Keyboard clicks unleash Web’s hidden assets

On the web …

An interactive on-line catalogue has been added to Flexco’s belt-conveyor maintenance website, located at www.flexco.com. Visitors to the site can select and order mechanical fasteners, tools, accessories and supplies, making their choices from continually updated catalogue information. After gathering selected items, visitors can choose a local distributor and send their request for quote to that distributor via e-mail or fax. More information is available by calling 630-971-0150 or faxing 630-971-1180.

Demag Cranes and Components has launched an Online Product Literature Ordering link, an integral part of its website, www.demag-us.com. This on-line ordering ability provides immediate access to product brochures and the most current material specifications available. The user-friendly site offers technical information, operating instructions, component parts, pricing and commercial literature. Call 440-248-2400, toll-free 800-321-6560, or fax 440-248-3874 for more information.

Textron Power Transmission has launched its global power transmission website, located at www.textronPT.com. Bringing all of the company’s worldwide businesses under one web presence, the site consolidates its enclosed geared product capabilities, informs visitors of upcoming exhibitions and delivers the latest industry news. Also, there is an on-line correspondence course for the Gear Institute, a 2001 course schedule, on-line registration and outlines of courses available at its Michigan technical training centre. The site, which will receive continuing enhancements, provides downloads for catalogues, engineering manuals, brochures and drawings. Call 888-99-4Cone, 888-Radicon or fax 800-561-5103 for more information.

CompressorWise.com publishes a free compressor newsletter to share practical ideas and tips on air compressors and compressed air systems. Information for the newsletter comes from maintenance supervisors, mechanics, plant managers, engineers and buyers who have learned from experience which products and vendors can be trusted to provide solutions and value. In addition to the newsletter, there is also a free compressor advice hotline.

A website has been launched that is dedicated to leak detection. Located at www.LeakZone.com, the site focuses on industrial leak detection technology products, services, events and news. Free membership includes the Pipeline, a weekly e-mail newsletter.

A new section, entitled Justify your CMMS, has been added to Eagle Technology’s website, located at www.eaglecmms.com, that allows maintenance professionals and plant/ facility managers to use their current maintenance department information to calculate potential savings in areas such as labour, equipment and inventory after maintenance software implementation. The section also contains information to help maintenance employees develop effective proposals when they need to secure management approval for CMMS investments. A links section connects visitors to other maintenance software resources on the Internet, and a selection of case histories is provided on Eagle Technology customers who have achieved equipment downtime reductions of 5-15 per cent and maintenance software payback periods of 15-36 months.

Streaming video program previews are available on Summit Training Source’s website at www.safetyontheweb.com. Visitors to the site can preview and order any of the company’s safety training programs.

Canadian Snap-on customers now have access to 24/7 online shopping for its tool products. Dealers receive a credit for the sale if they have a customer who purchases on line. Located at www.snapon.com, it provides the ability to submit a request for a dealer to call. Visitors to the site also can find out information about the company and its product lines, learn about career opportunities at Snap-on Tools of Canada and find out about becoming a Snap-on franchise dealer. In other news, the company has opened a retail store in Toronto.

The Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE) and the Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association (ILMA) have launched their first web-based, online courses called LubeLearn. Users can access an initial series of three courses on fundamental theories of lubrication at www.lubelearn.org. Plans for additional site content are being developed through the combined efforts of STLE and ILMA. The associations believe the Internet is the education delivery tool of the future. The LubeLearn site aims to offer companies that supply or use lubricants a convenient and cost-effective option for employee education and training. Industry sources predict 50 per cent of all continuing professional education will be delivered online by 2004, so STLE and ILMA are helping lead the way for the lubrication industry. STLE and ILMA members pay US$150 per learning segment. Non-members pay $200. For information, phone 847-825-5536 or visit the website www.stle.org. (ILMA is a trade association of independent compounders and blenders of lubricants and metalworking fluids. For further information visitwww.ilma.org.)

The Toronto chapter of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE) is launching a local website at www.geocities.com/tostle. The association will use this site to provide information on its programs and other ongoing activities. Future enhancements to the site will make it a valuable resource for all tribological needs. In addition, STLE is planning to send out monthly notices via e-mail. This will help to reduce mailing costs and ensure that notices are received in a timely manner.

THK has opened its own on-line store, TOS-World, accessible directly from its website at www.thk.com. Customers can choose from a large inventory of THK standard products, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, through the convenience of the Internet.

Wholesaler-distributors now can use the Internet to dispose of excess inventory and idle business assets. The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) has entered into an alliance with TradeOut.com, an on-line marketplace for business-to-business excess and obsolete inventory across a variety of product categories, including computers, hardware, and industrial and capital equipment. NAW has exclusively endorsed TradeOut.com as its preferred Internet exchange for merchandise that cannot be returned to suppliers nor sold to existing customers. For further information, companies interested in buying and/or selling excess inventory on the Internet should visit www.tradeout.com/naw.

In order to assist customers in finding quality used equipment, John Deere Construction Equipment has launched The Used Connection website. This no-cost service is accessible world wide and enables customers to search and negotiate on-line for used construction and forestry equipment. The site is located at www.usedconnection.com and can also be accessed from Deere’s home page at www.deere.com. The inventory, which is inspected by qualified dealer technicians, includes Deere equipment plus a large selection of other makes. Each match will have detailed machine specifications, condition report and photos. Customers without Internet access can use the service at their participating local Deere dealer, who will have access to The Used Connection site. For more information, call 1-800-503-3373.

