMVS) ensures only
true measurements are displayed, even on the most heavily corroded
metals.
Single crystal probes,
which have a number
of advantages when
measuring on curved and
corroded surfaces, are
protected by a membrane
ensuring the probe does
not easily get damaged.
The new Multigauge 5700
Datalogger is supplied as a
complete kit, ready to use,
with a 3 year warranty and
free calibration for the life
of the gauge.
www.tritexndt.com.
Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page
 BALANCING BY
O
Figure 1

THE COMPONENTS
B

OB and OA are the

METHOD
original unbalance
vectors, each end
of the rotor

Ray Beebe Australia raybeebemcm@gmail.com

Among the methods of balancing mentioned in the table in my first
article (In the May 2013 AMMJ) is the “components method”. This
was developed for balancing a rotor that was considered too long to be
treated as a single plane, but was too short for two-plane treatment.
In this example the machine is a constant speed 590 r/min double
entry centrifugal fan, one of two Induced Draft fans in parallel on a
large power station boiler. The power station has 16 of these fans,
handling hot wet gas at around 200°C with output controlled by variable
inlet vanes on each entry. The picture shows the relative size of its
impeller: 3.4m diameter, 8.75m between bearings, 22t mass, 1780kW.
Unbalance results from dust particles building up on the blades and,
over the longer term, from erosion. Condition monitoring by vibration
analysis showed an increase in vibration at 1× (i.e. the frequency of
rotation speed). It was decided to attempt on-load cleaning. Both
entry areas of the fan are below atmospheric pressure, and were fitted
with a hopper and piping arrangement.
A heap of dry coarse sand was ordered and dumped at the hopper
area. Sand shovelled by hand into the hoppers was drawn in to the fan
with the success of cleaning shown by a reduction in vibration.
For field balancing, a visible part of the shaft was marked with
reference numbers evenly spaced around the shaft, as would be done
for a single plane balance.
In the “influence coefficients” method that is usual for long rotors, a
calibrating mass would be placed on one end and a second test run
made. It would then be removed and located on the other end for a
third run. The size and positions of masses to balance can then be
calculated, usually by software methods. The components method
uses one less run, meaning a shorter time off line. It also enables a
visual impression of progress.
Balancing procedure 00
A
With the fan in service, but with inlet vanes and outlet
dampers closed, the initial run was made, and the w
1× vibration amplitude and phase measured at each 2700 900
bearing. The vectors were plotted as in the sketch (Fig 1)
At end A: 107 µm at 218 degrees: vector OA 1800
At end B: 58 µm at 255 degrees: vector OB
These vectors can be resolved into many combinations of O
in-phase and anti-phase components. If the rotor and its Figure 2
supports are regarded as symmetrical end-to-end, then the
vectors are resolved into components of equal length. This
is the case here, so the original vector OA is considered B
replaced by vectors OM and MA, with vector OB replaced
by MB (which is anti-phase, i.e. opposite, to MA) and OM
which is equal to the parallel OM, as shown in the sketch
(Figure 2):
Original vectors,
Here the two in-phase components were larger than the M each resolved into
anti-phase ones, so balancing proceeded using a shared in-phase and
pair of masses. U-bolt clamps were used as calibration anti-phase
masses, mounted on each inlet flaring, in the same angular components
position on each end.
After calculation and installation of the balancing masses,
the vibration remaining would be expected to be anti-
phase, with the corresponding residual vibration to scale A
of components MA, MB. Here the vibration after balancing 0 50
was expected to be 35 µm, and considered acceptable. micrometres

47

AMMJ July 2014 Go To Next Article Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page


If the original vectors were much larger in anti-
phase than in-phase, then the pair of masses would By scaling, the mass to balance if installed at that
be placed on the impeller, one on each end as location should be reduced in proportion by 77/134
before, but 180 degrees apart in phase to give a ×1360g = 780g. The angular location was close
couple effect. to that used for the calibrating masses.
At end A: 41µm at 101 degrees: vector OA´ The location for minimum balance mass size was
near the outer edge of the inlet shrouds where the
At end B: 84 µm at 43 degrees: vector OB´ balance masses were installed during the factory
B’ balance. The size of the masses required on this
occasion was reduced in proportion to the relative
OB’ and OA’ are radii at this location and the calibrating mass
the vectors of the location.
original unbalanced The factory masses had been welded, followed by
plus calibrating
weights M’ heat treatment. For field installation, welding was
not allowed on the alloy steel shrouds, so holes had
Figure 3 to be drilled to bolt on the balance masses. The
first hole took over an hour – what a hard steel we
O thought! The fitter got a new drill – and it took only 5
minutes for the second hole!
A’
This method is essentially the same as that for
B measured horizontally up the height of the pedestal and
OM’ are the two balancing a flexible rotor with a limited choice of
in-phase vector balancing planes. The vibration at around the first
components of OB’ critical speed would be mostly in-phase, and near
and OA’ the second critical speed, mostly anti-phase.
M M’
0 50
0 50 micrometres
micrometres
A O
Figure 4
The in-phase components, OM ´, of these vectors
are found as before, and used to calculate the size
of the masses to balance as done in single plane 80
vector calculations. ( Note that AA´ and BB´ which
are the effect vectors of the calibrating masses on
MM’ is the effect of the calibrating weights
ends A and B respectively are closely parallel). alone. Balancing weights should be
The sketch (Fig 4) shows only the original and smaller, at the same position is OK
calibrating vectors. M
48
AMMJ July 2014 Go To Contents Page
Increasing fan performance
As a boiler fouled with ash deposits, the system resistance
increased to the point that the fan controls opened fully.
This limited and reduced unit load, so another engineering
job on these fans was to increase their output. From the
fan’s Static Pressure-Power-Flow curve, the maximum
overloading power was observed to be about 140kW below
the motor rating. This gave the possibility of increasing the
impeller diameter.
The larger diameter was calculated using the same method
as for trimming pump impellers. Extension tips of some
35mm long were welded on to the blades. This was done
so precisely that balancing afterwards was not needed.
Unbalance may not be the problem!
Another fan in similar duty showed high vibration and
balancing was attempted but without success. It was tried
with the fan both hot and cold, and the fan was accused of
having a “rogue” rotor!
A closer check with an overall level vibration meter revealed
that the bearing anchor bolts were loose.
The sketch (Figure 5) shows the relative amplitude
bearing housing.
To be fair, the holding down bolts were beneath a grid mesh
floor section and covered in years of oil absorbent.
11 mm/s RMS
12 mm/s RMS
12 mm/s RMS
Bearing
Housing
14 mm/s RMS
0-6 mm/s RMS
Foundations 0 14
Figure 5
Go To Last Page

