Features
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Automated Process Helps Products Move
Distributor uses a collection of systems combined with best practices to ensure it minimizes downtime. What do a wire guide system, a computerized maintenance management system, and a continuously moving conveyor system have in common? These are the advanced systems…
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Conveyor Bearings
Recently, I was asked to inspect four bearings from two pulleys from an oil sands mine. One of the assemblies was removed due to indications of damage caused by vibration analysis. The four bearings gave a good picture of typical…
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Maximum Uptime
Honda of Canada Manufacturing uses preventative and predictive maintenance to ensure production keeps moving. Back in 1986, Honda Motor Company became the first Japanese automotive manufacturer to build a production plant in Canada, creating Honda of Canada Manufacturing (HCM). The…
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Complete List of Condition Monitoring Techniques
The future holds great promise for condition monitoring as more sensors are developed that can be mounted on equipment. Also, more equipment is being built to Internet of Things (IoT) standards. Kelvin Bui, Marketing Associate at SMC, in the MSI…
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Organizing the Maintenance Storeroom
The most time-consuming job of all. Storeroom organization is the single most labour intensive maintenance activity we can undertake. Depending on the size of a storeroom and the number of parts carried, it can take anywhere from three months to…
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Safety: Make it Part of Your Plant Culture
If a survey were conducted of all plant managers, it would likely find that safety is a priority. It might also discover that most have standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place for complying with safety standards, most provide personal protective…
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Scanning Electron Microscopy
Using SEM to determine the root cause of bearing failure. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has long been used by geologists in the mining, oil and gas production, and other industries to evaluate formations and determine elemental analyses for the purposes…
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Six Rules of Thumb for Bearing Selection and Use
What load can a bearing carry? Rule of Thumb: The range of normal loading applied to a bearing is between five per cent and 10 per cent of the published capacity. Theory: The bearing capacity is defined by the load…
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A Credible Priority System Allows Scheduling to Succeed
A credible work order priority system is vital for effective scheduling. The scheduling function is the critical agreement between operations and maintenance about what the maintenance group should do and when. The priority system allows for properly creating schedules with…
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No Time to Lose When a Power Transformer Fails
Fast action can save manufacturers ‘thousands’ when a power transformer failure stops production in its tracks. Silence… The sound no manufacturing general manager wants to hear. When a power transformer that supplies a plant goes bust, everything comes to a…
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Troubleshooting Linear Motion Components
There are many ways that linear motion components can break down and degrade if not maintained properly. Radial bearings tend to make more noise when malfunctioning because of their rapid rotation, but linear bearings tend to be much quieter and…
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5 Ways to Optimize Industrial Rotating Equipment Performance
With industrial operations continually striving to maximize the output and reliability of machinery and production processes, the performance of rotating equipment is critical as a contributing factor. Implementing best practices offers a practical path forward. Among best practices, accurate shaft…
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Utility Asset Risk Management With RCM
Power utilities can use RCM as a foundation for good asset management. Our lives depend heavily on electricity and its supply is highly reliable, so much so that we rarely think about it, until the lights go out. Fortunately, that…
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Lubrication System Leakage and How to Prevent It
An external lubricant leak of one drop per second is equal to 420 gallons of oil in a 12-month period. It has been estimated that over 100 million gallons of lubricants could be saved every year in North America if…
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Should I Fret About Fretting Corrosion?
Fretting corrosion is often seen on external bearing surfaces (bore, outer diameter surfaces, and side faces) and the degree of fretting corrosion can vary. As a user should I “fret” about “fretting corrosion”? First, what is fretting corrosion? It is…
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Maintenance Goals for 2019
Plant audits can help to create goals for maintenance for the coming year. It has been customary for me to challenge the readers of MRO to create some maintenance goals for themselves for the upcoming year. Let me tell you…
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Condition Monitoring
Condition Monitoring is a term referring to the systematic process of data collection for evaluation of asset performance, reliability, and maintenance needs with the purpose of planning repair works in advance functional failures occur. Its main purpose is potential failures…
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Self-Lubricating Bearings
Properly specified, self-lubricating bearings reduce maintenance costs, extend bearing life, and are more environmentally friendly. Motion system designers are increasingly outfitting round and profile rails with self-lubricating bearings that can significantly, reduce cost of ownership, improve performance and deliver virtually…
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Causing a Fracas
What it takes to manage a failure reporting analysis and corrective action system. As a lifetime reliability geek, I am a firm believer in creating continuous improvement loops. Once an organization has attained stability and control of its assets and…
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Care and Maintenance of Hydraulic Cranes
How to properly care and maintain, to keep them running in good shape. It goes without saying that cranes are a useful resource in the construction industry. What would we do without them to lift, pull, and haul heavy materials…
