Editorial

So you think you have the right Maintenance Program?

Maintenance StrategyMany organizations feel that if they can move from reactive to preventive maintenance they are headed on the right path, and that this in turn means they are on the road to proactive maintenance. However, as has been demonstrated by many studies, in excess of 80 percent of all failures are random. Therefore, time-based preventive maintenance (PM) programs will not be effective because you will, in most cases, be doing too much work too soon or too little work too late.

Over the past few decades, the demands placed on maintenance have been changing. In leading companies today maintenance is no longer viewed as a cost center, but rather is expected to contribute to the strategic goals of the company. In today

SPYDERVISION FROM SENSONICS

DN36 Spyder RangeThe DN36 Spyder range of machine monitoring and protection equipment and the SpyderNet plug in and play monitor are available from condition monitoring specialists Sensonics Ltd.

Photo Caption:  DN36 Spyder gives remote monitoring of up to 8 channels

The complete DN36 family is line stackable to ensure rapid system integration/installation and minimal wiring requirements and can be connected to any Ethernet network to provide remote monitoring via standard Internet tools.  DIN rail mounting to either 35mm or G type DIN rails, ensures that monitors can be mounted in panels with other equipment or positioned locally in a junction box to the machine to be monitored.

Suitable for monitoring many types of rotating machinery, including turbines, motors, pumps and fans etc the complete DN36 Series offers dual channel monitoring, providing

Root Cause Analysis is more Effective After Basics are Implemented

Maintenance Engineer Article Written By Idhammar Reliability & Maintenance Management Consultants.

Many reactive organizations conclude that RCA is the first agenda item for improving reliability. But after completing a few root cause activities, it's obvious that the results will point to already-known problem areas, such as inferior preventive maintenance (PM) and planning and scheduling. The initial reasoning to start an RCA initiative often follows this train of thought: We have a lot of equipment breakdowns, so . . . step one should be to analyze those breakdowns in order to . . . identify the root cause of the breakdowns in order to . . . eliminate the root causes.

It sounds logical and reasonable when presented this way, but if basic PMs and planning and scheduling aren't in place, most RCAs will point to these deficiencies. Typical outcomes of analyses fall on the wrong amount or type of lubrication, shaft misalignment, unbalanced equipment, missed inspections and overhauls. The "human" or "process" causes often relate to poorly planned work orders.

 

 

Planned Preventative Maintenance

TM SparesEntrusting business processes to dedicated service providers who can perform them more efficiently and cost effectively, allows organisations more freedom to innovate and specialise, pursuing excellence in their core business field.It could take as many as 20

Chewing gum manufacturer eliminates unplanned downtime

Schaeffler Reducing DowntimeBy installing bearing lubricators and vibration monitoring equipment on its production machinery, chewing gum maker Gumlink has eliminated bearing defects and unplanned stoppages.

Gumlink A/S, based in Denmark, develops, produces and sells chewing gum products. The company was established in 1915 and currently employs around 600 people and has an annual turnover of around

Proviso Systems Ltd

Proviso Systems Ltd is a company that takes its mission very seriously to change the way the UK performs maintenance. We are committed to offering "Total Service Solutions" to your industry. Based upon extensive industrial knowledge, the Directors and staff of Proviso Systems recognise that now is the time for a totally innovative approach to condition monitoring and the field of predictive maintenance.
We are one of the premier services organisations in the UK because we offer more than technical expertise. We also put the power of choice in your hands ... and we are growing rapidly, so we can respond faster than ever before. Proviso Systems gives you choices. We help you implement individual technologies, or you can take advantage of our turnkey, multi-technology contract.

Sensor Reduces Costs at Chemical Plant

pH monitoring system.  Wyatt Partney, senior controls systems technician at Eastman

LORD Corporation Announces New Portable Balancing Instrument and Vibration Analyzer

LORD Balance Check Designed with an intuitive user interface that makes it easy to use for beginners and experts alike, the LORD Balance Check can be used to detect unbalance, identify the correction capacity required to offset unbalance, and verify balance once it is restored. With its flexible instrument platform, the portable tool can be used in the field for machinery diagnostics, quality testing on production lines, vibration or FFT analysis, bump (rap) testing, and live signal recording. Such flexibility provides users with a single tool capable of providing effective maintenance, inspection and diagnostic solutions for a broad range of services.

The LORD Balance Check hardware is based on a high-performance handheld computer. The instrument uses a 400MHz XScale processor, large color display, easy operation function keys and has high-speed data acquisition capabilities through USB, IrDA & RS232. Designed with durability in mind, the rugged Balance

 

 

Condition Monitoring

Condition based maintenance is the best way to optimise machine availability and reduce production losses. SPM products utilise all three leading condition monitoring methods:

SPM, our patented Shock Pulse Method for monitoring ball and roller bearings. The easiest and most precise technique for measuring lubrication condition and bearing damage.
VIB, vibration severity monitoring based on ISO recommendations.

EVAM, our method for evaluated vibration analysis, including spectrum and machine fault symptom analysis plus machine-specific evaluation.
Very important for fast and economic condition assessment is the automatic evaluation of all condition data:
Green - yellow - red status indication on all measuring points!