Features
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Retrofitting – Taking the next smart step with your VFD
As VFDs continue to inhabit the industrial and commercial landscapes around us, there comes a time when everyone realizes the finite lifecycle of their investment. Far too often this recognition happens during an unplanned failure or fault. Most experts in…
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Coupling maintenance strategies for critical equipment
Beloit, WI — Regal Beloit Corporation, is a leading manufacturer of electric motors, electrical motion controls, power generation and power transmission components. Unplanned outages due to mechanical failures can cost millions of dollars of lost production time to Oil and…
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Cost concepts of planning and scheduling
Most people are surprised to see maintenance costs go up (!) as they first implement proper planning and scheduling. Maintenance planning and scheduling help an existing workforce complete more maintenance work so, of course, they will use more spare parts…
A view of NAFTA, as seen from a Canadian auto plant in Mexico
San Juan Del Rio, Mexico – Looming above a Canadian auto-parts plant, keeping watch over workers, is a painting of the Virgin Mary. This same plant plans a celebration of its latest expansion with a party featuring a mariachi band.…
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B&G Crane uses Hydra-Slide system for exchanger replacement
B&G Crane Service used a 300-ton capacity Hydra-Slide HT300 heavy-track hydraulic skidding system to remove and replace two heat exchanger units for a project in Calcasieu, Louisiana.
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Combination of process and monitoring data can mitigate asset shutdowns
Further digitalization of established technologies such as condition monitoring and smart sensors could have a revolutionary effect on manufacturing, says Bernie van Leeuwen, Director Product Management Digitalization at SKF.
One-stop motor or transformer repair shop for power stations
Generation facilities speed up repairs and reduce costs by working with a single source for the full gamut of power generation equipment repairs, from the mechanical to digital elements in industrial control systems.
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Check, Replace, Renew – A look inside a chemical plant’s turnaround activity
An on-site visit at a Dow turnaround in a chemical plant in Böhlen, Germany, reveals the complexities of a well-planned turnaround.
Revisiting GHS label compliance one year after OSHA’s deadline
One year after OSHA’s June 1, 2016 Globally Harmonized System (GHS) label end user deadline, over 21 per cent of companies had not yet met all requirements, according to a new survey. The survey, conducted by Occupational Health & Safety…
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Acquiring skills for future automated processes
The shift to automated processes brings mixed blessings. Savings and efficiencies are offset by new challenges, including skills training and new product specifications.
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The next phase in industrial dust explosion protection
For a wide range of facilities that manufacture, process, blend, convey, repackage, generate or handle items that could be categorized as combustible dusts or particulate solids, new NFPA Standards and even the first deadline to conduct a dust hazard analysis…
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Track progress by keeping a close eye on production rates and yield
A SCADA solution is intended as a platform for continuous improvement. It eliminates the lag between the collection of data and the availability of that information to inform decision-making.
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Benefits of rental equipment
Dayton, Ohio – A common problem among growing companies is whether purchasing heavy equipment needed on the job really saves money or if renting is the wisest way to go. There is a lot of research out there on this…
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A laser alignment trainer passes along wisdom on skilling up, giving back
A laser alignment trainer joins a trade school advisory board and shares his experience with the next generation.
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Corrosion-resistant plastic cooling towers cut costs for sintering operations
When it comes to process cooling, few industries rely on the application of heat as much as the sintering process in powder metal manufacturing. With temperatures in the “high-heat” section of a sintering furnace reaching several thousand degrees Fahrenheit, the…
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A maintenance manager builds her risk-management skills
Suzane Greeman is a seasoned maintenance professional who set out to master asset management and learned how to apply risk mitigation to maintenance.
Paving the way forward for digital maintenance
Further digitalization of established technologies such as condition monitoring and smart sensors could have a revolutionary effect on manufacturing, says Bernie van Leeuwen, Director Product Management Digitalization at SKF.
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Work Orders – Make sense of maintenance, storeroom and purchasing reports
Knowing the requirements and creating the right reports from the get-go will allow maintainers to perform relevant tasks.
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Showstoppers – IFPE 2017 post-show roundup
Fluid power innovations at IFPE confirmed that keeping pace with technology is critical for the industry’s success.
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An emergency response plan speeds up return to normal operations
As the new wildfire season began on March 1, Fort McMurray residents were still reeling about the wildfire that razed the northern Alberta community last year. After sweeping through the city, the wildfire, dubbed “the beast,” would destroy about 2,400…