Replacement of main
Trunnion Bearings on BOS
Plant Vessels at Steel Plant
Schaeffler replaces main Trunnion
Bearings on BOS Plant Vessels at
Tata Steel Port Talbot UK
Schaeffler UK was part of the team that successfully
completed the replacement of the main trunnion
bearings on a BOS (Basic Oxygen Steelmaking) plant
at Tata Steel Port Talbot.
By replacing the drive-side trunnion bearings with split
rolling bearings, Schaeffler also helped to save the
customer five extra days of work. If solid rather than
split bearings had been used, the customer would have
had to disassemble the bull gear unit (i.e. the main
drive unit for the BOS plant vessel).
TATA Steel Port Talbot has two BOS Steel making
vessels (V1 & V2) in operation. The original vessel was
installed in the late 1960s by UK company Ashmore,
Benson, Pease & Co and was subsequently upgraded
in 1991/1992 by Mannesmann Demag, including
trunnion bearing replacements. Each vessel has a steel
making capacity of 330 tonnes. Loss of operation of a
BOS vessel would result in significant lost revenue for
Tata Steel.
Simon Life, BOS Plant Departmental Engineer at
Tata Steel Port Talbot comments: “The bearing
replacement work was very successful. The bearings
49
AMMJ July 2014
BOS Vessel 2 at Tata Steel Port Talbot
were fitted to a high standard with expertise provided
by Schaeffler throughout the installation process.
During the bearing changeover, we encountered
several problems with components being damaged
and jacking issues. However, all problems were
discussed with Tata, Schaeffler engineers and Liftingirig for BOS vessel 2
Central Engineering support, and between all parties,
solutions were generated, action lists compiled
and remedies implemented. Without Schaeffler’s
expertise, the bearing change would not have run so
smoothly.”
In July 2011, Schaeffler UK received a telephone
call from an area works engineer at the BOS Plant,
advising of a sudden bearing failure on the non-drive
side (NDS) of the V2 BOS plant vessel.
The BOS Plant engineers arranged a meeting and a
request was made for two engineers from Schaeffler
Germany to be on site at Port Talbot soon afterwards.
A meeting subsequently took place at Port Talbot to
discuss action plans and how to replace the trunnion
bearings.
As Dave Wall, Senior Applications Engineer at
Schaeffler UK recalls: “A method statement document
was drawn up by Schaeffler UK, which specified the
sequence and method to replace the bearings and
outline the TATA requirements.
Go To Next Article Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page
 Included in this document was a
detailed tooling list and a step-by-step
procedure for the dismounting and
mounting of the drive-side (DS) & non
drive-side (NDS) bearings.”
“The standard ‘solid’ bearing on the
DS was replaced by a special FAG
split spherical roller bearing [SSRB],
which is the recommended replacement
spare, as this reduces the amount
of downtime when installing the
replacement bearing. The NDS bearing
was to be replaced with a similar
solid bearing. In addition, various
surrounding components also required
replacing, once the secondary damage
caused by the bearing failure had been
identified,” confirmed Wall.
Removal of the Drive Side bearing
The cutting away of the existing bearing
took a total of 36 hours. The distance
between the trunnion spacers (bearing
seating width) was measured in order
to determine the thickness required
for two special, TATA designed, split
‘dovetail’ spacers. These were required
to ensure that the new split bearing
would be correctly secured in place.
The new split SRB inner ring halves
with clamping rings, outer ring half and
bottom roller cage halves, were fitted
without any problems.
Removal of the Non-Drive
Side bearing
The original bearing on the NDS had
failed during operation, which had
caused the BOS converter to drop
down. It was now resting on the bearing
housing and the housing covers.
50
AMMJ July 2014
After lifting, parts of the damaged
bearings were removed, including cage
pieces; outer and inner ring fragments
and rolling elements. All the components
were sent for forensic examination to
TATA Central Engineering Metallurgy
& Inspection Dept. The housing back
cover, bearing pressure plate and sleeve
spacer were found to be seriously
damaged. New ones had to be urgently
manufactured by Tata Steel’s Central
Engineering Shops (CES). The bearing
inner ring had disintegrated and the
sleeve had to be cut off due to its
deformed shape. After removing the
damaged bearing, it was also discovered
that the trunnion back spacer was in
need of repair. Again, machining work
was urgently carried out by CES.
Due to the subsequent damage to the
bearing housing, Schaeffler expertise
was required to manually repair
this surface to restore it back to an
acceptable condition.
During the dismounting process the NDS
Ladder Expansion Bearing Rollers had
to be replaced. To facilitate the Ladder
Roller replacement and installation of a
TATA manufactured solid inner bearing
housing cover, the bottom half of the
housing had to be moved away from the
journal using specially manufactured
crossbeams.
Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page
 Fitting of the bearing
Mounting of the new Non-Drive Schaeffler UK participated and contributed to the
Side bearing Bearing Failure Review meetings with Tata Steel
The new bearing was first pre-mounted to that followed the bearing replacement for the BOS
determine the correct sleeve spacer width. The vessels.
bottom half of the housing was then moved back “Since replacing the trunnion bearings, engineers
into position and the crossbeam construction from Schaeffler UK have also supervised two
removed. further BOS vessel bearing changes in a very
Mounting of the new bearing was challenging, as short timeframe of just two months: Converter C at
the collapse of the original bearing had caused SSI UK / Teesside and Converter 1 at Tata Steel
the vessel to move out of alignment. Port Talbot. Schaeffler has now been selected as
The lowering of the converter was also a the preferred supplier of main trunnion bearings
challenge as the vessel had to be moved for the two BOS plant vessels at Tata Steel Port
sideways by 40mm to achieve the correct Talbot,” confirms Dave Wall.
installation position. Side shifting was initially a
problem for the vessel lifting contractor but the Assembly of the roller cage
problem was successfully overcome.
Final mounting steps for the NDS
and DS bearings
For the DS bearing, the remaining roller
cage and outer ring halves were installed.
For both bearings, the housing caps
were fitted and each bearing was 100
per cent filled with grease, including the
surrounding free space.
The housing covers were bolted in
position and new seals with their
tensioning devices were fitted. After
having successfully completed the work
in under 2 weeks, Schaeffler engineers
were pleased to be leaving behind a very
happy customer.
After the bearings were installed, the work
didn’t finish there. Schaeffler UK prepared
a recommended practical maintenance
schedule list and forwarded this to the
BOS Engineers, which was well received.
In addition, customer “as built” cross-
sectional drawings were updated to show For more information contact Schaeffler UK Marketing Department
the actual parts (with measurements) now on 0121 313 5870. Alternatively, email info.uk@schaeffler.com
in place at V2. First published in the M&E Magazine

