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Uptime Feb-Mar_2009.indd 67Uptime Feb-Mar_2009.indd 67 1/23/09 8:41:52 PM1/23/09 8:41:52 PM

Anchoring Reliability inLean Manufacturing Principles

Tale of a Maximo Upgrade

Common Reasons for PdM Failure

The Value of Inside Consulting

Seeing Sound: A Visual Acoustic Analysis Case Study

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upclose lean manufacturing forms a solid anchor for reliability programs

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information technology maxing out a software upgrade

infrared knowing transmission rate ensures accurate data

lubrication doing homework on oil mist at a petrochem plant

maintenance management why PdM programs fail

motor testing the challenge of crafting standards

precision maintenance better than just proactive

reliability finding value on the inside

ultrasound gain a new perspective

vibration the acoustic analysis advantage

upgrade building better bearing isolators

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Web Exclusive Articles www.uptimemagazine.com/uptime

Taking Reliability Beyond Time & Space Read about how the latest technology, including PDA’s, Smart Phones, Text and Instant Messaging can help avoid downtime and, in the process, elevate your PdM program to higher levels

New Tools for Analyzing Grease SamplesNew methods have been developed that allow analysis of small quantities of grease (as little as 1 gram) to determine grease mixing, contamination, wear and oxidation.

Well, the first quarter of 2009 has come and gone. How are things looking for your company, and more particularly, for your maintenance department?

I have just returned from RCM/EAM/MTrain-2009 in Daytona Beach, a collocated conference with focuses on reliability centered maintenance, enterprise asset management and maintenance training. To my knowledge, this was the first maintenance focused conference to take place in 2009. Many others were scheduled, but as I understand it, could not draw enough people to actually be held.

That alone gives you an idea of the state of the maintenance and reliability industry. I applaud the companies that sent personnel to the conference in Daytona, and I have a sneaking suspicion that they may be the ones who will be leading the pack in their respective industries when the economy picks up steam again. Making education and training a priority in the face of rough economic times is the epitome of proactive maintenance, and those companies that forge ahead with training are to be commended.

But we certainly understand that not every company can do that, which is why Uptime strives to bring you information that will help you, in the here and now, to increase your knowledge and performance. Not only in our printed issue, but in our digital issue and on our newly super-enhanced website. Uptime 2.0 has arrived. We invite you to buckle your seat belts and take us for a test drive.

All of the articles you see in the magazine are posted on the website, where you can post comments about them, read our guest bloggers, participate in forums and more. We hope you will become a valuable member of our maintenance and reliability community by using our improved website to connect with fellow maintenance professionals in order to learn, teach and share experiences. By participating, you can help expand our community’s knowledge and reach.

The majority of us are being required to do more with less (something we thought we were doing even before this economic downturn). This month’s feature article by Andy Page (page 8) connects the dots from Lean Manufacturing to Reliability, and we hope you can put some of the ideas from the article to immediate use. Continuing in the more with less theme, Steve Thomas’s article (page 46) provides some keen insight on tapping into internal resources to help drive reliability initiatives.

No matter what the business environment, we can all continue to push for continuous improvement, and I sincerely hope that Uptime can help you on your journey to better maintenance.

I hope you enjoy this issue. As always, thank you for reading. We appreciate your support, and hope you find value within these pages and on our newly revamped website. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions that will make Uptime more useful to you, please let us know.

up

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Moving Forward uptimePUBLISHER

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EDITOR IN CHIEFJeffrey C Shuler

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volume 4, issue 34

Ron EshlemanGreg StocktonRay ThibaultJack Nicholas, Jr.Dr. Howard Penrose

James HallAlan JohnstonJay Lee, PhDJohn MitchellJason Tranter

april/may 20096

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Uptime Magazine PO Box 60075, Ft. Myers, FL 33906.

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APPENDICES

TAKE HOME WORKSHOPS

PROGRAM:Selecting the RightImprovement Tools Master ClassCLASS:What Tool? When?by Ron MooreDATE & LOCATION:

Call toll free (888) 575-1245 or visit www.maintenanceconference.com

DAYONE8:30am-10:15am Manufacturing Excellence – The Basics

10:15am-10:30am Break

10:30am-11:15am Workshop: Current Tools in Use,Benefits, Problems

11:15am-12:30pm The Hawthorne Effect; The Pygmalion Effect;The Beginning and End; Business Level FMEA - Selecting the right improvement projects and tools; Business Level FMEA – Case Studies

12:30pm-1:15pm Lunch

1:15pm-2:45pm Lean Manufacturing

2:45pm-3:00pm Break

3:00pm-4:15pm Workshop – Business Level FMEA

4:15pm-5:00pm Summary and Close

DAYTWO8:30am-9:00am Discussion, Questions and Comments

9:00am-10:15am Six Sigma; Supply Chain Management - Two Approaches

10:15am-10:30am Break

10:30am-12:15pm Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM), plus:

12:15pm-1:00pm Lunch

1:00pm-2:30pm Workshop: Case Studies – What would you do?

2:30pm-2:45pm Break

2:45pm-3:45pm Root Cause Analysis; PerformanceMeasurement Cascade

3:45pm-4:30pm Workshop: Personal Reflection and Action Plan

4:30pm-5:00pm Summary

5:00pm Close

by Andy Page, CMRP

april/may 20098

The concepts contained within Lean Manufacturing are not limited merely

to production systems. These concepts translate directly into the world of maintenance and reliability.

RELIABILITY

LEAN

MANUFACTURINGand

LINKING

9

t the core of Lean Manufacturing philosophy is the concept of elimination of waste. It is about getting precisely the right resources to precisely the right

place and at the right time to make only the necessary products in the most efficient manner possible.

The concepts of the elimination of waste can be easily traced to Benjamin Franklin. Poor Richard encouraged the concepts of elimination of waste in numerous ways. Adages like “Waste not, want not”, “A penny saved is two pence clear…Save and have” and “He that idly loses 5s. [shillings] worth of time, loses 5s., and might as prudently throw 5s. into the river.” Yes, it was Benjamin Franklin that educated us about the possibility that avoiding un-necessary costs could return more profit than simply increasing total sales.

It was Henry Ford who took the concept of the elimination of waste and integrated it into daily operations at his manufactur-ing facilities. Mr. Ford’s attitude can be seen in his books My Life and Work (1922) and in Today and Tomorrow (1926) where he describes the folly of waste and introduces the world to Just-In-Time manufacturing. Mr. Ford cites inspiration from Benjamin Franklin as part of the foundation of these concepts.

However, it wasn’t until Toyota’s Chief Engineer, Taiichi Ohno systematized these concepts and the concept of pull (kanban) into the Toyota Production System and created a cohesive production philosophy focused on the elimination of waste, that the world was able to see the real power of Lean Manufacturing. Interest-ingly enough, when Mr. Ohno was asked about the inspiration of his system, he merely laughed and said he read most of it in Henry Ford’s book.

Part 1 of this paper will focus on one very specific Lean Manu-facturing method known as 5S. This section will detail how a 5S initiative focusing on a plant’s preventive maintenance program can immediately unlock resources within that maintenance de-partment and make the preventive maintenance process signifi-cantly more effective and efficient. Part 2 will look at the Deadly Wastes (muda) of manufacturing and how elimination of these wastes is also a focus of the reliability process. Part 3 will discuss the overall objectives of Lean Manufacturing and parallel them with the overall objectives of the reliability process. Part 4 will discuss poka-yoke (mistake proofing) and see how several stan-dard maintenance techniques are, in fact, poka-yoke techniques. A brief discussion of kaizen and how both Lean Manufacturing and Maintenance and Reliability initiatives share these very same goals and objectives will summarize the article.

www.uptimemagazine.com

A

april/may 2009

Yet another way to look at this concept with regard to ‘order’ is the concept of load level-ing the PM tasks, operator care and inspec-tion tasks and lubrication tasks. The tasks are grouped by functional area within the plant and then arranged to insure that each person has about the same load or amount of tasks to complete and that the tasks are grouped and arranged to be completed in the most ef-ficient manor possible.

Seiso – Shine and Scrub (cleanliness)

Lean Application: The workplace must always be as clean as possible, giving the workplace a tell-at-a-glance visual so that a visual “sweep” reveals any out-of-place item. Waste and trash must be dealt with quickly. Machines must be kept clean making leaks and other defects more easily recognized.

PM Application: When “cleaning out” a pre-ventive maintenance (PM) program, it should be scrubbed of all tasks that do not specifi-cally address a failure mode or do not pass a simple cost/benefit analysis. More specifical-ly, it should be a failure mode that is appropri-ate for preventive maintenance tasks. Weibull analysis of failure data should show a strong

10

these tasks can be reassigned to other mainte-nance functions like working down the ready backlog.

Seiton – Straighten (orderliness)

Lean Application: The workplace must be ar-ranged in a systematic manner that will en-courage efficiency and will reduce unnecessary travel and/or motion—a place for everything, and everything in its place, clean and ready for use with the minimum motion. Things should be placed where they best meet their functional purpose.1

PM Application: Another 30% of the tasks con-tained within most PM programs should be reassigned either to operations or to a lubri-cation route. Some of these tasks are gener-ally classified as “Asset Care” tasks and should be performed by an operator. Other general inspection tasks should be reassigned to op-erators once they have completed task quali-fication training. Lubrication tasks should be reassigned to a lubrication route where a trained lubrication technician can ensure that the task is performed to industry best prac-tices standards.

5S5S is the name given to the Lean Manufactur-ing method for the clearing out of all unneces-sary things to allow room for the acquisition of tools and parts in the fastest and easiest man-ner. A comparison of 5S methodology with an evaluation and optimization of a preven-tive maintenance program at a plant quickly shows how similar these processes are.

Seiri – Sort (tidiness and/or organize)

Lean Concept: The workplace is rid of any-thing that is unnecessary. Tools and parts are sorted, only the essential items are kept and they are then sorted and stored by frequency of use. This makes the workplace uncluttered, safer and enables organization for productive work.

Preventive Maintenance (PM) Application: Studies agree that somewhere between 30% and 50% of the tasks in most preventive main-tenance programs are non-value added and should be removed. These tasks actually cost more to perform than the benefit they yield. The labor associated with the completion of

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11www.uptimemagazine.com

that detail nominal measurements with mini-mum and/or maximum allowable limits. PM inspections should require the use of mea-surement tools such as calibers, micrometers and torque wrenches. “As Found” and “As Left” comments should be required fields and their responses catalogued in the CMMS pro-gram.

Performing a Preventive Maintenance Evalua-tion (PME) identifies the amount of waste in a PM program and also helps sort out which PM tasks can be reassigned to other teams within the maintenance and operations de-partments. It is a very quick and powerful assessment that can free up some manpower within the maintenance organization to be used for other things. Additionally, the PME process will identify how many tasks need to be optimized. A Preventive Maintenance Optimization (PMO) is the process of revis-iting those tasks that will remain in the PM program and making sure all task procedures are systematic, standardized and contain all of

Wear Out curve. This means that it truly is a wear out mechanism and a tradition-al interval based activity, or PM, should be applied to properly combat it. Fail-ure modes that exhibit a Weibull shape, indicating random failure patterns, are not good candidates for interval based PM activities. For these failure modes, a comprehensive inspection program is more appropriate. Condition monitor-ing technologies like infrared thermog-raphy, vibration analysis and oil analysis are very powerful tools for just such fail-ure modes and easily pass a cost/benefit analysis.

Seiketsu – Standardize

Lean Application: Everyone agrees to and documents critical standards for how the workplace is organized and who has re-sponsibility to maintain that organization.

PM Application: All of the tasks that remain in the PM program should follow the same agreed-to standard for format and content. All of the tasks should include a clear defini-tion of the task, specific steps, necessary safe-ty warnings, appropriate tools and required parts. Additionally, the tasks should contain a revision tracking mechanism and should have been through a technical review and ap-proval process. Also, the procedure should always provide for a feedback mechanism for the crafts personnel to make suggestions and corrections about the procedure. This mecha-nism creates a continuous improvement loop for the task procedure.

Shitsuke – Systematize, Sustain

Lean Application: Maintaining a culture of dis-cipline. Workplace standards are maintained day after day, and there is a system in place to ensure that 5S is sustained. Once attained, the workplace is kept safe and efficient.

PM Application: Creating a culture of disci-pline in the PM program requires systematiz-ing the program, requiring the tasks be of a nature that not only encourages craft person-nel response, but includes tasks that super-visors and managers perform to ensure that craft personnel know and follow the stan-dards. PM programs where the comments and recommendations of the crafts personnel are not acted on quickly become ineffective. In creating a systematic, sustainable PM pro-gram, all of the tasks should be quantitative in nature with specific, measurable activities

the necessary information for the task to be completed in the most orderly and efficient manner possible.

The PME and PMO are a very powerful com-bination of techniques that can be performed on a PM program. Once completed, the PM program will be rid of unnecessary tasks, tasks that don’t address a specific failure mode and tasks that are more appropriately assigned to other teams within the maintenance depart-ment or to other departments. Remaining tasks will be optimized for efficient comple-tion.

Table 2 details the analysis of a PM program and the number of craft personnel that can be freed up, reassigned or used for other things such as condition monitoring.

Many maintenance organizations complain about having insufficient manpower to be able to reduce their maintenance backlog. These same organizations also complain about not

PM Task Action Recommendation # of Tasks % of Tasks Man-Hours

Represented

Reassign to Operator Care 1,380 6.9% 5,605

Reassign to Lube Route 2,856 14.3% 11,600

Replace with PdM 6,437 32.2% 28,222

Re-Engineer 5,200 26.0% 26,221

No Modifi cations Required 2,487 10.4% 8,987

Totals 20,000 100.0% 87,297

Table 2 - Detailed analysis of a PM Program

1 - A Second Look At 5S, James Van Patten, Quality Progress, October 2006

Lean Manufacturing Defi nition Japanese Name English Translation

Preventive Maintenance EvaluationDefi nition

Organized: Distinguish between the less essential and the necessary.1

Seiri“Separate”

Step 1: Eliminate all non-value added tasks from the PM.

Neat: Put things where they best meet their functional purpose.1

Seiton“Straighten”

Step 2: Reassign appropriate tasks to opera-tions or to lubrication routes.

Clean: Inspect for and eliminate waste, dirt and damage.1

Seiso“Scrub”

Step 3: Eliminate all tasks that do not directly address a specifi c failure mode.

Standardized: Maintain known, agreed upon conditions.1

Seiketsu“Standardize”

Step 4: Insure all remaining tasks follow a standardized format including clear defi ni-tion, specifi c steps, necessary safety warn-ings, appropriate tools and required parts.

Disciplined: Practice the habit of doing what is required even if its diffi cult.1

Shitsuke “Systematize”

Step 5: Make sure all tasks are quantitative in nature with specifi c, measurable activities detailing nominal measurements with mini-mum and maximum allowable limits.1

Table 1 - Summarization of 5S concepts and their inter-connectedness.

april/may 200912

Elimination Strategy: The closer an organiza-tion moves to a proactive strategy, the fewer and fewer parts need to be kept on hand. As defects are discovered early and job plans are completed early, parts can then be ordered and delivered on-time and as-needed, instead of stored in the warehouse.

Motion

Lean Definition: Movement within a process.

Maintenance and Reliability Application: Once again we find ourselves focused on the wrench time of crafts personnel. Low wrench time is a major area where improvements can be quickly achieved. Most North American main-tenance organizations are surprised to learn that their wrench time is 20% - 35% or less. And even more shocked to learn that World Class is 55% - 60%. Most people guess that their maintenance crafts personnel average 70% and that 95% is possible. Improvements such as lower overtime and lower contract labor costs are easily possible with improved wrench time.

Elimination Strategy: Wrench time studies should be scheduled every year to see how the situation has changed/improved and what adjustments need to be made to make even more improvements. Items like im-proved planning, scheduling and parts kitting can make huge improvements to a facility’s wrench time percentage.

Processing Itself

Lean Definition: Stand alone processes that are not linked to upstream or downstream processes. Using complex machines and pro-cesses to do simple tasks. Not combining tasks to simplify the process. Essentially, ‘processing itself’ = process simplification.

Maintenance and Reliability Application: An excellent place to see the connection between Lean and Maintenance and Reliability for the concept of “process simplification” is the fact that there is no standardization of parts across like machines. Design engineers love to use the latest and greatest parts and designs. If there is truly a competitive advantage to be gained by using a new part, then like parts in the facility should be upgraded as well. If not, then the more standardized solution should be chosen at the time of design. Simply us-ing a different seal or impeller, just because it is new, can lead to unnecessary confusion and downtime when a repair is needed. An

having enough manpower to staff an internal PdM effort. And these same organizations complain about having a PM program that is too big, too difficult to manage, and does not produce any results, i.e. doesn’t reduce un-planned downtime. By applying the 5S anal-ogy to their PM program, companies more ef-fectively achieve and sustain the benefits of their PM effort.

Muda

Muda is “waste”. In the context of Lean Manu-facturing muda is the elimination of waste and is the core of the Toyota Production System. In maintenance and reliability terms, muda refers generally to the concept of wasted re-sources spent in inappropriate maintenance strategies and poor execution of daily main-tenance activities.

Before wastes can be eliminated they must be identified. And for each type of waste there is a specific strategy surrounding its elimina-tion. Toyota’s Chief Engineer, Taiichi Ohno originally named 7 ‘deadly wastes’ but 2 more have since been added. These are:

Overproduction

Lean Definition: Making more than required by the next process, sooner than it is required, or faster than required.

Maintenance and Reliability Application: An analysis of a typical maintenance department finds a tremendous amount of ‘over mainte-nance’. Traditionally, time-based rebuilds or component replacements have been used in an effort to combat premature equipment fail-ures. Not realizing the random nature of the failures, a sense of frustration is felt with each emergency repair. So the frequency of the time-based replacement is increased. Mainte-nance costs continue to rise and failure rates are unaffected.

Elimination Strategy: The best way to eradi-cate this deadly waste is to gain a better un-derstanding of the true nature of the equip-ment’s failure patterns, and then adjust the maintenance strategy to match.

Transportation

Lean Definition: Any movement of people, materials, or information.

Maintenance and Reliability Application: The concept of transportation as a waste in a main-

tenance context refers directly to the amount of time that crafts personnel spend doing “go gets” whether they are getting parts in the storeroom or information for the supervisor or planner. While some “transportation” is necessary, much of it can be eliminated. Ex-cessive transportation is most often a direct reflection of inadequate job planning or in-complete Bill of Materials (BOM).

Elimination Strategy: Improved maintenance job planning and improved job plan proce-dures. Create an accurate Bill of Materials for each asset. Insure parts are stored, main-tained and transported in a manner that does not reduce their life cycle.

Waiting

Lean Definition: Idle resources that cannot move forward due to a delay in a downstream or upstream process, and resources waiting to be processed.

Maintenance and Reliability Application: Waiting in the maintenance context is very similar to the definition above. Instead of people waiting for work to do, it is people waiting to do work. This slight variation in statements reflects a very common problem for maintenance crafts people. Where the amount of time spent doing value-added work (a.k.a. Wrench Time) is low, it is very typical to see a maintenance crafts personnel stand-ing around and waiting for the opportunity to work. The job is planned and may in fact be planned well, but the timing with operations was poorly coordinated. The inter-functional coordination was non-existent or at best dis-connected.

Elimination Strategy: Inter-departmental communication and coordination must rise to the top of the list of priorities.

Inventory

Lean Definition: Raw material, work-in-pro-cess, work waiting to be processed, or fin-ished goods that are in excess of the customer demand.

Maintenance and Reliability Application: Or-ganizations who continue to operate in a re-active manner never know what is going to break next. And as such, a large amount of spare parts need to be warehoused on-site or nearby to be available for the next emer-gency.

Part 2

example might be using two different seals for the same model pump in the same applica-tion, when standardizing on one seal would save time, money and confusion; especially when one of the seals has proven to be a bet-ter performer.

Elimination Strategy: Maintainability and parts standardization must become a major focus of design/redesign efforts.

Defects

Lean Definition: Any non-conformance in the product or service that does not meet the pro-cess specifications or customer requirements.

Maintenance and Reliability Application: For maintenance, defects are the deadliest type of waste. Not only do defects cause waste, but the way that the organization addresses de-fects can cause more waste. Processes such as eliminating intrusive inspections, using preci-sion maintenance techniques and implement-ing a condition monitoring program can make very large impacts on the number of defects present in the asset base.

Elimination Strategy: The most important

point to make about defects is that an or-ganization has to be ready, willing and able to detect these defects at their earliest stages, immediately begin the planning process to deal with the defect and then identify and elimi-nate the root cause of the problem. This is the only way sustain-able improvements in productivity and unit cost of production can be realized.

Safety

Lean Definition: Unsafe work areas create lost work hours and expenses.

Maintenance and Reliability Application: A decrease in emergency repairs always results in a decrease in safety incidents.

Elimination Strategy: And an increase in reli-ability has proven time and time again to pro-duce a decrease in injury rates. (See Figure 1)

Information

Lean Definition: The age of electronic infor-mation and enterprise resource planning sys-tems (ERP) requires current / correct master data details.

Maintenance and Reliability: Maintenance and reliability people and information are part of the resources that need to be planned. Good planning and scheduling and effective main-tenance engineering relies on complete and

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Figure 1 - Correlation between Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and Injury Rate.

Inju

ry R

ate

(% o

f Bas

e)

OEE

(% o

f Bas

e)

135

115

95

75

55

35

15

120

115

110

105

100

95

904137332825211713951 534845

Month

OEEInjury Rate

Source: Making Common Sense Common Practice by Ron Moore

april/may 200914

correct machinery design and performance information. The more incorrect or incom-plete the information is for a given asset, the longer finding the solution to particular prob-lem will take to find and the more uncertain that solution will be upon delivery. Some of the information that needs to be current and correct is the machinery failure data, bill of materials (BOM) and machinery name plate information.

Elimination Strategy: A culture of information discipline must be fostered.

Key Principles of Lean Manufacturing

A summary of Lean Manufacturing contains six Key Principles. It doesn’t take a detailed analysis to find that all of these key principles are common to both Lean Manufacturing and Maintenance and Reliability.

Lean Manufacturing Key Principle #1: Pull processing: products are pulled from the con-sumer end (demand), not pushed from the

production end (Supply). The signal that trig-gers pull is known as kanban.

