Maintenance & Reliability News - Maintenance Journal

AMMJ
July 2013 Issue
Asset Management & Maintenance Journal
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AMMJ
July 2013
MAINTENANCE AND
RELIABILITY
3
9 Leadership Principles
for a Maintenance and
Reliability Program
6
A Day In The Life Of A
Maintenance Planner -
What Does A Planner Do
11
Back To The Future
12
5 Tips To Prepare For
Root Cause Analysis
Success
14
Risk intuition - blurring
the lines between
procedure and practice
19
Be An AMMJ Subscribing
Member
Click On The Page
Number or Title To Go
To That Page
20
Unlocking The Value
In Your Organisation’s
Information Assets
25
How RCM Can
Be Implemented
Successfully
27
Ultrasonic Condition
Monitoring
32
The Perils Of Mean Time
Between Failure - Part 1
35
Maintenance Semminars
37
Maintenance, Asset
Management and
Reliability - NEWS
PLANT ENGINEERING
AND SERVICES
48
Upgrading Of An Existing
Hydraulic Actuator
50
Drive Asset Performance
51
Selection of Bearing Type
52
Equipment & Services
for Plant and
Buildings - NEWS
REPORTS AND
RESEARCH PAPERS
57
A 63 Page Practical Guide
To Shaft Alignment
Maintenance Labour Hours
Analysis: A Research
Case Study Of Schedule
Compliance
Asset Identification,
Tracking, Monitoring and
Management
58
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AMMJ
July 2013
Today’s manufacturing companies face
unparalleled business challenges in their
struggle to create value for owners and
stakeholders. While a world marketplace has
resulted in lower cost and more options for
consumers, global competition has placed
unrelenting pressure on manufacturers to lower
cost and eliminate inefficiencies.
In recent decades the search for competitive
advantage has resulted in large investments in
manufacturing technology and infrastructure.
While these investments have been
considerable, many facilities have not achieved
their anticipated return on investment (ROI).
Project start-ups are often extended, O&M costs
are higher than expected and plant reliability is
lower than needed to meet production targets.
In short, many of these investments did not
meet the level of performance needed to meet
the ROI hurdle rates.
9 Leadership
Principles for a
Successful
Maintenance
& Reliability
Program
Paul Casto Meridium www.meridium.com
One critical aspect of high performing assets is
an effective Reliability and Maintenance (R&M)
program.
R&M programs vary in size and complexity but
a distinguishing characteristic of successful
programs is effective leadership. Today’s R&M
leaders must deal with the loss of their critical
knowledge base to retirement, a constant drive to
reduce costs and capital expense, and regulations
to reduce risk to workers and the environment
while at the same time manage their corporate
image. The tool box of today’s R&M leaders
needs to include skills for change management,
organizational integration, improving work
processes, stakeholder management, building
stronger interdepartmental relationships
and instilling sustainability into the fabric of
the organization. This isn’t the maintenance
organization my dad worked in.
When asked to write a series of articles focusing on
the role of leadership in successful R&M organizations,
I was reminded that it’s not unlike the role leadership
plays in our personal lives. There too, leadership is a
distinguishing element of our success and the principles
work in both environments.
As we consider this subject, we should reflect on the
numerous people we’ve worked for in the past. Imagine
if these people called us tomorrow and said they needed
us. It’s the people we would immediately want to go to
that were the best leaders. These are the people who
took the time to develop us, discipline us, serve us and
teach us.
Leading your Reliability & Maintenance
Organization
Learning about leadership in asset management
started early in life for me. My dad and older brother
both had distinguished careers in the maintenance of
process plants. I remember the stories told at the dinner
table about the plant, managers, jobs, peers, injuries,
frustrations and the delight of a job well done.
Over the years I have unexpectedly met people who
worked with my dad. They remember him as one of the
finest craftsman they ever worked with, a man who knew
equipment, could fit pipe and weld anything.
But the stories they tell about him aren’t about his skill as
a craftsman but rather they are about a tireless worker
who seemed to know more about the plant equipment
than the maintenance managers, who was always
teaching the other guys, who would go the extra mile to
help on a job and who was concerned about his peers
both inside and outside of work.
It is these stories that led me to think about the
leadership principles that my dad had taught me at the
dinner table.
The people who master these nine principles are well
on their way to being strong leaders within their R&M
organizations.
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AMMJ
July 2013
1. Watch their feet
This principle has stuck with me over time because
it makes so much sense. What it means is to watch
and see if leaders do what they say. We’ve heard
many versions of this principle but it’s important to
remember because people will do what they “see”
their leaders doing. If craftspeople see their leaders
cutting corners, taking shortcuts and allowing
procedures to be ignored, they will too.
People are watching what we do.
2. Even managers should do some real
work once in a while
People want to work for leaders who they know will do
the work required to earn the respect of the team they
are leading. As a leader, never let it be said that we
ask our team to do things that we won’t do, to develop
skills that we won’t develop, to get certifications that
we won’t work to get, to spend endless hours in the
plant while we’re at home, or to work with broken
processes and systems that we’d never put up with.
It’s good practice for leaders to spend time on the
floor, at times run a crew and experience firsthand
what it is like to perform maintenance work.
People will follow leaders who work to
earn their respect.
3. Look at who’s working for him/her
That is, the quality of a leader can be seen in those
people he/she surrounds themselves with. This is
one of my favorite principles as it has proven true
more than once over my career. Effective leaders
are always on the lookout for good people. The best
leaders want the brightest people on their team. They
aren’t challenged by smart, talented people. They
want people on their team that push him/her to work
hard to stay ahead of them. An interesting result of
following this principle is that our potential is often
determined by the team we surround ourselves with.
You are who you surround yourself with.
4. Let them do their job
How many times have you heard employees
say, “I just do what they tell me.” This is
a learned trait that almost always comes
from poor leadership. Typically what these
employees are really thinking but not saying
is, “If they’d just get out of the way and let
me do my job, I could make them a lot of
money.” It is our job as leaders to prepare,
train, teach and mentor our teams to do the
job that’s asked of them. And when they
are ready, we need to let them, and expect
them, to do their jobs.
A leader has to know when to
give up control.
5. Now that’s a guy you
want to work for
This is an interesting principle that
I’ve come to see as a combination
of things. First, have you ever
noticed that the best leaders often
work for other really good leaders?
Maxwell says that strong leaders
naturally follow stronger leaders
and I think that’s true. But perhaps
more importantly, I’ve noticed that
it’s often not the project people want
to work on but rather the person,
the project leader, which people
want to work for.
The leader often has a vision for
what he/she wants to accomplish.
The team wants to work for the
leader first, then the vision.
People follow the leader first,
then the vision.
6. If you want them to follow you,
you’ve got to show up every day
When I heard my dad say this it was often followed closely by other
sayings like “Rome wasn’t built in a day” and “hard work covers up
a lot of mistakes.” My family didn’t have super smart genes, but
we did have plenty of hardworking genes, so I got the point of this
one pretty quickly. Our credibility as leaders doesn’t come with a
diploma. It comes through hard work and that hard work builds up
credibility over time, one situation at a time.
So when we make a mistake (and we’ll make plenty of them) the
ability to say “I was wrong” or “I’m sorry” can leverage the hard
work we’ve done over time.
Leading people is really hard work.
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AMMJ
July 2013
7. Give the credit where
credit is due
I feel most passionate about this
principle. I can hear my dad saying,
“Don’t take credit for what’s not
yours.” It is a sign of insecurity
and greed when a person in a
position of authority takes credit for
the work of his/her subordinates.
Nothing creates more animosity or
undermines the critical relationships
leaders need than this behavior.
I’ve never understood people
who conduct themselves this way
because there is no greater pleasure
than seeing a person that you’ve
been mentoring be successful.
Don’t ever take credit for other
people’s work;
no matter what, don’t do it - ever.
8. He cares about the crew
This is my personal favorite and
one of the most important of all the
leadership principles. It was also one
of the hardest for me to understand
and learn. It simply means that the
leader cares about his/her people
beyond the workplace. For many
years this was one of the weakest
aspects of my leadership style. We
can get so busy, so overwhelmed
with things to be done, so focused
on work that we lose sight of the
needs that people working for us
can have. It is our responsibility as
leaders to develop relationships
within our team and to care about
our team members as individuals. I
learned the value of this principle in
reverse when a few years ago some
young leaders on my staff cared about
me when I needed it most. It is an
important lesson that I will never forget
& will be eternally grateful for.
Lead with your heart.
9. “I’d walk over hot coals
for that guy”
I saved the best one for last. It took me
a lot of years to understand this one.
We’ve all worked for someone that
we’ve said this sort of thing about, but
in my case, I didn’t really understand
why I felt that way. In the case of this
principle, I learned the saying from
my dad, but my dog taught me the
meaning. If you’ve ever had a pet that
you’ve grown close to you realize that
they’d do just about anything for you
and it’s because they trust you to look
out for their best interest.
It’s the same with leaders. The reason
that we’d “walk across hot coals” for
some of them is that we know our
mentors want the best for us and that
they’d take of their shoes and walk over
the hot coals with us if we needed them
to. To build trust, leaders must display
competence, develop a connection
with their team and above all have
character.
Trust is the most important
part of leadership.
About the author
Paul Casto,
VP Value Implementation,
Meridium Is a leading practitioner
in reliability and maintenance
improvement methodologies.
www.meridium.com
info@meridium.com
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A Day In The Life Of A
Doc Palmer
Richard Palmer and Associates
USA
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AMMJ
July 2013
Maintenance Planner
So, what DOES a planner do?
Industry wisdom claims that the process
of planning and scheduling dramatically
improves maintenance productivity. But
what exactly does a planner do throughout
the day?
This narrative follows a planner through a normal
day to see. It also identifies the planning principles
and concepts along the way. When properly put
into practice, these principles and concepts help
the high performing maintenance organization
make planning work.
Maintenance planner Terry Smith arrived at work
Wednesday morning looking forward to another
day helping the maintenance department boost its
productivity with planned work orders.
After checking his e-mail, he opened the CMMS
to find new AUTH (code) work orders for the
mechanical crafts. These were the ones waiting for
him to plan.
There were several “reactive” as well as
“proactive” type work orders.
