POWER UP A WINNER - Plant Services

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IN THE TRENCHES Quality Training Materials from American Tech American Tech’s line of comprehensive books and reference materials are suitable for novices as well as seasoned professionals. Many of our textbooks highlight safety procedures and techniques as they relate to OSHA and NFPA 70E requirements. Build confidence with a wide range of job-related skills, from electrical and maintenance to metals and boilers. Contact us today to receive our new 2009 Spring catalog. AN ACADEMICIAN SAYS: Employees usually like defined-benefit pension plans because of the fixed monthly payments for the rest of their lives, regardless of what the stock market does. If the market is going down, down and down, as it is now, and pension fund assets are going down with the market, it has no effect on the retired person with a fixed-benefit plan: The check will always be there. This gives retirees a great sense of security. However, the defined-benefit plan isn’t such a great deal for the employer. These plans are the most costly to operate, and they’re administratively complex. Moreover, the company has an obligation to make a fixed monthly payment to its retirees, even under the current conditions in which sales and profits are declining rapidly, and the assets supporting the pension payments (usually stocks) have dramatically declined in value. This puts a severe strain on the company. These concerns are why fixed-benefit plans are on the decline, and although I’m not an expert in this area, I don’t see much of a future for plans of this type. Although it sounded like a great idea for motivating and building loyalty among employees (however, I haven’t seen any data that support this assumption), it hasn’t been so good for the employer. Obviously, Acme realized the problems with the fixed plans, and now is trying to reduce its pension commitments. Acme isn’t alone in this effort. For example, witness the restructuring plans of the American auto industry. Based on a 2006 study, it costs almost $2,400 more to manufacture an American-make of car than producing a comparable Toyota or Honda (manufactured in the United States). Probably close to half of this is in salary and benefit costs. It’s tough to compete when you start with a $2,400 disadvantage. So, the big pensions and lifetime health-care benefits probably will be one of the first costs to be trimmed dramatically in the auto industry restructuring. How to change the pension plan without destroying employee morale and loyalty is the big question. Some “change experts” recommend one stroke of the sword and suffer about three months of anger, but after that, things gradually will get back to normal. Others (including me) recommend the Acme approach in which people are given options and a five-year transition period. Usually the young employees don’t care – their energy is directed toward paying the mortgage. It’s the older employees, like Penny, who are nearing retirement and who are the most interested and affected. And here, Acme is simply going to have to take its lumps, I’m afraid. Professor Homer H. Johnson, Ph.D. Loyola University Chicago (312) 915-6682 hjohnso@luc.edu 46 APRIL 2009 WWW.PLANTSERVICES.COM
product picks Stainless solenoid valves sized up Now available in a 3-in. size, stainless steel solenoid valves are full port, require no differential pressure to open and are easily serviced while in the pipeline. Applications include deionized water, ammonia, vegetable oil, fuel oil, gas, steam, solvents, cryogenics and oxygen. The valves have a packless construction with continuous-duty coils for AC and DC voltages, available normally open or normally closed with 150-lb. and 300-lb. flanged connections. Magnatrol Valve Corp. (973) 427-4341 / www.magnatrol.com/valveselect.html Eliminate unsafe bolting methods Patented Multi-Jackbolt Tensioners improve safety and eliminate time-consuming bolting methods because only hand/ air tools are required to install or remove any size tensioner. They retrofit existing nuts, bolts or studs, and are accurate and reusable. A variety of bolting products are available to meet challenging applications. Superbolt (800) 345-bolt / www.superbolt.com/index-plantservices.html Energy Management Software IndustrialIT cpmPlus Energy Manager software helps to monitor, manage and optimize energy usage. It produces accurate energy-demand plans a day ahead for energy-supply planning and optimization. Reporting and analysis tools evaluate energy use patterns and pinpoint areas for improvement. It offers cost savings for all industries, especially any that are energy-intensive. When electricity consumption and prices vary, it indicates the cost of electricity and provides support to schedule consumption for off-peak hours. It coordinates electricity purchases and sales with in-house generation capacity, then schedules this generation during on-peak hours when purchased electricity is most expensive. Typical reductions are4 2% to 5% of total electricity cost. Completely scalable, as a corporate-wide solution, it can span multiple regions and countries to serve hundreds of users at different sites. ABB (203) 750-2200 / www.abb.com Put thermal imaging in your pocket The MikroSHOT offers pocket-sized portability with capabilities normally found in larger, more expensive thermal imagers. The camera’s Thermal-on-Visible mode allows radiometric temperature data to be displayed directly on the visible image. The pocket-sized MikroS- HOT is lightweight (10.5 ounces), uses off-the-shelf batteries (AC adapter also included), and features a 2.7-in. display and 160x120 pixel resolution. It accommodates a variety of applications with its measuring range of -4°F to 662°F (-20°C to 350°C), operating temperature range of 5°F to 122°F (-15°C to 50°C), color alarm and autofocus at distances 1.4 yards (1.3m) to infinity. The SD card, USB and video output capability allow analysis of the JPEG-format data on a laptop or other mobile device using common software. MikroSpec 4.0 software is included for image analysis and reporting. Mikron (201) 405-0900 / www.mikroshot.com Immerse this The immersible Steel-Mass Model 640S features a self-cleaning purge port to remove tough, caked-on dust deposits. With 316 stainless steel wetted parts, the meter handles gas flow applications and dirty liquid flows where residue buildup can reduce accuracy. The unit compliess with ANSI/NCSL Z540 and MIL-STD-45662A, and is certified to ISO 9001 standards. It’s approved for use in hazardous areas. Meter accuracy is 1% of reading plus 0.5% of full scale with repeatability of 0.2% of full scale. A ¾-in. sensor probe inserts into ducts and pipes (to 72 in.) with a range of process connections (including hot tap). Multipoint flow averaging arrays are available, complete with a self-contained touchscreen human-machine interface. Sierra Instruments (800) 866-0200 / www.sierrainstruments.com www.PLANTSERVICES.com APRIL 2009 47
Page 1 and 2: WWW.PLANTSERVICES.COM PERFORMANCE |
Page 3 and 4: COMPRESSEDAIR&GAS Ultra-Filter Sup
Page 5 and 6: TABLE OF CONTENTS APRIL 2009 / VOL.
Page 7 and 8: from the editor paul studebaker, cm
Page 9: PS0901_01_Cover.indd 1 WWW.PLANTSER
Page 12 and 13: up & Running Automation and Power J
Page 14 and 15: UP & RUNNING ABB technology can red
Page 16 and 17: what works Crack Troubleshot Over W
Page 19 and 20: HUMan CAPitaL Tom Moriarty, P.E., C
Page 21 and 22: asset manager david berger, P.Eng.
Page 23 and 24: Technology Toolbox Sheila Kennedy A
Page 25 and 26: Table 1. On tap at www.PlantService
Page 27 and 28: performance / software What organiz
Page 29 and 30: vendor selection committee, consens
Page 31 and 32: Compressor Power Is Not Measured by
Page 33 and 34: Efficiency / Compressors When amps
Page 35 and 36: Properly sealed piping systems are
Page 37 and 38: Reliability / Piping the stub-end.
Page 39 and 40: SKILLS / INSTRUMENTS AND CONTROLS A
Page 41 and 42: SkILLS / Instruments and Controls a
Page 43 and 44: For the Pacific Northwest Martin Ka
Page 45: our group of experts and provide an
Page 49 and 50: KwikBond_Ad.pdf 12/5/07 11:58:45 AM
Page 51 and 52: Short-term maintenance never sticks

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