51

AMMJ July 2014 Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page

 WANTED your news on plant engineering, assets,
Equipment,
News
plant equipment, tools, energy, HVAC, plant
News

services, bearings, compressed air systems,

Services & People lighting, people issues, training, environment, etc..
Send to: editor@theammj.com
Equipment, Services and People

New Fluke 190-504 ScopeMeter delivers 5 Algae successfully monitored and

Giga-samples-per-second in a 4-channel, controlled by using ultrasound with
MPC-Buoy in Poznan, Poland
500 MHz portable oscilloscope new MPC-Buoy

Fluke Corp. introduces the Fluke Algal blooms located in water surfaces is a common
190-504 Series II 500 MHz problem which is encountered by many professionals
ScopeMeter Portable Oscilloscope, in the water industry. High algae levels often result in
the first to achieve a 500 MHz at a deterioration of the water quality and bad odor. In
5 GS/s real time sample rate in order to provide an environmentally friendly solution
a 4-channel handheld, sealed, to prevent the growth of blue-green algae, the Dutch
and rugged oscilloscope without company LG Sound initiated a successful project
compromising on safety rating, with the new MPC-Buoy in the Skrzyneckie Male lake
ruggedness or battery operating time. (10.7 ha) in Poznan, Poland.
The Fluke 190-504 fills the As part of the Clearwater project, two MPC-Buoys
needs of professional electronic were installed in the Skrzyneckie Male lake (10.7
troubleshooters working on medical, ha) in Poznan, Poland. The MPC-Buoys provided a
communications, navigation and complete overview of the water quality by collecting
military devices. They need the fast the following parameters every 10 minutes: quality, they stated that the water in the lake has become
5 GS/s (200 pico seconds) sample Chlorophyll (green algae), Phycocyanin (blue- cleaner and no algae scum occurred after the deployment
rate and 4-channels for greater accuracy and clarity of shape green algae), pH, TSS, Dissolved Oxygen and the of the two MPC-Buoys.
and amplitude of unknown waveform phenomena like transients, temperature. The project showed that the ultrasound The patented MPC-Buoy of LG Sound provides a unique
induced noise and ringing or reflections. treatment needs to be adjusted according to the solution for algae and cyanobacteria control by combining
type of algae and other parameters in the water, to continuous water quality monitoring, telemetering and
The 504 rounds out the line of rugged 190 Series II ScopeMeters
perform at its highest efficiency. This is the reason ultrasound technology. At this moment, LG Sound
that feature two or four independently insulated input channels and
that a RTD consortium partner in Greece has cultured successfully installed the MPC-Buoy in lakes in Poland,
an IP51 dust and dripwater proof rating with models available in
different types of algae and treated them with different the UK, the USA, Canada and Ireland. A drinking water
500 MHz, 200 MHz, 100 MHz or 60 MHz bandwidths. The series
ultrasound frequencies. As a result a database has company in the UK, Semcorp Bournemouth Water
features deep memory up to 10,000 samples-per-channel so
been created which is incorporated in the system of (SBW), has announced in a press release that after the
technicians can examine very small parts of the waveform in detail.
the MPC-Buoy. installation of the MPC-Buoy a ‘dramatic reduction’ in the
The 190 Series II ScopeMeters include innovative functions
Furthermore, the project showed a difference in concentration of algae was experienced. The MPC-Buoy
including Connect-and-View™ triggering for intelligent, automatic
the algae levels between the lake with the installed is effective in lakes, ponds, dams and other applications.
triggering on fast, slow or even complex signals, ScopeRecord™,
MPC-buoys and several similar other lakes in the The Clearwater PMPC project, was coordinated by
TrendPlot™ and automatic measurements functions you would
surrounding. For example, the level of cyanobaterial LG Sound and funded by ‘Research for SME’s’ within
expect to find in high performance benchtop scopes.
(blue-green algae) cells in the Kórnickie Lake, which the EU 7th Framework Programme. For more in-depth
The 190 Series II safety rating, according to IEC 61010 standard, is is located in the same area as Skrzyneckie Male
1000 V CAT III/ 600 V CAT IV making it possible to safely measure information about the Clearwater PMPC project, please
Lake, was nine times higher compared to the lake contact Ms. Lisa Brand
from 500 mV to 1000 V. in which the MPC-Buoys were installed. The local
sales@fluke.com.au www.fluke.com.au. l.brand@lgsonic.com www.lgsonic.com
inhabitants also noticed visual improvement in water
52