Maintenance and Reliability: In the mainte-nance realm, the concept of pull is used in the design of the maintenance strategy. The potential failure modes of the equipment and the effects of those failure modes on that as-set’s ability to perform its function, and on the system at large, determine the maintenance strategy. Failure modes and their effects pull the maintenance strategy into existence. The OEM recommendations are not pushed as the maintenance strategy of choice. Some peo-ple may become confused at statements like these and infer that the maintenance strategy is reactive. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just like kanban is not a reaction to customer demand, neither is an Equipment Maintenance Plan (EMP) based on failures. It is based on failure modes. Failure modes are how equipment might fail or is expected to fail. The differentiating factor becomes when this analysis of failure modes and effects takes place. It is always to be done before the fail-ures occur. It is something that is done pro-

actively not reactively. While there is a slight difference in these two concepts, the implica-tions of this slight difference are enormous.

Lean Manufacturing Key Principle #2: Build quality in: quest for zero defects, revealing and solving problems at the source.

Maintenance and Reliability: It is the identi-fication and elimination of the root cause of machinery defects that drive the continuous improvement of the maintenance strategy. Procedure-based organizations use quantita-tive, documented procedures for both regular maintenance jobs and the preventive mainte-nance tasks to drive consistency and quality in the maintenance process. Additionally, these same organizations employ precision main-tenance techniques to deliver right first time results. The combination of these three pow-erful forces has a large impact on the quest for zero defects.

Lean Manufacturing Key Principle #3: Waste minimization – eliminating all activities that do not add value & safety nets, maximize use of scarce resources (capital, people and land).

Maintenance and Reliability: 30% - 50% of the preventive maintenance tasks in a typi-cal North American maintenance organization are non-value added tasks. Additionally, most maintenance organizations operate in a very reactive mode, and in doing so, waste a tre-mendous amount of valuable resources. Most studies agree that on average, 30% of the la-bor and 50% of the parts and materials used in unplanned jobs is wasted; not to mention the amount of unplanned downtime associ-ated with such jobs. Those same productiv-ity studies agree that the combination of these three items (labor, parts and downtime) along with other benefits (increased safety, decreased spares inventory, etc.) can account for as much as a 30:1 return on investment that most North American facilities have here-tofore been unwilling to reach for.

Lean Manufacturing Key Principle #4: Con-tinuous improvement – reducing costs, im-proving quality, increasing productivity and information sharing.

Maintenance and Reliability: At the core of every good maintenance and reliability per-son exists the concept of continuous improve-ment. Continuous improvement is an attitude and a way of life. They are always striving for a better technique, a better designed part, an improved methodology or an easier way to get

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it done. Every maintenance person looks for a solution that makes assets easier to main-tain and more reliable. And every reliability person looks for a solution that makes asset availability and plant productivity increase, and life cycle cost and unit cost of production decrease.

Lean Manufacturing Key Principle #5: Flexibil-ity – producing different mixes or greater di-versity of products quickly, without sacrificing efficiency at lower volumes of production.

Maintenance and Reliability: Flexibility is the key to keeping up with the changing business environment. It is no different for mainte-nance and reliability. As the market chang-es, so does the mix of products and volume. While the core function of a manufacturing facility rarely changes, the requirements for its operation do change and consequently the reliability and criticality of different machines can change almost on a daily basis. The onus is then on the maintenance and reliability function of a facility to create systems and pro-cesses whereby changes in the market place do not create such drastic changes in the daily execution of the maintenance process that the process itself becomes dysfunctional.

Lean Manufacturing Key Principle #6: Build-ing and maintaining a long term relationship with suppliers through collaborative risk shar-ing, cost sharing and information sharing ar-rangements.

Maintenance and Reliability: In the sentence above, simply replace the word ‘suppliers’ with the word ‘operations’. Now it reads: Building and maintaining a long term relationship with operations through collaborative risk sharing, cost sharing and information sharing arrange-ments. A partnership must be established be-tween maintenance and operations. And as with any true partnership, it must be born of mutual respect and the attainment of common goals. A partnership that is based on ‘winning and losing’ or an attitude of “This is my plant and you work for me!” is destined for failure or, at best, mediocrity.

Poka-YokePoka-Yoke was first introduced at the Toyota Motor Corporation in 1961 by Shigeo Shingo, one of their industrial engineers. Originally named baka-yoke, ‘fool-proofing’ or ‘idiot-proofing’, the name was changed to poka-yoke or ‘mistake-proofing’ in 1963 to provide a more honorable, and less offensive, name.

Poka-Yoke can take the form of a mechanism designed to ensure that proper conditions ex-ist before a process step occurs, thereby pre-venting a defect from occurring. Poka-Yoke can also be a procedure designed to identify and/or eliminate defects as early as possible in the process. Essentially, poka-yoke is the concept of easily and quickly detecting and re-moving defects. There are many parallels be-tween Lean Manufacturing and Maintenance and Reliability with respect to poka-yoke. The concept of detecting and removing defects is the very heart of maintenance and reliability efforts; and any technique that helps accom-plish this easier, quicker or earlier in the pro-cess is a poka-yoke technique.

In explaining the origin of defects, Shingo said “The causes of defects lie in worker er-rors, and defects are the results of neglecting those errors. It follows that mistakes will not turn into defects if worker errors are discov-ered and eliminated beforehand”. Addition-ally, he stated, “Defects arise because errors are made; the two have a cause-and-effect re-lationship.”

Statistical analysis of machinery failures re-flects essentially the same scenario. RCM studies from the 60’s and 70’s have shown that as much as 68% of failure modes detected in machinery are the result of poor maintenance and/or operating procedures; and another 14% are the result of random events caused by people’s carelessness. Add to this another 7% for wear-in failures and a total of 89% of the failures are the result of people’s lack of atten-tion to detail or an incomplete understanding of their operations. This leaves only 11% of the failure modes to be the result of age, wear and fatigue. Studies from the 80’s and 90’s reflect that proper attention to procedures dropped the previously reported 68% to as low as 6%, but the 14% from random events climbed to as high as 25%. So while improving maintenance and operating procedures did lower the instances of infant mortality, care-lessness in other areas related to operations didn’t improve.

Three different types of inspection were ex-plained by Shingo in the concept of poka-yoke.

Judgment Inspection

Judgment inspection was identifying defec-tive products or material after the completion of the process, essentially finding the defect when it is too late. Shingo warned that re-

lying on this method isn’t effective quality management and therefore judgment inspec-tions should be avoided when possible. Main-tenance and reliability personnel sometimes have no choice but to utilize this method of defect detection, as it is not manufacturing defects, but machinery defects, that are being sought. Best practices organizations use con-dition monitoring technologies like vibration analysis, infrared thermography and oil analy-sis to identify machinery defects. While there are some benefits to identifying these defects, and handling them in a proactive manner, the real benefit lies in using these condition monitoring technologies to help identify and eliminate the root cause of these defects. Not using these technologies to help eliminate the root cause of defects was the type of inspec-tion that Shingo and the rest of the quality culture were warning against. Do not be sat-isfied with the fact that defects occur in your systems, and that you are able to successfully identify and eliminate them. You must move further back in the process to identify them and eliminate them at their source.

Yet another way that condition monitoring is considered a judgment inspection is in its use as a troubleshooting tool. Organizations that do not use condition monitoring technologies have to rely on the traditional troubleshooting techniques such as trial and error, disassem-bly and parts replacement. Utilizing condition monitoring technologies can give the crafts person a tremendous amount of information before the job has begun. Things like gear problems, electrical problems in motors and contaminant ingression can be highlighted and detailed before the machine itself is ever shut down. Using condition monitoring to help with troubleshooting, and to help identi-fy the root cause of machinery defects, makes condition monitoring itself a very powerful judgment inspection poka-yoke technique.

Informative Inspection

The second type of inspection in the poka-yoke system is the informative inspection. This type of inspection is used to prevent de-fects though utilizing data gathered from the inspection process. The most common exam-ple of an informative inspection is the use of statistical process control. Dr. Shingo offered two different types of informative inspection. The first method was for the very next station in the manufacturing line to perform a qual-ity check or defect inspection on the mate-rial that just came from the previous station.

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While this method was reliable and cost ef-fective, the second method of informative in-spection reduces the time and cost of the ad-ditional inspection to almost zero. And that was to have each station perform a pre- and post process inspection. Thereby simultane-ously checking the quality from the previous station and checking the quality of their work before sending it to the next station.

From a maintenance and reliability perspec-tive, an example of using this type of informa-tive inspection would be performing Weibull analysis to constantly adjust the maintenance strategy for a piece of equipment or system within the plant. In doing so, the ‘defect’ that the inspection process is detecting is an inadequate maintenance strategy. Many or-ganizations believe that using the mean time between failure (MTBF) as the proper interval for time based replacements and/or overhauls is the best method to cost effectively prevent unplanned downtime. This is not correct and results in higher costs than necessary. Weibull analysis shows that for a group of machines, by the time the MTBF is reached, 63.21% of the machines have already failed.

The better type of informative inspection

would be to use failure data to populate a Weibull analysis model for the machine or sys-tem and let the analysis show the most cost effective time to perform the maintenance action. In the absence of a comprehensive failure history, a single failure point and some local knowledge about the frequency and types of failures can lead to some excellent approximations of the actual Weibull shape. This method is known as Weibayes and is a very powerful technique.

By using the failure data that comes into the CMMS system on a daily basis to keep the fail-ure modes library and Weibull analyses up-to-date, the maintenance strategies can be ad-justed as more detailed information becomes apparent. Using statistical analysis in this way makes Weibull analysis an extremely effective informative inspection poka-yoke technique.

Source Inspection

The third, and final, type of poka-yoke in-spection is the source inspection. Source inspection is the inspection of an operating environment or materials before the pro-duction process begins, to ensure that the proper conditions exist. Source inspections

in the maintenance and reliability arena are very common. They take at least three forms when considered in the context of machinery repairs.

Precision maintenance techniques are a type of source inspection. Precision maintenance technique is defined as any technique that makes the likelihood of extended defect free operation more possible. Some examples of precision maintenance and reliability tech-niques might include:

• All rotating equipment will be balanced in- place to a minimum standard of 0.05 inches per second. This is significantly lower than most balance standards but not impossible. This tighter balance standard would lead to measurably longer bearing component life (in the absence of other issues).

• All rotating equipment will be aligned to <0.5 mils/inch. Just like the balance stan- dard, this is tighter than most alignment standards and will lead to much lower radial and axial loading on the bearing and therefore longer bearing life.

• Milling the bottom of all cast frame motor feet so that they are all flat and co-planar.

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This technique makes the alignment pro- cess quicker and easier. It also helps pre- vent a condition called soft-foot which leads to warped motor frames, high fre- quency vibration in the motor bearings and reduced bearing life.

• All electrical connections will be installed using torque wrenches and will be torqued to manufacturer’s specifications. Contrary to popular belief, tighter isn’t necessarily better. Some types of electrical connec- tions can be too tight, which spreads the individual strand of wire out more and cre- ates the very problem that was trying to be avoided, a high resistance connection.

• All lubricant will be removed from the bulk container and placed into lubricant reser- voirs via filter carts with a 3 micron filter. This prevents solid contaminants from be- ing introduced into the machinery reservoir that would be detrimental to asset health.

By no means a comprehensive listing, these are just a few examples of precision mainte-nance techniques. Using these techniques extends the amount of time between machine commissioning and the point of defect ingres-sion. As such, they are techniques that ensure the proper conditions are present for defect-free operation and are, therefore, a type of source inspection poka-yoke technique.

The most comprehensive source inspection poka-yoke technique is the use of procedures when performing machine repairs and inspec-tions. Even with the most skilled crafts per-sonnel, mistakes are made, steps are skipped and conditions are overlooked. A technically accurate, well constructed procedure decreas-es the conditional probability of a mistake be-ing made. A feedback loop from the crafts person to the planner ensures the continu-ous refinement of the procedure. A techni-cal review and approval process ensures that all procedures are correct and up-to-date. As these procedures are designed to help elimi-nate the possibility of a workmanship defect during a repair or inspection, it is a source in-spection poka-yoke technique.

Another type of source inspection poka-yoke technique is the use of condition monitoring as a post-repair commissioning inspection. Technologies like vibration analysis, structure-borne ultrasound, infrared thermography and motor circuit analysis are all excellent tools to certify repairs and new installations. Should workmanship defects like inadequate align-

ment or the presence of a bearing fault due to improper installation be identified, then the defect can be corrected before the machine is returned to service. Using condition moni-toring technologies can help easily identify defects or conditions that will cause defects early in the process and is therefore a source inspection poka-yoke technique.

Kaizen

‘Continuous Improvement’ is the translation most often used for the Japanese word kai-zen. Contrary to the popular use of the term, kaizen is not an event. Kaizen is a frame of mind or the attitude with which you address things. It means always looking at a situation with what martial arts instructors refer to as shoshin, which means “first mind” or “a begin-ner’s mind”. Beginners are always learning. With each moment of learning, improvements are made. With each improvement, more learning is desired so that more improve-ments can be made. This becomes a continu-ous cycle. With more learning comes more improvements. The moment learning ceases is the moment improvement ceases. The mo-ment improvement ceases is the moment your competitors start to gain ground. The term ‘expert’ bears the connotation of “nothing left to learn”. In an environment that embraces kaizen there is no such thing as an expert.

Just like kaizen, concepts like 5S, kanban, poka-yoke and muda are not single events. They are concepts that are practiced on a daily basis. Kaizen is an attitude; it is a way of life, and is the style with which Lean Manufactur-ing is managed on a daily basis. Kaizen is also the attitude with which maintenance and reli-ability should people operate on a daily basis. Just a few examples include:

• Improving maintenance job plans so that the number of side trips a crafts person has to make to acquire parts, materials and permits approaches zero.

• Improving the written maintenance proce- dures so that everyone, regardless of spe- cific experience with that plant or machine, knows the proper steps to affect the repair.

• Improving the inspection process to iden- tify defects closer to their point of incep- tion, thereby giving the planning function more time to adequately deal with the problem.

• Improving the operations of the plant to reduce the variations in the process.

Numerous other examples could be cited, but suffice it to say the concepts of Lean and the concepts of improved maintenance and reli-ability go hand-in-hand. It is not just difficult to separate these concepts, it is quite frankly, impossible.

Reference1. A Second Look At 5S, James Van Patten, Quality Progress, American Society Quality, October 2006

Andy Page is the Integration Director with GPAllied. As the Integration Director, he is responsible for combining the philosophies and daily practices of the two companies that came together to form GPAllied; General Phys-ics and Allied Reliability. Most recently Andy was a Vice President for Allied Reliability and was responsible for the alignment of the daily practices with what was being taught in their Reliability Engineering training classes. Prior to being a Vice President, he was a Program Director for Allied Reliability responsible for the Mosaic account consisting of 27 analysts and technicians across 9 operations. Andy has 15 years in the maintenance and reliability field where he has played several different roles. First as a Maintenance Engineer for Noranda Aluminum where he was respon-sible for implementing a comprehensive PdM program and continuous improvements of the planning and scheduling function. Next he held the role of Regional Services Manager for CSI where he provided technical services to new customers and for the sales staff. After that he worked for Martin Marietta Aggregates as the Asset Reliability Manager re-sponsible for PdM and maintenance improve-ment process effort across 23 plants in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. Next he served as the Vice President – Operations for a small con-sulting firm called Reliability Solutions, Inc. in central Ohio providing PdM services primarily to the mining industry. Andy is well grounded in reliability and maintenance engineer-ing topics with particular emphasis on PdM technologies to include advanced experience in vibration analysis and ultrasonics and Level 2 certifications in infrared thermography and oil analysis. Andy has an engineering degree from Tennessee Technological University and is a Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional (CMRP) through the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (SMRP) and is a Six Sigma Black Belt. Andy can be contacted at 888-414-5760 or pagea@alliedreliability.com

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Get ready for Web 2.0

The bad news is that communication options are expanding even further, with instant messaging and chat applications, Blogs and Micro-blogs, Voice Over IP (VoIP), Google voice, Video, Audio, Web enabled Smart Phones, RSS (Real Simple Syndication), Social Networking and Career sites.

The good news is that the communication tools are begin-ning to work together in ways that make it easier for you to effectively manage your communication.

We will leave the subject of personal communication, online honey-do reminders, classmate reunions and online dating for someone else to cover. We will focus on managing the information we need to do our jobs better, and improve our professional lives, in this first of what I hope is a regular se-ries on using Web 2.0 to connect and communicate.

Web 2.0

After the dot com bubble collapses in 2001, people started refining what the potential of the Internet actually was. At that time, many had confused the importance of the web with the economic value of the web, which did not exist prior to 2001, but has since manifested into reality.

Web 1.0 demonstrated that we can use the web as a very convenient and effective way to get information. Search engines like Google indexed the vast majority of web sites so we could zero in on almost any subject with pinpoint ac-curacy. Had the internet stopped there, it would still be a very useful tool.

However, many innovators had an idea that the Internet was more than a tool, and could actually be a platform. Web 2.0 websites allow users to do more than just retrieve informa-tion. Now, many sites are actually “applications” that allow software to be operated through a browser like Internet Ex-plorer, Firefox or Google Chrome.

What Useful Web 2.0 Applications Can Do

Our friends at Dimension Technology Solutions (www.dts-global.com) represent the future of application in the main-tenance and reliability community. They offer eMESA as a browser-based planning and scheduling application, but,

because of its Web 2.0 architecture, it has an even much greater potential.

For those of you familiar with Google Earth, where satellite images of the entire Earth are available for you to drill down all the way to street level detail, imagine that you work for a company with geographically dispersed plants. You can now use the entire earth as your starting point.

The eMESA application is delivering Enterprise performance indicators to you through a browser that, even if you are over 50 (myself included), you already know how to use.

If you need to know how your Canadian plants are perform-ing, you can simply rotate the earth and click on Canada to see those indicators. Drill further to see how plants in On-tario are doing, and with one more click, you can zero in on the Hamilton site.

By the way, no worries if Canada is running on Maximo and Europe is using SAP. eMESA does not let trivial matters such as data source ever get in the way of data delivery. Web 2.0 is completely agnostic in terms of where data originates.

In addition to seamlessly interfacing with plant data his-torians, SAP, and Maximo, eMESA’s latest release incorpo-rated and aggregated Twitter (www.twitter.com/RCM09) posts from a variety of accounts that were posting informa-tion about the RCM-2009 Reliability Centered Maintenance Managers Forum, so maintenance professionals who could not attend in person could keep up with innovations being revealed. In addition the eMESA start page included RSS feeds from Reliabilityweb.com and MaintenanceForums.com as well as current global stock exchanges and the latest AP headlines. Switching from Global to Local only required a couple of clicks. Focusing on internal performance metrics to an Enterprise view was a short scroll. And to make the IT and Digital Security geeks happy, all of this is operating on a small server installed behind your firewall at your site with remote management and support options can be included for a small monthly fee.

Useful Web 2.0 Site Example

Uptime Magazine (www.uptimemagazine.com) has recently implemented a new web based content management and online publishing system with Web 2.0 functionality built in.

Your Web, Your Way Web 2.0 Offers New Ways to Connect and Communicate

by Terrence O’Hanlon, CMRP

Life used to be so simple when the primary modes of communication consisted of walking to the mailbox and open-ing letters (usually stacks of payments due), and answering a ringing (and wired) telephone in real time. Remember how high tech fax, voice mail, mobile phones, internet and e-mail seemed. These new technologies opened incredible opportunity to expand communication, but did very little to manage them for our benefit. We began to experience information overload. After all, what percentage of these new messages actually added value to your life or work?

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Currently readers and subscribers can create a FREE membership account and profile that will allow them to post blogs, comment on current articles and rate posted articles in terms of their value to the community.

Eventually, Uptime Magazine will allow activity trails such as Linked-in, Facebook, Twitter and more to be included in member profile pages. In other words, the old paradigm about what web site address or domain you are visiting will be less important. With Web 2.0 , information is portable, so you can bring whatever informa-tion you want to wherever you want it.

The goal for Uptime Magazine is to move from a model of pushing information technology to more of a virtual circle model where our edi-tors listen and read as mush as they talk and publish. They learn as much as they teach, and they take as much as they deliver. Each exchange is designed to enrich the knowledge and experience of all who participate.

Roll Your Own Web 2.0 with RSS

Personally I begin my day by opening my cus-tomized start page at Yahoo! This page is http://my.yahoo.com and includes RSS feeds from all of the Reliabilityweb.com network of web sites, the Association for Maintenance Pro-fessionals web site, my Facebook and Twitter updates, and all of the major maintenance and reliability publications from around the world that offer RSS feeds. Prior to my first cup of coffee in the morning, RSS allows me to see an entire region of interest in one easy to navigate page. Yahoo! and other sites like iGoogle.com make it very easy to create your own custom-ized start pages using RSS.

With Web 1.0, I would have had to visit over 20 web sites to get the same information I now get on one single start page in my Web 2.0 world. The beauty for me is that I only get the information that I want.

Registration and Privacy in a Web 2.0 World

There has been one Internet columnist in our community who seems to think that online reg-istration is inherently evil, even though his em-ployer would never send you a magazine with-out requiring you to register on their site.

Registration adds value in a number of ways. It confirms that you are a real person and not a spammer, and it demonstrates that you have interest in being a member of the community. Imagine if our neighbors were all anonymous. How would it work if your community leaders were all anonymous?

He is still living in a Web 1.0 flat world of Search and Find, while the more productive people are moving to a Web 2.0 world of doing things that make their lives easier. Web 2.0 allows me to connect in a trust-based way with people I am interested in and who may also have an interest in what I can share. I am now able to access a deep and rich community that is willing to share knowledge and experience with me - and that will make my job, and life, much easier.

It is important that you understand the nature of the organization you are registering with. Here are some questions that maintenance and reliability professionals may find useful:

Is there a published privacy policy? Every web site should feature an easy to understand pri-vacy policy.

Is the privacy policy 3rd party audited? Many site have privacy certification from organiza-tions such as the Better Business Bureau or TRUSTe.

Is this organization an independent publisher? Anyone can create a blog, forum or member-ship site and many do. Independent publishers must remain vendor and technology neutral to be valid, and to offer the best and broadest in-formation. We have seen a virtual explosion of vendor and consultant blogs appear in the last 6 months.

Is this organization a vendor or consultant? Hmmm. The site may be useful, but visitors should be aware that the motivation of what-ever is being delivered is designed to make you a value added client. There is nothing inher-ently wrong with this concept, providing you do not mistake the vendor/consultant self pub-lishing context with an independent publishing context.

Managed correctly, Web 2.0 is a powerful plat-form that allows you to control your internet experience, changing it from a one-size-fits-all gunny sack to a one-of-a-kind, custom tailored suit. I know which one I prefer, how about you?