Terry could quickly sort out the reactive work orders
because another planner had come in earlier to
“code” the new work orders.
Terry needed to go ahead and plan the three reactive
work orders almost immediately, certainly before
lunch.
The marching orders for reactive work were:
Peek at the history.
Peek at the job.
Put on a plan.
Above all, the planners must not slow down a
crew that wanted to go ahead & work a job.
(Of course, emergency jobs were not planned at all,
even though the planner might help a crew find special
information during the job execution, if requested.)
Terry printed out a copy of each reactive job for note
taking. The first job was a simple welding job and
required only “minimum maintenance” attention.
Someone wanted a handrail welded where it had
come loose. It was a reactive job apparently in the
sense that it was in a high traffic area and should not
be roped off for long.
The other two jobs needed “extensive maintenance”
consideration. One was for a clogged polisher
underdrain and the other for noticeably high vibration
on a potable water pump.
He might be able to find useful history for these two
jobs. Thankfully, the originators recorded pertinent
information on all the reactive work orders. Perhaps
most importantly, they had identified all of the
component tag numbers for the extensive jobs.
This allowed Terry to scan the CMMS quickly for
previous work order history. At this point, Terry was
mainly interested in scanning the history descriptions for
past failures, if any.
That information might help him know what to look for
when conducting his field inspection.
Terry noticed the plant had worked on the Unit 2 polisher
underdrain once before for clogging and on the pump
twice before, once for vibration. Terry also glanced at
the cost for previous work for any excessive expenses
that might affect a repair choice he might consider.
Nothing looked out of the ordinary.
For the three reactive work orders, Terry then made a
field inspection to “scope” them. He did this simply by
taking the work order copies and viewing each job in the
field.
He mainly wanted to verify that the job was as described
and then visualize how he would approach doing the
work if he were the technician assigned. Also of interest
would be any special circumstances, such as insulation
removal or scaffolding needed.
The handrail looked straightforward, but Terry noted the
welder should have a safety harness and tie-off due to
the elevation.
Terry found the other jobs as well and felt that he had
a perspective on what might be involved. This done,
Terry returned to his desk in the planning office (separate
planning department).
For each job, Terry needed a job plan.
By definition, for the “minimum maintenance” job there
was no history and he would plan it from scratch.
Terry began creating the plan by specifying a single
welder for the craft and one hour for the time.
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www.pwc.com.au/assetpartnership
7
AMMJ
July 2013
He then wrote a satisfactory procedure
by merely stating that the job was to weld
the handrail back in place.
He remembered to add a requirement for
the safety harness. Simple as it seemed,
this was now a planned job.
As in many cases, the craft technician
did not need a detailed procedure as
much as the crew supervisor needed
craft and time specifications (weekly
or daily scheduling). The supervisor
needed this information to manage his
crew productively. (But the welder would
appreciate the safety “heads up.”)
Terry then looked at the existing job
plans in the CMMS history for the
other two jobs involved.
From this information and his personal
experience (planner skill), he made a
suitable plan for each job in the CMMS
and attached it to the work order.
He did this by insuring the job plan
adequately explained the work needed
and included easily available information.
(Since this was reactive work, Terry
did not go out of his way to find other
technical data from O&M manuals.)
Also, as in the case of most plans, he
was careful to plan the general strategy
of the job and not spend undue time
including “how to” details unnecessary
for a competent technician.
In the history, Terry noticed that the last
time the underdrain needed cleaning,
the technician had managed to clean
it without entering the confined space
of the vessel. That had saved seven
hours of technician time plus what it
would have cost in time for a “confined
space” permit and an extra person to
watch the entry. Terry now could use
a plan improved after a past learning
experience.
On the other hand, the pump history
showed the impeller coming loose had
caused a similar problem although it
had not happened in the last two years.
Terry presumed this was the cause
of the current problem. In this case,
while Terry was not going to have an
“improved” plan, the history pointed him
toward the most likely problem and also
saved him time in creating a plan. After
attaching the plan used last time for the
pump, each job now had a “planned
package.”
Terry changed the status of each work
order to PLANNED.
After finishing up the reactive work
orders, Terry began to close work
orders previously completed by
maintenance.
The field technicians had been given
printed paper work orders to carry in
the field for execution of the jobs and to
record feedback.
These work orders had been handed
back in to crew supervisors as the
technicians completed jobs. The crew
supervisors had marked the jobs as
COMPLETE in the CMMS, but the
planner still needed to close them.
Simple, effective
condition
monitoring
Artesis MCM is a new approach to Condition Monitoring,
providing all the benefits without the high complication
and cost of traditional systems.
• Simple to install and use
• Continuous monitoring and fault detection
• Reliable automated fault diagnosis
• Connects with other systems
• Cost effective for widest range
of equipment
Contact: Stephen Young | PwC’s The Asset Partnership
(+61) 2 8266 0442 | stephen.young@au.pwc.com
A
N
S
A
D
E V
E L O P
Y
L O G
E D
T
E C H N O
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8
AMMJ
July 2013
Terry scanned the written information
(getting feedback) on repairs made,
delays encountered, and parts and tools
used for each job.
Terry also knew that separate daily
timesheets each technician completed
would be entered into the CMMS by a
clerk and assign labor costs to each
work order.
Along with parts charged from the
storeroom, the CMMS would total the
cost for each work order.
It was critical to have history cost
information to help guide future repair or
replace decisions.
On one job it was not clear what extra
part the technician had used. Terry
paged the technician to ask him so the
plan for a future job would have the part
available.
After making changes to several of the
existing job plans in the CMMS (using
feedback), Terry gave the paper work
orders to the planning clerk to type the
written feedback onto each work order
in the CMMS, mark them as CLOSE,
and then discard the actual paper
copies.
Time for the morning break. Things
were going at a good pace.
Not only was all the reactive work
planned before lunch, but Terry had
been able to close out the finished
work orders and would get a start on
planning the other work orders.
After break, Terry concentrated on the
“proactive” AUTH work orders in the
CMMS.
Two jobs required extensive
maintenance planning and two jobs
required only minimum maintenance
planning. Terry printed out a copy of
each proactive job for note taking.
On the first extensive job, a
thermography route (predictive
maintenance) had shown a slight leak
for a valve. A check of the CMMS
history showed that this valve had a
history of leaking.
The second extensive job, for a
pump, had no identified component
tag number because schematics and
coded tags were still being developed
and hung for that section of the plant.
Terry still looked around in the CMMS
to see if he could find any past work
orders under the general system code,
but wasn’t able to find anything (system
vs. component level).
Of course, there wouldn’t be any
history for the minimum maintenance
jobs.
Terry put on his hard hat and safety
glasses and went out to scope the
proactive work orders with a field
check.
He noted that although the valve was in
somewhat of a high pressure service, it
had flange connections and would not
require a certified welder. Terry decided
to include scaffolding in the plan.
Terry then looked at the valve which
was reported to be running hot. Terry
was not sure what the solution to this
would be.
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AMMJ
July 2013
Since the pump job had no component tag number,
Terry attached a temporary tag directly on the pump
by the nameplate.
One of the minimum maintenance jobs was as
expected, but he had to clarify the other one
with the originator. On this job, an operator had
requested maintenance to install a screen over the
wharf gutters to keep trash from clogging up the
drains. After looking at the job, Terry thought that
only the drains themselves should be screened so
that the gutters could still collect trash and keep it
from the river.
Terry had time to try to hunt down the originator for
proactive work because no one would be chomping
at the bit for the plan. Terry then returned to the
office.
Terry studied the current plan and history in
the CMMS for the pressure valve. The valve’s
history showed that the seat and disc had been
reconditioned as well as replaced, both within the
last year.
Terry decided the present valve was marginal for
the service and planned the job to replace the valve
with an upgraded valve from the warehouse.
In this case, Terry called the plant engineer to get a
second opinion.
The engineer said the upgrade was okay. Terry
remembered to update the CMMS equipment
module with the new valve type that would be used.
Terry briefly wrote out the job procedure as
replacing the valve and specified a mechanic and a
helper (primarily because of the valve weight) for 3
hours each.
Terry also didn’t forget the scaffolding. One of
Terry’s jobs was to go ahead and call the scaffolding
contractor so the platform would be ready before the
supervisor (daily work) assigned technicians to the
job. Terry marked the job as PLANNED.
It was now lunch time. Terry had planned the
reactive jobs, closed the completed jobs, and
planned one of the proactive jobs.
Thankfully, no one had called him with any
requests to help find information for any
emergency jobs already started. And none of the
supervisors had called him to make a plan for a
new reactive job they wanted to start after lunch.
After lunch, Terry took time to look in the O&M
manual for the pump. Since the job was
proactive, Terry had plenty of time to research the
Technical and Vendor Files (resources).
Fortunately, the manual had a trouble shooting
section in the back. Terry decided that for this
type of vacuum pump, the most likely cause for
running hot might be a bad intake valve reed.
Terry wrote the job plan to inspect all the intake
valves for bad reeds and take appropriate action.
Terry then included the inventory part numbers
for likely parts: the channels, reeds, and backing
plates. Terry specified that this would take a
mechanic two days. Hopefully, good feedback
would help improve a future work plan. Terry
marked the job as PLANNED.
He then quickly wrote plans for both of the
proactive, minimum maintenance jobs and
marked them as PLANNED.
The proactive work planned, Terry now looked
in the CMMS for any new AUTH jobs. Yes,
there were eight new jobs.
Terry wasn’t the maintenance planner doing the
morning coding that week, but he went ahead and
coded them.
He coded two of them as electrical, one reactive/
minimum maintenance (ELEC-RM) and the other
reactive/extensive maintenance (ELEC-RE).
He coded one of the others as
I&C and proactive/extensive
(I&C-PE). Terry coded the last
five for himself, three MECH-RE
and two MECH-PE.
Terry wished he had looked
earlier in the CMMS for the
reactive mechanical jobs, but
he’d go ahead and plan them now.
The first reactive job stated that the Unit 2 Control Valve
B Strainer had a high pressure drop.
As soon as Terry looked in the computer, he saw that
this valve occasionally became clogged from rope or
other debris. A quick field inspection did not reveal any
unusual circumstance other than Operations was not
doing very good housekeeping in this building.
