The finger pointing in Flint Michigan has already begun and it’s likely to reach and cross several levels of Michigan’s government. We have developed a society where it has become more important to find out who is to blame, than it is to find out what happened and how we can be sure it never happens again.

Regardless of what you may have read in the papers or seen on the news the effects of lead poisoning are real. Chronic lead poisoning over time like one would expect from a contaminated water source results in damage to every part of the human body and lasts a lifetime. [Read more…]

by James Kovacevic Leave a Comment

Speaking the Same Maintenance & Reliability Language

The Importance of Understanding the Terms and Definitions of the Maintenance & Reliability Language

Imagine being asked to discuss a breakdown during a production meeting. Only you are not aware of a breakdown, but production is claiming there was one and it could have been prevented by some Preventative Maintenance. You ask what equipment the breakdown was on and check the records. The records show there was a minor corrective action on the equipment last night, but not a breakdown.

After some discussion, the production manager explains that there was a leak, and the line had to be stopped to repair the leak. You know that a leak is not a breakdown, and will not impact production. The production manager saw a leak and assumed it was a breakdown. The end result was an unplanned outage lasting 30 minutes. [Read more…]

by Mike Sondalini 1 Comment

Pulse Jet Bag House Dust Collectors

In this article on pulse jet bag house dust collectors we cover twelve factors spanning their design and operation.

A bag house dust collector is used to separate dust from a dust-contaminated gas stream. The gas is filtered through bags made of fabric. The fabric traps and filters out the dust while the cleaned gas passes through. The fabric consists of either woven or intertwined (felted) fibres. The bag fibre is selected for its ability to give a long working life within the internal environment of the dust collector. [Read more…]

by Fred Schenkelberg 2 Comments

To Improve Reliability Get Good at Change Management

The process to design and deliver a reliable product involves identifying risks. Taking action to understand or mitigate those risks involves much of the day to day work of reliability engineering.

Taking action to set expectations and improve decisions involves change. Change of understanding, change of specifications, change of expectations, change of designs, processes, and results.

It is the changes, big and small, that occur that achieve the desired results for the customer and organization.

You also know that not every suggestion is greeted warmly. Not every proposal is funded. Not every recommendation is accepted. [Read more…]

by Doug Plucknette 1 Comment

Scoring Your RCM Effort

Like it or not we live in a society where we like to keep score. The score provides feedback; it gives those who are not involved information on the progress or success of those who are involved. The score can be delivered in an endless number of formats, the price of your company stock, net profits, unit cost of product, overall equipment effectiveness, or percent emergency/demand maintenance. In the world of Reliability Centered Maintenance RCM Guru Jack Nicholas gathered a team of experts several years ago to develop the RCM Scorecard. The result of this effort was a comprehensive tool that evaluated Key Performance Indicators at various periods before and during an RCM Project. [Read more…]

by James Kovacevic Leave a Comment

Reaching the Full Potential of Your CMMS

Getting Your Technicians to Use the CMMS as Part of the Daily Routine

The CMMS is often looked at as a tool for planners, engineers and managers, but that is only partially true. The CMMS is a powerful tool for the technicians as well. But getting the technicians to use the CMMS can be a difficult journey, and can blow up in your face if is it not rolled out and communicated properly. As with other best practices, having the technicians use the CMMS is not easy, but by doing so you can dramatically improve the performance of the operation. [Read more…]

by Mike Sondalini Leave a Comment

Components of an Effective Maintenance System

If you are ever in the fortunate position of developing a maintenance system from the beginning, the list below will help you focus your efforts. Maintenance systems in small business, develop by default and without much forethought. This list puts together, in one place, the important components of a workable maintenance system. [Read more…]

by Doug Plucknette 1 Comment

Is Technology Failing Me?

I no sooner accepted the meeting notice for a public training event in Europe that my mind began to race. The dates were setting off bells in my head for some reason so I pulled out my cell phone and checked my calendar.