Dive into Web 2.0To support your journey to Web 2.0 visit the following sites, create FREE accounts, build your profi le and then connect with us in a virtuous maintenance and reliability profes-sional community circle.

Twitter - If you are already on Twitter, fol-low UptimeMagazine by:

1. Sending “follow UptimeMagazine” from IM or your phone.

2. Clicking on the “follow” button on the UptimeMagazine profi le page <http://twitter.com/UptimeMagazine>

If you aren’t on Twitter, create an account at <https://twitter.com/home> then fol-low the instructions above.

Don’t know what Twitter is? Watch this great introductory video from the folks at Common Craft <http://www.common-craft.com/Twitter>

Twitter Help: http://help.twitter.com/fo-rums

You may also wish to follow other interest-ing related Twitter sites as follows

Reliabilityweb.com http://twitter.com/reliability

Maintenance-News http://twitter.com/MaintNews

Maintenance-Tips http://twitter.com/MaintenanceTips

Social Bookmarking

Check out the Reliabilityweb.com Top 100 sites at Delicious http://delicious.com/Reli-ability

Please send us links to your own Delicious links so we can share them with our wider audience.

Professional Networking Sites

The Association for Maintenance Profes-sionals - Join over 6000 others in what is being billed as Facebook for Maintenance and Reliability professionals at www.main-tenance.org

In addition check out the real Facebook (www.facebook.com) and Linked-in (www.linked-in.com) while you are at it.

Simple searches on maintenance or reliabil-ity at any of the sites referenced above will begin to support the building of your own start page and professional network.

Send us a contact or friend request or follow up and we will follow you. We look forward to being part of the community you build!

april/may 2009

Maximo to the Max Following One Organization’s Upgrade Experience

by Shelley Whitener, CMRP; Ed Williams, CMRP; Sabine Boruff and Tom Arcuri

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andia National Labs has been using Maximo almost since its inception. Over the years we have utilized the Maximo tools that conformed nicely to our maintenance processes. We took advantage of the software capabilities to improve our planning and tracking of maintenance work. However, we still fell into the same category of most Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) users, that is, we were

only utilizing a fraction of the system’s capabilities to improve our processes.

Early in 2006, we were given a corporate mandate to upgrade to the current web-based version of Maximo in order to support the Oracle 10g upgrade. This time, we made the choice to think big and see how we could improve our maintenance processes as part of the upgrade project. This article will discuss the approach, activities, and outcomes of our upgrade project. We will demonstrate the successful partnership between Maintenance, Engineering, IT, and the vendor (IBM), as well as how we used Lean Six Sigma tools, such as Value Stream Analysis, to identify process improvement opportunities. We will also discuss the integration of stand alone, in-house legacy applications and databases into Maximo. We believe our experience may provide a road map for others facing similar challenges, illustrat-ing the importance of advanced planning, an integrated project team, partnering with your vendor(s), as well as our ‘lessons learned’.

About Sandia National Labs Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) was established on Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1945 during the Manhattan Project as a division of the Los Alamos Laboratory. On request of President Harry Truman, Sandia became an independent labora-tory on November 1, 1949. Sandia is now a multi-pro-gram national security laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin company, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Ad-ministration (NNSA). Sandia employs about 8,600 full-time (equivalent) personnel at several locations: its main facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Livermore, California; test ranges in Tonopah, Nevada, and Kauai, Hawaii; the Pantex Plant weapons facility near Amarillo, Texas; and the Carlsbad, New Mexico, Field Office, which leads the nation’s transuranic waste disposal efforts. Since 1949, Sandia has expanded its mission to develop science-based technologies that support our national security. Today, Americans depend on Sandia’s technol-

ogy solutions to solve national and global threats to peace and freedom. Primary sponsors are the NNSA, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Homeland Security. Sandia also works with other gov-ernment agencies, industry, and academic institutions to accomplish missions in five key areas: • Nuclear Weapons: Ensuring the stockpile is safe, secure, reliable, and can support the United States’ deterrence policy • Energy and Infrastructure Assurance: Enhancing the surety of energy and other critical infrastructures • Nonproliferation: Reducing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the threat of nuclear accidents, and the potential for damage to the environment • Defense Systems and Assessments: Addressing new threats to national security • Homeland Security: Helping to protect the nation against terrorism Other research disciplines, which support these mission areas, include materials and process sciences; compu-tational and information sciences; microelectronics and photonics sciences; engineering sciences; pulsed power sciences; manufacturing sciences; surety sciences; chemical and earth sciences; and biotechnology. Facilities Facts The Facilities Management and Operations Center at Sandia’s Albuquerque, New Mexico site manages over 900 buildings comprising over seven million square feet. There are approximately 120 in-house craftsmen supporting these facilities. Some additional facts about our facilities and infrastructure are: • 35 miles of paved roads, 53 miles of unpaved roads • 75 acres of pavement • 100 miles of power transmission lines (5kV, 46kV, 115kV) • 70 miles of water lines • 17,670 tons of chilled water cooling

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• 23 miles of natural gas lines • 46,000 facilities maintenance work orders per year • 25,000 additional facilities service requests per year • 37,000 assets managed through Maximo • 30,000 items managed through Maximo inventory Where We Were (2005) Sandia was one of the earliest Maximo users. For the past several years we have been run-ning Maximo 4.1.1, with the basic philosophy of not upgrading with every new release, but waiting until a new version was well vetted before we upgraded. In late 2005, we were preparing to upgrade to Maximo 5.2 when we learned that a corporate mandate would require us to move to Maximo 6, which sup-ported the Oracle 10g relational database. At the time, Maximo 6 was generally available to all customers, but the upgrade scripts from Maximo 4.1.1 were not released yet. Thus, this time we would not have the luxury of waiting until all the “bugs” were eliminated in a new release. The big question was, “Are we ready for this?” The prospect of change was a bit daunting to many users because they were so accustomed to Maximo 4.1.1. To some extent, we were using most of the available applications in Maximo 4.1.1. We had a solid master equipment list, but with varying degree of details recorded for the equipment. We used the preventive mainte-nance (PM) application extensively, and many PMs had equipment-specific job plans with engineering standards. Every maintenance job was tracked in the work order application. We were also starting to use the condition monitoring application in select areas. The labor, inventory, and purchasing applications were all integral to Sandia’s Maximo database. However, some of Maximo’s valuable tools (such as Safety Plans) were not implemented at Sandia, and the new version offered features that would enable us to incorporate more of our facilities asset management activities into one system. We saw this upgrade as an opportunity to implement previously unused Maximo ap-plications, and enhance the use of existing applications to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our maintenance processes. Si-multaneously, we were seeking solutions to other identified sources of inefficiency and inconsistency. For instance:

• Like many other companies, Sandia had developed several other stand-alone databases over the years to manage assets, projects, and services. For the most part, these other databases did not communi- cate directly with Maximo or with each other. In many cases, overlaps in informa- tion for the various databases resulted in duplication of work and even discrepan- cies in data. • We lacked a single, standardized process flow for getting maintenance work accom- plished. Each crew had developed unique, undocumented processes that worked for them.• We did not have consistent, well-defined roles and responsibilities for team supervi- sors, planners, technical assistants, etc.

Scope of the Upgrade

The magnitude of this upgrade was signifi-cantly larger than typical upgrades because we were spanning two major application ver-sions in the move from Maximo 4.1.1 to Max-imo 6.2.1, as well as introducing new add-on applications. Several key aspects of the up-grade contribute to the expansive scope of the project:

• Technology change from client-server to web-based• Complete rewrite of all reports – conversion from SQR to Actuate• Use of Maximo Enterprise Adaptor (MEA) to initially load/refresh person, location, and user data• Integration of help desk functions into Maximo – Replace legacy software with Maximo Service Desk – Replace legacy customer query tool with Maximo Self Service• Implementation of new Maximo Mobile Inventory Manager

Each of these areas introduced complexity to the project, but each also brought new advan-tages to our overall work management pro-cess. Having a web-based application would provide greater accessibility and more intui-tive navigation to users. Reports integrated within Maximo would be more useful and effi-cient. Implementing the Maximo Service Desk would consolidate an in-house application, as well as, creating a single point of entry for all requests for service. Maximo Mobile appli-cations would also directly integrate with the core Maximo applications rather than simply

www.uptimemagazine.com 21

interface.

Minimizing customizations to migrate during the upgrade was also very important to our project scope. This would be accomplished in two ways. First, many of our customizations could be replaced by newly available functions in the Maximo 6. Second, some customiza-tions which couldn’t be replaced with new functionality could be eliminated by changing or improving our work processes.

Our Approach

To ensure that we would be ready for the changes ushered in with this major upgrade, we decided to take an approach that was new for us at Sandia. Typically, software upgrades are primarily the responsibility of the IT de-partment, forcing them to seek user input and “buy-in.” For this Maximo upgrade, the Maintenance Engineering department formed a cross-functional project team to manage the upgrade. The team included the following representation:

• Functional Lead – Maintenance Engineer• Technical Lead – Maximo Developer/IT SME• Key Maximo Users – 2 Maintenance Planners, Other Ad-hoc Users• Technical Support Team – 4 Maximo Developers, Database and Server Administrators• Key Stakeholders – Warehouse Supervisor, Maintenance Manager, Planning Supervisor• Ad-hoc Consulting Support (IBM)

We began with a Project Charter1, which con-cisely documented the objectives, purpose, description, deliverables, schedule, and cost of the upgrade project. The charter was ap-proved by management from both the Mainte-nance Engineering and IT departments. From the onset, we recognized that strong manage-ment support would be especially critical to the success of this upgrade. Because of the significant changes it would impose on the user community, it was very important that senior management visibly and vocally sup-ported this effort from the top down. The project team reported periodically to a steer-ing committee comprised of managers from Facilities and IT.

The first task of the project team was to de-velop a project plan and master schedule. The project plan identified and described eight major objectives (see Table 1). Sub teams were then formed to focus on each objective.

april/may 200922

Each sub team was lead by a member of the project team, who identified key individuals for each sub team. Each objective required collaboration between IT and users.

The project team solicited and encouraged active participation from the user commu-nity, including the evaluation of existing processes. For example, the sub team work-ing on Objective #4, Work Flow, conducted many interviews and mapped out the various existing process flows for preventive and cor-rective work orders. This exercise helped us recognize the need to consolidate and stan-dardize into a single, more efficient process. The team organized a Lean Six Sigma Value Stream Analysis event to achieve this objec-tive. We invited key users and stakeholders to participate, and we engaged the Maximo experts to ensure that our new process could be supported by and integrated into the Maxi-mo 6 configuration. The event was a success-ful and essential step in our goal of improv-ing the maintenance process1 as part of the Maximo upgrade.

The IT members of the project team continu-ally analyzed existing customizations with the goal of eliminating them either by new configuration options or new functionality available in Maximo 6. Users were consulted regularly on the impacts, if any, these changes would have on work processes. These efforts increased the efficiency of future upgrades by reducing the amount of non-standard configu-rations within Maximo.

A common goal shared by all team members was to learn about and utilize new applications and features offered with Maximo 6. Rather than fighting to maintain status quo, every-one kept an open mind in seeking practical ways that the upgrade could help improve our processes and satisfy business objectives. For example, adding the Service Desk module as the front-end to the application provided the opportunity to incorporate two stand-alone

databases and the potential for more consoli-dation in the future. This decision brought us much closer to realizing the vision of a “one stop shop” for facilities services. Also, by building meaningful and personalized home pages, called Start Centers, for our users, we recognized the opportunity to improve com-munications, ease-of-use, and data accessibil-ity for all users and in-house customers. The team embraced these and many other oppor-tunities to improve our existing processes.

We also communicated frequently with the vendor early in the project. This became even more important when our vendor, MRO Software, was purchased by IBM in the early stages of our project. We involved our key vendor contacts in software, services, and support throughout our project. This meant

that when problems arose they were already aware of our situation and able to respond appropriately. Without this relationship in place, emergencies that occurred would most certainly not have been resolved as effectively or with the same shared sense of urgency.

Finally, we designed the framework of the up-graded system with consideration for future expansion and additional system and process consolidation. Other groups within Sandia are becoming Maximo customers and we also support the facilities at our satellite site in California. The potential for a single database encompassing multiple sites and different types of service is now possible, thanks to the forward thinking of the IT department.

Where We Are Now

We went live with Maximo 6.2.1 on October 22, 2007. We were a few months behind our original master schedule, but with our team-based project approach, we were still able to accomplish the upgrade successfully. Not to dwell on excuses, but a few of the events that caused delays in the schedule were:

• Upgrade scripts came later than originally expected, and early scripts were prob- lematic. This issue resulted in a six month impact to our original schedule.• Consulting support was delayed two months due to contract/procurement negotiations.• Unexpected upgrade errors occurred (as- sociated with being one of the first cus- tomers to attempt this upgrade). The cumulative effect of these errors on our schedule was one to two months.• Mobile inventory application functional- ity and performance issues required

several dedicated resources at both Sandia and IBM for approximately five months. This created a huge impact on the project because the initial estimate was that the application could be installed and config- ured in two weeks.

The delays in schedule and unanticipated problems caused us to move our “go-live” date from May to October. Still, in order to meet the October target many activities had to be compressed, and the implementation of some applications and features had to be put on hold until after the upgrade. For example, we originally planned to install the mobile application for managing work orders in the field as part of the upgrade, but it had to be postponed due to the difficulties in getting the mobile inventory application working to our standards.

Once the upgrade was complete, we then faced the challenging task of implementing the process and culture changes in conjunc-tion with the software upgrade. For the past 18 months, several teams and individuals have been experiencing maintenance process improvements, and Maximo has helped facili-tate and reinforce these improvements. This is the phase when the rubber meets the road. In tandem with training users on the new soft-ware, we are also impacting the entire main-tenance culture at Sandia through process changes. Some of the key process improve-ments include:

• Streamlined process for all service re- quests (maintenance, custodial, projects, etc.) • A single maintenance work process • Well-defined roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities • Weekly scheduling (phased in on a crew- by-crew basis) • More thorough feedback from craftsmen on work done

In June, 2008, we successfully upgraded our Sandia California site to Maximo 6.2.1 and greatly improved the consistency of asset and work management between New Mexico and California.

Where We Are Going

By no means was this project complete when Maximo 6.2.1 was installed and operational. Continuous improvement plans and mile-stones were established, and many post-up-grade improvements have been implemented. Maximo 6.2.1 was an integral part of process

Objective Description

1 Existing Mobile Maximo Conversion

2 Full Mobile Maximo Evaluation Plan

3 Site Project Request System (SPRS) to Maximo (Service Desk)

4 Work Flow

5 Maximo-driven Process Upgrades

6 Maximo-facilitated Process Optimizations

7 Training

8 Continuous Improvement & Sustainment Plan

Table 1 - Project Plan Objectives

www.uptimemagazine.com 23

redesigns during our recent Facilities Trans-formation effort. Some of our on-going goals include the following:

• Incorporate several additional stand- alone databases, which will achieve a corporate initiative of consolidation, simplification, and standardization. • Install interfaces with other systems to enhance communication with other processes. • Display meaningful Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on Start Centers. • Develop the qualifications application so that training and qualification records are integrated into the Maximo database. • Install and deploy the Maximo Mobile Work Management application for work orders, meter reading, and condition monitoring. • Expand the Maximo Workflow to increase process efficiencies.

Key Accomplishments / Lessons Learned

In summary, we would like to review the pri-mary activities that set this upgrade project apart and transformed the experience from painful to pleasurable.

(1). The project charter & plan(2). The cross-organizational project team(3). Engaging the vendor(4). Constant communication, internally and externally(5). The use of Lean Six Sigma (value stream analysis) to improve processes(6). The development database(7). Training focused on embracing the change(8). Management support and engagement from beginning to end

It is a simple list which may seem obvious to anyone who has been through a change of similar magnitude. However, it is very easy to lose sight of the improvement goals and fall back to status quo during a lengthy proj-ect full of obstacles. The tools listed above provided the structure and motivation to keep those involved pressing for the goal. At Sandia, we have realized the benefits of our perseverance with a contemporary CMMS sys-tem, fully integrated with, and supportive of, a greatly improved maintenance process.

Reference1. Both the Project Charter and the improved work process can be viewed online at www.uptimemagazine.com. From the home page

Center at Sandia National Laboratories. Ed has been with the Labs for 35 years in various positions including journeyman, planner, supervisor, program manager and several manager positions. He is a graduate of Sandia’s Mechanical Apprenticeship Program and holds a BBA and MBA from the College of Santa Fe. He can be reached via e-mail at ejwilli@sandia.gov.

Sabine Boruff is an analyst/programmer with Sandia National Laboratories. She is the Maximo team lead for the Facilities Technical Support Systems group. She can be reached via e-mail at saboruf@sandia.gov.

Tom Arcuri is an account manager with IBM. He can be reached at tom.arcuri@us.ibm.com or (301) 803-2174.

follow the links to Articles. You can navigate by either subject matter (Information Tech-nology) or by issue (April 2009)

Shelley Whitener, P.E., CMRP, is the Opera-tions & Maintenance Strategic Planner for the Facilities Management and Operations Center at Sandia National Laboratories. She is a cer-tified RCM2 facilitator and a Lean Six Sigma Greenbelt. Her previous experience includes engineering roles with L’Oreal USA, Maytag Appliances, and Eastman Chemical Company. She holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee. She can be reached at 505-284-1853 or via e-mail at swhiten@sandia.gov.

Ed Williams, CMRP, is the Manager of Busi-ness, Information, and Resource Support for the Facilities Management and Operations

april/may 2009

Recently, upon reflecting on Dr. Robert Madding’s original research on infrared window transmissivity (IR Window Transmittance Temperature Dependence 1), I became very interested in the practical implications of transmissivity errors (short of complete transmis-sion loss) on real-world inspections. Specifically, what degree of error could one expect to see if the transmis-sion rate of an infrared window optic were to change and if the thermographer failed to accurately compen-sate for that change?

For the purposes of this article we will use the follow-ing definitions:

Emissivity: symbolized as ‘ε’ and defined as the effi-ciency of an object’s surface to radiate infrared energy.

Transmissivity: symbolized as ‘τ’ and defined as the ability of radiation to pass though an object. Although target transmissivity is important and relevant in many thermography applications where radiated energy from sources behind the target might pass through the target and thereby influence temperature calculations, this is generally not a factor in industrial electrical thermography applications where the predomination of targets are opaque (or non-transmissive in the long wave infrared spectrum). Instead, this paper will focus on the use of infrared windows and the implications of IR window transmissivity. We will use the term trans-missivity interchangeably with “transmittance,” “trans-mission,” and “transmission rate” whereas the rate is discussed as a fraction of being 100% transmissive.

Transmission Degradation: the continued loss in trans-mission rate across the infrared spectrum resulting from the nature of certain optic materials to lose trans-mission rate due to inherent properties of that mate-rial. (The focus of this article is on Calcium Fluoride crystal windows, symbolized as “CaF2,” which is known to degrade due to its hydroscopic nature, and due to refraction caused by mechanical stresses of vibration and high frequency noise.)

s the saying goes, “garbage in, garbage out.” This truism is every bit as applicable in thermography as it is in computer data-mining. The difference is that the inaccurate data which leads a thermographer to a false-negative conclusion could result in a multi-million dollar catastrophic failure of a company’s electrical distribution system. In fact, the implications to personnel safety, plant assets and production

downtime make the results of transmissivity errors more like toxic waste than mere “garbage.”

When using infrared (IR) windows or sightglasses, it is imperative to understand the accurate transmission rate of the optic used in the infrared window. As this article will explore, failure to accurately compensate for actual transmission attenuation can lead to significant errors in data. The magnitude of the error is based on the exponential effect that target surface temperature has on radiated infrared energy. In short, temperature differences (∆T) will appear to be minimized if the ef-fects of transmission attenuation are not considered, or if not accurately compensated for. Such errors in ∆T may thereby lead thermographers to underestimate the magnitude of many serious electrical faults.

As an instructor for both ITC and for TEGG Corporation, I have noticed that many Calcium Fluoride windows, even in controlled environments, have lost significant transmission rate within just a two to three year time-frame. In fact, in 2003, I came across a Calcium Fluoride infrared sightglass (shown in Figure 1) which had lost all transmissivity in the infrared and visual spectrums. It was being used in a motor termination box in an electrical generation plant in Tennessee. Of course, this is an extreme case to be sure, but it is not without precedence.

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Is What You See, What You Get? The Effects of Tranmissivity on Data Accuracy

by Joe DeMonte

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24

Figure 1 – Calcium Fluoride Sightglass

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Physics of Thermography & Temperature Calculation

Nothing actually “measures” temperature per se. A thermometer, for example, measures the expansion of mercury against a static background. The amount that the mercury level “rises” is then correlated to a tempera-ture. If the amount of mercury in the vial was less than what the lines were calibrated for, then the apparent temperature reading will be lower than the actual temperature. In this case, a mother might send her child to school with a 103° temperature thinking the child was a healthy 98.6°.

Similarly, a thermocouple does not measure temperature. The difference in Voltage out-put from two dissimilar metals due to the thermoelectric effect, can be calculated and correlated to known temperatures. If the amount of differential voltage was somehow filtered over a longer cable run, and that at-tenuating affect was not compensated for, then the resulting temperature calculation will be lower than the actual temperature of the bearing it was measuring. In this case, the PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) might fail to trigger an over-temperature alarm until the process seized up.

Non-contact infrared thermography mea-sures the radiated infrared energy from a tar-get. The amount of radiated energy is then calculated and correlated to specific temper-atures. To ensure accurate temperatures and accurate temperature comparisons (or differ-ences in temperature, referred to as Delta T and symbolized as ∆T), the thermographer must have detailed knowledge of the science of infrared radiation and must properly con-trol the variables which affect how the im-ager (camera) interprets and calculates the radiated infrared energy it receives. These variables include (among others) the emissiv-ity of the target, reflection of radiated energy from other sources, and transmissivity of the atmosphere and/or infrared “window” being used.

To properly control for emissivity variations on electrical components, thermographers should standardize the emissivity by amend-ing target surfaces with some type of highly emissive, permanent treatment. Common practices include grill paint, electrical tape or high-emissivity stickers, any of which can give thermographers ε values of 95%.

With consistent and high target emissivity, reflection issues are minimized and a trained infrared thermographer will be able to prop-erly calibrate the imager for a target’s emis-sivity value, in most cases. This leaves the IR window’s transmissivity as the key variable to control.