Reliability Center has revised its website at www.Reliability.com to be an Internet resource for anyone interested in reliability issues connected with business and organizations. The updated site features a variety of free resources for users, including a discussion network featuring eight topic areas, a free monthly e-mail newsletter, articles and links to a comprehensive listing of industry, publication and consultant sites connected to the reliability industry. In addition, the company has launched Internet-based workshops for industrial plant reliability and maintenance. No special software is needed for the live instructor-led courses. Participants save travel expenses and spend less time away from the workplace. Also, work teams can participate in the training workshop as a group.

The RGF Environmental Group, a company that provides pure air, water and food technologies, now offers 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week on-line shopping to clients and distributors. By visiting the website at www.rgf.com, clients can browse through RGF’s product lines and technologies, as well as published articles, engineering and design data, and environmental industry news.

The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) has launched a three-times-a-week, free news summary that it delivers via e-mail to wholesaler-distributors and their supply chain partners. NAW SmartBrief provides summaries of top stories and feature articles from the wholesale distribution industry trade press, consultants and leading newspapers. A click on the link at the end of the summary takes subscribers to the full-story text, direct from the originating website source. Visit www.smartbrief.com/naw to sign up.

Thomas Register has announced that it has partnered with vertacross.com, a marketplace supporting the automation and control industry, to offer content from its CADRegister.com website, including specifications and .DWG format files for millions of industrial parts from over 250 manufacturers. This CAD search capability can be found in the Design Center area of www.vertacross.com. CADRegister.com comprises three libraries of CAD drawings and product information on mechanical and electrical parts (PartSpec), plant-design components (Plant Spec) and building products (CADBlocks).

In print …

The text and reference book, Blueprint Reading Basics: Manufacturing Print Reading, Third Edition, has been published by Industrial Press Inc. This new edition has been expanded to include many new and revised worksheets designed to facilitate the reader’s ability to form a mental picture from a drawing. It includes industry standards, practices and copies of industrial prints, as well as many illustrations and examples, to present blueprint reading theory and industry applications. This is a useful tool for students taking blueprint reading, machine shop, or tool and die courses, as well as for machinists, mechanics, technicians and inspectors. Further information is available at www.industrialpress.com, or call 212-889-6330 or 888-528-7852.

The booklet How to Dry Compressed Air is available free from General Pneumatics. In 20 pages, it describes types of compressed air drying equipment, guidelines for selecting the correct equipment for a particular application and other information. Request Bulletin 520 by calling 352-237-4145 or visiting www.generalpneumatics.com.

The CRC Press LLC book Root Cause Analysis: Improving Performance for Bottom Line Results has been selected by the Rochester Institute of Technology as the text for its Reliability II course. The 208-page book helps readers identify, resolve and eliminate chronic issues, such as repeated equipment or system failures, that hinder the attainment of organizational goals by using Root Cause Analysis (RCA). Included in the book are three detailed case studies involving RCA methodology. Further information is available by calling 804-458-0645, faxing 804-452-2119 or e-mailing info@reliability.com.

CSA distributes the 2001 ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel family of standards. Written by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the code provides users essential information covering more than 30 different standards relating to the design, inspection and care of boiler and pressure vessels and the construction of nuclear power plant components. Recently updated after three years, the code helps organizations comply with regulatory requirements. The standard is an internationally recognized code, mandated for use within Canada and the United States, and referenced in legislation throughout many countries in the world. For more information, call 800-463-6727 or visit the website at www.csa.ca.

‘Listen to the customer’ is one of the central messages of a new book from the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors’ (NAW) Distribution Research and Education Foundation (DREF). Entitled The Wholesale Distribution Customer Speaks, the book describes the opinions of customers on the subjects of e-commerce and fee-based services as offered by wholesaler-distributors. Not only does the book report changes in customers’ knowledge of these services, it also delves into their willingness to consider and eventually adopt these new approaches to the distributor-customer relationship. Focused on business results, the book suggests questions, analytical tools and planning methods that distributors can use to start a dialogue with their customers. The book is priced at US$80.00 for NAW direct members, $90 for members of NAW member associations and $100 for non-members. Call 202-872-0885, fax 202-785-0586 or visit the website at www.nawpubs.org. A five per cent discount applies to online orders.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has released an application guide, AB 3-2001, Molded Case Circuit Breakers and Their Application. This application guide covers moulded-case circuit breakers and moulded-case switches, single-pole and multi-pole, fused and unfused, together with accessories used with them. The 2001 edition updates the supplementary reference material and the code references, and introduces new products, such as arc-fault circuit interrupter circuit breakers. It complements NEMA AB1, which adopts UL 489 directly, and NEMA AB 4. AB 3 may be purchased for US$55.00 by calling 303-397-7956, faxing 303-397-2740 or visiting the website at www.global.ihs.com.MRO

On CD…

New from Goulds Pumps is a CD-ROM set of the Goulds Pump Manual. Comprising two CDs, the set includes the eighth issue of the catalogue and the Goulds Pump Selection System. The pump catalogue’s approximately 1,600 pages contain complete specifications for over 110 different pump models. For more information, visit www.gouldspumps.com or call 315-568-2811.

The Synapse Chemical Library presents consolidated, current information on trade name and generic chemicals and materials. Its data is collected from thousands of co-operating chemical manufacturers. The most recent additions to the library are the book, Handbook of Lubricants and the CD-ROM Lubricants Electronic Handbook. The software requires Microsoft Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000 or NT. For more information, call 607-748-4145, fax 607-786-3966, e-mail Salesinfo@Synapseinfo.com or visit the web site at www.synapseinfo.com.