One of Terry’s first goals was to create a proper job
description. He wanted the job description to be in field
technician, not operator, language.
The operator’s job description had said that “the strainer
had a high pressure drop.”
Terry noted that the plan he would use from the
computer had a job description that said the technician
was to “clean the strainer.”
In addition, Terry knew that this work order was for the
strainer, not for an overall cleanup of the area.
Terry then looked at the past planner estimate. He
decided that even though the last job had taken seven
hours for two mechanics, he would still keep the current
estimate calling for a mechanic and a helper for five
hours each.
Terry also was pleased special tools from the last job’s
feedback had already been added to this equipment’s
job plan. The technician should take a 2″ combination,
impact socket, and impact wrench to the job. Terry
easily attached the upgraded job plan from the computer
and he changed the computer status to PLANNED.
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10
AMMJ
July 2013
Terry also quickly planned the other two reactive jobs
fairly easily, having scoped them in the field earlier
when he had scoped the first one. He soon marked
them PLANNED as well.
Terry then looked at his watch and called the
Reliability Engineer to see if he had time to meet.
The engineer had wanted Terry’s advice on the specific
craft requirements for several PM’s he was setting up
through the RCM program.
Terry decided that since he had planned ten jobs
today, he could put off the two new proactive jobs until
tomorrow to help the engineer with PM without getting
bogged down there.
Ten jobs was probably a good standard that would
keep him ahead of the mechanics since the mechanics
not only had his planned work to do, but had PM tasks
that would keep them busy as well.
Setting up PM’s was engineering stuff to a large
degree with the engineers setting up equipment
requirements, but it made sense for the engineers to
get field experience built into their job plans.
Terry always helped, but knew that his primary task
was to plan new work orders (future work) coming into
the maintenance department.
At the close of the day, Terry walked to the parking
lot. He thought about the part he played in the high
availability the plant enjoyed.
The backlog of planned work allowed the scheduling
(advance schedule) of planned work to match the
forecasted available craft hours for the next week.
The weekly schedule set a work goal and also made
the advance coordination of other crafts and material
staging possible.
Simply providing a work goal through advance
scheduling had already helped the maintenance
force boost its productivity (wrench time) up to 45
percent from the 35 percent industry norm for good
maintenance groups.
But beyond that, keeping the plant on a constant
learning curve by using information from previous
jobs had boosted wrench time to 50 percent.
Technical data was available and previous job delays
were avoided.
Now as the plant developed its tools, inventory,
and other capabilities, including the CMMS,
wrench time was slowly creeping up to 55
percent.
At 55 percent, the productivity of the 30 people for
which Terry planned would be the same as for 47
people working at only a 35 percent wrench time.
This was an incredible improvement, the same
as if the maintenance force had added 17 free
technicians (Wow!).
The benefits of planning actually involved productivity
and quality savings. The productivity savings
came from reducing delays during and between
assignments. The quality savings came from
correctly identifying work scopes and providing for
proper instructions, tools (other tool, tools), and parts
(other tool, storeroom).
The productivity improvement also freed up craft,
supervision, and management time. This allowed
them to focus on troublesome jobs requiring more
attention and an opportunity to do more proactive
work. This proactive work included root cause
analyses (RCFA) on repair jobs, project work to
improve less reliable equipment, and attention to
preventive maintenance and predictive maintenance
(other tool, PdM). Terry felt good that his work
in planning contributed to a cycle of continuous
improvement.
Doc Palmer, PE, MBA, CMRP is the author of McGraw-
Hill’s Maintenance Planning and Scheduling Handbook
and as managing partner of Richard Palmer and
Associates, he helps companies worldwide with planning
and scheduling success.
For more information visit www.palmerplanning.com or
email Doc at docpalmer@palmerplanning.com
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Back To The Future
11
AMMJ
May 2013
An Opinion Piece by Mike Levery
MCL Consultancy Ltd
http://www.mclconsultancy.co.uk/
The death this year of a former UK Prime Minister took me back to my days in the
steel industry in the 1970s, the steel strike in 1980 and everything associated with
maintenance during that era. In an attempt to improve productivity, particularly in the
state sector, a new term was introduced – Terotechnology.
Unfamiliar? It was an attempt to look at the whole life operation of assets and, for the
first time, brought the concept of time-based planned maintenance into industry. The
definition in the Oxford English Dictionary is “the branch of technology dealing with
installation and maintenance of equipment” from the Greek tereo meaning to “take
care of” and technology. Today, this term is no longer used; instead we have Asset
Management.
Asset Management has evolved in the first decade of this millennium to gain
worldwide accreditation for a standard in the whole life management of assets,
driven particularly by the Institute of Asset Management’s introduction of PAS55.
The maintenance element has become just a part of the asset management jigsaw
and, in some sectors, an increasingly minor part.
The IAM have been at pains to point out that asset management is not asset
maintenance, and a number of maintenance managers have re-branded themselves
as “asset managers” in an effort to gain greater credibility in their organisations.
The implication seems to be that nowadays maintenance is somehow a low-status,
unglamorous and unproductive activity.
Whilst in manufacturing and process industry the principles of terotechnology are
still fundamental to any maintenance regime, that isn’t the case in the regulated
industries. Whether it be gas, water, electricity or rail, the focus has shifted to the
financial aspects of Asset Management, and in particular capital investment. Whilst
operating costs continue to be driven down through “efficiency initiatives” in order to
deliver short-term shareholder gains, capital investment has increasingly been used
to resolve operational issues. In other words, “asset management” has been reduced
to running plant until it fails and then using capital budgets to pay for replacement. At
the same time maintenance has been reduced to a crisis-driven reactive activity.
Gone is the recognition that effective maintenance using the principles of
terotechnology greatly reduces capital investment requirements and hence overall
cost, particularly in dealing with asset failure.
Perhaps it is time for the renaissance of Terotechnology
within an asset management framework in the regulated sector.
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12
AMMJ
July 2013
5 Tips To Prepare
For RCA Success
Jack Jager
Principal Apollo RCA Trainer and Facilitator
ARMS Reliability www.apollorootcause.com
An incident has occurred, and a Root Cause
Analysis (RCA) is needed to find an effective
solution. How do you ensure that the RCA delivers
the best results – that is to say arriving quickly and
accurately at the cause or causes of the problem?
At the start of any analysis, there are a number of
simple things you can do to boost the likelihood of
a successful outcome. These tips are not rocket
science; yet they are important to get right.
1
Be prepared.
Make sure you do your homework before you start,
and have everything ready. This includes:
• The workspace – have large white boards and
lots of them. In the absence of whiteboards, use
walls or windows with butchers paper. Stock up on
markers and post-in notes. In other words, make
sure you’ve got plenty of room – and the tools – to
write down all ideas coming from the group.
• The information – collect all of the information
available, and have someone assigned as custodian
so you can call on it and don’t have to go looking for
it. Depending on the incident you are investigating,
you should collect things like the maintenance
history, reports, photos, design specs, eye witness
statements and OEM recommendations.
• The timeframe – stipulate clear timeframes for the
RCA, including the start time, breaks and finish time.
• The rules – set expectations around usage of
mobile phones and email. It is also important to
have rules around the discussion itself – such as
“no put-downs”. In short, the less interruptions, the
better. Encourage an “open” discussion and allow all
information to be brought forward.
Don’t argue about ownership of
information – what matters is that
it was brought to light. Focus on
“why”, not “who”.
This reduces the emotion in the
room and minimises conflict or
argument. If blame becomes a part
of the RCA process then defensive
attitudes will start to appear,
and people get too afraid of the
consequences to speak up and say
what really happened.
2
Form your group.
For an RCA to be successful, you
need the right people to be present
for the investigation. In other words,
people who have access to or
knowledge of information relating to
the problem. You may need to invite
an independent “expert” to assist
with your RCA.
Sometimes the people directly involved in an incident or
accident may be the “right” people to have in the room.
But if there are other agendas or emotions at play,
then leave them out. The RCA team should be genuine
seekers of effective solutions, who share a goal of
preventing similar events happening again.
Be wary of inviting senior managers into the group –
they could hinder open and truthful dialogue. It may be
better to give senior managers a separate review and
opportunity to challenge so that they stay engaged in
the process and buy-in to the solution.
It’s also important to have the right number of people
in the room. The “right” number is dependent upon the
significance of the problem, but also upon the ability of
the facilitator to handle the group. As a general rule, it is
difficult to facilitate groups greater than 10. If the group
size becomes too large, consider splitting the group
and having two sessions.
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13
AMMJ
July 2013
3
Control the group.
This may prove difficult, yet the ability to control a
group is an important skill to have. You should value
all contributions from all group members. While
people don’t necessarily have to agree with each
other, it’s important to acknowledge that everyone is
entitled to their opinion.
If there is any confusion about a person’s comment,
ask them to explain it again. If there is still no
agreement, then capture both sides of the story
and let the evidence prove one or the other. Don’t
tolerate an argument or a contest of wills – let
the evidence determine the merit of following a
particular cause path.
Use all of your non-verbal skills to assist you in
controlling the group. Use direct eye contact and
a hand gesture to indicate whom you wish to
speak next. This lets everyone know who has the
floor. When you shift your focus to someone else,
in conjunction with the arm movement, you pass
ownership of the right to speak to the new person.
Be the traffic cop. With a simple hand signal, you
can control the person who is impatiently wanting to
say something, by showing them an open palm that
says “stop”. This will let the other person finish what
they were saying.
Respect everyone’s right to be heard, and
remember that everyone in the room has a reason
for being there. Ensure they all have the opportunity
to speak.
Use your body as a means of directing the flow of
traffic. Turn your body to face someone in the group
whom you wish to speak. When you couple this
with strong eye contact and a hand signal toward
them you are effectively giving control of the floor
to them. The key here is that everyone else in the
group sees these silent signals too. Don’t think
you’re being rude – rather, you are showing control.
And the better you can control the group, the more
effective your investigation will be.
4
Keep the group on-task.
The facilitator’s job is to be direct and to ask
specific questions to keep people focussed.
If the focus strays, then it’s a good idea to
go back through the chart – starting at the
beginning – to get everyone back on track.