IR window transmission rates can be derived from the manufacturer’s literature, however,

this poses several potential problems:

1. Transmission rates are typically variable across the infrared spectrum1. Yet the manufacturer’s specified transmission rate is generally relevant for a specific wave length and is therefore not neces- sarily accurate for thermography per- formed using standard infrared ther- mography cameras which sense a wide

april/may 200926

band of infrared (for example: 7.5 to 13 μm), rather than a single wavelength. Furthermore, the sensing arrays of dif- ferent cameras have variable sensitivi- ties along the infrared spectrum. Your camera might be more or less sensitive at the wavelength where a window manufacturer specified transmissivity.

2. If transmission values change over time, then the manufacturer’s specified trans- mission rate for a new window is irrele- vant as it ages.

3. Some optic materials such as CaF2 have been shown to vary from one window to the next2.

A preferred method of establishing the base-line for transmittance adjustment is to cali-brate the imager using an infrared window and a target which has achieved a stable temperature in the range you anticipate your actual target to be operating in1. Do-ing so will give a thermographer the most ac-curate baseline τ value. But what if that τ value were to change? What effects will that change have on data accuracy?

Magnitude of Error

One of the most misunderstood concepts in thermography is the degree to which er-rors in emissivity and window transmissivity calibration will affect temperature and ∆T accuracy. As demonstrated in the Stefan-Boltzmann Law, the radiated infrared energy emitted by a target surface is exponentially related to the absolute temperature of that surface:

Stefan-Boltzmann Law: W = εσT4

Whereas: W = total radiant Power in Watts/m2

ε = emissivity (unitless)σ = Stefan-Boltzmann constant1.56X10-8W/m2K4

T4 = temperature (absolute) in Kelvin

Therefore, as the temperature increases, ra-diant energy increases proportional to the absolute temperature to the 4th power! An infrared camera’s built-in calibration helps correlate this fact of nature into accurate temperatures and temperature comparisons. However, incorrect camera settings such as emissivity and infrared window transmission rates will result in errant temperature values. Furthermore, because the relationship is ex-

ponential, this error will worsen as the target gets hotter if transmission rates or emissivity settings are not correct. Consider the effect on ∆T comparisons (either between historical and current temperatures or real-time com-parisons between two or more similar parts) which are by their nature a comparison be-tween different temperatures. The resulting calculations are apt to be radically understat-ed, which could easily lead thermographers to misdiagnose the severity of a fault.

If transmission rates are changing over time, and the thermographer is trending values to determine the health of an application, a steadily decreasing transmission rate could cause temperature values to appear to be sta-ble, or decreasing, over time, while tempera-tures were actually increasing significantly over the same period. The implications of flawed data to a reliability or predictive maintenance program are obvious.

Test Specifications

For my Test Window, I used a Calcium Fluo-ride (CaF2) window typical of those offered from various manufacturers. It is a window that I have had in my possession for rough-ly two years. I use it for training purposes when discussing infrared windows in my training classes. It has mostly been exposed to office and living environments with mod-est levels of humidity, temperature, vibration and high-frequency noise.

I utilized a Control Window to provide a ba-sis of comparison. The optic of the Control Window is made of polymer with reinforcing grills on either side of the optic. As with the Test Window, the Control Window is a com-monly used infrared window which I have been using for training purposes, so it has been kept in the same environmental condi-tions as the Test Window. One notable dif-ference is that I have demonstrated the im-pact resistance characteristics of the Control Window many times by hitting the optic with various instruments. Those demonstrations have resulted in several superficial scratch-es and surface blemishes on the optic and grills.

This window makes a good control sample because the polymer optic has been proven to be stable over time, even when exposed to a variety of environmental conditions. Fur-thermore, the Polymer Control Window and the CaF2 Test Window were shown to have

nearly identical transmission characteristics when they were new.

For purposes of these tests, I used a FLIR P65 infrared camera, with a standard 24° lens. When taking images through the infrared windows, the camera lens was pressed up to the window optic as is standard practice. The window temperature and reflected ap-parent temperature were the same as ambi-ent “room” temperature. The targets were placed approximately 18 inches (46cm) from the window, and care was taken to ensure that targets were properly in focus.

The low-temperature target was a standard overhead line clamp. Electrical tape was af-fixed to the bolt head to serve as the target, and ε was adjusted to 0.95. The target was placed on a hot plate and its temperature was allowed to stabilize at 115.8°F (45.6°C).

The high-temperature target was a solder-ing iron tip. Emissivity of the iron’s tip was known to be 0.95 from an earlier test. The imager was adjusted to compensate for emis-sivity, and the soldering iron was left running until its temperatures stabilized at 661.3°F (349.6°C).

Test: Effects of Transmission Degradation

When the Control Window and Test Win-dow were new, they were both shown to have a transmission rate of 49%. Therefore, a thermographer using either window would expect to receive accurate data if they were to adjust their imager to compensate for the attenuating effect of the secondary optic. However, this was not the case for the CaF2 Test Window. (For details on how to test for and adjust for transmission attenuation, please refer to Madding, 2004.1)

Test 1 – Low Temperature

Thermogram 1.1 (on the following page) shows the thermal image of the overhead line clamp with no infrared window. The target temperature is shown to be 115.8°F (45.6°C). We will call this the true temperature.

Thermogram 1.2 shows the same target through the Polymer Control Window, with the τ set to 0.49 per the baseline established when it was new. The target temperature is shown to be 115.9°F (45.6°C): a statistically insignificant 0.09% error between apparent

www.uptimemagazine.com 27

and true temperatures, which is well within the +/-2% accuracy ratings for the camera used in the tests.

Thermogram 1.3 (following page) shows the same target through the CaF2 Test Window, with the τ set to 0.49 per the baseline es-

tablished when it was new. However, in this case the apparent temperature registers as 82.4°F (28°C), resulting in a 33.5°F (17.6°C) or 28.84% error between apparent and true temperatures.

Thermogram 1.4 shows the target after reca-

libration of the imager to the degraded τ val-ue of the CaF2 Test Window. Transmittance was adjusted to 15% to bring the apparent temperature in line with the true tempera-ture. This represents a 69.4% degradation in transmission of the CaF2 Test Window over a two (2) year period.

Thermogram 1.1 Thermogram 1.2

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Test 2 – High Temperature

Thermogram 2.1 (following page) shows the thermal image of the soldering iron tip with no infrared window. The target temperature is shown to be 661.3°F (349.6°C). We will define this as the true temperature of the target.

Thermogram 2.2 shows the same target through the Polymer Control Window, with the τ set to 0.49 per the baseline established when it was new. The target temperature is shown to be 658.1°F (347.8°C): a 0.49% error between apparent and true temperatures. Again this margin of error is not significant since it is well within the camera’s +/-2% ac-curacy specifications.

Thermogram 2.3 shows the same target through the CaF2 Test Window, with the τ set to 0.49 per the baseline established when it was new. However, in this case the apparent temperature registers as 485.7°F (252.1°C), resulting in a 175.6°F (97.5°C) or 26.55% error between apparent and true temperatures.

Thermogram 2.4 shows the target after reca-libration of the imager to the degraded τ val-ue of the CaF2 Test Window. Transmittance was adjusted to 30% to bring the apparent temperature in line with the known true tem-perature. Notice that this differs from the 15% transmittance at the lower temperature, confirming Dr. Madding’s findings1 with re-gard to the variability of Calcium Fluoride’s transmittance across the long wave infrared spectrum.

Conclusions

It is of critical importance to choose an in-frared window made with materials that are designed for the environment in which you will be using them. As stated in 1.3 of the UL 50V standard for Infrared Viewports, “The acceptability of an Infrared Viewport in any particular application depends upon its suit-ability for continued use under the condi-tions that prevail in actual service.” In other words, it is incumbent on the purchaser of the window to understand whether or not a window will suffer effects of degradation due to exposure to the environment in which it

will be used.

When IR windows were properly compensat-ed for, as with the Polymer Control Window used in these tests, it was easy to obtain ac-curate data which could be trusted.

The Control Window used in this article is made of a polymer which has been proven to maintain a stable transmission rate in a variety of conditions. In this test, it proved to maintain a stable transmission rate over a two (2) year period even when subjected to abusive impact resistance demonstrations. I am confident that the data taken through this type of window will be accurate when a qualified thermographer controls for rel-evant variables.

Conversely, after just two (2) years in relative-ly controlled environments, my CaF2 window has shown considerable transmission degra-dation and is not yielding accurate results. In both tests the temperature error using the CaF2 Test Window was in excess of 25%. To make matters worse, the error resulted in apparent temperatures which were lower

Thermogram 2.2Thermogram 2.1

Thermogram 1.4Thermogram 1.3

than the true temperature, which means that the error is likely to produce a false negative result for the thermographer. Furthermore, there was no visible evidence of the change in transmission rate, so the thermographer would likely have no obvious cues to check for transmissivity changes.

In the event that a thermographer is using an IR window material which is known or suspected to degrade over time, accuracy dictates periodic recalibration of the cam-era to the changing transmission rate of the window optic so that the new transmission rate can be known and compensated for. The recalibration requires the thermogra-pher to test each window2 with a target of a known temperature. Therefore, the panel cover holding each window must either be removed or opened for window calibration. In industrial applications, for time and safety reasons, this is best done during a shutdown. It may not seem practical, but it is absolutely necessary if data from a degrading optic is to be accurate and trusted.

www.uptimemagazine.com 29

Thermogram 2.4

Thermogram 2.3

Just as an infrared imager will periodi-cally calibrate itself to compensate for drift caused by the effects of temperature on the camera’s Germa-nium lens and internal components, a ther-mographer must cali-brate his imager to ac-count for attenuation through an infrared window. If the ther-mographer chooses a window with an optic that remains stable over time in their envi-ronment, this calibra-tion can be based on a one-time transmission test when the window is new. Otherwise, pe-riodic recalibration will be required to ensure accuracy.

Resources1. Madding, Dr. Robert. “IR Window Trans- mittance Temperature Dependence.” Infrared Training Center, FLIR Systems, Inc. 20042. Daugherty, Newberry & Schewe, “Opening the Windows.” Uptime Magazine. Nov 2007: p. 22.

Joe DeMonte is currently the Director of Operations and Training for TEGG Corpora-tion. He holds a Bachelor of Liberal Arts, and an Associate’s Degree in Applied Technical Science from Thomas Edison State University. and is an ASNT/PdM Level III Thermographer His experience includes an enlisted tour in the US Naval Submarine force nuclear divi-sion, and several years as a PdM Engineer and lead infrared thermographer for Beaver Valley Power Station. For the last 10 years, Joe has helped write and teach the Infrared Training Center’s infrared thermography certification program.

april/may 2009

Looking Into The MistOil Mist Lubrication for Positive Displacement Blowers

by Heinz P. Bloch, P.E.

reliability engineer was trying to explore the viability of a project to equip a number of Roots-type ro-tary lobe blowers with oil mist. He had looked up a number of web-based papers, OEM manuals, and a relevant text1. Although receiving input from both OEM and a highly experienced oil mist provider, the gentleman expressed concern with certain issues that arose in the course of his research. We want to

share his questions and some of our answers.

Blowers Operate at a Range of Pressures

The positive displacement blowers at this engineer’s plant are of the type illustrated in Figure 1. They move air ranging in pressure from slightly negative suction to about 15 psig positive discharge, as is typical for polyethylene powder or pellet transfer. His machines come in different sizes, but are predominantly 10, 12, and 14-inch (shaft center to shaft center) rotary lobe units. The drives at his facility include direct-drive mo-tors, gearboxes, and belt arrangements. He noted that some were splash-lube only, while some were forced-feed lubricated.

When the blowers were installed many years ago, there was, at that time, an understanding between the oil mist provider and user-owner that pure mist (dry sump) might later be retrofitted to the blower bearings. A wet sump (purge mist) arrangement was considered appropriate on the timing gear/oil sump side of the smaller splash-lubricated units. In his research, the

user-owner found industry references to oil mist appli-cation on small blowers at other facilities; however, the engineer was now trying to determine if it was accept-able to eliminate forced lubrication on the larger units. Although not disallowing it, the blower manufacturer apparently knew of no users that had eliminated forced-feed lubrication.

Information supplied by the blower manufacturer showed a general preference for forced feed lubrication when a certain pressure rise (and, therefore, differ-ential temperature) through the blower is exceeded. However, the engineer didn’t think he had found a suitable reference on the temperature limitations of oil mist applications. He also struggled with locating case histories where elevated-temperature applications are featured (with the exception of slow-turning bearings for rollers, etc.) He knew that removing oil flooding actually decreases the frictional heat generated within the bearing; but, in the case of his more heavily loaded bearings on larger blowers, he thought that it might be

the process (air) discharge temperature that outweighed frictional heat genera-tion concerns.

He quite correctly noted that getting away from forced-feed lubrication would greatly simplify the oil system, eliminating a pump, cooler, piping, thermostatic valves, and pressure switches. With other than forced feed lubrication, he thought he would lose the benefit offered by even a “marginal filtration” strainer. However, if he could not remove the forced lube re-quirement, he would not expect much advantage of oil mist purge as opposed to simple nitrogen purges on these units. He acknowledged that some beneficial oil-wetting of components in standby equipment might occur, but

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Figure 1 - Roots-type positive displacement blower at a petrochemical plant.

(Source: Lubrication Systems Company, Houston, Texas)

noted that, on centrifugal pumps, his plant used oil mist with nitrogen as the carrier fluid.

The Quest for Case Histories

And so, he raised several specific questions he hoped we might comment on. First, he in-quired if we were aware of any users that had switched to oil mist where forced lube was previously used on blowers or similar equip-ment. Our answer was affirmative, and con-firmed that of the oil mist provider: oil mist lube on blowers exists and has been used quite successfully on many sizes for several decades. Ref. 1 gives the shaft speed, bearing size and load values for which oil mist lubri-cation was designed, irrespective of machine type. In fact, oil mist is viable at speeds and velocities much higher than those encoun-tered here. There will certainly be no prob-lem applying this technology to any machine type with rolling element bearings including, of course, the blower sizes used at his plant.

As regards a strainer (or the loss of it), we reasoned that, by the time contaminants or other debris particles are large enough to get caught in a strainer, a myriad of smaller par-ticles will have passed through and will have severely damaged the machine’s components. Our view is that strainers are only inserted in piping to catch hard hats and beer bottles left by the construction crew. Contaminant intrusion must be prevented by other means. Intrusion can be managed by advanced bear-ing housing protector seals — a separate sub-ject and one well worth studying. (For now, let’s just remember that a serious professional examines how components operate and ques-tions configurations that violate the precepts of sound engineering and the science of elas-tomeric materials behavior. Some products stand accused of such violations, and at least two of the cited references shed much more light on the issue).

Next, the engineer asked for a case history that we might comment on. Well, we know the oil mist provider has access to such case histories and would be pleased to share them with any prospective client. The general con-figuration of Roots-type positive displacement blowers is depicted in Figure 2; it highlights where and how both pure mist and dry sump oil mist are applied on the same blower. Un-fortunately, users are often reluctant to share their success stories with the public and we may have to depend on others to do the ex-

plaining. The bearings on the gear side are splash lubricated from the action of the oil-contacting gears. The space above the liquid oil is not vented. Venting would lead to mist flow and would cause more mist to coalesce (become reclassified into liquid oil) and the oil level would rise. By not venting the gear side, one avoids adding to environmental pollution and avoids having to actually remove oil from the sump. Dry sump (pure) oil mist lubrica-tion is used on the input side of the blower.

As to our opinion on using nitrogen purge in-stead of oil mist: In this application, oil mist is probably much less expensive than nitrogen. Moreover, it imparts a “lubricity” bonus that will be important for non-running equipment under conditions of vibration being trans-mitted from neighboring running machines. Those are just two of the reasons why we would stay with oil mist.

Also, the engineer had been led to believe that his plant was “stuck with” purge mist on the sump/gear side of the blower. Yet, he said, in his studies he had come across some gen-eral references to dry lubrication film devel-opment on warmer (i.e. 80ºC+) gear meshes utilizing oil mist, and was now wondering if these kinds of studies might offer challenges to his thinking. It wasn’t clear to him when it would be reasonable to use dry lube films on the timing gears shown on the left side of Figure 2. As to the oil mist lubricant path, he

www.uptimemagazine.com 31

expressed the view that, at high speeds, wind-age could be a problem (windage is the fan effect generated by an angularly oriented cage in rolling element bearings). He observed that the bearings on the timing gear side of the blower are not contained in a separate hous-ing. In our answer, we noted that dry lube films are often used for speed reducing gears in motorized hand drills. We then advised against experimentation with dry film lubri-cation in the engineer’s reliability-focused in-dustrial setting and on Roots-type blowers.

Some More General Answers Worth Pondering

Dry sump oil mist (properly applied) is a real attractive lubrication method for rolling ele-ment bearings in virtually all industries. Only oil jet lubrication (a superior form of forced lube) is technically better. However, oil jet lube would be more expensive and probably difficult to cost-justify for the positive dis-placement blowers at issue here.

In short, it is well known that many Roots-type blowers are lubricated by oil mist. However, first and foremost, the dry sump (“pure”) oil mist is intended for rolling element (errone-ously called “anti-friction”) bearings and not, in the case of these blowers, for sleeve (or “plain”) bearings or gears. Dry film lubrica-tion development is strictly a function of oil type and temperature. For Roots-type blow-

Figure 2 - Roots-type blower cross-section with oil mist purge (left) and pure oil mist (right) (Source: Lubrication Systems Company, Houston, Texas)

april/may 200932

ers, dry film lube sounds like a research proj-ect with lots of variables. And so, we would stay clear of that, for now.

The oil mist must be ported through the bear-ings at the input side of the blowers. Except for “bearings only” regions where dry sump oil mist greatly excels over purge mist, wet sump (purge mist) will help considerably by preventing contaminant entry into the bearing and gear housing. Thus, purge mist should be used on the gear side of the illustration in Figure 2, but the mist routing may not be the same on different physical layouts or other housing configurations. Of critical importance to dry sump oil mist lu-brication is the mist entry point. If applied per API-610 (8th through 10th Edition), oil mist will protect bearings better than anything short of an oil jet impinging on the rolling ele-ments. While oil mist may still work even if not applied per latest API-610 recommenda-tions, a facility that disregards these straight-forward recommendations loses its claims to be reliability-focused. When utilizing an appropriate synthetic oil (mist) for both bearings and gears, the maxi-

mum allowable temperature is usually set by the bearing metal and bearing-internal clear-ance considerations (230ºF), and not by the lubricant temperature. The temperature per-mitted by several available high performance synthetic lubricants certainly exceeds 300ºF. Reviewing Internal Sealing Provisions

On Roots-type blowers, process pressure con-siderations rarely enter the picture. However, that statement assumes that internal sealing provisions (sealing between a bearing region and the adjacent pressurized process envi-ronment) are made with reliability focus and forethought. Internal sealing may differ for various machine sizes or internal features. Chances are that seal upgrades are feasible and merit inclusion in a pre-purchase review. That kind of up-front review is done by Best-of-Class companies and is neatly described in books and articles, courses, and techni-cal seminars2). For the past 43 years (since 1965), smart companies have allocated money for these reviews by factoring the cost into the project budget. As to the cost of such reviews, these companies have claimed ben-efit-to-cost ratios of 100-to-1 and higher. Sad

to say, the not-so-smart companies still base their budgets on buying the cheapest possible equipment and then wonder why their main-tenance costs are high and equipment reliabil-ity is low. Could it be that one only gets what one pays for?

Experience surveys are fine. Nevertheless, we should shy away from blindly trusting what someone said, regardless of whether they had good, or bad, or just so-so experiences. Sometimes, Many people’s word-of-mouth ex-perience may not be relevant at all. Most per-sonnel don’t know the difference between a typical oil mist fitting, a spray fitting (for slow speeds), a condensing fitting (for sliding ways) and a directed oil mist fitting (used to over-come windage). They probably don’t perform root cause failure analysis (RCFA) and a never-ending stream of repeat failures at their plant attests to the veracity of our suspicion. Any feedback or opinions must be linked to sever-al variables and would mandate that we knew these variables. In any event, there is never a substitute for understanding how parts work, and how they fail. So, a simple review of the cross-sectional configurations of the blowers in question is

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really necessary. Anything short of such a review is just guesswork – no value added, just risk added. As long as the review is done diligently, the owner-operator will prosper. If he “saves” the relative pittance that such a review will cost by not performing it, his facil-ity will never reach the degree of low failure incidence that others enjoy. In other words, we believe the failure risk far outweighs the cost of an up-front analysis and our engineer is to be commended for asking some of his questions up front. But there’s also some criticism due. We will perhaps never understand why seemingly modern facilities claim they cannot afford funding the few hours it takes a competent advisor to teach the underlying fundamentals. Out of maybe a hundred questions that reach us in a year’s time, at least ninety are asked out of context. For us to quickly answer them is, ultimately, not a productive endeavor. What’s worse is that it very often leads to defensive-ness on the part of the questioner.

Virtually all plants have training budgets, but certainly not all of them spend their training funds wisely. Truly teaching an understand-ing as to how machines function and malfunc-tion would pay huge dividends. That’s as true for oil mist on blowers as it is for thoroughly analyzing bearing housing (bearing protector) seals where half the O-ring is contacted by a groove in the stationary part and the other half is contacted by a groove in the rotating part. Did you ever wonder what happens to the O-ring at slow-roll, or when there is axial movement of the two parts relative to each other3? When would we consider retrofit-ting a dual-face magnetic seal4? Now that is real food for thought! Once we upgrade to oil mist lubrication, we might as well do the whole job and do it right.

References:

1. Bloch, Heinz P. and Abdus Shamim; “Oil- Mist Lubrication Handbook”—Practical Applications”, (1998), Fairmont Press, Lilburn, GA, 30047 (ISBN 0-88173-256-7)

2. Bloch, Heinz P.; “Improving Machinery Reliability”, (1998), Third Edition, Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, TX, 77520 (ISBN 0-88415-661-3)

3. Bloch, Heinz P.; “Counting Interventions Instead of MTBF,” (Hydrocarbon Process- ing, October 2007)

4. Bloch, Heinz P.; “Consider Dual Magnetic Hermetic Sealing Devices for Equipment In Modern Refineries,” (Pumps & Systems, September 2004)

Heinz P. Bloch (hpbloch@mchsi.com) is a professional engineer with offices in West Des Moines, Iowa. He advises process and power plants worldwide on reliability improvement and maintenance cost reduc-tion opportunities. Heinz is the author of

17 full-length texts and over 400 papers and technical articles. His most recent texts in-clude “A Practical Guide to Compressor Tech-nology” (2006, John Wiley & Sons, NY, ISBN 0-471-727930-8); “Pump User’s Handbook: Life Extension,” (2006, Fairmont Publishing Company, Lilburn, ISBN 0-88173-517-5) and “Machinery Uptime Improvement,” (2006, Elsevier-Butterworth-Heinemann, Stoneham, MA, ISBN 0-7506-7725-2)

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As we enter a recession and maintenance staffs are cut, we will once again be asked to do more with less. This means that now we need to think about how we conduct maintenance and determine how to do it more efficiently and intelligently in the future whether that is through new internal processes or outside help. As we rise to meet the challenges of the emerging economy, we implement best practices, restructure, invest in infrastructure and are prepared to hit the ground run-ning when the economy turns upwards again.

