Features
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Inadequate clutch maintenance grounds of bunkering tanker
Dartmouth, NS – In its investigation report (M17A0004), the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) found that inadequate vessel maintenance and voyage planning guided by an underqualified crew led to the January 2017 grounding of the bunkering tanker Arca 1…
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Thermal imaging and ultrasonic testing are important tools in your PM program.
A well-executed preventative maintenance program is the cornerstone of every plant’s asset management strategy. Ensuring that equipment is regularly serviced and tested helps mitigate the likelihood of an unexpected failure and associated downtime. While a number of plant systems and…
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Trump cards and tariffs – what’s the deal?
The eighth round of negotiations is in the offing and an agreement has yet to be reached on the renewal of the North American Free Trade Agreement. To date, a call for protectionism south of the border, specifically led by…
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The Maintenance Engineer’s Guide to Industrial Actuators
Actuators provide the push and pull of industrial automation. If something is moving on the plant floor, odds are good that an actuator is involved. Actuators vary according to the type of energy that drives them, with electromechanical, hydraulic and…
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A Perfect Analogy for Electrical Safety Principles
Davenport, IA – Driving to work last week, deep in thought, pondering the many reasons companies use Permanent Electrical Safety Devices (PESDs) in their electrical safety programs; I nearly slammed into the back of a bus stopped at the railroad…
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Critical considerations for transformer replacement
When replacing power transformers, a few tips can ensure a quick return to service while also reducing future costs and downtime.
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Internal CSIS note details ‘mega trends’ set to alter economy, society, security
Ottawa – From cryptocurrencies, to artificial intelligence, to the rise of millennials, a top-secret document by Canada’s spy agency explores the so-called “mega trends” on its radar and details how they will transform the economy, society and security. The evolution…
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Improve communication flow between maintenance managers and technicians
Things don’t always go as planned – and for managers, it’s understanding this unpredictability that could help them bolster growth. What do you do if a technician unexpectedly has to take a day off? Or an equipment stops working? Or…
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Bearing Witness – Ten industry tips on how to avoid counterfeit bearings
A quick internet search will yield plenty of hits about seizures of thousands and millions of counterfeit bearings. “We’ve estimated in the past that 10 to 15 per cent of the global bearing market is counterfeit bearings. In Canada and…
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Fluid transfer management – Follow this checklist to ensure secure fittings, and prevent leaks and damage
Earlier in my career I was a mechanic on the railway. Equipment has always fascinated me. Integrated electronics automating advanced hydraulic systems on track liners, tie inserter cranes – all types of equipment working in harmony! This metal ballet was…
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Manage failure – Integrate CBM information to optimize decision support
The Situation A bearing fault! With gear noise! Okay, this is bad and it’s on a large planetary gear set. I quickly (well, quickly for someone relatively new to vibration) put together a report showing the issue. This was one…
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MRO Quiz – How well can you troubleshoot lubrication problems?
Investigating problems related to equipment lubrication issues can be difficult unless the troubleshooter understands two items of critical importance. Firstly, he must fully and completely understand the operation of the machine or associated components and the operating conditions, such as…
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Editor’s Notebook: I know a guy, who knows a guy…
Maintenance and reliability programs are like any other continuous improvement initiative. Success depends on a structured process that requires ongoing streamlining and improvement. The idea points to a basic principle expounded by Dr. W. Edwards Deming’s 14 Points: “Create constancy…
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What’s Up Doug? How bearings assist in power transmission
Let’s start at the beginning. Mass-produced bearings date back to the end of the industrial revolution (late 1800s) and one of their major uses was to support the line shaft suspended from the factory ceilings that transmitted power from the…
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10 Myths About RCM – reliability centered maintenance
Despite its well-documented successes, reliability centered maintenance (RCM) has always drawn a lot of discussion and controversy. Much of it is because of a lack of understanding and “myths” generated to discredit RCM as a viable business solution. Here we…
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Make it or brake it – Oil shear technology ensures brakes will operate in the dust
As counterintuitive as it seems, the right brakes can speed up a production line. When St. Vrain Block Company, in Dacono County, CO, began switching out faulty brakes for brakes that use oil shear technology, maintenance downtime plummeted, the production…
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Life Expectancy – What should the maintenance organization focus on?
Recently I have been seeing the P-F interval curve popping up a lot on my LinkedIn feed. It is a concept that I was first introduced to when I was implementing reliability centered maintenance into the Engineering and Maintenance department…
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Words of wisdom on conveyor drive components
Simon Rouleau is the president and owner of Quebec-based Simar-Dacon, Inc. He designs, and his shop builds, conveyors of all shapes and sizes for different industries. Douglas Froom is the president of Nova Scotia-based BF Consulting. He is a conveyor…
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At your service – Extracting value from maintainability
As a tradesman, “maintainability” wasn’t a word I thought about when something was inaccessible or removals required a contortionist with a handful of various extensions. I used different words. They were eloquent strings of disjointed words that clearly demonstrated the…
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A digital future for maintenance
Connectivity presents unprecedented opportunity. That much was clear after attending Bentley’s Year in Infrastructure 2017 Conference in Singapore in October. Siemens and Bentley Systems have formed a technology-software partnership that is expected to accelerate digitalization and boost infrastructure project delivery…