The facilitator should be the prime-mover
during the RCA, constantly asking questions
– along the “caused by” or “why” lines – to
maintain focus. These questions demand
responses and keep everyone engaged,
involved and on-task. Your questions will
also prevent the group going off on tangents,
which lead to almost anything
being added to your cause and effect
chart.
If someone is having a side
conversation, then pose the next
question to them. Put them in the hotseat.
If you do this consistently, you
will demand their attention and also
the group’s attention.
Being animated or dynamic when
you facilitate is also a great way to
maintain focus. Modulate your voice
to keep people’s attention. Avoid a
boring monotone. Remember, if the
facilitator is quiet then it follows that
the group is also quiet. This is not
what you want.
Schedule regular breaks – a few
minutes on the hour and 10 -15 mins
after 2 hours. This will help to ensure
that the energy levels in the room
remain high and also allows people to
check emails and phone messages.
This is important in maintaining the
focus of the group.
5
Follow the process.
Some people seem to have a natural affinity for facilitating
investigations, but anyone can become adept and successful at it.
The art of facilitation is a skill that can be learned through practice
and reflection. A good facilitator knows he can walk into any
situation and find a solution. This is a very powerful and rewarding
skill for both the individual and the organisation.
As a facilitator, if you can follow these suggestions then the
likelihood of a successful outcome from your investigations will
increase.
ARMS Reliability are the global partners and providers of the Apollo
Root Cause Analysis methodology. To view our worldwide training
schedule or to book a course, visit www.apollorootcause.com
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Risk Intuition
Blurring the lines between
procedure and practice
Greg Williams PriceWaterhouseCoopers Australia
Hence, asset management is essentially a risk
management discipline, applied in context to the
physical assets at an organisations disposal.
Asset management frameworks, procedures and
standards such as PAS 55 and the emerging
ISO55000 series draw on similar risk management
documents in the same genre. Take the PAS 55
approach as an example – an essential part of the
overall approach is the all hazards risk assessment
process – identify, analyse, evaluate and treat the
risk. Risk management is a key concept in the
ISO55000 drafts.
14
Asset management is inherently a risk
based decision making process.
Practitioners in asset management are
more inclined to consider uncertainty
relating to a course of action than
perhaps many other professionals,
normally because their training and
experience biases them towards
structured approaches and avoidance of
an unplanned outcome. But practitioners
are also unlikely to embrace formal risk
management procedures, often because
the existing frameworks are overly
prescriptive and can direct risk thinking to
‘slices of risk’ rather than the whole pie.
This paper challenges the distinctions
between risk management as an
empirically formal procedure based
discipline, and risk management as an
intuitive practice, with respect to asset
management functions.
Asset management is inherently a risk based
decision making process.
Practitioners in asset management are more
inclined to consider uncertainty relating to a
course of action than perhaps many other
professionals, normally because their training
and experience biases them towards structured
approaches and avoidance of an unplanned
outcome. But highly developed practitioners
are less likely to embrace formal, structured
risk management procedures, often because
the existing frameworks are overly prescriptive
and can direct risk thinking to ‘slices of risk’
rather than the whole pie.
Asset management and risk management
are two sides of the same coin
The practice of asset management requires
a well developed sense of the potential for
impending failure. Asset managers must be
vigilant towards indicators of failure, whether
they are overt in the form of signals, alarms or
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AMMJ
May 2013
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15
AMMJ
May 2013
Asset manger’s are responsible for
managing risk
Regardless of the degree of formality
around an asset manager’s role within
an organisation, the manager of physical
assets is at least responsible for assessing
the risk of failure of those assets. This
obviously includes determining strategies
and actions to mitigate or treat an
impending failure.
How does an asset manager go about
reducing risk?
Through increased awareness,
transparency and consistency in the
identification, quantification, reporting and
control of asset related risks.
This is a key element to value realisation
– the organisation benefits from reducing
financial losses, improving safety and
minimizing environmental impact.
Risk management is as much
about culture & behaviours as it is
process
Organisations that own or operate physical
assets and intend to minimise the risks
attributable to those assets will typically
have well developed control systems.
Policy, procedure and guidance will be
documented, and the performance of
the business at managing risk may be
monitored. The organisation will have
empirical or tangible discipline in the form
of documented process describing ‘normal’
responses to situations.
Really good operators in asset intensive
industries might also have a strong
‘risk aware’ culture, evidenced by
collective behaviours and concern for
risk. The emotional connections in
such organisations contribute to the
preservation of value for the organisation.
The culture of the risk aware organisation
is influenced by the experience of how
things are done, what is valued and
not valued. Intangible aspects of this
experience (such as symbols, norms,
values) are underpinned by tangible
aspects (such as processes, behaviours,
systems).
A risk aware organisation is characterised
by people with a chronic pre-disposition
towards avoiding uncontrolled or
undesired outcomes.
Concepts of mindfulness and risk
awareness
Let’s look at an example of risk
awareness in safety critical industries.
Andrew Hopkins, noted Australian
author of several books commenting
on process safety, points to the culture
and behaviour of asset intensive
organisations as a contributing factor in
preventing disasters.
In analysing the causes of disasters such
as the Texas BP Refinery explosion,
Professor Hopkins suggests that
‘mindfulness’, which is a pre-occupation
with the potential for and consequences
of safety risks, characterises the good
organisations.
‘Mindfulness’ can also be described
as conscious risk aversion - a state of
thinking and operating we are all familiar
with when entering the casino.
Asset managers who are actively mindful of the risks of failure of their
asset will have adopted a these behaviours. But they will also be
displaying a certain level of intelligence about the environment they
operate in. They will be concerned by the factors affecting the ability for
their assets to achieve whatever business goals have been set, and most
importantly the drivers of failure that may create the potential for harm.
The elevation of behaviours that is conscious and sub-conscious, intuitive
yet also highly structured and disciplined around repeatable process,
leads to a level of mindfulness also described as risk intelligence.
What is culture and how does it manifest?
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16
AMMJ
May 2013
Risk Intelligent organisations are characterised
by managers who adopt a chronic awareness
of the risks
Risk intelligence generates awareness of risk
at all levels within an integrated framework to
obtain the best intelligence available under the
circumstances. American economist and risk
management author Frank Funston describes risk
intelligence as an unconventional approach to risk
management, because it challenges the conventions
of management thinking about risk. According to
Funston, too often we see organisations separate
risk management from most strategic decisions and
view risk in isolation of day to day business.
Funston’s ‘unconventional risk intelligence’ approach
is exemplified by people and organisations that
acknowledge that factors affecting events will change
and that not all things are equal. While events may
appear mildly random, they could also be wildly
random. This gives rise to a view that extreme
events are more common than we might reasonably
assume.
The discipline of asset management requires
practitioners to be risk intelligent, but acceptance
of this hypothesis is probably challenging in work
environments reliant on formal structure and
repeatable process to fully prosecute risk based
asset management.
Whilst we can relate to documented frameworks,
standards, plans & procedures, it’s a little more
esoteric to describe our reliance on an asset
manager ‘who knows his stuff’.
Skills of risk intelligence
However, we can identify the characteristics of risk
intelligent organisations, and from that a skill set
we would expect asset managers to demonstrate in
performing their role.
The 10 risk intelligent skills suggested by Funston are:
• Challenging assumptions
• Maintaining constant vigilance
• Factoring in velocity and momentum
• Managing the key connections
• Anticipating causes of failure
• Verifying sources and corroborating information
• Maintaining a margin of safety
• Setting time horizons
• Taking enough of the right risks
• Sustaining operational discipline
These skills might not always be required for an asset
manager role in all environments. But if we accept that
asset management is essentially a risk management
discipline, and that risk management is as much a
behavioural science as it is empirical, then the degree
of risk intelligence demonstrated by an asset manager
must equip them better for their role.
Risk intelligence provides the basis for us to
acknowledge the intuitive skill of experienced risk &
asset managers who seem to know their stuff and apply
it at the right times.
Risk intuition is an absolute fundamental for
an organisation to achieve asset management
excellence
What is risk intuition?
Theory about risk intuition is deeply rooted in the
studies of economics and philosophy. In both fields,
authors have attempted to describe the ability of
humans to sub-consciously assess a situation, to
make judgements, and to then form an action plan
based on options. In the field of risk management,
these activities are put to good use when gambling,
which is why so many authors about economics
and risk management theory have started their
hypotheses with discussion about chance and the
game of die.
Let’s consider some of the more popular definitions
of intuition and its application to risk.
Pareto described three types of intuitions (one
that leads to a proposition that can be verified, the
second being a false intuition where the proposition
is not verified and the third leading to a proposition
that cannot be verified). Pareto makes the distinction
to point out that intuition is valuable but fallible. i
The acclaimed American economics theorist, Frank
Knights, noted that the intuition of experts in the field
under investigation is considered (more) worthwhile
because it is based on experience’ ii. Knights was not
alone in his views.
Other economic theorists of the 20th century
comment loosely on the fuzziness that is human
behaviour in dealing with risk.
In the field of human sciences, judgmental processes
involved in risk perception and decision making have
traditionally been conceptualized as cognitive in
nature.
One prevailing view put forward is that judgements
are based upon a rational and deliberate evaluation
of the alternatives at hand.
However, decision researchers have looked beyond
rational, deliberate, and cognitive processes and
began to investigate intuitive (as opposed to
deliberate) and emotional (as opposed to cognitive)
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17
AMMJ
May 2013
aspects of decision making. iii Böhm and Pfister
looked at the role of anticipated emotions in the
perception of risks that arise from the natural
environment. They revealed that most emotions
are socially constructed, and one of their primary
functions is to regulate and coordinate social
interactions — which most people master intuitively,
for the better or for the worse.
The view of a risk manager often presented in
management texts as an isolated rational decision
maker is complemented by a view of them as
decision makers and social beings who communicate
with others and experience a wealth of diverse
emotions when planning and coordinating their
actions.
Risk intuition is both a rational trait, based on
knowledge and experiences, & an emotional trait,
based on perceptions of the impact of actions.
Risk intuition is the ability to challenge assumptions,
and to distinguish the ‘vital few’ from the ‘trivial many’,
so the key is to focus on the key risks. iv In ‘Creating
the risk intelligent enterprise’, Frank Funston refers to
the skill of challenging assumptions, noting that this
is a necessary starting point in considering risks and
ways of addressing them.