In the coming months, I will be writing a number of articles addressing the subject of why PdM programs succeed or fail from the managerial, technical and fi-nancial perspectives. Whether one decides to use this information to beef up or restart an in-house program, determine what type of training may be best or to out-source some, or all, of these functions, the hope is to provide enough practical information to help you be successful in your endeavor. The article you are reading now will touch on some of the main themes that we will be exploring in more detail in the future.

Lack of Vision

No program can succeed if it is not well conceived. If done correctly, a predictive maintenance program should change the culture, philosophy and work flow of the maintenance department. It is not just the addition of a new technology or tool, but a different approach or strategy towards maintaining one’s assets. This approach is being undertaken in order to gain specific benefits that can and should be measured. These benefits include: increased uptime, reduced failures, shorter planned outages, fewer preventive maintenance actions and, ultimately, a more efficient facility. Failure to adapt the culture to this new phi-losophy, and benchmark the gains, will eventually lead to the program’s dissolution. Adopting new technolo-gies without changing maintenance strategies will not produce the desired benefits.

n the past few years we have witnessed a marked change in predictive maintenance (PdM) practices whereby more and more companies are choosing to outsource their programs. While many facilities routinely calculate 20:1 return on investment metrics, others cynically refer to aging data collectors as “dust collectors” or use them as bookends. Although the concept of PdM is now widely known, and its

potential benefits generally accepted, many plants have failed to successfully exploit the available techniques and technologies in practice. This state of affairs begs the question: “Why do some programs succeed while others fail?”

Using a Tool without Understanding Why

Many facilities purchase a new technology, such as a vibration data collector or alignment tool, spend time and money learning how to use the tool, but little time understanding why it is being used. As an example, a particular facility I know of had the capacity and abil-ity to detect incipient bearing wear in a pump using a vibration analysis system. Although the pump showed no signs of wear, the facility went ahead and changed out the bearings according to their preventive mainte-nance schedule. At another plant, a vibration analyst was adept at detecting mechanical faults in his plant’s machinery, but he was afraid to tell his supervisor about all of the problems he found because his super-visor might get angry at having to repair all of these machines! Both of these cases demonstrate the use of the technology as an end in itself without an overall vision of why the technology is being employed.

Failure to Justify the Program

In those facilities where the technology is being used correctly, and in the right context, I have often seen a program fail because its successes were not adequately documented. This is to say that the facility changed their philosophy to a predictive mode, correctly em-ployed technology to reduce preventive maintenance actions and minimized catastrophic failures, but they failed to adequately document the efficiencies and sav-ings associated with these actions. So, while employees within the maintenance department acknowledged that their work was useful, they had no data to prove this to those outside of their group. Sadly, they then saw their program get cut when managers had to tighten their budgets. In other cases, the person managing the PdM program left and no one picked up the ball.

Lack of Consistency

Another component of a failed program is the lack

Avoiding the PitfallsWhy Do Predictive Maintenance Programs Fail?

by Alan Friedman

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and will have a plant that operates smoothly, predictably and efficiently over time. To at-tain this goal, consistency is required over a long period of time.

Training and Partnering

Ongoing training is an important ingredient of a successful program. However, it needs to be the correct type of training, a combination of complimentary technology and managerial expertise. ISO and ASNT-certified vibration courses focus on machine dynamics and vibrations on a general technical level. It is important to take these courses, pass the exams and become certified, but this training alone will not necessarily translate to running a successful PdM program.

Equipment vendor training is often useful because it requires trainees to learn how to use a data collector and correctly set up software, but oftentimes does not expand outside these topics to provide the user with the tools he or she needs to run a suc-cessful program. While learning how to use data collection tools is an essential skill, it defeats the purpose if that same person does not know what to do with the data they’ve collected or how to manage a successful PdM program. One last note to consider about equipment vendor training: once the training has been completed, there is often no one around to ensure employees are using the tool correctly.

Onsite training, database reviews, program audits and choosing the correct long term partner, or PdM service provider, will go a long way to ensuring a successful program. If done correctly, a service partner will provide onsite training and support in managing your ongoing program in different capacities as your program evolves. At different times and in different circumstances, a good partner will take over parts of the program for you and later provide training and support as you bring the program back in-house.

Lack of Procedures / Methodology

As alluded to in the last section, a success-ful monitoring program is more than just interpreting graphs and data, it depends on consistency and repeatable performance. In general, we are interested in monitoring as-sets in order to diagnose deteriorating health or other problems. In order to do this cor-

of consistency over time. There are many causes for this, ranging from a failure to commit adequate personnel, lack of proper training, loss of skilled personnel, change in program direction/technology, failure to adequately define the program at the start and, finally, the lack of a consistent model to monitor the efficacy of the program over time. These false starts and stops add con-fusion to the process and typically result in a lack of faith by the workers who see the company invest in “change”, but then quickly revert back to old patterns.

A lack of consistency over time has the ad-ditional ill effects of not allowing the facility to “evolve” to a proactive maintenance mode. As a brief review, there are four levels of main-tenance practices: run-to-failure, preventive, predictive and proactive. In run-to-failure programs, facilities adopt a technology, such as vibration analysis, to test or troubleshoot machines they know have problems. Preven-tive mode refers to maintenance departments that test machines on a schedule much like a preventive maintenance task, but do not act on the information gleaned from these tests. In predictive maintenance mode, one bases maintenance actions on the results of these tests to eliminate unnecessary preventive actions and avoid catastrophic failures.

The next stage in maintenance evolution is the proactive mode, whereby the facility has enough historical information about the machines and their failure modes to make educated decisions on how to extend their lives, replace them with machines of differ-ent makes or models or weed out inherent design flaws. To reach these lofty goals and bask in the glory of a highly efficient plant, one needs the backbone of an historically consistent program to lean on.

Looking at these evolutionary stages from a qualitative viewpoint, one will note that a plant in run-to-failure mode will contain machinery in various states of disrepair that seem to fail at random. Personnel in a run-to-failure plant will often be “busy” and may think that they are too busy to adopt new procedures! In the preventative mode, one is taking better care of one’s assets and they are failing less frequently. In predictive mode, one should be able to reduce preventive actions where applicable, extend machine life and drastically and reduce unplanned outages. In proactive mode, one will have removed or redesigned troubled machinery

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rectly and accurately, one needs to test the assets in a repeatable fashion, month after month and year after year for many years. When this is understood, one will see that a successful program depends much more on consistency and program management (unfortunately, this aspect is not often taught in standardized courses) than it does on tech-nical prowess. Another way of stating this is to say that a successful program depends on methodology and organization. A good partner or service provider with a good track record should be able to help you implement a program with tried and true methodologies and manage it for you. Lack of Experience / Commitment

So far, we have touched on a number of dif-ferent aspects of successful and unsuccessful programs, and it may be clear that there are a lot of issues involved. This highlights another problem, which is simply a lack of experience and/or commitment by a particular facility. Even if one has the best intentions and the highest level of commitment, it may take a long time to train an employee or group of employees to the point where they can imple-ment a good maintenance program. In the meantime, as they are learning, little may be happening or things may be going in the wrong direction.

More typically, one will see a facility trying to accomplish a great deal without dedicat-ing any money or people to the project or, when they do dedicate one or the other, it is only for a short period of time. Within this window, corporate priorities change, per-sonnel change positions and, subsequently, the program gets shelved. Like many things in today’s world, PdM is becoming a highly specialized area of expertise where, if one wants to gain the depth and expertise cur-rently existing in the market place, it takes a great deal of dedication and time, which , unfortunately, may not be compatible with the other 100 duties you are expected to take care of as part of your other work. This is one reason why partnering or outsourc-ing has become a viable option for many organizations.

Conclusion

Having gone through this brief exercise, per-haps it is becoming apparent why there are advantages to outsourcing PdM programs. And, while many companies have the exper-

tise in-house to develop and sustain high quality PdM programs, there are also many companies who might benefit more, or at least benefit more quickly, by outsourcing their predictive maintenance programs. It is a decision that each organization needs to explore for themselves.

Service providers understand the context in which their technology is being employed and many have an enormous amount of ex-perience in successfully managing large pro-grams over extended periods of time. They know what is required to make a program succeed and can educate you and your staff on these points. A service provider should maintain a consistent approach over time and be able to maintain the appropriate expertise within their company, in part because their people completely believe in the technology they are employing. They will be experts at utilizing the tools and technology at their disposal, but this should take a backseat to their track record on managing long-term programs. Lastly, a service provider should be able to work with you to benchmark the program and demonstrate its return on in-vestment over time.

In future articles, we will explore these topics in greater depth to provide you with enough practical information to run a better in-house program or find an appropriate partner or service provider to help take it off your hands. In either case, understanding why things fail is the key to understanding how to get them to work!

Alan Friedman is a senior technical advisor for Azima DLI (www.AzimaDLI.com). With more than 18 years of engineering experi-ence, Friedman has worked with hundreds of industrial facilities worldwide and devel-oped proven best practices for sustainable condition monitoring and predictive main-tenance programs. Friedman contributed to the development of Azima DLI’s auto-mated diagnostic system and has produced and taught global CAT II and CAT III equiva-lent vibration analysis courses. Friedman is a senior instructor at the Mobius Institute, an independent provider of vibration train-ing and certification, and an instructor for the Instituto Mexicano de Mantenimiento Predictivo (Predictive Maintenance Insti-tute of Mexico). He is also the founder of ZenCo, a positive vibrations company. You can contact Alan at 206-327-3332 orat friedmanalan1@gmail.com

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ngineering can be a boring career with everyone working with known measurements and abso-lutes. There is never any doubt that the information contained in a standard or textbook is fact because everything is static, mathematical, and measurable. At least, that is what most people tend to think.

While it is true that most engineers tend to be a conservative lot, most of your standards and information in textbooks is based upon a combi-nation of experience, mathematical and observed experimentation, theory, fact, compromise and consensus. Standards development meetings, and developing consensus between domestic and glob-al standards, can get quite exciting with debate, disagreement and even the occasional subterfuge. There is nothing more exciting than watching competing machine and component manufacturers along with scientists, laboratory representatives, and the users of the machines and components, all with their own agenda, trying hard to agree, while not sharing competitive information. However, it is also important to understand (with only a few exceptions), that virtually all of the engineers in-volved in the standards that we use are dedicated and interested in the good of the industry, with the few maverick self-interested engineers tend-ing not to last long. In other cases information is shared on new development that helps the indus-try move forward.

The reality is that standards development can be quite exciting and informative. One such case is the most referenced Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) standards in the maintenance industry: IEEE Std 43-2000: “IEEE Recommended Practice for Testing Insulation Resistance of Rotating Machinery” (IEEE 43). The original IEEE 43 standard was issued in 1974 and remained virtually unchanged up through 2000. It primarily represented about a Century’s worth of experience with data identical to publications published in 1913, and earlier.

A lot of changes occurred in the 1970s and later, in relation to the electrical insulation industry, including the use of polymers and advances in both epoxy and polymer sciences for electrical insula-tion systems. In the meantime, much of the data

in use for the 1974 standard could be traced back to the experiences from oil and/or tar and paper insulation systems.

Every so often, IEEE standards must be reaffirmed. The reaffirmation process involves the review of an existing standard to determine if it is still useful, valid, or requires updating. It involves the creation of a standards committee working group who is tasked to review, advise and either modify or reject the standard. If the standard is accepted or modified by the group, it is put out through the IEEE standards authority for general announce-ment and voting by interested engineers, with a minimum number of votes being required before it is released.

IEEE Std 43-1974 was revised by the 2000 working group over the course of several years and re-re-leased with some of the original core document attached, but with far more explanation and detail. The standard has since been re-affirmed with the stipulation that specific issues are reviewed, a process which is ongoing at the time of the draft-ing of this article. IEEE 43 is the responsibility of the IEEE Materials Subcommittee of the IEEE Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society (DEIS), the IEEE society that oversees a majority of the electrical testing standards for electrical insulation systems and machines that we use consistently in our industry.

What is IEEE Std 43?

The scope of IEEE 43 is described as follows:

“This document describes a recommended proce-dure for measuring insulation resistance of arma-ture and field windings in rotating machines rated 1 hp, 750 W or greater. It applies to synchronous machines, induction machines, dc machines, and synchronous condensers. It does not apply to

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Adventures in Engineering StandardsBehind the Scenes of Creating IEEE Std 43-2000

by Howard W. Penrose, PhD, CMRP

38 april/may 2009

fractional-horsepower machines...The document also describes typical insula-tion resistance characteristics of rotating machine windings and how these charac-teristics indicate winding condition. It recommends minimum acceptable values of insulation resistance for ac and dc rotating machine windings.”1

IEEE 43 provides us with some very useful information within a scope of all machines over one horsepower in size, including the definitions of insulation resistance and po-larization index. The purpose is outlined as follows1:

a) Define insulation resistance and polar- ization index of the winding of a rot- ating machine;b) Review the factors that affect or change insulation resistance characteristics;c) Recommend uniform test conditions;d) Recommend uniform methods for measuring insulation resistance with precautions to avoid erroneous results;e) Provide a basis for interpreting insu- lation resistance tests to estimate winding suitability for service or for an overvoltage test. In particular, this standard describes typical insula- tion problems detected by the insula- tion resistance tests;f) Present recommended minimum acceptable insulation resistance values and polarization indices for various types of rotating machines.

Starting in the 2000 edition, changes were made to the minimum acceptable value from the traditional 1 MegOhm plus 1 Meg-

www.uptimemagazine.com 39

Ohm per kilo-Volt rating of the machine, or 1.5 MegOhms for a 460 Volt machine and 5 MegOhms for a 4,160 Volt machine. The new values were presented as shown in Table 1 (note: Table 1 wording repre-sents the present recommended change to IEEE 43 and not the existing standard).3

The standard describes the specific condi-tions that will affect insulation resistance, including temperature, test voltage, and moisture. While the moisture require-ments suggest that the machine should be tested above the dew point; that is the limit to the guidance other than noting that humidity can cause dramatic changes to test results. Recommended test voltage values are presented based upon machine voltage, and temperature adjustments are recommended to 40°C to a standard chart and formula.

Prior to IEEE 43-2000, there were few lim-its related to Polarization Index (PI). The change was made such that insulation re-sistance values over 5,000 MegOhms, ad-justed to 40°C, should not be tested for PI. Very little explanation was forthcoming until the present draft changes to the IEEE 43, or IEEE Std P43-2000 (Revision of IEEE Std 43-2000), Section 12.2.2 Applicability of polarization index when IR is greater than 5000 MegOhms, “When the insula-tion resistance reading obtained after the voltage has been applied for 1 min (IR1) is higher than 5,000 MegOhms, based on the magnitude of applied direct voltage, the total measured current (IT) can be in the submicroampere range. At this level of required test instrument sensitivity, small changes in the supply voltage, am-bient humidity, test conditions, and other

Minimum Insulation Resistance (MegOhms)

Test Specimens

IR1 Min = kV + 1 For most windings made before 1970, all fi eld windings, and others not described below

IR1 Min = 100 For most dc armature and ac windings built after about 1970 (form wound coils)

IR1 Min = 5 For most machines with random-wound stator coils and form wound coils rated below 1 kV

Table 1 - Minimum Acceptable Insulation Resistance Values at 40ºC (in MegOhms)

non-related components can greatly affect the total current measured during the 1-10 minute interval required for a PI. Be-cause of these phenomena, when the IR1 is higher than 5,000 MegOhms, the PI may or may not be an indication of the insula-tion condition and is therefore not recom-mended as an assessment tool.”3

Tests previously referenced, including di-electric absorption and limits are not men-tioned in the present or upcoming edition of the IEEE 43. However, such types of tests are now referenced in Annex A, in-cluding a more in-depth discussion of the meaning and interpretation of PI and new-er insulation systems.

Present Conditions Surrounding IEEE 43

The designation of ‘P’ in front of a standard number, such as IEEE Std P43-2000, indi-cates that the standard is presently under development. In these conditions, IEEE provides a statement on the cover of all ‘P’ documents that the standard is presently

under development and may have changes made such that use of the standard is at the risk of the user.

IEEE is also a professional organization in which a significant amount of informa-tion is publicly available. For the IEEE Power Engineering Society (PES) Materi-als Subcommittee, which falls under the responsibility of DEIS, information on the present ongoing work related to IEEE P43 (and other insulation standards) can be found at http://ewh.ieee.org/cmte/pes/materials/workinggroups/p43/p43.htm.2 Anyone may go and view ongoing work, comment, and/or volunteer, although only IEEE members are able to vote on the IEEE standards.

The primary issue that was raised with the Affirmed IEEE 43 was that it related to all machines above 1 horsepower for new, re-paired, and existing machines up to and including large generators. Motor manu-facturers identified that the change to the minimum insulation values might affect

specific National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) portions of the NEMA MG-1 standard (Motors and Generators), and in particular, how it related to sealed insulation systems. The discussions are ongoing, with most of the discussion hinging around the fact that none of the NEMA members had raised the issue that the original 1 MegOhm plus 1 MegOhm per kilo-Volt was an issue, especially in the wet-winding test: (Reference Section 12.3.1 of the IEEE P43) “Sealed Winding Conformance Test – Final test specifica-tions for new machines often require the exposed areas of the stator winding to be completely soaked with an aqueous solu-tion of known surface tension. A measure-ment of insulation resistance is used to es-tablish that the insulation system is sealed against ingress by moisture. The detailed test procedure and an acceptance criteria are provided in IEEE 4, NEMA MG-1.” This is post-scripted with the following note: “NEMA MG1 gives a minimum insulation resistance for a wetted winding of kV+1 MegOhm (awaiting feedback from NEMA MG1 Technical Committee Chair on ratio-nale for this minimum value).”3

Once this issue was identified, additional potential problems were identified within the standard such as some of the diagrams not fully, or properly, describing the true conditions of an insulation system. The argument was made that while the original purpose of the diagrams was to generically demonstrate conditions, they were never meant to be used for actual calculations of insulation condition. However, numerous cases were identified where technical ar-guments were made using these diagrams, resulting in erroneous conclusions. One such issue includes the equivalent circuit diagram identified in the document as Fig-ure 1. The decision must be made wheth-er to leave it as is, remove it, or qualify it further in the description. The argument and decision has been in process for close to 18 months at the time of drafting of this article with lively discussion at each meet-ing.

Conclusion

IEEE standards development can be an ex-citing process, especially once it is under-stood that most standards are created only

april/may 200940

www.uptimemagazine.com 41

through the participation of professionals that bring many differing viewpoints, ex-periences and agendas to the table. The meetings can certainly become quite lively as everyone contributes their input to the ongoing debate. It is not easy to develop consensus among the cast of characters, and everyone who participates in the pro-cess should be commended for spending their time in an effort to move our indus-try forward.

The result is demonstrated in the IEEE 43 standard, which is heavily used in the reliability and maintenance community for the testing and evaluation of rotating machines. Following major changes in the 2000 version of the standard after 26 years, and over a century of experience, it has been discovered that additional modi-fications are required in order to meet modern requirements and changes to the chemistry of modern insulation systems. This includes developing a consensus be-

tween standards bodies and within the IEEE P43 committee, itself.

Bibliography

1. IEEE Recommended Practice for Testing Insulation Resistance of Rotating Machinery, IEEE Standard 43-2000.

2. IEEE Materials Subcommittee IEEE P43 Working Group, Available: http://ewh.ieee.org/cmte/pes/materials/ workingroups/p43/p43.htm

3. Draft IEEE Recommended Practice for Testing Insulation Resistance of Ro- tating Machinery, IEEE Standard P43-2000

Howard W Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP is the President of SUCCESS by DESIGN® a

reliability services and publishing firm, Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE DEIS Web (http://www.ieee.org/go/deis/), Found-ing Executive Director of the Institute of Electrical Motor Diagnostics, and President of AllAmericanHybrid.com. Dr. Penrose specializes in commercial/indus-trial rotating machinery, hybrid/electric vehicle system, and electrical system reliability, maintenance, manufacturing, design, diagnostics, training, and forensic analysis. He is the 2009 Bronze Medal Axiom Business Book Award Winner (Operations Management Category) for his book “Physical Asset Management for the Executive” and the author of “Electri-cal Motor Diagnostics: 2nd Edition.” He may be contacted via email at howard@motordoc.com for commercial discussion and hpenrose@ieee.org for IEEE related questions. SUCCESS by DESIGN may be found at http://www.motordoc.com.

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april/may 2009

A New Activity MatrixWhy Being Proactive is No Longer Enough

by Phillip Slater

t was about ten minutes before anyone noticed the smoke. The wiring had been heating up since the most recent planned maintenance activity. Apparently, the electrician didn’t quite tighten up the joint and hadn’t properly cleaned away the built up dust. The result was a hot joint and this heat quickly spread into the cable. The casing began to smoke and by the time the smoke was noticed the cabinet

was actually on fire.

42

IThe machine operator who saw the smoke imme-diately raised the alarm, shut down the power, and grabbed a fire extinguisher. She knew better than to open the cabinet and let in more oxygen so she concentrated on stopping the fire from spreading.

The alarm had alerted the local fire brigade and by the time they arrived the factory had been evacuated and their trained emergency response team had con-tained the fire using CO2 extinguishers. Everyone was safe and the fire was out.

Any reasonable evaluation of this situation would conclude that almost all actions taken here were proactive, but is that really enough?

What is Proactive?

In 1990, Stephen Covey released a book that was to become a modern classic. The book, ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’, proposes seven principles that Covey, through his leadership training, had seen enable people to achieve a ‘principle centered, char-acter based approach to personal and interpersonal effectiveness’. Some people have interpreted these habits as being the principles for success.

The first of Covey’s habits is ‘Be Proactive’ and the phenomenal success of Covey’s book resulted in the word ‘proactive’ becoming a major buzz word of management in the 1990’s and since. We have all heard someone say something like, ‘We are taking a proactive approach’, meaning that they are prepared (or are preparing) for an expected event.

Being proactive is seen to be the approach of people that are taking charge, who are not just responding to a situation, but are planning and anticipating. In many respects it has become a virtue that cannot be argued against.