AMMJ July 2014 Go To Next Article Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page


News
New Honeywell Service Represents An Advance In
Designing Industrial Facilities and Reducing Costs
Equipment, Services and People
Advanced Project Execution Approach Can Cut Total
Automation Costs by Up To 30 Percent
Honeywell Process Solutions has announced the launch of
LEAP™ project services to help manufacturers in the processing
industries get their plants up & running faster and at lower cost.
LEAP combines Honeywell Process Solutions proprietary
hardware and software, virtualization and cloud engineering to
give users greater scheduling flexibility while reducing risk and
total automation costs by up to 30 percent. Multiple industries
can benefit from an estimated 80 percent reduction in costs
related from unnecessary rework. These features can also help
reduce avoidable schedule delays by up to 90 percent.
“Automation projects are increasingly difficult to manage -
especially as implementations become larger and more complex
while still needing to be completed quickly and efficiently,” said
Vimal Kapur, president, Honeywell Process Solutions. “LEAP
turns project execution workflow on its head, simplifying what has
traditionally been a long and expensive process and enabling
measurable time and cost savings so plants can focus on the
end goal of getting up and running quickly.”
53
AMMJ July 2014
Equipment, Services & People - News
LEAP represents a major departure from the way
plants are typically designed and built by using
parallel workflows to keep automation systems
off critical implementation paths. Traditionally,
sequential workflows call for the automation and
controls to be implemented during a specified
timeframe before the rest of the plant can be
completed. This approach poses challenges such as
managing changes, which can affect all subsequent
steps of the implementation and threaten project
schedules and budgets.
LEAP creates separate streams of work for the
physical and functional aspects of project design.
This approach allows project engineering to take
place from anywhere in the world, and removes
workflow dependencies to allow core project
tasks to start much earlier in the process. It also
dramatically minimizes the cost and volume of
rework typically associated with automation projects.
LEAP specifically combines three key core
technologies available in Honeywell’s Experion PKS
Orion:
• Universal Channel Technology – Honeywell’s
proprietary solution allows instant remote
configuration of channel types, standardized
input/output cabinets, reduction or elimination of
marshalling cabinets and reduction in equipment
needed.
• Virtualization – Use of virtual machines in the
control system removes dependencies between
the functional and physical design, enables
standardized server cabinets, reduces hardware
requirements and delivers corresponding savings in
space, power, cooling and weight.
• Cloud Engineering – Engineering in a secure,
centrally hosted cloud environment allows project
execution and testing anywhere in the world,
delivering improvements in collaboration and travel
savings.
Honeywell Process Solutions www.honeywellprocess.com
Go To Contents Page
Palo Alto Networks Research Shines Spotlight
On Cyber Threats Hiding In Plain Sight
Report details how traditional exploit techniques used in
innovative ways can mask dangerous threat activity
Palo Alto Networks® (NYSE: PANW), the leader in enterprise
security, has revealed new research on how attackers exploit
commonly-used business applications to bypass security controls
-- and provides helpful insight into how business leaders and
security practitioners need to reassess and strengthen their
security posture.
The findings are based on analysis of traffic data collected from
5,500 network assessments and billions of threat logs over
a 12-month span and are revealed in the 2014 edition of the
Palo Alto Networks Application Usage and Threat Report. The
report provides the industry’s most detailed assessment of the
relationship between advanced cyber threats and the applications
running on enterprise networks worldwide.
Key takeaways
* Common sharing applications such as e-mail, social media, and
video remain favoured vehicles for delivering attacks but are
often the start of multi-phased attacks rather than the focus of
threat activity.
* 99 per cent of all malware logs were generated by a single threat
using UDP; attackers also use applications like FTP, RDP, SSL,
and NetBIOS to mask their activities.
* 34 per cent of applications observed can use SSL encryption;
many network administrators are unaware of what applications
on their networks use unpatched versions of OpenSSL, which
can leave them exposed to vulnerabilities such as Heartbleed.
Quote:
* “Our research shows an inextricable link between commonly-
used enterprise applications and cyber threats. Most significant
network breaches start with an application such as e-mail
delivering an exploit.
Then, once on the network, attackers use other applications or
services to continue their malicious activity – in essence, hiding
in plain sight. Knowing how cyber criminals exploit applications
will help enterprises make more informed decisions when it
comes to protecting their organisations from attacks.”
-- Matt Keil, senior research analyst, Palo Alto Networks
Go To Last Page
 Equipment, Services & People - News
News