In ‘The Black Swan’, Nasseim Taleb describes
the impact of highly improbable events, using the
example of black swans which Europeans in the
1600’s believed did not exist.
Taleb suggests that experience can be misleading –
just because you’ve never seen a black swan doesn’t
mean there is no such thing. Experience leads
people to form assumptions about what is probable
or improbable, and possible or impossible. When the
assumptions are wrong, the consequences can be
fatal for those who are unprepared. v
Risk intuition is therefore a result of:
• rational or hard experiences, which lead people to
form assumptions about what is probable or
improbable, and possible or impossible;
• exposures to unpredictable events with harmful
consequences, which leads to a level of indfulness
and the pre-occupation with avoidance;
• emotional experiences, which people communicate
& regulate in social interaction on an intuitive basis;
• an ingrained level of risk intelligence, which powers
the unconventional approach towards challenging
rational views, emotions and the evidence of
previous exposure.
Risk intuition is as much about the ability of a person
to foresee a potentially hazardous situation, as it is to
communicate it simply, and do something about it.
The notion of intuition might be fascinating to
psychiatrists and philosophers, but how is it relevant to
risk and asset management?
Let’s apply these views of intuition to the discipline of
risk management in asset intensive organisations.
The intuitive approach to risk and asset management
In seeking to understand how we might apply risk
intelligence and risk intuition to the disciplines of asset
management, let’s draw on some interesting definitions
of management behaviour provided on the philosophy
website Episteme vi .
Note – Episteme exists almost entirely within the
Wikipedia environment and is referred to here only for
philisophical viewpoints of risk intuition.
Consider the following three approaches to Risk
Management:
• Instinctive (risk) management may be characterised
by a natural or innate impulse, inclination, or
tendency.
• Intuitive (risk) management may be characterised
by direct perception of truth, independent of any
formal reasoning process.
• Empirical (risk) management may be based on,
concerned with, or verifiable by observation or
experience rather than theory or pure logic.
The intuitive approach is probably taken least often
by regular risk and asset management practitioners.
It involves using data to support our decisions and
justifications - those decisions and justifications that
have already been made, given the experience of the
risk or asset manager.
The problem with this approach is that, by definition, it
involves perception of truth, independent of any formal
reasoning process.
Executives and regulators alike would normally want to
see, above all else, a reasoned, empirical
process.
Absence of a reasoned process might influence intuitive
risk management types to either regress
to instinctive behaviours, or seek something else. Others
might respond by taking on purely empirical approaches.
What they could be doing is utilising their risk intuition
more fully.
Risk intuition is a fundamental and accepted attribute of
risk managers in the financial services sector. Consider
the views expressed by Walter Haslett, noted British
financial risk manager, about effective risk management
of an investment.
Haslett suggests that all people involved in managing
the investment must develop an intuitive sense of the
investment’s performance numbers, such as real time
and daily net asset values, and the variations possible,
to be fully effective in their roles. vii
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Summary
18
AMMJ
May 2013
How do you create risk intelligence
and risk intuition?
Bruce Scheneir, a well know British
commentator on security and risk, talks
about people having a natural intuition
about risk. It may fail at times due to a
variety of cognitive biases, but for normal
risks that people regularly encounter, it
works surprisingly well: often better than we
give it credit for. viii
Let’s relate this concept to a work
environment. Co-workers often understand
the risks better than a manager does. They
know what the real risks are at work, and
that they all revolve around not getting the
job done. Those risks are real and tangible,
and employees feel them all the time.
To create high levels of risk intuition
behaviour, asset managers need to be
encouraged to show risk intelligence.
They need to be empowered to challenge
both their own and others assumptions,
to maintain a constant vigilance, & to be
mindful of the potential for harm in all
situations.
Asset managers should be
allowed to be what they
once were – trusting in their
judgement, masters of their
local universe, knowledgeable
about all factors relevant to and
affecting their assets, but with
sufficient rational and emotional
skills to judge what is significant,
and to eliminate what is not.
Conclusions
Asset management is inherently a risk based
decision making process. Risk is a key
element in every aspect of the scope or asset
management. Risk management underpins asset
management standards, and must increasingly be
demonstrated when procuring asset management
services.
Practitioners in asset management are more
inclined to consider uncertainty relating to a
course of action than perhaps many other
professionals, normally because their training
and experience biases them towards structured
approaches and avoidance of an unplanned
outcome. Risk and asset managers are
characterised by a disciplined approach to
problem identification, to assessing options and
to determining the right solution for a given set of
circumstances.
Risk and asset managers are surrounded in this
discipline by formal policy, guidelines, procedures
and standards that all reflect a rational and
conventional approach to risk management.
This formality constitutes an empirical approach,
necessary as the foundation but not completely
effective in an ever-changing workplace.
However, risk and asset management practitioners may be less
inclined to embrace formal risk management procedures if they are
overly prescriptive and can direct risk thinking to ‘slices of risk’ rather
than the whole pie. Faced with the ineffective formality of procedure,
risk and asset managers in asset intensive organisations often adopt
an unconventional approach to assessing a situation and making
a judgement of the best course of action. Armed with more highly
developed intuition and intelligence about the risks, people in these
roles are better able to deliver the value based outcomes demanded
of operators of physical assets.
Risk intuition is an essential characteristic in good asset
management. The pre-requisite skills of risk intelligence and
organisational behaviours such as collective mindfulness, should
and do contribute significantly to the effectiveness of asset
management functions.
Think about your interest in reading this paper Is it about discovering
more of the empirical approaches to risk and asset management
in your guise as a rational being, or is it about connecting to the
less tangible aspects of the practice of asset management in your
alternate guise as an emotionally intelligent being.
References
i Knights. F, ‘The limitations of scientific methods in economics’,1999
ii Knights. F., ‘Risk, uncertainty and profit’, 1965
iii Gisela Böhm and Wibecke Brun , ‘Intuition & affect in risk perception &
decision making’, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen,
Judgment & Decision Making, vol3 no1, Jan 2008, pp. 1-4.
iv F Funston & S Wagner, ‘Surviving and thriving in uncertainty – Creating
the risk intelligent enterprise’, John Wiley & Sons, 2010, p62
v Nassim. T., ‘The Black Swan: The impact of highly
improbable events’, Random House Publishers, 2007
vi Episteme, http://www.episteme.ca/ cblog/index.php?/
archives/54- Instinct-and- Intuition.html
vii Walter V. “Bud” Haslett, ‘Risk Management: Foundations for a
Changing Financial World, JohnWiley & Sons, Sep 2010
viii Schneier, B., ‘Risk Intuition’, The Guardian, Aug 2009, UK
Greg Williams is the Director, Risk and Capital Management,
PricewaterhouseCoopers (Australia)
greg.williams@au.pwc.com
Based on a Paper Presented at the 2012 ICOMS Conference
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20
AMMJ
July 2013
From Data to
Intelligence:
Unlocking the Value in
Your Organisation’s Information Assets
Krish Satiah Ajilon Australia
www.ajilon.com.au
Introduction
An ever increasing amount of data is being
generated andaccumulated in businesses
today; however, it is generallyacknowledged
that it does not necessarily correspond toan
improvement in reliable information on which
to basegood decisions. In many cases it is
just the opposite; finding
information that can be trusted is becoming
increasingly difficult.
There are two main reasons.
1. The volume of data is too large and the
majority of it isn’tneeded. To arrive at the
desired data, one has to sift through endless
pages of irrelevant or unnecessary data.
2. The quality of the data is generally poor.
Much of the data is inaccurate, out of date,
inconsistent, incomplete, poorly formatted,
or subject to interpretation. Therefore, even
when you do arrive at the needed data, can
you even trust it? If you hesitate in answering
“One cannot undertake effective
asset management without good
asset information; standardised and
quality asset information is the most
important ingredient of effective
asset lifecycle management.”
that question, you’re undoubtedly
spending some time deciding whether
the data you have finally found is from a
trusted source and if you can rely on it to
accomplish your task.
Arguably, one cannot undertake effective
asset management without good asset
information. An Asset Information
Management System aims to support the
execution of each stage of asset lifecycle
and provides for decision support for asset
life cycle management, such as asset
design, maintenance planning, resource
allocation, and maintenance. To this end,
standardised and quality asset information
is the most important ingredient of
effective asset lifecycle management –
in fact, it is considered to be its life-blood.
The Problem
The ARC Advisory Group estimates
that poor asset information costs
organisations approximately 1.5% of
their sales revenue, plus increases the
risk of HSE incidents 1 .
In this age of technology, Information
Management has become more
complex and is compounded by:
• Move to centralised/remote
operations centres
• Mobility - cannot access information
where or when required
• Timeliness - updates are too slow
for effective operational decision
making
• Sharing capabilities are inadequate
for effective collaboration
• Increased regulatory
requirements
• Poor records that cannot support
compliance requirements
• Higher probability and frequency of
incidents (risk of non-compliance)
• Data issues
• Too many local solutions across
the organisation
• Lack of consistency - multiple
versions of the truth
• Incomplete - lacks important
information
• Poor user interface - presentation
options are limited or lack context
• Low accuracy - does not reflect
actual equipment or configuration
Not having a strategy to manage
asset information can prove to
be expensive, and result in the
following:
• Increased capital and
operational costs
• Extended project schedules
• Longer ramp-up time (to achieve
design capacity of new assets)
• Low tool-time driven by poor
information - takes too long to find
information
• Higher failure rates
• Longer time to repair
• Low asset availability/utilisation
• Low personnel productivity
• Aging workforce – need for
transfer of knowledge and
historical data
• Skills shortage – training and
competency not aligned to
demand
• Matching employee skills with
task requirements
Ref. 1: Information Management Strategies for Asset Lifecycle
Management, ARC Advisory Group Strategy Report, January 2010
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Many organisations already have systems and processes in place to
manage their asset information and have made significant improvements
in capturing both static data (nameplate) and dynamic data
(asset condition, performance history, etc).
But what is the reality we are dealing with?
Does it look something like the image below this?
Many Asset Information Systems and processes are beset with short-cuts,
missing links and hidden risks, much like a game of Snakes and Ladders
There are a few key reasons as to
why this information is not managed effectively:
1. Systems are disparate and do not share information
2. Asset information is not managed within an
information life-cycle model
3. Asset information is not managed throughout the asset lifecycle
4. Lack of ownership of asset data
What we really need to start doing is transform our information
systems to provide us with Asset Intelligence; the question is how do
we get there?