Or can it?

The online resource Dictionary.com defines pro-active as: ‘serving to prepare for, intervene in, or control an expected occurrence or situation’. If you examine this statement, it really says that being proactive means ‘doing something’ but this is too general from any practical perspective and doesn’t really help in determining which actions really are proactive and should be prioritized. Since the mid 1990’s, it seems that being proactive represents tak-ing action, any action, even after the event, even if it may not be the best or most appropriate course of action.

Under the ‘doing something’ definition, being proac-tive is just no longer enough.

A New Framework for Action

What is needed is a new framework for action that enables us to categorize the actions we take and determine if they are the most appropriate.

In order to develop this framework, let’s first look at problem solving. After all, the reason that someone may want to be proactive is that they are trying to prevent or solve a problem. Pretty much all approaches to problem solving (think fishbone diagrams or the ‘5 Whys’) focus on identifying and separating cause from effect. That is the conse-quence of some event (the effect) and the action that actually produces the event (the cause).

To make better choices in the actions taken, it is im-portant to understand if an action is working on the cause or the effect. For example, in the fire story above, the cause was the buildup of dust and loose joint, the effect was the fire and flames.

The next thing to consider is whether the action works on the past or the future. Working on the past occurs when the action taken actually corrects an event that has already taken place. For example,

43www.uptimemagazine.com

was used to put it out).

3. Corrective Action: it is fair to consider the execution of the Planned Mainte- nance activity by the electrician as be- ing proactive. However, it is really a Corrective Action because it was de- signed to work on the cause (the dust build up and the loose joint) but also works on the past because the dust has already built up. That the action was poorly executed might never actu- ally be understood because the cabinet was destroyed in the fire, but the fact that it is Corrective rather than Preven- tive can be understood in advance.

4. Preventive Action: requires working on the cause of a future event (again, tak- ing the action without knowing if there would ever even be a fire) and this would require, for example, a dust proof cabinet and improved design of electrical joints.

It is easy to see that each of these actions could, if we used the dictionary definition of proactive, be described as proactive. That is, something was done. Yet they are all very different in the timing of their execution and their impact on the incident. Perhaps by using the Activity Matrix we can better predetermine the options and recognize the real choices that we face.

Let’s look at another example.

Materials management is a major prob-lem for many companies, and is of major concern to anyone trying to manage the reliability of plant and equipment. The two key issues faced with materials manage-ment are stock outs of materials held in in-ventory (resulting in delays to repairs) and an over expenditure in inventory (resulting in the wasting of cash that could have been

vibration monitoring requires that some-thing is already out of balance or wearing in order for the effect to be measured. The goal is to identify the problem before it causes operational disruption.

Working on the future occurs when the action taken prevents or manages an event that has not happened. Extending the vibration example above, this might mean an equipment redesign that eliminates the issue altogether.

So we have four elements: cause, effect, past and future. Let’s put them together in a matrix (Figure 1). The matrix in Figure 1 gives us a new framework for assessing activities that may be undertaken.

For each pairing of the elements we can assign a label that describes the impact of the pairing, these are:

1. Future-Effect: Contingent Action 2. Past-Effect: Adaptive Action 3. Past-Cause: Corrective Action 4. Future-Cause: Preventive Action

To explain these, let’s go back to the fire emergency detailed above.

1. Contingent Action: the planning that put the fire extinguisher in place and trained the operator in its use is a Contingent Action. This action was taken to deal with the effect (the fire) of a future event (at the time the action was taken it was not known if there would ever even be a fire).

2. Adaptive Action: once the fire started the action of actually using the ex- tinguisher was an Adaptive Action. This action was taken to manage the effect of a past event (that is, the fire had already started and the extinguisher

Figure 1 – Activity Matrix

Past Future

Cause 3. Corrective Action 4. Preventive Action

Eff ect 2. Adaptive Action 1. Contingent Action

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better used elsewhere). It is important to realize that both of these issues are ef-fects, not causes. The causes of these two effects are the management systems and decisions that lead to the stock out or over expenditure.

Using the new Activity Matrix we can now examine various options.

The initial reaction of many people at-tempting to take action relating to materi-als management is to utilize software to re-calculate the required holding levels based on the usage and supply data. This is often incorrectly referred to as optimization. Far from being truly proactive, the software review works on the effect of the problem (incorrect reorder settings) and works on the past (using historical data) and is actu-

ally an Adaptive Action fitting very neatly into position 2 on the matrix in Figure 1. This approach makes no attempt to change the issues that resulted in the incorrect reorder setting. Plus, in most cases the data is actually of little or no value because it reflects the past not the future. This is a classic example of an action that could be considered proactive (as in ‘we did some-thing’) but really isn’t.

The next action often taken is to target dif-ferent inventory types, such as obsolete or slow moving stock, with a view to selling or removing the stock. Again, this is an Adaptive Action as it works on the effect (overstocks) and works on the past (no action is taken to change the recurrence of the effect). Also, the causes of the problem are not being addressed, only the effect.

While both of the above approaches might show short term benefit, they do not pre-vent future problems and can be equated to using the fire extinguisher in our earlier example.

An alternative option is to train everyone involved in materials management on the issues they face, their influence on the outcomes and the decisions they can make to influence results. This is analogous with training the machine operator in using the fire extinguisher – a Contingent Action (position 1 in Figure 1). For this option, when something happens (say, stock turns going down or systematic material delays), the people know what to do to correct the problems. They may not individually have the authority to make the changes required to prevent the problem reoccurring, but an

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appropriate review process can take care of that.

A better option is to work on the cause of the problem and to work on the future. This requires putting systems in place that manage materials to deliver the required availability without over spending, even when it is not known if there would ever be a problem. This is genuine prevention and, so, sits squarely in the Preventive Ac-tion box (position 4 in Figure 1). Examples of the actions to take include reviewing the materials management procedures and policies and reviewing and aligning responsibilities. These both form part of what is known as Inventory Process Opti-mization™. Think of this in terms of the dust proof cabinet and redesigned joints (eliminating the cause) in our fire example.

As you can see, using the Activity Matrix has forced us to think in terms of the four elements: cause, effect, past, and future. Thus we can now evaluate each of the options to determine which really are proactive and which are merely dealing with the effects with no preventive impact. This analysis enables us to make better and clearer decisions on the actions that we implement.

A New Way to Be Pro-Active

Being genuinely proactive is very difficult. This is because Adaptive and Corrective Ac-tions provide an instant gratification, as in ‘I achieved this, I fixed the problem’. This comes from working on something that has already happened and being able to deal with it. Whereas being proactive elimi-nates the ‘feel good’ factor because you are working to prevent something from occur-ring, there is no instant gratification.

Perhaps because of this, over the past 20 years, it seems that the definition of proactive has changed from ‘prevention’ to ‘doing something’. This has meant that al-most any action can be claimed to be ‘pro-active’, and the term is, therefore, almost meaningless. What is now needed is a new approach that enables objective evaluation of the available options to determine those that are genuinely preventive and those that are merely corrective or adaptive. This is the Activity Matrix in Figure 1.

Using the Activity Matrix has enabled us to review two different types of situations and to evaluate the options under each. From this we can see that not all options are equal. Some work on the cause, some on the effect. Some work on the past, some work on the future. A truly proactive and preventive option works on both the cause and the future.

As the old saying goes, an ounce of preven-tion is worth more than a pound of cure, and it is always better to prevent future causes of problems than to work on the effects once the problem has arisen. Next time you are faced with a decision regard-ing what action to take, try fitting your choice to the Activity Matrix and see which category the option fits into. This will en-able you to explore the causes, effects, and options to determine better and longer lasting solutions.

Foot note: Stephen Covey actually had a very different definition of proactive to the one that is recorded in the dictionary. Covey’s definition of proactive related to an individual’s freedom to choose how they respond to what happens to them, rather than relating to preparation for an expected occurrence or situation.

References:1. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey2. Dictionary.com3. The Concise Oxford Dictionary4. Value Based Success, Alan Weiss

Phillip Slater is a Materials Management Specialist and the developer of Inventory Process Optimization™. He is the author of a number of management books, including Smart Inventory Solutions and The Optimi-zation Trap. Phillip utilizes the expertise and experiences built up through nearly 25 years involvement in maintenance and operations management to assist select clients achieve significant improvement in operations management and inventory optimization. Contact Phillip directly at pslater@InitiateAction.com or visit the website www.InitiateAction.com.

www.uptimemagazine.com 45

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e live in difficult times. Plant closures, mass layoffs, downsizing and reorganizations appear in the news on a daily basis. These efforts are focused on cost cutting which, in many cases, is designed simply to keep the company in business. Along with these efforts also come budget cuts and restric-

tions on spending in order to further save money. We have all seen these cuts manifest themselves in areas such as the reduction of in-plant discretionary spending, restricted travel, the elimination of spending on training, and reduction or outright elimination of external consulting costs. In the area of consulting, not only have we been unable to initiate new efforts, but many that were already underway have been stopped literally in their tracks. As I said, we are in difficult times.

april/may 2009

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ad Uncover The Hidden Value

Internal Consulting in Your Organization

by Stephen Thomas

However, just because we are in difficult economic times doesn’t mean that the plants needing reliability or maintenance process improvements before their funds were cut need those same improvements any less than before. In fact, they probably need these im-provements even more than they did when cash flow wasn’t such a pressing problem. The reason is that the improvements would serve to increase reliability and productivity, both major enablers of additional cost savings for the business.

The problem we face is that one of the major avenues available to obtain help with these improvements - con-sulting - often is no longer available because of cost restrictions imposed on the business. This sets a vi-cious cycle in motion that ultimately can have serious long term consequences, and result in millions of lost dollars. We need consulting to help us improve the business, but we can’t spend the money to obtain the very services we need. As a result, we don’t improve and sink even further into the quicksand of our own creation.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel – and it isn’t an on-coming train. It is consulting from an area that is typically overlooked when we try to determine how to improve. Consulting expertise in areas such as improved maintenance and reliability management is usually the result of experience and having a proven process available to move a company from its current level of productivity to one which is far superior. This expertise not only exists externally to our business, but, believe it or not, it exists right in your firm, of-ten right under your very nose. Every plant has people who have the experience and have often internalized their feelings of inadequacy to make change simply be-cause management believes that this value can only be obtained from outside. They are waiting, if properly mobilized, to deliver value that can drastically help the

business, and the best part is that their services do not add any additional cost.

We all know what an external consultant is and the role that they typically fill when we hire them. The term “internal consultant” is relatively new. An internal con-sultant is an employee who has “the ability to apply broad-based knowledge and experience about a specif-ic area of the business to help develop and implement strategic improvement plans, identify performance gaps, develop and support the implementation of a rec-ommended plan of action to close the gaps and provide for long term sustainability of the initiative.”

If you contrast this definition with the role of the exter-nal consultant you will see little difference. But there is a difference and it is significant! The internal con-sultant, while delivering all of the above, has two addi-tional things they bring to the table. First, their experi-ence is directly related to your business. They know the problems and often the reasons why these prob-lems exist. Quite often, they also know exactly what to do to correct them. Many would say that this isn’t a benefit because they don’t have the broad-based multi-industry experience available from external consulting firms. While there may be some truth in this statement, the need to change quickly without an extended learn-ing curve usually needed by the consultant is far more important. The second benefit is that, unlike external consultants, internal consultants don’t leave when the project on which they are working is completed. They stay around and are available to help support the initia-tive and make adjustments as it evolves. This quality provides them experiences that external consultants seldom, if ever, acquire.

So how do you determine who within your organiza-tion can step up and fill the internal consultant’s role? It isn’t as hard as you may think. A successful internal

46

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www.uptimemagazine.com 47

consultant needs three things to enable suc-cess; two of which they need to have from the outset and one which you need to pro-vide. The former two are skills and personal traits, and the latter is organizational posi-tion.

Skills

The skill set you are looking for in a poten-tial internal consultant isn’t their ability to respond to the emergency of the day. Quite the contrary! What you want is someone not only with business related experience, but with experience in the strategic aspects of the work. This will enable them to think long-term while at the same time being re-alistic about what can actually be accom-plished. An additional required skill is their ability to take these strategic concepts and (working with others) convert them into ac-tion and achievable results. Additional skills that are needed for effective internal consult-ing include:

• Facilitation skills • Exceptional listening and communic- ation abilities • The ability to accomplish things through others; the majority of which have no direct reporting relationship to the consultant.

These individuals are not as difficult to iden-tify as you may think. Just look to those who handle the current set of reliability and main-tenance improvement initiatives within your firm. They are typically disconnected from involvement in the day-to-day work and of-ten have the very strategic focus you seek.

Personal Traits

The personal traits you seek in your inter-nal consultant are not often things that can be taught, but they are critical if someone wants to be successful in this rather difficult profession. These individuals have a passion for the work. They are open to new ideas and can see how things fit together in the big picture. They are also the ones who can see how an idea that has merit in one area of the business can deliver equal or even better benefits in other areas that were never even considered by those who are only focused in their own area.

This strategic view is not often acquired by

those close to the day-to-day work. It is usu-ally found in those with experience working on maintenance related strategic initiatives – often across many plant sites. An example would be someone who led a major reliabil-ity initiative or managed the implementation of a computerized maintenance management system. These efforts develop the strategic focus required for internal consulting. Other traits required are more specific to the indi-vidual such as: honesty, credibility, facilita-tion skills and most importantly, the ability to allow those involved in the change pro-cess to be the ones to take the credit. This last skill is not easily acquired because we all want recognition for our work. However, it is necessary because sustainability of a change initiative will never occur if it is not owned by those who need to sustain it. Recognition for the internal consultant comes from the success of others.

Position

The last of the three elements required for internal consulting is position. For internal consultants to be successful they need what is referred to as “referential power.” Since they have no power of their own, being in the proper position with a senior level report-ing relationship provides them the power associated with the manager to whom they report. This enables them to apply power and accomplish change even though they have no direct control over those leading the change. Consider external consultants. The projects that they handle are almost always sponsored by a senior executive within the company. Their association at this level of the organization gives them referential pow-er (the power associated with the executive) and directly supports their effort. It provides them with power that they would normally not have in their possession. The same is true with the internal consultant. They need to be placed in a position where their ac-quired referential power will enable them to drive, as well as support, the change process. This means being assigned to a senior man-ager, usually the one sponsoring the change. This assignment will also position them at a peer level or higher related to the manag-ers that they are working with in the change process. Making an assignment of this sort further conveys to the organization that the change and the internal consultant support-ing it are important.

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The 2009 series of Reliability Roadmap Web Workshops includes sessions for executives, managers, supervisors, and technical level inspectors with topics and leading subject matter experts and Authors.

Root Cause Failure Analysis by Jack Nicholas Jr., Coauthor and editor of Root Cause Failure AnalysisThis 12 part workshop series provides an outline presentation of fundamentals of root cause failure analysis (RCFA) theory and

practice. Special guest presenters include Neville Sachs, Mark Galley, Robert Latino and more. Two motor failure case studies are also included.

Selecting the Right Manufacturing Improvement Tools by Ron Moore, Author ofSelecting the Right Manufacturing Improvement ToolsThis 9 part workshop series provides an excellent review of the most

popular improvement tools and strategies - Lean Manufacturing, Kaizen, including 5S, Kanban, Quick Changeover, and Standardiza-tion, Total Productive Maintenance, Six Sigma, Supply Chain Management, Reliability Centered Maintenance, Predictive Maintenance (or Condi-tion Monitoring), and Root Cause Analysis.

Reliability-Centered Lubrication by Mike Johnson, Independent Machinery Lubrication ExpertThis 12 part workshop series based on a Society for Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE) series of papers provides a technically precise machine re-lubrication plan which is one of the more important functions that plant management can provide to protect plant productivity.

Creating Cultural Change for Maintenance& Reliability Professionals by Steve Thomas, Author of Implementing Cultural Change In OrganizationsThis 3 part web workshop series de mystifies the concept of organiza-

tional culture and links it with the eight elements of change: leadership, work process, structure, group learning, technology, communication, interrelationships, and rewards. If you want to break the cycle of failed improvement programs and instead use cultural change to help make significant and lasting improvements in plant performance, this book will show you how.

Electrical Safety Web Workshops led by Independent ExpertsPlease join us for a 10 part Reliability Roadmap Web Workshop series designed to enhance electrical safety. There is a fair amount of confusion and misunder-standing in terms of Arc Flash, NFPA 70E, CSA Z462 and other issues surrounding electrical safety. This series brings together a series of leading experts to provide a clear understanding of todayʼs standards and what constitutes best practice.

Infrared Thermography Level 1 by Wayne Ruddock, Independent Infrared ExpertThis 23 part course follows the recommended training requirements of ASNT for Level I Thermal/Infrared Certification. The hands-on workshops ensure that the participants should have mastered the skills necessary to not only operate their infrared system but to perform various inspections and report on their findings.

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Next Steps

Having identified the person who you will utilize as your internal consultant, your change facilitator, you are far from finished. While these individuals have been essentially working as internal consultants, they don’t recognize this as a fact of life. True, they have managed change initiatives, facilitated groups and added strategic value to the busi-ness, but I will venture to guess that the term internal consultant is not in their per-sonal vocabulary. Your job is to change that mind set. Since you know what you want to change you need to clearly articulate this to your consultant so that they can develop the details. This process follows the same model as that used by those consultants who are hired from outside the company. These include:

• Defining the Problem – As manager you have an idea of what the problem is, but it certainly requires more development so that it is stated in specific terms and supported by facts. Making sure the consultant understands the problem to be addressed is critical for success. • Gathering Information – This is a con- sultant’s role and is usually handled through interviews and gathering of supporting documentation. The advan- tage for the internal consultant is that, based on their experience, they know what to ask and who to ask to truly get a clear picture of the issues. • Identifying Solutions – Once the infor- mation has been gathered, the consultant and a business improvement team can identify what they believe the solutions are to the problem. These are then pre- sented to senior management for ap- proval to implement the changes. This area is one where referential power has value as the consultant works to develop a common solution across functional boundaries.

With the solutions identified and the path forward approved the real work begins — the implementation phase. Implementation is not an overnight event. It is not some-thing where you wave a magic wand and things immediately change. Implementation requires hard work and often takes years to accomplish, so that the new processes are locked into the organization’s culture. This area is where the true value of the internal consultant appears. For most of us, once the implementation plan has been developed the

external consultant leaves. After all, they are very expensive and most companies want to avoid spending any more than they need for this level of support. This is even truer in today’s world, where funding for external consulting is difficult to acquire.

The value that is delivered by the internal consultant is that they don’t leave. They stay, and based on their position can add sig-nificant support and direction to the change effort, even if it takes years to put firmly into place. In a sense, they become the oversight for the change effort, helping to guide it and addressing corrective action if it gets off course.

Again, management is not off the hook. For change to be truly successful and sustain-able over the long term, active leadership is required. The senior management team, as the real sponsors of the change, must stay continually focused on the work and sup-portive of the consultant. Lack of either will undermine the effort and set in motion the downward spiral towards ultimate failure of the effort.

A Word for the Internal Consultants

As people are identified to fill this new role and re-assigned to a senior manager, it is important that they recognize that there are special behaviors and actions required for success. These include:

• Take the big picture view. This will help all those involved because the vast major- ity of people are locked into their func- tional silos and don’t see the forest for the trees. • Establish a change team with members who will be the long-term owners of the change effort. • Identify broad areas for improvement, but start with quick wins; small changes that deliver immediate value. This will provide benefit to the organization and will help develop the skills needed for the major efforts to follow. • Stay out of the tactical day-to-day work. People can work strategically or they can work tactically, but they can’t work strat- egically and tactically at the same time. Focus on long-term improvement. • Always serve the change team. This statement means doing whatever is re- quired to help the group move forward. Of course, facilitating the effort is an important aspect, but so are the trivial

tasks such as publishing meeting notes and making sure action items are com- pleted on time. • Recognize others before yourself. The owners of the effort are those on the change team. Internal consultants serve as the catalyst to make change happen. Recognition of the team is valuable reinforcement that what they are doing has value. • Build strong interrelationships because as an internal consultant everything you do will be done working through others. • Listen and communicate well and make sure everyone else does the same. While this is a well worn cliché, it is critical to the success of any change effort. Effec- tive listening and communication are critical. • Don’t assume anything; get the facts. • Last but not least – always deliver more than what was expected and always deliver it on time.

As I said at the outset, we are in difficult times. There is enormous pressure to cut costs, often with the very survival of the busi-ness at stake. However, you can’t save your way to reliability and maintenance improve-ment. Change initiatives are still required and consulting support for these efforts is critical for success. However, the consulting skills you require to support these initiatives aren’t just available from outside the compa-ny. They are available from individuals with-in your company; all you need to do is search them out and empower those who have these skills to deliver the value you seek.

Steve Thomas has been involved in the reliability and maintenance arena in the petro-chemical industry for almost 40 years. During this time he has worked in many capacities (including internal consulting), adding value to the initiatives in which he has been engaged. His book Improving Reli-ability and Maintenance from Within: How to be an Effective Internal Consultant is a guide for all managers who wish to utilize their own internal consultants. It also is a valuable tool for all those who wish to fill this role and add value to their compa-nies. If you wish to purchase this book, add promo code IMPROVE-09 to your web order from IndustrialPress.com for a 10% discount. Other change management books by Steve Thomas can also be purchased at Industrialpress.com You can contact Steve at changemgt999@yahoo.com.

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or many years and for many companies, Airborne Ultrasound was the beginning, or the Alpha, of their Predictive Maintenance (PdM) program. They used Airborne Ultrasound to find air leaks, diagnose steam traps, and listen to bearings. Unfortunately, some of these companies have since either reduced, or even dropped, their ultrasound program in favor of vibration, infrared and oil analysis only. These

ultrasound programs of old have taken on a new role - simply a troubleshooting tool - used for air leaks, steam traps and occasionally used to listen for arcing tracking and corona activity in switchgear.

A New ApproachElevate the Expectations for an Ultrasound Program

by James Hall

I would like Airborne Ultrasound to become both the Alpha and the Omega of your PdM program. I would like you to implement more airborne ultrasound pro-grams, and, as a result, elevate the profile of ultrasound within your PdM program.

Why Airborne Ultrasound

There are a number of reasons Airborne Ultrasound should be a major contributor to PdM programs, and an excellent candidate to be the first technology em-ployed in a new program.