In addition to the findings, the report includes actionable

Equipment, Services and People

intelligence that security teams can use to better protect

their networks, such as:
* deploy a balanced safe enablement policy for
common sharing applications - key to the success
of this recommendation is documentation of
the policies, education of users, and periodically
updating the policy
* effectively control unknown traffic - every network
has unknown traffic: small in volume, averaging
only 10 per cent of bandwidth we observed, but
high in risk. Controlling unknown UDP/TCP will
quickly eliminate a significant volume of malware
* determine and selectively decrypt applications
that use SSL - selective decryption, in conjunction
with enablement policies outlined above, can help
businesses uncover and eliminate potential hiding
places for cyber threats.
To learn more:
• Download the 2014 Application Usage and
Threat Report from
http://www.paloaltonetworks.com/autr
• Access interactive tools and video providing
explaining the intersection of applications and
threats http://www.paloaltonetworks.com/autr
• Read the Palo Alto Networks blog for additional
highlights from the report
http://researchcenter.paloaltonetworks.com/2014/06/
palo-alto-networks-autr-2014
Palo Alto Networks:
Palo Alto Networks is leading a new era in cybersecurity
by protecting thousands of enterprise, government, and
service provider networks from cyber threats. Unlike
fragmented legacy products, our security platform safely
enables business operations and delivers protection
based on what matters most in today’s dynamic
computing environments: applications, users, and
content.
Find out more at www.paloaltonetworks.com.

54

AMMJ July 2014 Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page

Articles
Stores, Purchasing, Parts and Materials.
When Fast Inventory
Stores Purchasing Parts & Materials
Optimization is Slow
Phillip Slater www.PhillipSlater.com
It is not unusual for companies to approach
spare parts inventory optimization following
an ah-ha moment. This is the moment when
someone in the company (usually in finance)
suddenly realizes that the practices and policies
that they have in place have not controlled
the spare parts investment and they may
now be significantly overstocked. The issue
is then raised at senior levels and the idea of
spare parts inventory optimization gains some
momentum.
Sometimes the next step is to investigate
the issue, identify the root cause of the
overstocking and the size of the potential
opportunity. However, more often, people
think that spare parts holdings can be simply
adjusted using some simple algorithm, so some
software is purchased and deadlines for results
are set. In this scenario the situation, because
of the high level of visibility, becomes one of
getting the job done fast, and the sooner the
better.
The problem is that this is not how spare parts
management works. Spare parts inventories
get out of control because of daily decisions
that are made by a wide range of personnel.
They are influenced by silo structures, concerns
about risk, and a lack of genuine trust in ‘the
system’ to ensure availability of the parts that
are required, when they are required. Software
and algorithms don’t fix these root causes.
55
AMMJ July 2014
WANTED your articles, news and case studies relating
to the management, procurement and use of spare
parts & materials in the world of asset management &
maintenance. Contact Phill Slater at:
Phill@PhillipSlater.com Phillip Slater - Editor SPP & M
With spare parts inventory optimization we intuitively know that the
‘slow’ approach will deliver results but corporate pressure (or sometimes
ignorance) drives us to pursue the ‘fast’ approach. Unfortunately, with spare
parts inventory optimization ‘fast’ is usually slow.
This is when ‘fast’ becomes ‘slow’. Typically the software
will identify a range of opportunities that are ‘the low Phillip Slater specializes in Materials and Spare Parts Management. He is
hanging fruit’ and it can seem like the company is making the Founder of the best practice website, SparePartsKnowHow.com and the
progress. But this is an illusion because the root causes author of 8 books, including Smart Inventory Solutions and The Optimization
are not being addressed. The company’s personnel don’t Trap. For a complimentary copy of the e-book 5 Myths of Inventory
change their behavior, they don’t change the basis of their Reduction please visit Phillip’s personal website at www.PhillipSlater.com
decisions, and they don’t gain any increased trust in ‘the
system’. In fact trust is often eroded. Then of course, if the
spotlight of attention moves onto the next issue, everyone
is off the hook. The best case is often that the initial minor
gains are maintained but more usually the inventory value
returns to the pre-optimization levels or more. Hence ‘fast’
becomes ‘slow’ because significant changes are not made.
In one recent example, a company that chose the software
path for inventory optimization reported a reduction
opportunity equal to 30% of the inventory they reviewed,
which sounds impressive until you hear that after 14
months they had only reviewed 10% of their inventory. This
was because the remaining 90% didn’t fit the ‘data set’
model for the software and their initiative had stalled.
A better way to review and optimize spare parts inventories
is to address the root causes. That is to educate your team
in spare parts management, to utilize a process review
technique for optimization, to develop policies that guide
decision-making, and to ensure consistent application of
those guidelines. Using this approach ‘slow’ becomes ‘fast’
because people are making better decisions from day one.
This approach as been shown to deliver inventory
optimization opportunities exceeding 30% of the entire
inventory, not just a small subset, with those savings being
maintained over time.
Go To Next Article Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page

