Features
Overcoming PM challenges
I have the opportunity to visit many industrial facilities in the run of a year and get to see many common problems as I work with their maintenance departments. A common issue I see is maintenance departments trying to find the time to do…
Putting the Fun in Skills
With all the hype going back and forth of late regarding the federal government’s push for investing in skills training for industry (which was introduced in the recent federal budget and which was covered extensively with more than…
IDI honours its members
Toronto – IDI Independent Distributors Inc., a Mississauga, ON-based industrial buying group, held its annual shareholder conference in Toronto Jan. 22-25, 2013, to recognize its outstanding members.
EASA meeting packs in information
Toronto – The Ontario Chapter of the Electrical Apparatus Service Association (EASA) held a successful annual general meeting Jan. 18-19, 2013, at the Metropolitan Hotel in downtown Toronto. Long-running president Anthony Lekkas of…
Five basic rules for safe maintenance
Maintenance is a high-risk activity because it often requires working alongside a running process and in close contact with machinery. During normal production operations, automation typically diminishes the likelihood of human error that can…
Overcoming PM challenges
I have the opportunity to visit many industrial facilities in the run of a year and get to see many common problems as I work with their maintenance departments. A common issue I see is maintenance departments trying to find the time to do…
Personal Protective Equipment: From Head to Toe
Using your head on the job is just one way to keep safe, but it’s also important to know that standards are helping reduce the severity of a wide range of injuries, from head to toe.
The battle against counterfeits
imken Canada received an ominous phone call in July last year from a constable at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), asking about counterfeit bearings.
Forensics for bearings
Bearing health can be monitored through the use of infrared temperature measurements, vibration and acoustical signals, and oil analysis. Failure mode analysis by itself is especially useful in diagnosing root causes of problems after the…
Bearing maintenance takes know-how
Understanding what triggers and propagates different types of damage to bearing surfaces can lead to methods that reduce the incidence or severity of such damage.
Bearing Up, Part 1
The industrial world revolves around bearings. We ask a lot of them. Here are some tips for keeping them turning and avoiding unpleasant surprises.
More than we appear to be
As we launch the first issue of another year (our 28th), we thought it would be a good time to chat about the close relationship between the print magazine you are holding and our website at mromagazine.com.
Big MRO trade show stampedes into Calgary
Acklands-Grainger, a distributor of industrial, safety and fastener products, hosted a record number of attendees at its annual customer trade show, known as The Works, held at the BMO Centre at Stampede Park in Calgary, Jan. 16-18, 2013….
Baldor reveals inner workings of its motor plants
After about two years of being acquired by the Switzerland-based ABB group, Baldor Electric Company opened its doors to some of its manufacturing facilities in the southern US to show the recent investments made in the company’s…
Tenaquip holds Customer Appreciation Days
With more than 100 exhibitors in 50,000 sq ft of space at the north building of the Toronto Congress Centre, Tenaquip Ltd., based in Ste-Anne-De-Bellevue, QC, invited its customers to see what’s new from its vendors, view demonstrations…
Implementing CMMS software
This is the final segment of an eight-stage program on achieving world-class maintenance. Stage 7 was described in the December 2012 issue of Machinery & Equipment MRO and examined the establishment of maintenance systems. This issue offers…
How machine safety boosts productivity
There is a real relationship between equipment safety and machinery output. Occupational health and safety codes and standards mandate that machinery that has exposed moving parts or in-running nip hazards — or anything that may endanger…
Raising Uptime
To ensure healthy equipment and lessen production shutdowns, it’s vital for maintenance departments to continually refine their asset management practices. According to James Reyes-Picknell, president of Barrie, ON-based Conscious Asset,…
How to Save Money with NDT
Nondestructive testing (NDT) has become an important tool for equipment condition monitoring, failure detection and quality control. Evolving technologies and methodologies have raised it to new levels, helping manufacturing and processing…
Tracking temperature and vibration
Machines in trouble usually provide telltale evidence that you can read in order to diagnose their problems. Two of the most useful indicators are temperature and vibration. Most mechanical components emit a certain amount of heat and vibration…
Tip Talk
Routine care of motors is a familiar-sounding and important part of a maintenance routine, for sure. But did you know that rogue electrical currents can blast bearings, that dust can knock drives offline or that a special screwdriver can keep…
Washing down drives without washing away profits
When it comes to power transmission equipment used in the food processing industry, some types of drive systems are easier to clean and sanitize than other types. This article examines drive system cleaning and sanitizing challenges facing the…
Looking at product innovations
While each issue of this magazine tends to highlight the topics of our main feature articles and columns – both on the cover and on our contents page – there are, in fact, many interesting technical and engineering innovations and…
Maintenance 101: Getting ahead of breakdowns
If you have been following the past three articles of Maintenance 101, you’ll know we’ve been exploring the basics of world-class maintenance (if you missed them, you can find them online at www.mromagazine.com).
The Safety File: Storing flammable liquids
Flammable and combustible liquids are widely used by maintenance people in their daily work. The storage, dispensing and usage of such liquids are regulated by fire codes as well as occupational health and safety laws. The regulations allow the…
Maintenance Management: Adding up the successes
This article is part of an ongoing series. The introduction appeared in Machinery & Equipment MRO’s February 2005 issue and the series has run in every issue since. Previous instalments are archived online at www.mromagazine.com. This…
Is your ultrasonic cleaning system living up to its potential?
he use of ultrasonic cleaning equipment to clean or degrease parts has gained wide acceptance over the years in all types of industries. And some systems have made significant advancements. Not only does the ultrasonic method provide economic…
Is that a screwdriver in your ear?
Growing up the son of a farm equipment repairman, I learned at an early age to appreciate the versatility of an eight-ounce ball pein hammer, a spanner wrench and a screwdriver. There was practically no fix too difficult for my dad, as long as…
Top tools for working with bearings
Bearings are made to exacting tolerances and have very fine surface finishes. In order to maintain the geometrical precision and the surface integrity of ball and roller bearing raceways and rolling elements, it is mandatory that care in…
Solving Old Problems
Preventive maintenance system not working? High-maintenance components wearing you down? Training needed on critical bearings? Machine wear taking its toll? Need to do better system monitoring? Require an easier way to monitor equipment health?…