Ultrasound is inexpensive and easy to operate. Lets face it, all motors make noise and all leaks make noise, but they are tough for us to hear because facilities are also very noisy. Since ultrasonic receivers weed out all of the sound in our hearing range, they are very useful in high noise environments. Ultrasound can pinpoint potential problems because subtle changes are heard in ultrasonic range first (before vibration & heat) and it is very directional. When you add all of these fac-tors together, it means that Airborne Ultrasound can provide one of the biggest returns on investment (ROI) in the shortest amount of time.

Many of you think of ‘real’ Predictive Maintenance as vibration analysis, infrared and oil analysis. While those technologies should be included in any high quality PdM program, there is one important technol-ogy missing. If you don’t have enough air to cut the paper or control the valves, production is effected. If your electrical switchgear panel fails due to corona ac-tivity, production may stop. So, why, do so many peo-ple place the ultrasound program at the bottom of the Predictive Maintenance Program, if in fact, they have an ultrasound PdM program at all?

There are many Ultrasound Programs you may want to implement, including: Trending of Bearings, Gearbox-es, etc, Air Leak Audit Program, Electrical Inspection and Steam Trap Troubleshooting. These programs will not only increase your reliability, but will also add to the bottom line through energy savings. It takes a lot

of energy to produce compressed air and a lot of ener-gy to run large motors or drives. All of these programs will save you money, some more than others, depend-ing on your particular situation.

I would like you to think of Airborne Ultrasound with a new approach to predictive maintenance and how it fits into your overall maintenance program. Also, take time to consider how it can integrate with other pre-dictive maintenance technologies such as vibration and infrared. Airborne ultrasound is a proven technology worthy of an expanded role in predicting and prevent-ing failures.

Don’t Just Listen, Trend Your Bearings

For years you have been told to listen and compare bearing sounds between one bearing and another. The problem I’ve always had with this is that you and I hear differently! I may not hear low or high frequencies as well you do. So, the newer, and better, approach is to trend your bearings. Do not just rely on listening to them1. Learn how to take & set “pre-determined” bear-ing decibel ranges. You will need to learn how to set:

A Baseline = An Average or Starting ReferenceWarning Levels (Early Failure) = Lubricate & RetakeAlarm Levels (First Failure) = Schedule Removal & Replacement

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Figure 1- Know how to use your airborne ultrasound instrument. Photo courtesy of Jim Hall, Ultra-Sound Technologies,

Woodstock, GA.

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decibels tend to rise or cause concern, the ultrasound technician can ask for a vibration consult.

Imagine trending for several months or years and your readings are normally 65-75 deci-bels. This range may be your preset range that indicates moving from a “failure” to a “catastrophic failure”. Of course, this would mean your bearing needs to be removed and replaced. But, you would like to hold-off shutting down production until you have had a chance to consult with a vibration techni-cian. Vibration analysis on this bearing or motor, combined with oil analysis, and pos-sibly infrared, may allow for another week or two of operation before removal.

Later another company, SDT North America, added the word “monitoring”. SDT North America uses the term Acoustic Vibration Monitoring (AVM) within product line (Figure 3) and written material. In order to take ad-vantage of this technique, you should be fa-miliar with waveform analysis. Until you are familiar with waveform analysis, and how to diagnose problems using waveform, do not implement it into your program.

Catastrophic Level* = Remove & Replace Now

* - Call for a vibration consult, review oil analysis and IR reports, if applicable

When you have a catastrophic reading but you do not have a vibration ex-pert, or you do not practice infrared or oil analysis, you should then take the catastrophic level readings and schedule the removal of the bearing now, rather than scheduling at a later date.

After learning the correct steps to take to establish a trending program, you should write it all down. Creating a process with written procedures is critical to the program’s success. The program will also be more success-ful if you teach everyone involved in maintenance and reliability the abili-ties of ultrasound and even how the ultrasound instrument actually works.

Trending your bearings over time (Figure 2) will lead to more reliable machinery, and will establish an ultra-sound program that is trustworthy be-cause it has documented data, which will also make it easier to justify the call for bearing replacement when necessary.

Acoustic Vibration

Years ago while working as a salesman, sell-ing (of all things) airborne ultrasound equip-ment, I found it difficult to keep and hold an audience when I was talking to a mixture of vibration technicians, infrared technicians and mechanics. You see, unless the talk was about vibration, the vibration techs would leave the room. They were not interested in ultrasonic inspection of bearings.

So, I started using the term “Acoustic Vibra-tion” during my presentations. It became much easier to keep the audience and also further the discussion of hooking-up a vibra-tion box to an ultrasound receiver to diag-nose bearing problems. I had become famil-iar with this technique in 1990 while working with the Performance Monitoring Team (PMT) at Naval Sub Base Pearl Harbor.

Acoustic Vibration (AV) is basically trending your bearings over a period of time, whether you are using low or high frequencies. At anytime during the trending process, when

Even without waveform analysis, trending bearings over time aids you in predicting failures. However, keep these important facts in mind when gathering your data:

• If you have more than one ultra- sonic instrument to use for bear- ings, choose only one of them. • Do not use readings (dB’s) from one manufacturer’s instrument to compare against another manufacturer’s instruments reading! • Do not compare readings from the same manufacturer that are different models! • There are only a couple of instru- ments in the marketplace today that are “Repeatable” among instruments of the same model!

Leak Detection

Almost all of you have a need for leak detection. Compressed air leaks can cost a fortune over the years. Wheth-er your production line is using pneu-matic controls or vacuum, cryogenic gases, or whatever else, you most likely need an air leak detection pro-gram, or an ‘Air Leak Audit’ Program. The new approach to an Air Leak Au-dit Program is a three part approach:

• Acceptance – Accept the technology, it works and is proven. • Dedication – Everyone must be onboard, and convinced of the need and value of the program, or it will not succeed. • Enthusiasm – Find an enthusiastic person to spearhead the program. Someone that accepts the technology, wants the program to succeed and is dedicated to the program.

Air leak audits are popular because they are easily understood as an effective way to save money on utilities. However, it may surprise you to know that even when the leaks are identified, the majority are not repaired. It sounds bizarre, but facility after facility that I visit will have leaks identified, but not fixed. This happens because it’s easy for programs to lose momentum somewhere along the way, or to get pushed further down on the list of priorities.

Here are some tips for conducting a success-ful Air Leak Audit Program and for sustaining the program over the long haul:

Figure 3- Acoustic Vibration Monitoring using SDT North America’s AVM UltraAnalysis Software.

Courtesy of SDT North America.

Figure 2 - Trending bearings over a period of time. Graph courtesy of Ralph Kopp, PCS Phosphates, Sussex, NB

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• Use Safety as a First Priority • Tag all of your leaks using a two or three part tag (Figure 4) ~ 2-Piece – Locate & Repair Tag ~ 3-Piece – Locate, Repair, Inspect/ Remove Tag • Itemize your air leaks by taking Digital Pictures • Datalog/Catalog your findings • Determine true “Cost” of leaks ~ Cost can be loss of production ~ Cost of actual leak • Estimate the cost of leaks and share

the amount of waste with other departments • Air leaks need to be prioritized • Highest cost is not always the highest priority (look for quick, easy fixes)

Note: A small $125.00 leak on a natural gas line can easily receive a higher priority over a $2,100.00 compressed air leak.

• Use data sheets from a previous leak audit if available • Lay out a plan for tracking leaks ~ Track leaks by Department ~ Later track leaks by Divisions ~ Track leak cost against repair costs ~ Track gas leaks by type of gas

What Type of Leaks?

One customer found the leaks listed in Figure 5, but only about 25% of these leaks were ac-tually repaired. Again, vigilance is required to keep the momentum of the program go-ing by relentlessly vocalizing and document-ing the value the program provides.

Electrical Inspections

Do you want to save a life? Sure you do… I ask that question to alarm you, and to alert

you to the fact that in your plant, you may have a tool that could be used to save a life..

Ultrasound receivers can detect corona, track-ing and arcing within closed switchgear. In the past, I have had electricians ask me, “You mean I can actually hear the corona, arcing or tracking before I open the doors?” Yes, just by scanning the door seam it is not just possible, but likely, that you will hear the anomaly.

One of your “New Approaches” for the electri-cal program is to think Safety First. By using an ultrasound instrument to scan your panels or doors before opening them, you could pos-sibly save a life or save someone from serious injuries.

Arc Flash Survivor

On ReliabilityWeb.com’s website you can find an interview Bill Giffen, an Arc Flash Survivor. You can learn how he came in contact with a 13.8 kV cabinet and survived to tell others about this incident. Now, I am not suggest-ing that ultrasound would have prevented this particular tragedy, but I do want you to un-derstand that ultrasound may, can and does save lives.

Ultrasound can detect corona starting at 1kv, whereas infrared can’t detect corona under 240kv. So why not use ultrasound to scan your cabinets before opening them?

The by-products of corona are nitric acid, ozone, ultraviolet light, and carbon. So, can you imagine a 4160v switchgear cabinet that has a fault inside? The technician can hear corona along the door seams of the cabinet. While listening, perhaps he will remember a picture from a corona camera that he had seen in a recent Uptime Magazine article, which asked him to really try to visualize what is going on inside the cabinet.

So, this is that article. Your new approach is to really visualize what is going on within the cabinet. Visualize a shower of sparks, the ionization occurring, the nitric acid and the ozone attacking the insulation of two cables.

Figure 5 - Leaks identifi ed in one facility

Type of Leak # of Leaks Estimated Cost

Argon 39 $26,000

Oxygen 178 $39,000

Natural Gas 234 $50,000

Nitrogen 238 $110,000

Steam 417 $525,000

Compressed Air 1,444 $678,000

Figure 4 - Tag your leaks and photograph for referencing location and

identifi cation.

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Eventually, a situation like this could ruin someone’s day, like it did Mr. Giffen’s. An ultrasound instrument could have heard this fault from outside the cabinet. But only if you have an ultrasound program in place.

Can you recognize the difference between nuisance corona and destructive corona? Typically nuisance corona is a steady frying sound that you might hear when driving your car down the road and listening to AM radio. Or, it may be the early morning dew sitting on the power lines that is creating the noise. Destructive corona is the sound of the steady frying sound accompanied by intermittent popping sounds.

Did you know that ozone generators are used to break down the rubber on tires when the manufacturer wants to simulate wear and tear on the tires? Ozone actually breaks down the rubber. So that white powdery residue you sometimes see between two cables (Figure 6) is visual evidence of corona activity.

So, the New Approach to Electrical Inspec-tions contains four parts:

(1) Safety First... the ability hear corona, arcing or tracking before opening panel.(2) Use ultrasound in conjunction with infra- red to inspect. I think that using ultra- sound and Infrared together is impera- tive. It can make the difference between a good, responsible thermographer and a fly-by night amateur.(3) Visualize what you are hearing (arcing, tracking & corona).(4) Ultrasound training is crucial to the success of this program.

Figure 7 is a photo of real time video over an ultraviolet light lens. Unless there is interfer-ence from background light or complete dark-ness, corona is not visible to the human eye. This shows you why it is so important to “Vi-sualize” what you are hearing.

Steam Traps

The New Approach to your steam trap pro-gram is simply to implement a program to learn how to audit your traps and learn to troubleshoot your traps. It can be accom-plished in two parts…

1) Build a route to inspect your traps 2) Educate technicians on how to trouble- shoot your traps.

• You need to audit your traps to find which traps are working or not working. • A pencil and a pad a paper works well. • Its very hard to use a datalogger to log the results. • Ultrasound is still one of the best methods to diagnose steam traps

You may only need to implement one of these ultrasound programs as it applies to your fa-cility. Or perhaps, you may decide that none of the ultrasound programs listed are for you.

However, I do want you to think about just how big of a role airborne ultrasound does play for some companies. Especially, for in-stance, those companies that win the Uptime PdM Program of the Year Awards. The 2008 Best Overall Airborne Ultrasound Program winner, US Steel Gary Works of Gary, IN, has a very advanced program, and their airborne ultrasound plays a significant role in their overall maintenance effort. Your ultrasound program could do that too.

Think of the many different applications and how airborne ultrasound integrates with oth-er technologies.

The New Approach

Think NEW, a New Approach to how airborne ultrasound fits into your overall PdM pro-gram.

In this article, I have identified five specific ways that you can increase the contributions of ultrasound to your overall predictive main-tenance program, and, ultimately, to increase the reliability of your machinery.

Starting to trend your bearings, acoustic vi-bration, an air leak audit program, and using airborne ultrasound both in electrical inspec-tions and to troubleshoot steam traps are all very effective ways to increase reliability and to make your facility more efficient.

All of the programs we talked about can pro-duce a positive return on investment. You will need to decide, based on your particular industry, and particular facility, which one of these programs will benefit your company most. Implement the programs that will be most beneficial first. Once you have expe-rienced success with one of the programs, trust in the capabilities of airborne ultrasound should start to increase in your organization, which will help justify starting additional air-borne ultrasound programs into you predic-tive maintenance program.

Notes1. The only exception to this ‘rule of not lis-tening’ is when a bearing is so catastrophic that it literally sounds as if it is coming apart.

Jim Hall is the president of Ultra-Sound Tech-nologies, a vendor-neutral company provid-ing on-site predictive maintenance consulta-tion and training. UST provides an Associate Level, Level I & II Airborne Ultrasound Certification. Jim has provided airborne ultrasound training for several Fortune 500 Companies in electrical generation, pulp & paper, petro-chemical and transportation. A 17-year civil service veteran, Jim served as an aerospace engineering technician for Naval Aviation Engineering Service Unit (NAESU) and with the Naval Aviation Depot Jackson-ville Florida (NADEP). Jim is also president of All Leak Detection, LLC a leak detection company providing air leak audits above and below ground leaks. You can contact Jim at jim.hall@ultra-soundtech.com or (770) 517-8747.

All photos courtesy of Jim Hall, Ultra-Sound Tech-nologies, Woodstock, GA, unless otherwise stated.Figure 7 - A terminal end taken with a

Corona Camera.

Figure 6 - White powdery residue is evidence of corona activity. This was

detected using the airborne ultrasound receiver. Photo courtesy of Jim Brady, Brady Infrared Inspections, Stuart, FL.

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his article shows an interesting example of how Acoustic Analysis methods were used to solve a stubborn vibration problem where Experimental Modal Analysis and Operating Deflection Shape Analysis fell short.The Rumford, Maine area is, for all practical purposes, the home of paper making in the United States.

The New Page Corporation mill at Rumford has been in operation since 1901 and continues today as a significant contributor to US paper production. The mill currently has one kraft and one ground-wood pulp mill, four coated paper machines plus supporting equipment and one pulp dryer. Each year, the facility produces an average of 640,000 tons of paper and ap-proximately 500,000 tons per year of hardwood, soft-wood and ground-wood pulp.

Full Spectrum Diagnostics was contacted by Mr. Mark Brown, Reliability Engineer, to investigate recent elevated noise levels near the Super Calendar 22 (SC-22) stack assembly (Figure 1). The noise levels were noted to be approaching the OSHA specified limits for this area. Normal Accelerometer route measure-ments have failed to identify the frequency source. In addition, the hard-wall surfaces behind SC-22 create significant reverberation, adding to the elusive nature of the problem. The only in-plant sound measure-ments were collected with an overall Sound Pressure Level (SPL) microphone. Also note that Sound Power Levels tend to double when reflected off a close hard

surface, making amplitude and source detection even more difficult.

Machine Designation: SC-22 Calendar System (see schematic in Figure 2)

Queen Roll (1)Diameter: 28.188 inch RPM @ 2800 FPM: 379 RPM

Steel Roll (3)Diameter: 16 – 20.50 inches RPM @ 2800 FPM: 534 RPM

Cotton Denim Roll (4) MRF Blue DenimHardness: Shore “D” 88-90Diameter: 21.00RPM @ 2800 FPM: 509 RPM

King Roll (1)Diameter: 32.023 inchesRPM @ 2800 FPM: 334 RPMBearings: TOR A2670 / TOR A2665

Nip Loading:Bottom Nip: 1800 PLI

Listen Carefully to LearnVisual Acoustic Analysis Ends Super Calendar Mystery

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Figure 1 - The Super Calendar 22 (SC-22) stack assembly.

Figure 2 – Super Calendar - 22 Layout

Top Nip: 700 PLI (new rolls) / 1000 PLI (old rolls)

Discussion

New Page Corporation Rumford Paper Mill contacted Full Spec-trum Diagnostics to investigate recent elevated noise levels in their Super Calendar (SC-22) stack. This excessive noise level was close to exceeding OSHA standards requiring double ear protection. To reduce noise lev-els to acceptable levels the SC-22 line speeds were reduced, limit-ing production.

An initial visit to the site involved natural frequency testing and Op-erating Deflection Shape analy-sis of SC-22. This test series fo-cused on the barring phenomena in the Cotton (Denim) rolls that required frequent replacement. The barring fault was thought to be an underlying contributor to the audible acoustic tone. Some structural problems were found in the calendar rolls that were likely contributors to the noise problem, but no single silver bul-let solution was found.

A second site visit was planned as an acoustic investigation. The test plan involved the use of sets of acoustic mi-crophones. A single microphone is sufficient for measuring Sound Pressure Levels (SPL) and determining sound frequency response. How-ever, a single microphone will pick up sound energy from all directions. Locating a source in an “open” area (free-field) is straight-for-ward, but detecting a directional source in a near or reverberant field is problematic. The addition of a second microphone allows the measurement of Acoustic Intensity. The In-tensity comes from the cross-power spectrum measurement between the two closely spaced microphones. This method allows the detec-tion of directional sound pressure vs. oblique sound pressure waves. The intensity mea-surement is ideal for reverberant sound fields such as the SC-22 calendar system.

Structural measurements with accelerom-eters are usually limited to rotating compo-nents. Measurements with microphones can be collected anywhere around the system or source.

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It was suspected that the audible tone was emanating from one of the roll bearings or from the roll nip interfaces. The SC-22 calen-dar system included eight (8) nip interfaces. Both SPL and Intensity microphone measure-ments were collected along each nip line in seven locations from bearing to bearing. For-ty-nine measurements were collected on each of the front and back sides of the calendar.

A 1/12 Octave SPL spectral (overlay plot) is presented in Figure 3. The dominant tone was defined at 550 Hz. The secondary peak is present at 625 Hz. Additional clusters of peaks at integer multiples (2x and 3x) of the 550 Hz tone were also present. The time-based responses showed a “Beat Frequency” pulsation between the 550 Hz and 625 Hz tones. Looseness and/or alignment problems were possibly indicated by the 550 Hz har-monics.

A 1/12 Octave frequency plot in Figure 4 shows an overlay of the Acoustic Intensity spectra

calculated for the pair of micro-phones. The signatures are simi-lar to the SPL plots with dominant 550 Hz and 625 Hz peaks.

The measurement data collected near the nip lines throughout the calendar stack were helpful in de-fining the dominant tones emanat-ing from the system. The initial analysis focusing on mechanical faults was obviously not the main source of the noise problem(s).

In themselves, the plots of Figures 3 and 4 only define the spectral content of the sound response. When this same data is present-ed visually using animation soft-ware, a color contour plot of the microphone energy provides an indication of the problem source. ME’scope software was used to construct an acoustic surface around the calendar structures. The SC-22 computer model is provided in Figures 5 - 7.

The Sound Pressure Level (SPL) response from a single micro-phone includes the direct and reflected sound fields. Figure 8 shows acoustic surface profiles measured approximately 2 feet from the nip lines. The dominant amplitude response was located

on the back side of the calendar and noted by the yellow-white colors in the center of the roll stack. The front side profile in Figure 9 indicated lower amplitudes with no single dominant apparent source.

Figure 3 – Overlay SPL Plot [0-4,000 Hz Range]

Figure 4 - Overlay Acoustic Intensity Plot [0-4,000 Hz]

Figure 5 – ODS / Modal Analysis Model

When calculating the Acoustic Intensity, the cross-phase response from the microphone pair is considered. The measurement indi-cates the average rate of flow of sound energy through a unit area normal to the propagation direction. Reflection energy is attenuated, thus a more distinct and local source profile is represented.

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The acoustic intensity response on the back side of the calendar shown in Figure 10 indicates that the S2 Steel Roll appears to be at the cen-ter of the sound problems. The in-tensity plots at 550 Hz are present-ed in Figures 10 and 11 for the back side and front side of the calendar, respectively.

During the analysis, some acceler-ometer responses were collected on the King Roll bearings. The 550 response was detected at low lev-els; however the peak did not match known bearing defect frequencies for this roll. The SPL and Intensity plots indicated that a bearing fault was not a likely source of the au-dible tones.

At this point, the source of the tone appeared to be the nip lines adjacent to the S2 Steel Roll and mating D2 and D3 Denim Rolls. A mechanism for creating this tone was yet to be determined. To gain further insight, a series of Synchronous Time Averaging (STA) measurements were collected based on trig-gered microphone measurements from the

Figure 6 – Acoustic Surface Model (End View)

Figure 7 - Acoustic Surface Model (Front View)

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Figure 10 - Intensity 550 Hz Back (Wall) Side Figure 11 - Intensity 550 Hz Front (Winder) Side

www.uptimemagazine.com 57

ments for 5, 40, and 100 averages showed that this was not the case, and the dominant peaks were attenuated (removed) for each set of measurements.

A final set of Natural Frequency measurements were collected on the spare Steel Rolls that were slated as replacements for this calendar.

King Roll, the D3 Roll and the S2 Roll. The measurements will slowly “average-out” non-synchronously related peaks in the frequency spectrum. If the 550 Hz tone was related to the rotational speed of the trigger; as would likely be the case for looseness, misalignment, or barring type faults, the peaks and their har-monics should be retained. The STA measure-

The rolls were mounted on their bearings and rested on wood timbers near the calendar.

Impact Natural Frequency testing indicated a 485 Hz response on each roll which was de-fined as the roll first bending mode. This fre-quency is approximately 12% below the 550 Hz tone, however when considering the stiffness

Figure 8 - SPL 550 Hz Back (Wall) Side Figure 9 - SPL 550 Hz Front (Winder) Side

The Best in Independent Solutions for SAP-Plant Maintenance

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Uptime Apr-May_2009.indd 60Uptime Apr-May_2009.indd 60 5/7/09 9:38:36 AM5/7/09 9:38:36 AM

59www.uptimemagazine.com

induced by the nip line pressure during opera-tion, it was possible that this mode could be pushed very close to the 550 Hz response.

The concentration of the tone energy near the center of the roll span suggested that the acoustic measurements may be detect-ing the first bending mode of the roll. It was suspected that the deflected response during calendar operation would likely produce a repetitive opening and closing of the nip on alternate sides of the roll. This “gapping” was suspected to be inducing the tone and tone harmonics noted in the sound field data. The secondary peak at 625 Hz may be the out-of plane bending mode of the roll due to non-symmetric stiffness (nip pressure)..