Stores Purchasing Parts & Materials News
Stores, Purchasing,
Parts, and Materials. NEWS
New Alliance Extends and Simplifies Access to
Spare Parts Management Tools and Services -
New network to provide central hub for all aspects
of spare parts management
Phillip Slater, the Founder of SparePartsKnowHow.
com, has announced the creation of the Spare
Parts Alliance, an initiative that will simplify access
to spare parts management tools and services for
anyone involved in spare parts management. The
alliance brings together non-competitive organizations
providing complementary services in the area of spare
parts management.
At the launch of the alliance Mr. Slater also announced
that the British company sparesFinder has joined the
alliance as a foundation member.
This alliance creates an extended network of
trusted providers of tools and services and provides
three major benefits for practitioners in spare parts
management. First, practitioners will be exposed
to trusted vendors that they might not otherwise
meet. Second, this will significantly improve their
procurement efficiency and cut procurement times.
Third, they will ultimately benefit from improved spare
parts management with reduced costs and greater
parts availability.
As part of the announcement David Stroud, the
CEO of sparesFinder said, ‘Phillip Slater is a world
leader in the area of spare parts management and
has built SparePartsKnowHow.com into a unique
online resource center for spare parts management
practitioners and we are delighted to be associated
with the site’.
‘In particular we were attracted by the global reach that
the site has achieved in a relatively short time and we
want to be part of that reach into the future. By joining
this alliance we expect to gain even further exposure
56
AMMJ July 2014
to the global community of spare parts management
professionals. In turn, this means that more companies will
be able to achieve their spare parts management goals.’
Mr. Slater added, ‘ Our vision is to become the central hub
for anyone involved in spare parts management, anywhere
in the world. In addition to our own online resource center
and associated consulting and training, with this alliance
our clients and subscribers will be introduced to service
providers that they can trust because they are part of the
alliance. This will, in turn, shorten their procurement cycles
and help them achieve better results. All they need to do is
contact us and we will direct them to the right service.’
‘From the supplier side, our subscriber base now extends
to 112 countries and the flagship resource center at
SparePartsKnowHow.com is widely recognized as the
premier location for spare parts management resources
and online training’.
“Over time we intend to extend this alliance through the
inclusion of more non-competitive, complementary, and
industry targeted providers.’
www.SparePartsKnowHow.com/SPA
pslater@InitiateAction.com
About SparePartsKnowHow.com
SparePartsKnowHow.com was launched in 2012 and is
online resource center specifically developed to assist
practitioners involved in spare parts management. For
more information please visit
www.SparePartsKnowHow.com.
About sparesFinder
sparesFinder helps companies solve materials data
challenges and provides the tools needed to deliver
significant savings beyond data cleaning. sparesFinder
has more than 15 years’ experience of working with
multinational companies in over 90 countries and in many
languages. visit www.sparesfinder.com.
Go To Next Article Go To Contents Page
Spare Parts Pricing Made Easier with
New Lifecycle Feature from Syncron
Aftermarket management company, Syncron, has launched updates
to its pricing software including dynamic lifecycle classification, new
diagrams and an item segmentation wizard.
With dynamic lifecycle classification, price analyst can automatically
assign the lifecycle stage to items imported into the Syncron global
price management system. The functionality also validates and
updates the lifecycle stage into the future. Considering the lifecycle
of an item is critical to pricing for aftermarket and spare parts.
The lifecycle of the equipment drives demand for its spare parts. As
the equipment is replaced, demand for the spare parts also declines.
“Using the stages of lifecycle when pricing an item enables price
analysts to proactively adjust to changing competitive market
conditions,” says Per Almberg, Global Price Management Product
Manager, Syncron. “Utilizing optimized pricing strategies at each
stage helps companies improve margin and sales.”
The latest release of Syncron’s pricing software also includes an
improved view of price waterfalls throughout the whole supply chain
for different sales tiers. The price waterfall diagram can be used for
a single customer or aggregated for a group of customers. The price
waterfall is an effective tool to identify the causes of margin leakage.
The diagram is a visual representation of price adjustments from
the base or market price to the pocket margin, including discounts,
rebates, and cost elements.
”Seeing how various price adjustments impact your margin can help
you identify opportunities for profit. Price waterfall diagrams make
it very easy to analyze the aggregated revenue and profit,” says
Johan Östlin, Pricing Consultancy Manager, Syncron. ”Often, only
a few factors influence margin. With these diagrams, you can see
variations between customers so that you can take specific action to
increase your profit.”
In addition, the release includes a new pricing wizard. This wizard
guides the user through item classification, adding value drivers for
pricing and segmentation of similar items.
The ability to dynamically identify and update an item or parts
lifecycle stage and visualize the price waterfall for a single customer
increases efficiency for aftermarket and spare parts manufacturers.
With these enhancements, Syncron expands its service to the
aftermarket, which is an area of expertise for the company. Syncron
customers using version 14.1 are already benefiting from these
enhancements.
www.syncron.com.
Go To Last Page
 Stores, Purchasing, Parts, and Materials.
Stores Purchasing Parts & Materials News
Innovative System Fills Expensive Gap in
Spare Parts Management
Inventory management constitutes one of the largest
investments on the corporate balance sheet. Yet
research shows that the majority of spare parts that
companies keep on hand are inactive, non-critical or
obsolete. Many of those held in excess are likely to
never be used. Research also indicates that nearly
a quarter of the spare parts that companies need
most are not regularly held in inventory, resulting in
expensive spot buys and expediting charges.
MaxUp Advantage is a specialized system for
identifying and managing critical spare parts and
machinery. It is designed to fill in gaps in most ERP,
CMMS, and Spare Parts Management Systems. The
unique features of this system provide:
• Appropriate replenishment level algorithms
specifically designed for spare parts inventory.
• Criticality levels of parts to determine what needs
to be stocked.
• Association of parts to equipment and identification
of machine criticality levels.
• Probability of part failure to proactively schedule
predictive maintenance.
• Specialized spare parts suppliers many of which
provide OEM equivalent parts.
• The ability to upload existing inventory to identify
potentially critical parts, excess and insufficient
stock levels.
• Better management controls for repair and
warranty parts
MaxUp Advantage is a broadly adaptable product
specifically designed by reliability engineers to
manage inventory efficiently and minimize downtime.
Companies that have implemented Max Up
Advantage see immediate results: active spare parts
inventory optimized, obsolete inventory identified,
and spot buys decreased.
For more information, please visit our website:
57 www.maxupadvantage.com
AMMJ
57
October 2012
AMMJ July 2014
Availability of spare parts a top priority top area of improvement cited by 51% of survey respondents.
for Australian miners This was above ‘product quality/reliability’ (42%) and ‘ability to
Australian miners consider availability of replacement parts to support cost reduction/minimisation’ (47%). However, Smee
be the most important criterion when choosing an equipment continues, “when it comes to winning new business, we found
supplier, new report finds.
the successful suppliers stood out when it came to their ability
In a recent survey of over 110 mine managers, maintenance to build long-term relationships, understand their customer
managers, procurement managers and other key decision- needs and provide better maintenance and service than the
makers currently working in over 90 Australian mines, ‘availability competition.”
of replacement parts’ was one of the top two factors when About this survey
choosing an equipment supplier. It was also the most frequently This information is based on Timetric’s new report: ‘Winning
cited area for improvement. Together with ‘product quality/ and Retaining Business in the Australian Mining Equipment
reliability’ these two factors were consistently rated higher Sector, 2014’. The report is published under Timetric’s Mining
than any other factors when choosing an equipment supplier, Intelligence Center (IC) ( https://timetric.com/sectors/mining/ ).
regardless of location, mine method, or commodity. The Mining IC provides critical, forward-looking market
In the survey respondents were asked to rate the importance of
intelligence to support clients’ investment strategies and
16 factors that could be categorised in cost, product attributes, customer targeting. Delivering accurate, comprehensive and
and supplier attributes and capabilities. Apart from ‘availability of
timely information on projects, purchasing behavior, commodities
parts’ (rated an average 8.82 out of 10) other highly rated factors and markets, the service enables clients to identify new
included: ‘product quality/reliability’ (9.13), ‘on time delivery’
opportunities, predict developments in their markets and adapt to
(8.14), ‘maintenance and service costs’ (7.92) and ‘average customers’ future needs.
total operating hours’ (7.84). While some of the lowest rated
factors were: ‘Lowest price’ (6.30), ‘breadth of
supplier’s range’ (6.05), and a ‘complete service
solution’ (6.78). Generally factors relating to
product attributes, and supplier attributes were
more highly rated than factors relating to cost,
with respondents placing more importance on
high quality equipment that could support the
efficient operation of a mine rather than being
the lowest-cost equipment available.
In regards to satisfaction with their suppliers,
many of the respondents gave their current
suppliers high satisfaction ratings due to their
ability to deliver spare parts, with comments
such as: “Parts delivered on time”, “immediately
availability of spare parts” and “more parts
available in quicker time frames.”
According to Cliff Smee, Analyst at Timetric,
“the key for improving customer satisfaction
is by providing a high quality, reliable product
and supporting that product with widely
available parts together with cost reductions/
minimisation.” When looking at areas for
improvement, ‘availability of parts’ was the
Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page