The Solution
When designing a house, we look at the layout of the land, and
decide where the house will sit, what rooms we want, and what
we want the house to look like inside and outside, before we set
out to design the house foundations. Likewise, in terms of an
asset information system, we lay out a vision for the business or
operational capability we desire, then build the architectural model
to represent this and start joining the dots and filling the gaps by
creating a roadmap for asset management.
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AMMJ
July 2013
An Asset Management strategy, supported by a technologyroadmap,
should be driven by the organisation’s capabilityrequirements, and
mapped across departments in an Asset Management Capability
Matrix, providing an integrated view of the capability, information,
application and technology requirements.
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These are then mapped back to business unit
requirements to determine the applications and
the level of integration required for a complete,
integrated Asset Information Management solution.
This will also identify if required capabilities are not
yet being addressed by current proposed solutions.
Following on from this, a technology roadmap can
be developed to ensure that IT service provision
is aligned with the timing requirements of the
business.
Systems for managing asset information can use a
range and combination of media and technologies,
and should enable an organisation to identify,
collect, retain, integrate, transform and disseminate
its asset related information.
These systems should be designed so that data
and information is readily accessible and available
to all relevant personnel for all situations, especially
emergencies.
PAS 55 states that an “organization shall identify
the asset management information it requires….
considering all phases of the asset life cycle. The
information shall be of a quality appropriate to
the asset management decisions and activities it
supports.” 2
It goes on to say “employees and other
stakeholders…shall have access to the information
relevant to their asset management activities or
responsibilities. Where separate asset management
information systems exist, the organization shall
ensure that the information provided by these
systems is consistent.”
The Institute of Asset Management states that asset
information is absolutely inseparable from the day
to day asset management processes it supports
and the IT systems containing it. Failure to align and
integrate information creates silos and reduces the
organisation’s asset management capability.
Enablers
Capability Model
A good framework to start from is the Asset
Management Council’s Asset Capability Delivery
Model, as displayed below:
It is evident that Systems Engineering and
Configuration Management provide the foundation
to extract value from the asset through its
operational life. In essence, we are talking about
the following:
“An Asset Management strategy, supported by
a technology roadmap, should be driven by the
organisation’s capability requirements, providing an
integrated view of the capability, information, application
and technology requirements.”
• Cross-functional information requirements
• integration of IT solutions
• capabilities to aggregate and analyse asset information
• Information sharing & collaboration
• integration & centralisation of asset information
• tools to access and view asset information
• Automating information processes & workflows
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AMMJ
July 2013
Ref 2
PAS 55: 2008, The Institute of Asset Management
Model Ref:3 “Framework for Asset Management Council Asset Management Body of Knowledge, ISBN: 978-0-9870602-2-8, 2011”
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Figure 3 POSMAD Information Life-Cycle Model 4 Figure 4 From Data to Intelligence
Information Life-Cycle
To ensure asset information is managed appropriately, we
need to apply the Information Life-Cycle model across each
stage of the asset life-cycle.
Typical questions to ask when dealing with data:
Plan
• What data do I need to capture,and why do I need it?
• What will I use it for, why would I share it and with whom?
• Am I capturing too much data?
Obtain
• How will I get this data?
• What processes will I use to get quality data?
Store
• Where and how will I store this data?
• Am I storing this data many times in many places, and
what can I do to assure data integrity?
Share
• How will this information be shared, in what format & how often?
Maintain
• How will I maintain this data; keep it up to date and free of errors?
Apply
• Does this data meet objectives identified at the “PLAN” stage?
• Can I (or others) find this data easily when needed?
Dispose
• Why would I need to retain this data & do I have a retention plan?
• How do I dispose of old data in a secure manner?
The objective of applying the information life-cycle model is to only
create data that adds value, and by applying this to all phases
of the asset life-cycle we turn Asset Data into Asset Intelligence,
where people, processes and systems can work in harmony.
Systems Integration
To put it all together, we need a delivery
model to ensure that all interfaces and
communications between the various
people, processes and technology
deliver the value that was envisaged;
this will lead to relevant work packages
and release stages aligned to business
priorities.
Benefits
What is the objective of having asset information
(intelligence)?
Ultimately, to justify investment in the asset itself,
whether it is for replacement, upgrade, modification
or repairs.
Good asset information enables better decision
making based on the asset’s condition, probability
and consequence of failure, and regulatory
compliance requirements to name a few. There
are two key benefits of asset information:
1. Cost efficiency
2. Expenditure effectiveness
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AMMJ
July 2013
Ref. 4
POSMAD Information Life-Cycle Model, Danette McGilvray
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Figure 5 Asset
Management Maturity 5
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AMMJ
July 2013
Cost Efficiencies
Studies have shown
that asset information
has a significant effect
on the efficiency and
performance of asset
intensive businesses.
Organisations
operating efficient asset
information processes
have been found to
indirectly spend around
20% of their total annual
budget (OPEX and
CAPEX) on asset information. Businesses with poor
asset information processes were found to spend even
more, typically as much as 25% of their total annual
budget. 6,7
Expenditure Effectiveness
The appropriate utilisation of asset information enables
the right work to be done in the right place at the right
time. Conversely, the lack of reliable asset information
results in poor
or suboptimal decision making exposing the business to
unnecessary costs or risks and adversely affects overall
business performance.
The development of an integrated asset information
system is a crucial step in ensuring that the right
processes and applications are put in place to ensure all
asset related activities support the overall objectives of
the business.
The early development and adoption of an
enterprise IT strategy for asset management
can provide key benefits such as:
• Reductions in the risk of NPV losses during
design and ramp-up phases; 8
• Reductions in IT project costs by ensuring
systems and interfaces (which are costly to
develop and maintain) are minimised;
• Reductions in asset life-time maintenance
costs by up to 2%; 8
• Can generate up to 10% productivity gains
through technology advancements in asset
management (right information to the right
people at the right time) 8
Conclusion
Executed properly, an organisation should
end up with a system that integrates all asset
related data, and presents related information
to end-users in the required format and timeframe.
Furthermore, a successfully designed
Integrated Asset Information Management
System will contribute significantly to business
profitability and give organisations the key
to unlocking a treasure chest of valuable
information. You may need to use more
than one key to unlock a treasure chest –
sometimes there are even hidden locks.
Likewise, to unlock the value in your asset
data, you may need to use many keys, e.g.
business strategy, process and organisational
design, information and solution architecture
models, application landscape and integration
model.
Key Points:
1. The cost of creating and maintaining essential data
is typically less than the potential losses due to not
having data when required, or the retrospective cost of
improving data quality.
Loss of data value can be rapid, so it is important to set
up robust, continuous and sustainable data maintenance
arrangements, including assigning resources to ensure
data is maintained
2. Data is inextricably linked to the people and
processes that create it and systems in which it is held.
Therefore, appropriate roles and responsibility, from
end-users to IT Services and Suppliers, are required to
maintain data effectively. Ownership of asset information
needs to be with asset managers in the business, who
must ensure all arrangements are put in place to sustain
its integrity.
3. There are two languages spoken when it
comes to assets:
a. Technical, for operations level communication
b. Financial, for corporate level communication
It is imperative that both languages convey the same
message i.e. technical information is translated into
financial information and vice-versa, to ensure that
investment decisions promote sustainable operations
e.g. asset reliability and asset utilisation.
4. Finally, and most importantly, the question to
be answered is not how much an Integrated Asset
Information Management System is going to cost, but
how much value it is going to add.
Ref 5 Presentation “The Asset Management Journey” by John Hardwick,
IAM Annual Conference, June 2012
Ref 6 The Real Cost of Asset Information: How Better Costs Less, Ruth Wallsgrove
Ref 7 Accenture US and UK Management Information Survey Findings
Ref. 8: Article “Bridging the Gap”, Bob DiStefano with Will Goetz and Bruno Storino,
Uptime Magazine June-July 2012
krishna.satiah@ajilon.com.au
www.ajilon.com.au
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25
AMMJ
July 2013
How Reliability Centred
Maintenance Can Be
Implemented Successfully
Lars Eelman
Research MoE Thesis at HU University of Applied
Sciences, Utrecht , The Netherlands
Maintenance Consultant at Royal Netherlands Navy
Tim Zaal
Emeritus Professor of HU University of Applied
Sciences, Utrecht , The Netherlands
It’s generally known that Reliability Centred
Maintenance (RCM) is the method that justifies
maintenance. But why do a lot of Dutch
companies apply RCM so poorly and why do so
many RCM implementation projects peter out?
During a research project by the HU University
of Applied Sciences (HU UAS) to make system
managers able to state the consequences on the
system integrity as a result of reductions on a
fundamental base, it’s noticed that several causes
contribute to this fact.
The RCM level selection process that has been
developed during this research project contributes
to a successful implementation of RCM and can
also be used within your organisation.
The aim of the system manager is to apply integrity
management which is defined as the ability of an
asset to perform its required functions effectively
and efficiently whilst safeguarding life and the
environment 1 . Setting up a preventive maintenance
plan for a system is one aspect of system integrity
management.
Research at the HU UAS has proven that
preventive maintenance plans are very often based
on maintenance tasks prescribed by the system
manufacturer.
There is nothing wrong to adopt these maintenance
tasks in the preventive maintenance plan and
Computerized Maintenance Management System
(CMMS). Although bear in mind that this should
just be the concept version. In general system
manufacturers recommend a very conservative
maintenance approach based on the worst-case
operational context to avoid guarantee or damage
claims from the customer as a result of failures. But
also business might drive the system manufacturer
to recommend ‘over maintenance’.
So with adding these tasks into the CMMS the
job of the system manager has not finished, it just
starts!
Reliability Centred Maintenance
The research showed that the maintenance
documentation provided by the system
manufacturers mainly focuses on describing the
maintenance tasks and the required resources.
• But are the prescribed maintenance tasks
effective?
• Do they cover all risks? And can the maintenance
tasks be justified?
• These questions can be answered
by performing RCM
Theoretically RCM
is the best way to
determine why,
which and when
maintenance has to
be performed. But
in practise it’s not as
easy as it seems.