Nice theory, but additional testing was re-quired for proof. It was recommended that additional acoustic measurements under vary-ing nip pressures be performed. Slight varia-tions in the nip line pressure may produce enough of a stiffening (or softening) effect to alter the steel roll’s critical speed (first bend-ing mode). The condition of the current rolls did not permit additional testing during this site visit; however this testing was performed in the following days.

A series of High Speed Trials were performed on Super Calendar 22. Included in these trials were alterations to the nip pressure in the roll stack. It was found that changes to the pres-sure induced a significant audible tone change in the machine. The trials also involved modi-fications to the new roll “break-in” procedure and to the time periods that the rolls were idle and left in nip under pressure between calendar operations. Addressing each of these variables appeared to be beneficial to both the calendar noise levels and the onset of barring issues in the denim rolls.

Current operation of Super Calendar 22 in-cludes slower line speeds that will meet cur-rent demands. However when additional vol-ume is needed, a path to smoother and qui-eter high speed operation is now available.

Dan Ambre, P.E. is a Mechanical Engineer and founder of Full Spectrum Diagnostics, PLLC, a Full Service Predictive Maintenance Consult-ing company. Dan specializes in Resonance detection, Experimental Modal Analysis, and Operating Deflection Shape machinery diag-nostics. Full Spectrum Diagnostics provides Vibration Analysis level I, II, and III training and certification, as well as training in ad-vanced diagnostic techniques. Dan is a certi-

fied software representative for Vibrant Tech-nology, Inc., the creators of ME’scope VES software tools. He also provides ME’scope VES Software Training targeting the needs of the In-Plant Vibration Analyst. Please visit his web site at www.fullspec.net, or email him at modalguy@aol.com.

Mark Brown from New Page Corporation, Rumford Operations, is a Reliability pro-

fessional with over 13 years experience in vibration analysis. He has developed predic-tive maintenance programs in the Pulp and Paper industry and Nuclear Power industry. Mark holds a B.S. in Industrial Technology from the University of Southern Maine. In addition to holding an ASNT Level III Certi-fication in Vibration Analysis, Mark is also a Certified Oil and Lubrication Specialist.

Web: www.datastick.com/ut Email: fi ndout@datastick.comTalk to an actual human being :

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© 2009 Datastick Systems Inc. Patents pending. Datastick is a registered trademark and Datastick Reporting System, SiteConnex and VSA are trademarks of Datastick Systems, Inc.

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Datastick handheld vibration analyzer systems come in well below $9,000 and provide performance

and versatility comparable to units costing twice as much or more. But that’s not all. Datastick keeps

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or support agreement, you’ll fi nd they’re designed and priced to help you, not chew up your budget.

Datastick: the Ease-of-Use Alternative

You can learn to use the handheld analyzer in a couple of hours. If you’re short on in-house vibration

expertise, don’t worry. The included Datastick Reporting System™ software for your PC is based on

Microsoft Excel. That means that you can share your data, graphs, and reports with any in-house

vibration analyst or outside consultant. And with our smartphone-based SiteConnex™ VSA-2215,

you can email vibration data directly from the fi eld.

Datastick:The Real Alternative in Vibration Analyzers“I’ve been in the vibration business for 30 years. For a long time I have hoped for a piece

of equipment that would replace the heavy, hard-to-use box I had used for all those

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FREE White Paper: Breaking the Barriers to Affordable Vibration Analysis www.datastick.com/wput

Ask about Dynamic Pressure, Impact Testing, and Advanced Analysis Tools

heat, and do a good job of containing splash-type lubrication, but they cannot seal in flooded applications where the lubricant level is higher than the bottom of the shaft.

The dual-face bearing protector seems inherently better. Are there any disadvantages in using it or are there any conditions where dual face protectors should not be used?

On the one hand, the dual-face bearing protector (see Figure 2) is usually the best device for truly sealing a bearing housing or a gearbox. In fact, we

april/may 200960

upgrade Spotlighting Editor’s picks of hot products & services in the industry.

AESSEAL’s Bearing Protectors

First, why don’t you briefly explain in layman’s terms why the use of bearing protectors of some kind is so important?

The two primary causes for premature bearing failures are under-lubrica-tion and lubricant contamination. A bearing protector will keep the oil (or grease) in the bearing where it belongs, as well as keep water and solid particles out of the bearing. The basic purpose of a bearing protector is to keep the oil in, and to keep the contaminants out. It’s that simple.

Now why don’t you tell us the difference between Contacting vs. Non-Contacting protectors? The pros and cons of lip seals, labyrinth seals, single-face bearing protectors and double-face bearing protectors?

Contacting bearing protectors come in two types: lip-seals, which have a rubber lip that contacts the rotating shaft via a thin film of oil, and face-type bearing protectors, which have rotating and stationary contacting face(s), much like a mechanical seal.

Non-contacting bearing protectors include various labyrinth-type protec-tors, of both rotating and stationary designs. A labyrinth is basically a tortuous path, which makes it difficult for water to enter, or for oil to leave, the bearing housing. Modern labyrinth bearing protectors have oil and water capture and expulsion mechanisms, as well as an elastomeric member which helps to prevent atmospheric moisture from entering the chamber when the equipment is not operating (day-night “breathing”, see Figure 1). Non-contacting, rotating-labyrinth protectors do not generate

We have all heard that bearings can have an almost infinite life, or that, with proper installation and lubrication, they can last longer than the machine in

which they are installed. Unfortunately, this almost never happens. Bearings fail. A lot of bearings fail. Why? Of course, there are a multitude of reasons, includ-ing improper installation, excessive loading, under lubrication, over lubrication, excessive vibration, and, one of the leading causes — contamination. Read on to explore a relatively simple way to protect your seals from this highly effec-

tive bearing killer. AESSEAL, Inc. is a highly innovative company that produces several different types of bearing protectors, including the original

double face bearing protector, MagTecta.

We tracked down Chris Rehmann, the Business Development Manager for AESSEAL, Inc, to give us a little more insight into bearing protection.

Chris holds a BS in Electrical Engineering and has authored many technical papers and

presentations on bearing protection. Here is what Chris had to say...

Across all industries, there are more bearing failures than there should be. Why so many bearing failures? Contamination is one of the main reasons, so let’s look at a product that can have a drastic effect on extending bearing life.

Figure 1 - Day-Night “Breathing”, as shown on an older-style labyrinth isolator. Warm air from operating equipment

expands and is expelled from the bearing chamber (left). When the equipment cools down, it draws in cool, moist

night air (right).

Availability of low-cost repair kits mean that the LabTecta can be field-refurbished at a fraction of the original price, further extending the sav-ings.

Give us a success story or two from companies that are using AESSEAL protectors now.

1) A chemical plant in Germany has five, large Hosokawa conical powder mixers. The original seal at the top of the mixing screw was a mechanical seal. The customer was changing this seal every 2 months, and maintaining a low vessel fill level, to minimize damage from powder entry into the overhead gearbox. MagTecta dual-face bearing protectors were installed, and are still running fine after 9 months. The customer estimates actual benefits of $125,000 over these 9 months due to (a) savings from avoided repair costs, (b) increased productivity due to more uptime, and (c) increased productivity due to higher filling levels of the vessel.

2) An Elliott turbine in a major refinery suffered from steam leakage past the carbon rings and the split stuffing box. This steam con- taminated the bearing lube oil, which had to be changed every 2-3 weeks. LabTecta labyrinth protectors were installed on the bearings in June, 2008. Steam continues to leak past the carbon rings, but NO contami- nation of the oil has been observed. This has resulted in 13 avoided oil changes over those 9 months, and a payback period of only 3 months on the LabTecta investment.

How can interested people get more informa-tion about AESSEAL bearing protectors?

The easiest way to learn more about our bear-ing protectors is to go to our Bearing Protec-tion website, www.bearingprotection.com. All of our product brochures are available there for downloading, in several languages. In addition, in the lower right hand corner of our home page, you will find links to a large library of “best-prac-tices” technical papers.

To find the nearest AESSEAL Global Sales of-fice or Distributor, go to the www.aesseal.com home page and click on CONTACTS, then enter your location information in the search criteria boxes, and click on SUBMIT.

We can also be reached at our Knoxville, TN, N. American headquarters at 865-531-0192, or email us at labtectausa@aesseal.com. We have a large, trained technical staff that can help you with the toughest bearing protection applica-tions.

www.uptimemagazine.com 61

upgrade

recommend that the bearing chamber breather be removed and plugged when dual-face bear-ing protectors are installed, so as to eliminate ALL of the contamination points of entry.

On the other hand, the labyrinth isolator does a good job of protection on most splashed-oil applications, at a moderate price.

It is important to note that all contacting devic-es generate frictional heat, and require lubrica-tion. Face-type seals, therefore, have relatively low speed limits when used in dry-running ap-plications, and a labyrinth isolator is generally preferred. Also, in flooded-oil applications, spe-cially-designed bearing protectors are available and must be used.

What kind of impact can the proper bearing protector have on overall plant and machinery reliability?

By reducing or eliminating contaminant entry, lube oil changes can be reduced significantly. And, since the oil is now both prevented from escaping and protected from contamination, su-perior (but more expensive) synthetic lubricants may now be cost-justified. Synthetic lubricants provide cooler bearing temperatures for longer bearing life, and can achieve energy efficiency gains of 1 to 2%.

In the case of oil mist lubrication, using a face-type bearing protector that is specially designed to contain oil mist will eliminate the “historical” loss of oil mist in the vicinity of the pump. This upgrade results in not only environmental and housekeeping benefits, but real cost savings from loss of expensive lubricating oil mist. In addition, a face-type bearing protector is the ONLY type of protector that should be used ac-cording to the latest API 610, 10th Ed. oil mist configuration.

What are the three top reasons a company should consider using AESSEAL bearing protec-tors?

AESSEAL is the only company which provides the

full range of bearing protectors, from labyrinth protectors to dual-face protectors. As we dis-cussed earlier, it is important to select the right protector for your application; one type does NOT fit all applications. With AESSEAL, you can choose from the widest variety of bearing pro-tectors for standard and special applications, including split seals, axially-moving seals, air purge for dusty applications, flooded-oil seals, pillow-block design with angular movement, stainless steel or bronze versions, top-entry de-sign, oil-mist design, and others.

The LabTecta labyrinth protector is easily field repairable, while other protectors are not.

The LabTecta shut-off valve (see Figure 3), which opens during equipment operation to allow hot air to escape, but closes when equipment is shut down to prevent cool moist air from entering, seals on a large, well-contoured area, resulting in near-zero wear, even in slow-running or fre-quent start-stops. Other protector designs seal on a sharp metal surface, causing damage to their elastomeric valve during start-stops.

What is the time frame a company can expect for a return on their investment in AESSEAL protectors?

Many companies have seen their investment in AESSEAL bearing protectors completely paid back in a few weeks or months, depending on the cost to repair the equipment, and the fre-quency of repair before installing the bearing protectors. Most companies insist on a payback of less than 6 months to justify the investment, and our bearing protectors nearly always beat this payback time. After the payback period, the company begins enjoying real savings from the bearing protector, with total savings often reaching several times the original investment.

Housing

Shaft (stoppe d)

Atmosphere Bearing Chamber

Static Seal

Figure 3 - LabTecta labyrinth protector, showing static seal on smoothly

contoured surface while equipment is stopped. Also note dual-drive O-rings

on rotary element, which leads to much greater stability during operations than a

single drive O-ring.

Figure 2- MagTecta dual-face bearing protector.

Walgreens is the nation's largest drugstore chain in sales andtechnology use. The company's strategy is to be the mostconvenient healthcare provider in the U.S. Sales for fiscal2008 reached $59 billion, from more than 6,500 storeslocated in 49 states and Puerto Rico. With 500 store openingsthis year, Walgreens plans to have 7,000 stores by 2010.

Walgreens Distribution Centers has developed a reputation forfinding the newest, most efficient and innovative ways to movemerchandise, and we are currently seeking dynamic, qualifiedMAINTENANCE MANAGERS and MAINTENANCETECHNICIANS for 19 locations in our state-of-the-artDistribution Centers across the country.

For more information, visit: www.walgreens.jobs, and clickon the "Distribution Centers" link.

april/may 200962

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Shaft Alignment, Vibration Analysis and Balancing Training

Practical hands-on courses, taught by experts, in a small class size to promote one-on-one interaction and personal-ized attention.

From basics to the most ad-vanced applications, everything is covered in depth. Training courses are scheduled through-out the year at our training cen-ter or can be scheduled on-site.

New Courses for 2009! Bore Alignment for turbines, engines and pumps and Geometric Mea-suring

Contact us today to schedule a class!

LUDECA, INC.305-591-8935 www.ludeca.com

Upcoming NDT training courses are “springing” up in both Hamil-ton and Leduc training centres !

https://www.cinde.ca/courses/https://www.cinde.ca/courses/alberta.phtml

Hamilton, ON Leduc, AB Radiation Safety and CEDO Preparation Ultrasonics Level 1 April 27 - May 1, 2009 May 25 - 29, 2009

Engineering, Materials and Components (EMC) Liquid Penetrant Levels 1 & 2 May 25 - 29, 2009 June 8 - 12, 2009

Radiography Level 2 May 4 - 15, 2009Principles and Applications of NDT May 20 - 22, 2009Radiography Level 1 June 1 - 5, 2009

For fi rst time registrants, please register online athttps://www.cinde.ca/members/register.phtml?type=course

We are always a phone call away1-800-964-9488

The new SKF Machine Condition Advisor simplifi es machine monitoring and provides early warning of potential failures

The SKF Machine Condition Advisor (MCA) is a rugged, easy-to-use, hand-held device that measures vibration signals and temperature simultaneously to indi-cate machine health or bearing damage and provide early warning of machine problems before a costly breakdown occurs. Essential plant equipment such as pumps, fans, motors, compressors, gear boxes, cranes and conveyors used in manufacturing processes rely on bearings to keep machines running and pro-duction moving. By using SKF MCA to measure bearing activity for changes in vibration and temperature, operations or maintenance staff can detect a pending machine failure before it results in lost production and unplanned downtime. For more info contact your Authorized SKF Distributor or visit www.skf.com/mca

ORBIGate is a new solution for turbomachinery vibration. It is specifi cally designed for acceptance tests, vibration signatures, diagnostics and other troubleshooting operations. Based on OROS’ portable and rugged analyzers (3-Series and Mobi-PackTM) with up to 32 channels, ORBIGate tackles rotor and bearing vibration issues for Turbines, Compressors, Pumps, Gear Boxes or other Turbomachines. With ORBIGate, Orbits, Shaft Center lines, Bode diagrams and many other displays will be easily generated in the most user-friendly software environment. ORBIGate off ers the added capability of being real-time o r post analysis thanks to the integrat-ed recorder.

Charles Grislin1.888.200.OROS 1.703.478.3204CGrislin@OROSInc.comwww.OROSInc.com

Cooper Crouse-Hinds Announces EV LED Lighting Technology New product provides superior energy effi ciency & product life

Cooper Crouse-Hinds introduces its EV LED luminaire, the industry’s fi rst bright white, Class I, Division 1 factory-sealed LED luminaire for general il-lumination. Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are solid-state semi-conductor devices that convert nearly all the electrical energy directly into vis-i b l e light. Expected operating life on an LED typically ranges

from 50,000 hours to more than 100,000 hours, which is a signifi cant upgrade over traditional light sources. LEDs

also off er better lumen maintenance and optical ef-fi ciency, which leads to greater energy effi ciency. Additionally, LED lighting has an advantage over conventional light sources because it dramatically

reduces the overall cost of ownership. For more info, visit www.crouse-hinds.com.

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www.uptimemagazine.com 63

FluidScan Monitor Wins 2008 Great Ideas Compe-tition Award at DoD Maintenance Sym-

posium

QinetiQ North America announced that its FluidScan™ monitor has won the 2008

Great Ideas Competition Award presented annually by the Society of Automotive Engineers

(SAE) at the Department of Defense (DoD) Mainte-nance Symposium. The FluidScan monitor can be used

to quickly check the condition of lubricants such as hydraulic fl uid, engine oil, turbine engine oil for contamination. Current practices require maintenance crews to extract fl uid samples and send them to remote or centralized labora-tories for testing to determine whether or not maintenance is required.

Spectro, Inc. 978-486-0123 info@spectroinc.com www.spectroinc.com

989 Avenue of the Americas, 19th Floor New York, NY 10018(212) 889-6330 Fax (212) 545-8327

www.industrialpress.com E-mail: info@industrialpress.com

Committed to Your Maintenance Needs!

This comprehensive and very user-friendly resource introduces thefundamentals of maintenance and allows the outsider to understandthe jargon. This revision of a classic has been thoroughly updated

to include advances in technology and is sure to be found useful bymaintenance professionals everywhere.

Written by a professional with numerous years of shop floor andmanagement experience in a variety of industries, this practical

resource will help seasoned professionals and novices understandthe basic principles of maintenance and reliability.

The fifth volume in the series highlights the need for increasedskills proficiency in maintenance and reliability organizations. It

begins with a discussion of the skills shortage, then progresses intohow to develop cost-effective and efficient skills training programs.

Cooper Bussmann® SPD Technology Reference Guide Now Available Online - Written to NEC® 2008 & 2009 NFPA 70E Requirements

The Cooper Bussmann® SPD (Selecting Protective De-vices) has been newly expanded and updated to the cur-rent codes and standards including the NEC® 2008 and NFPA 70E 2009 requirements. This educational tool, used throughout the electrical industry, provides application in-formation for overcurrent protection. The guide illustrates a method to analyze proper industrial control panel SCCR marking with a step-by-step comprehensive example. The selective coordination section has been expanded to explain NEC requirements, sys-tem considerations, tradeoff s in using diff erent overcurrent protective device (OCPD) technologies, and an explanation on why selective coordination is mandatory.

Available for download in its entirety or by section at www.cooperbussmann.com/spd.

EMERSON Unveils ROSEMOUNT® 848T Wireless Transmitter, Enabling More Temperature Measurements In Monitoring And Maintaining Assets Emerson Process Management announces the expansion of its Smart Wire-less solutions with the introduction of its Rosemount® 848T wireless tem-perature transmitter for high density temperature measurement. The 848T’s four-channel effi ciency adds to installation cost-savings of Smart Wireless technology to dramatically reduce per point costs and delivers more measurement data for use in improving operations and maintenance.

The 848T includes a new EDD (Electronic Device Display) user interface that provides simple, graphical screens to deliver important con-fi guration and information.

www.emersonprocess.com

Relief Package for Budget Conscious Thermographers

LumaSense Technologies, a leading provider of infrared thermography and non-contact tem-perature and gas sensing solutions, announces the release of its new Mikron MikroSHOT ther-mal imaging camera. This handy and fully ra-diometric thermal imager allows for aff ordable pocket-sized portability with capabilities normally found in larger, more expensive thermal imagers. The MikroSHOT’s innovative Thermal-on-Visible mode allows for radiometric temperature data to be displayed directly on the visible image. The pocket-sized MikroSHOT is lightweight and uses off -the-shelf batteries (AC adapter also included).

Judi Seavers 408-235-3813 j.seavers@lumasenseinc.com

Compact, Powerful UV Lamp Is Perfect for Tight Areas

The C-100PA high-intensity ultraviolet lamp has a lamp head measuring only 7 x 9.5 inches (18 x 24 cm) — roughly half the size of other 100-watt inspec-tion lamps! This makes it easy for NDT inspectors to check for cracks, defects, c o n t a m i n a t i o n and surface fl aws in confi ned places that are inaccessible to larger lamps. The C-100PA features a 100-watt, mercury vapor spot bulb with a nominal steady-state longwave UV-A (365 nm) intensity of 5,000 μW/cm2 at 15 in (38 cm). The lamp’s visible light emission is

less than two foot-candles (0.2 lux), and it eas-ily meets MIL and ASTM specs for FPI and MPI.

The bulb has an average rated life of 5,000 hours.

1-800-274-8888 www.spectroline.com Outside US and Canada516-333-4840

All Test Pro pg 23

Allied Reliability Services pg 4

AMP pg --

ARMS pg 14

Azima/DLI pg 13

Commtest Inside Cover

CTC pg 2-3

Datastick pg 59

Des Case pg 65

Easy Laser pg 39

iLearn/Mobius pg 16

IRISS Back Cover

IVC pg 10

Kittiwake pg 10

Lubrication Engineers pg 33

Ludeca pg 35,37

april/may 200964

Company Page

MaintenanceConference.com pg 1

Maximum Impact Simulcast pg 46

MRO-Zone pg 36

Philadelphia Mixing Solutions pg 52

Reliabilityweb.com pg --

Reliability Leadership Council pg 7

Reliability Roadmap pg 48

Sacs, Salvatore & Assoc pg 32

SAP Center.com pg 58

SDT pg 40

SKF/Baker pg 29

SPM pg 56

Trico pg 43,45,47

Vectron pg 56

Vibration Institute pg 27,41

Wilcoxon pg 32

Company Page

Department of Corrections

New! Uptime® Magazine has teamed with MRO-Zone.com to make it even easier to fi nd the products, software, training and services

you want.

Simply visit http://shopper.mro-zone.com

to request information about all the great strategies, techniques and technologies featured in each issue of Uptime Magazine.

You can also fi nd a comprehensive maintenance and reliability community calendar of conferences, training courses, workshop and seminars aswell.

It’s the newest and easiest way to fi nd what exactly you need. Try It Today!

Uptime + MRO-Zone.com = Reliability Solutions

In the February/March issue of Uptime, the article “Infrared & Ultrasound Unite” was written by Jim Brady of Brady Infrared Inspec-tions. This article gave you plenty of insight as to how the two technologies work togeth-er. Unfortunately, we left out Jim’s contact

information. So if you would like to contact Jim for more information, you can do so at:

Jim Brady - Brady Infrared Inspections Inc.Stuart, FL

(772) 288-9884 bradyir@bellsouth.net

At Des-Case, we’ve led the way for 25 years with products and support that protect your equipment, helping it run longer and harder than ever before. Our breathers, filters, and fluid handling lines help your team go on a full-court press against destructive contaminants.

Our solutions are engineered for the rugged environments you face while providing maximum flexibility to

meet your exact needs.

To learn more, visit www.descase.com, contact sales@descase.com or

call (615) 672-8800.

Keeping contamination under control.®

Play to win.

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©2009 IRISS Inc. All rights reserved.

IRISSIndustrial Grade

Infrared Windows

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Visit our website to get your copy of the “10 Things You Need to Know About Infrared Windows” www.iriss.com/10Things-IRwindows