Research Papers and
Detailed Technical
Reports
Each issue of the AMMJ includes a section dedicated
to research and new technology in the fields of asset
management, maintenance, maintenance engineering,
reliability, condition monitoring, plant engineering, general plant
equipment, tools, energy, HVAC, plant services, bearings,
compressed air systems, lighting, training, environment, etc..
The publication of technical reports, thesis and project reports
in the fields of maintenance and reliability has in the past been
very much neglected.
The AMMJ can now provide an outlet for your work in these
fields. Each selected Paper or Report will be published in full
(as received) in the form of a Downloadable PDF.
The AMMJ does not ask for exclusivity and you are free to
publish your papers in other publications as well as the AMMJ.
To Submit your Research Paper or Technical Report to the AMMJ email
as a PDF to: editor@theammj.com
58
AMMJ July 2014 Go To Next Item
Water Utilities - Asset Management Download
Performance Improvement Project (Summary Report)
Thirty seven (37) water sector utilities participated in this project 11 Pages
from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Philippines and the United PDF Size 980 KB
States of America, providing a unique opportunity for international asset
management process comparison and learning.
The project was co-sponsored by the International Water Association (IWA), and
delivered through a consultant consortium led by GHD Pty Ltd and including
Marchment Hill Consulting and CH2MHill. The project purpose was to raise the
level of asset management practice in the global water industry through identifying
process improvements and leading practices that can be shared across the
industry.
Maintenance Costs: Comparative Analysis
Download
Between Diesel vs CNG Fuelled Vehicles
The purpose of this paper is to compare and analyse maintenance 12 Pages
and operation costs between two technologies of urban buses: PDF Size 700 KB
Diesel and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fuelled vehicles, with
the same or nearly identical characteristics and exposed to similar operating
conditions such as service speed, stops per kilometre, and passenger loading and
sustained under the same maintenance program.
Data from a real fleet were analysed from the management tool Life Cycle Cost.
Results obtained show that maintenance costs have been higher for CNG vehicles
but operating cost have been lower regarding the period considered that it has
been two years. This analysis can help maintenance managers obtain an accurate
evaluation of the trade-off between costs and benefits related to alternative vehicle
technologies. Prof. Jorge Luiz de Sá Riechi, M.Eng jorgeriechi@gmail.com
How Four-Channel Measurements Diagnosed Download
a Ghost Frequency Issue
This paper describes a case study where machinery vibration 8 Pages
PDF Size 910KB
data was measured and tests were performed using the
CSI 2410 analyzer. Measurements were taken during steady state and shutdown
of multiple machines. Measurement and analysis was complete in hours rather
than days. Efficiency and comprehensive analysis enabled the technicians to see
a problem: a ghost frequency. The key was the CSI 2140 4-channel collection
capability with a tachometer available simultaneously on a separate channel.
Technicians completed the tests and make plans to resolve the ghost-frequency
issue.
The AMMJ publishes these papers as received and does not accept
any liabilities in regards to the contents of the above papers.
Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page
 AMMJ
This AMMJ you are
currently viewing is
a Complimentary
version of the AMMJ
• It is for personal use only.
• It is not for use in company
or government
departments.
• It cannot be printed nor
pages, images or text
extracted.
Become a paying subscriber
now & gain all the benefites
of being an AMMJ Member
59
AMMJ July 2014
WE NEED YOUR FINANCIAL HELP !!
SUBSCRIBE to the AMMJ Now
If you become a “Paying
Subscriber” to the AMMJ you
will have the following general
member’s benefites:
• Each AMMJ issue remain accessible
to you via the AMMJ website or can
be saved within your own system.
• The AMMJ will be easily downloaded,
saved to your system, easily printed,
pages/sections extracted, etc.
• You will have access to the AMMJ’s
Knowledge Centre which will contain
years of back issues of the AMMJ
and hundreds of articles and papers.
See a Listing/Contents of Back Issues at:
www.theammj.com/BackIssues.pdf
Prices are in US$ or AUD$
Download a SUBSCRIPTION FORM from:
www.theammj.com/subscribe.pdf
Go To Next Item
SILVER Membership
Annual Subscription: $120
Provides the general subscriber benefites for an
Individual Subscriber.
GOLD Membership
Annual Subscription: $180
A subsciption covering persons associated with a single
company, a government department, a library, a college/
university, a utility, mine site, etc. The AMMJ can be
loaded to the site’s intranet or Internet.
PLATINUM Membership
Annual Subscription: $380
A subsciption for any employees of major “multi site”
organisations, corporations and government bodies.
The AMMJ can be loaded to the organisation’s internet/
intranet.
Platinum subscribers will also be provided with a 10%
discount on any advertising they place in the AMMJ (for
example if publicising your Major Corporate Initiatives,
advertising for Job Vacancies, Call For Tenders, etc.).
Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page
 AMMJ
Advertising in The AMMJ
Download the AMMJ Media Kit From:
www.theammj.com/advertising.pdf