What are the main
causes heard at
the companies why
system managers do
not apply RCM:
Figure1 - Reliability Centred Maintenance
RELIABILITY CENTRED
Task Selection
Why?
Which?
Failure Mode Effect &
Criticallity Analysis
Functional Failures
Functions
When?
Steps 1 2 3/4/5 6/7
MAINTENANCE
• It costs a lot of time which is not available.
• Resources like RCM analysis software or standard
formats are lacking.
• It’s not worth it for older systems.
• Maintenance plans are already set up in other formats
and systems.
• The preventive maintenance plan is already optimized.
Nevertheless management has to check that the system
managers apply RCM in a structured way. How? Make it
easier!
Demand RCM and adopt the application of RCM in the
mission statement and goals. This will emphasize that the
management supports RCM. Set up a standardised process
that supports the system managers to apply RCM and
provide RCM analysis software or at least standard formats
to set up and record preventive maintenance plans in a
structured way. But most important don’t demand full RCM
for each system, but categorise systems with the RCM level
selection process.
RCM level selection process
Applying full RCM is very expensive and time consuming.
Therefore it’s not cost effective to apply full RCM for each
system. For this reason RCM derivatives like Abbreviated
RCM, Experience Centred Maintenance 2 and Functioncritical
RCM 3 have been developed. These RCM derivatives
are based on RCM but require less effort than full RCM. Up
to 80% less paperwork can be achieved 3 . But which level of
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RCM has to be used for what system? The RCM
level selection process provides the solution.
The RCM level selection process assigns a
category to a system by weighting nine criteria
according to the RCM criteria table (figure 2).
Based on the total score of the RCM criteria table
a system category is assigned which represents
a RCM level. The higher the score, the higher the
level of RCM that needs to be applied.
• Category A: Full RCM
• Category B: Fc -RCM
• Category C: ECM
To visualize the system’s score, the system
compass has been developed. The system
compass makes clear the weighting of each
criterion at one glance (figure 3).
One marginal but important note has to be taken
in to account:
Figure 2
RCM criteria table
Although the total score of the RCM level selection process may be
assigning perhaps the C category to a system, the score for risk regarding
to safety, health & environment (SHE) may be required to trigger an
upgrade to the system category because of the high score for SHE risks.
Phasing
When the category and so the required level of RCM is determined for
each system, one can start to set up the preventive maintenance plans.
But be aware, if a higher level than ECM has to be applied, don’t demand
that required level of RCM at once.
Set up the preventive maintenance plan in phases (figure 4).
This achieves that preventive maintenance plans are set up step by step,
in a structured way and do gain benefits at an early stage.
Conclusion
Where RCM determines the effectiveness of the preventive maintenance
plans, the RCM level selection process determines which level of RCM
is effective for each system. This avoids that too extensive analysis are
performed for ‘low priority’ systems.
In combination with management support and the required resources it
will make RCM accessible for each system manager.
This approach increases the chance of
successful implementation of RCM so that the
RCM advantages like securing maintenance
engineering knowledge, substantial cost
reductions and improvement of system
availability are achieved.
Figure 3 - System Compass
References
1 Bureau Veritas North America. 2010. Asset
Integrity Management. [online]. Chicago:
Bureau Veritas. Available from: http://www.
us.bureauveritas.com/wps/wcm/connect/
bv_usnew/Local/Home/Our-Services/
Industrial_Asset_Management/Asset_Integrity_
Management [accessed 22 July 2011].
2 Smith, A.M., Hinchcliffe, G.R., 2004. RCM
Gateway to World Class Maintenance. Oxford:
Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.
3 Zaal, T.M.E., 2011. Profit driven maintenance
for physical assets. Geldermalsen: Maj.
Engineering Publishing.
Tim Zaal
Emeritus Professor of HU University of Applied
Sciences, Utrecht , The Netherlands
Consultant at TZConsultancy, Hoorn, The
Netherlands ( tim.zaal@hu.nl )
Lars Eelman
Research MoE Thsesis at HU University of
Applied Sciences, Utrecht , The Netherlands
Maintenance Consultant at Royal Netherlands
Navy
Figure 4 - Phasing
(Residual) Life Cycle
Legislation
System Compass
System importance
4
3
2
1
0
Risk SHE
Category A System
Category B System
Category C System
Risk economic loss
Asset categorisation
A. Full RCM
Abbreviated RCM
B. Fc-RCM
RCM Level
Involvement of third parties
Maintenance budget
C. ECM
26
Category A Category B Category C
Score 28-36 Score 19-27 Score 9-18
Maintenance complexity
Technical complexity
Step 1 2 3 4
AMMJ
July 2013
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27
AMMJ
July 2013
Alan Bandes UE Systems, Inc www.uesystems.com
Instruments based on airborne/structure
borne ultrasound technology offer many
opportunities for reducing energy waste
and improving asset availability in plants.
They expand the concept of ”Condition
Monitoring” to include much more than
basic mechanical fault inspections.
Since these instruments detect friction,
ionization and turbulence, their inspection
capabilities range from trending
bearing condition to determining lack of
lubrication, locating compressed air leaks
and detecting arcing, tracking and corona
emissions in both open and enclosed
electric equipment.
Portable, instruments based on this
technology are used to trend and analyze
bearing condition, detect leaks (pressure
and vacuum), test valves and steam
traps, identify electrical problems and
identify potential problems in gears,
motors and pumps. This paper will
provide a brief overview of the technology,
its applications, energy savings cost
analysis and suggested inspection
techniques.
ULTRASONIC
CONDITION
MONITORING
Overview:
In today’s environment, generating revenues for any industry is
important. Profit margins are shrinking and often the difference
between a profit and a loss can be as simple as preventing loss
and improving efficiencies. Locating sources of energy waste,
identifying failure conditions in electrical and mechanical systems
all contribute to helping improve the bottom line. In some cases it
can be a dramatic improvement.
Ultrasound inspection offers a unique position for condition
monitoring as both a “stand-alone” inspection technology and
as an effective screening tool that can speed up the inspection
process and help inspectors determine effective follow-up actions
for mechanical, electrical and leak applications.
Whether you refer to proactive inspections as “predictive
maintenance” or “condition monitoring”, the goal is the same; to
note a deviation from a normal or baseline condition in order to
determine whether or not to take corrective action in a planned
orderly manner and to prevent an unplanned incident.
The ideal end result is to maintain asset availability, reduce
maintenance overhead and improve safety conditions. Not one
technology can cover everything. The recommendation is to
incorporate as many technologies as possible into inspection
procedures to assure reliable results.
This paper will review the basics of ultrasound technology,
what is new to the technology and how it is used for condition
monitoring to locate safety hazards, reduce energy waste and
improve equipment availability.
Ultrasound Technology
Airborne/structure borne ultrasound instruments receive high
frequency emissions produced by operating equipment, electrical
emissions and by leaks. These frequencies typically range from 20
kHz to 100 kHz and are beyond the range of human hearing. The
instruments electronically translate ultrasound frequencies through
a process called heterodyning, down into the audible range where
they are heard through headphones and observed as intensity
and or dB levels on a display panel. The newer digital instruments
utilize data management software where information is data logged
on the instrument and downloaded to a computer for analysis.
Some instruments contain on board sound recording to capture
sound samples for spectral analysis.
Sounds are received two ways: through the air and through solid
surfaces (structures). Airborne sounds such as leaks or electrical
emissions are received through a “scanning” module. The structure
borne ultrasounds, such as generated by bearing or leaks through
valves, are sensed through a waveguide or “contact” module.
What makes airborne ultrasound so effective? All operating
mechanical equipment, electrical emissions (arcing, tracking,
corona) & most leakage problems produce a broad range of sound.
The high frequency ultrasonic components of these sounds are
extremely short wave in nature. A short wave signal tends to be
fairly directional and localized. It is therefore easy to separate
these signals from background plant noises and to detect their
exact location. In addition, as subtlechanges begin to occur in
mechanical equipment, the subtle, directional nature of ultrasound
allows these potential warning signals to be detected early, before
actual failure.
Most of the sounds sensed by humans range between 20 Hertz &
20 kilohertz (20 cycles per second to 20,000 cycles per second).
The average human high frequency threshold is actually 16.5 kHz.
Low frequencies tend to be relatively large when compared with
the sound waves sensed by ultrasonic translators. The lengths of
low frequency sound waves in the audible range are approximately
1.9 cm (3/4”) up to 17 m (56’), where-as ultrasound wave lengths
sensed by ultrasonic translators are only 0.3 cm (1/8”) up to 1.6 cm
(5/8”) long. Since ultrasound wave lengths are magnitudes smaller,
the “ultrasonic environment” is much more conducive to locating
and isolating the source of problems in loud plant environments.
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28
AMMJ
July 2013
The high frequency, short wave characteristic of
ultrasound enables users to accurately pinpoint
the location of a leak, electrical emission or of a
particular sound in a machine.
The basic advantages of ultrasound and
ultrasonic instruments are:
1. Ultrasound emissions are directional.
2. Ultrasound tends to be highly localized.
3. Ultrasound provides early warning of
pending mechanical failure
4. The instruments can be used in loud,
noisy environments
5. They support and enhance other PDM
technologies or can stand on their own
in a maintenance program
When used as part of a condition monitoring
program, ultrasound instruments help improve
asset availability and save energy.
Once established, ultrasound can be used as
the “first line of defense” to:
• Inspect equipment fast
• Screen out anomalies
• Set up alarm groups for detailed analysis
and further action
Let’s examine the possibilities of what can be
done to save time, locate deviations and save
energy. First listen to the translated ultrasound
and observe the decibel level.
Note any deviations from previous readings as
you continue your route. Record the data and
any sound anomalies. Then analyze the data
and sounds to consider if additional action is
necessary. All of this can be accomplished very
quickly.
In order to understand the scope and depth
of inspection opportunities airborne structure
borne ultrasound offers, let’s look at how the
technology has progressed over the past three
decades.
Initially these instruments were analog. Early
versions received the raw ultrasound signal and
by the electronic process of heterodyning translated them
down into the audible range where users heard these sounds
through headphones. Some of the instruments had intensity
level meters to give the user an indication of sound amplitude.