The only thing now scheduled for those dates were the training events in Europe yet for some reason I still could not let go of the thought that I had something else scheduled for those dates. [Read more…]

by James Kovacevic Leave a Comment

Leverage the Data within Your CMMS

Unlock the Potential of Your CMMS by Accessing the Data Within

If you have properly selected and implemented your CMMS, you have the ability to truly make significant improvements in your operation. This is made a reality by using the data within the CMMS to make data driven decisions instead of intuition or feelings. This ensures the business resources are spent on the most important and strategic issues for the business.

In order to leverage the data within your CMMS, you have to ensure the data can be captured and reported easily. This is usually done during the implementation phase. [Read more…]

by Mike Sondalini Leave a Comment

Changing Out Dust Bags in Reverse Pulse Dust Collectors

Changing out dust bags in reverse pulse dust collectors. The dust bags in pulse jet dust collectors require replacement if damaged and leaking or if blinded by the product. This work procedure indicates the process and methods to use to change-out and replace dust bags and cages in a dust collector. Keywords: tube plate, bag collar, air manifold, air plenum.

Clean out product in the plenum.
Mark-up a tube plate map showing the location of all blocked-off bags or leaking bags and hand-in with the work order on completion.
Lift cages out square to tube plate without damaging the cage collar. Use tee-handle hook tool that fits down the bag and hooks onto the cage wire ring two down from the top.
Remove the bags if they don’t come out with the cage.
Clean top AND underside of tube plate back to clean metal.

[Read more…]

by James Kovacevic Leave a Comment

Plant the Seeds for Tomorrow: Implementing a CMMS

Most CMMS’ Fail at the Implementation Phase, Don’t Let This Be You

Most organizations only use 50% of their CMMS’s capabilities. This is for a variety of reasons, but one of the largest reasons, is that the CMMS was not setup, configured or implemented correctly. If the implementation of the CMMS was not done properly, the usability and information in the CMMS limits its potential.

How can you prevent the implementation from failing or delivering sub-par results? There are a few ways to ensure a successful CMMS implementation. This post will cover the 2 main ways to ensure a successful implementation. [Read more…]

by Mike Sondalini 3 Comments

Bronze — Use the Right One in the Right Place

By Richard Lang of Abonnel Precision Engineering

This quarter we would talk a little about bronzes, their properties and applications. One of our readers said they occasionally hear people refer to a brass bush when in fact they want a bronze bush and could we write something on this. Lets also look at the range of materials one may come across:

Leaded Gun Metal (LG2)
Aluminium Bronze
High tensile brass
Phosphor Bronze (PB1)
Manganese bronze
Brass

[Read more…]

by Doug Plucknette Leave a Comment

5 Tips to Kick-Start Continuous Improvement Implementation

I’m currently working with a large company on a continuous improvement project that started a few months ago with a detailed analysis on some of their critical assets. Within one weeks’ time we had a list of over 250 recommendations that needed to be implemented and performed in order to recognize an improved and sustained level of productivity that would provide a quick return on investment and lower the unit cost of their product.

Two months ago I was highly confident they would jump right on completing the recommended tasks. [Read more…]

by James Kovacevic 1 Comment

The Right Way to Select the Right CMMS

Selecting the Right CMMS can mean the Difference between Success and Failure

Imagine spending $100,000s or $1,000,000s on a software package that is supposed to improve your maintenance operation. A few years later you still have not seen any improvement and you did not generate any return on investment with the software. This happens every day when businesses select the wrong the CMMS.

Selecting a CMMS can be an overwhelming task, especially when so much rides upon the success of CMMS. You can read reviews and select a CMMS based on those, but the CMMS may not be the right one for you. The CMMS has to be fit for your business / operation or you will not see the right results. Thankfully there are two ways to select the right CMMS. [Read more…]

by Mike Sondalini 1 Comment