General Information Len Bradshaw

Publisher / Editor
Wanted For Future AMMJ’s Your Articles, editor@theammj.com
News, and Papers on:
Maintenance and Asset Management, Reliability
t a tements and Maintainability, Maintenance Research, Design, We Want Your
f o r s
b mitted: p
y
onsibilit , features, Condition Monitoring, CMMS, Plant Engineering,
Mater i a l S u
pt n o r e s
les Articles, News &
b li s h e rs acce ressed in artic editorial Services, Factory Services, Stores and Parts
The Pu opinions exp nd any other
r Management, Building Maintenance, Tools and Research Papers
a
made o d advertising r for The AMMJ
u b m it t e it t in g items fo y Equipment, People & Recruitment, Spares & Stores.
s tions. bm an
contribu it y o f t hose su rial is clear of the Send to editor@theammj.com
il te
t h e r e sponsib re that all ma s publication in From a half page news
It is t u
o ens t may affect it
a t io n
public t issues tha item to a dozen paged
h o es not er
copyrig M M J d th article or even a 100 page
AMMJ. li c a t io ns the A r material in o MMJ.
b u A
ome pu hing yo d in the Published by technical report.
Unlike s ou from publis been publishe
y
restrict nsafter it has Engineering Information Transfer Pty Ltd For General Enquiries,
tio
publica e Be a regular contributor
a r t o f it may b mitted Publication Dates: Advertising, Articles
to the AMMJ.
ght: op ns
Copyri c o p y right. N l system or tra , Bi-Monthly - Published in the and News
is
is p u b lication d in a retrieva ding electronic ise, 1st week of each bimonthly period. email to
Th
d u c e d , store e
lu
ans, inc ording or othe lisher or
rw
Len Bradshaw
p r o y m
r e
orm by
a n
ying, re
c
f the pu
b Next Issue - September 2014
in any f ical, photocop permission o bscription. Includes the Maintenance and Reliability
n u
mechan he prior writte plicable to a s Listing for 2014. If you want to participate in
t p
without e conditions a this listing contact editor@theammj.com
h
within t ISSN 1835-7903 (Online)
Stores, Purchasing,
Publishers Parts & Materials
Engineering Information Transfer Pty Ltd Send your Articles and
News for this Section to
For General Enquiries Contact: Phillip Slater
Articles and News From Around The World of
Maintenance, Reliability, Asset Management, mail@theammj.com
Plant Engineering, MRO and Stores. Readers Phillip Slater
Editor
from Over 130 Countries. MRO & Spare Parts Management
pslater@InitiateAction.com
60

AMMJ July 2014 Go To Contents Page Go To Last Page