As time progressed, frequency tuning was initiated so that
when confronted with a variety of test environments users
could change the frequency in order to help make a received
signal clearer.
These instruments were all basically “search and locate” in
that they were used to identify an issue. Data was manually
entered on a chart or sheet.The primary applications for these
instruments were to locate leaks such as in compressed gas
and steam systems and to check for arcing, tracking and
corona in substations and along distribution lines.
As the industry has changed, so, too has ultrasound
instrumentation. The need for documentation, trending,
reporting and analysis of equipment condition has brought
about changes that improve inspection capabilities and
equipment availability.
As these instruments are
incorporated into reliability and
energy conservation programs the
meantime between failure rates
improve along with a reduction of
energy loss.
The changes in instrumentation have
been substantial. No longer analog
based, most of the newer instruments
are digital. This allows users to
view intensity levels as decibels,
which provides more reliability for
analysis of test results. In addition,
data is now logged on-board the
instruments and downloaded into
data management software. The
software enables users to review test
results, compare current data with
baseline data and trend changes. It
also produces reports which can be
reviewed by all involved.
In addition to on-board data logging,
some of the new digital instruments incorporate on-board
sound recording so that users can capture sound samples of
equipment for sound analysis. The recorded sound samples
can be viewed in spectral analysis software. An important
feature of the spectral analysis software, in addition to viewing
sound samples in spectral, time and waterfall screens, is the
ability of users to hear the sound sample as it is played. Using
both the visual and audible modalities in this manner adds a
new dimension for enhanced diagnostics.
Being digitally based, the technology is now capable of
incorporating a range of diagnostic and analytical software
tools that will keep users informed of the savings generated
through compressed gas surveys and steam surveys. In fact
new developments in compressed gas software provides users
the ability to manage their leak programs while demonstrating
savings in energy and carbon gases. Should a company
become involved with carbon trading, these reports can prove
to be extremely useful.
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Another advancement over the years has been in the
area of specialized module development. Recognizing
that not one receiving module can be used in all test
environments, new modules have been created to
meet specific needs. For example, a magnetically
mounted transducer is used to test bearings to provide
consistency in test approach and results.
Parabolic modules can double the detection distance of
standard scanning modules and can be used to safely
identify electrical emissions in transmission lines or
substations without inspectors getting too close.
When equipment needs to be monitored over time or
when remote monitoring is called for, remote sensors
can be mounted on test points. Some of these sensors
have cables that can run out to an accessible area
where an inspector using a portable instrument
can attach the cable end to a sensing module and
log the data. Other types use 4-20 mA , 0-10V and
heterodyned outputs to transmit data to a control panel,
alarm or recording device.
While many of these remote sensors are used to
monitor bearing wear, with the increased awareness of
arc flash prevention, some of these sensors are placed
in enclosed electric cabinets to alarm when arcing,
tracking or corona are present.
Applications
There are three generic categories of applications in
power plants: leak detection, mechanical inspection
and electric inspection.
Leak Detection:
Leaks can form practically anywhere in a plant. This
includes pressurized systems and systems under a
vacuum. Leaks can occur internally through valves
and steam traps, in heat exchanger and condenser
tubes or to atmosphere.
While it is important to locate potential safety hazards
from leaks, loss of gases through leaks costs facilities
lots of money.
One area that can show fast returns is through
establishing a compressed air leak survey program.
In fact, the US Department of Energy has started a
compressed air challenge.
The reason?
They estimated that of all the compressed air used in
the US by industry, about 30 percent is lost to leaks.
They estimate this to cost from 1 to 3.2 billion dollars
annually. (Ref: US Dept. of Energy. Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy www1.eere.energy.gov/
industry/bestpractices ).
Table 1 Table 2
Based on 100 psi, at a
cost of $0.25/mcf for one
year (8760 hours), a leak
as small as 1/16” (.16
cm) can cost $846.00
annually. By doubling
this to 1/8” (.125 cm), the
cost jumps to $3,389.00
annually. If your plant
had 10 leaks or 50 leaks,
imagine the savings!
We’ve had reports
of users who, after
performing a leak survey
and repairing the leaks,
have eliminated the use
of an extra compressor.
Compressed gas survey software organizes results so that
when data is downloaded, the software will calculate the
cfm loss per leak in terms of dollars lost. It will also provide
information on gases that contribute to the carbon footprint.
In addition to the results of the survey, the
software keeps tabs on what has been repaired
and what leaks have not. This helps users
manage their survey and provides information
on actual money saved and carbon gas
emissions cut.
To the left are two images of a typical
compressed gas report. The report shows
annualized results for both dollars saved
(Table 1) and carbon gases saved (Table 2). In
addition you will note that it has columns that
detail leaks found and leaks repaired.
29
AMMJ
July 2013
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Figure 1 Corona
Figures 6 & 7 Infrared and Visual Images
Figure 2 Tracking
Electric emissions
Ultrasound inspection works on all voltages, low,
medium and high to detect arcing, tracking and corona
in both enclosed and open access equipment. Arcing,
tracking and corona ionize the air molecules around
them, which produces ultrasound.
With the advantage of digital sound recording and
spectral analysis, inspectors can analyze sound
samples to determine the type and severity of an
electric emission.
Figure 4
Spectral Image of Arcing
30
Figure 3 Arcing
Figure 5 Time Series View of Arcing
On this page are some examples of corona, tracking and
arcing. As you will note in the FFT screen as the condition
becomes more severe, there are fewer harmonics of 60 cycles.
If this were in Europe, we would see the same with harmonics
of 50 cycles.
The first image is Corona (Figure 1) followed by Tracking
(Figure 2) and then by Arcing (Figure 3).
The following demonstrate the effectiveness of ultrasound when
used with infrared. An inspector who utilizes both ultrasound
and infrared technologies was inspecting switchgear. Some
of the doors could not be opened. There were no IR ports on
the closed cabinets and therefore this switchgear could not be
tested with infrared.
By scanning the door seams and air vents with the ultrasound
instrument, the inspector heard a very distinctive arcing sound.
He recorded the sound and after the cabinets were opened he
took visual and infrared images (Figures 6,7).
Shown opposite is the spectral image of arcing (Figure 4).
Below this is the time series view (Figure 5) of arcing.
The infrared image shows (Figure 6) that this failure condition
could have resulted in flashover at any monent which would
have produced a catastrophic event.
AMMJ
July 2013
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Figures 8 & 9
31
Figure 10
Mechanical Inspection
As ultrasound technology has evolved into the
digital age it has created many opportunities
for detecting, trending, analyzing and reporting
changes in operating mechanical equipment
to improve asset availability. Data can be
stored, uploaded and downloaded into data
management software. The software is used
to produce trend charts, generate reports with
selected criteria, alarm levels can be set to
create work orders for equipment in need of
corrective action.
When changes in mechanical equipment
exceed an alarm value over baseline, spectral
analysis can be used to analyze sound samples
for accurate diagnosis (Figures 8 & 9). Fault
frequencies can be determined for bearings or
gears. It is recommended that baseline readings
be taken both as stored decibel levels and with
recorded sound samples. Baseline sounds will
be very useful in determining whether or not
changes have occurred in equipment and if
corrective action should be taken.
In the sample opposite (Figure 10), while
inspecting bearings a user noticed an unusual
sound in a nearby gearbox. He recorded the
sound and played it back in the spectral analysis
software where he confirmed the sound was in
fact gear related by noting gear mesh harmonics.
He used this recording as a baseline. The lower
spectra line was the baseline. You will note
that as the condition worsened the amplitude
increased to a point where corrective action was
taken.
Condition Based Lubrication
Ultrasound is sensitive to friction and for this
reason it is effective in identifying lack of
lubrication and also preventing over lubrication.
Over lubrication is one of the most common
causes of bearing failure.
Condition based lubrication, as opposed to time
based “preventive” lubrication programs prevent
over lubrication. The traditional
time based programs traditionally
call for lubricating all bearings at
set intervals with a set amount
of lubricant. This overlooks one
problem; not all bearings need
lubrication or as much as called for
in these procedures.
Condition based lubrication utilizes
the new advancements in the
technology of data management and
specialized sensors to determine
specifically which bearings need lubrication and when the lubricant is applied,
when to stop adding the grease.
Conclusion
Over the past few years ultrasound technology has advanced from using
simple analog “search and locate” “trouble shooting” instruments to a
comprehensive, sophisticated technology that is digitally based offering
systematic approaches to leak management, electrical monitoring and
mechanical inspection including bearing condition analysis and trending.
They provide savings in energy and improve meantime between failure rates.
Power plants can improve their efficiencies plant wide which will lead to
improved productivity and cost reduction.
Glossary of Terms:
Arcing: An electric discharge through normally non-conductive media
such as air. It is a failure condition in electric equipment & can lead to fire
or an explosion.
CBM: Condition Based Maintenance
Corona: An electric discharge around conductors when the surrounding
air is stressed beyond its ionization point without developing flashover.
FFT: Fast Fourier Transfer – A digital processing of a recorded signal
representing data in terms of its component frequencies.
IR (Infrared): infrared cameras and infrared thermometers sense the
infrared (below red) light which is not detected by the human eye. These
emissions are usually related to temperature emissions.
kHz: KiloHertz. One kHz= 1000 Hz or 1000n cycles per second
PdM: Predictive Maintenance
Tracking: Electricity follows a pathway to ground utilizing dirt and other
contaminants until it reaches flashover.
AMMJ
July 2013
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32
AMMJ
July 2013
The Perils of
MTBF
part 1
Fred Schenkelberg FMS Reliability www.nomtbf.com
Introduction
Every organization talks about product reliability
in some manner. Sometimes our customers
provide explicit reliability requirements.
Sometimes our customers have an expected
metric to report reliability expectations. Our
industry may have a ‘standard’ means to discuss
reliability. Or, we have a local ‘tradition’.
One of the most common is MTBF.
MTBF, or Mean Time Between Failure, and the many
variations of this term have one thing in common.
It is the most misunderstood four letter acronym in
engineering. For the purpose of this discussion I am
using MTBF and most of the comments equally apply
to MTTF, MTBUR, etc., which are acronyms for Mean
Time To Failure and Mean Time Between Unscheduled
Removals, etc.
During a presentation(Schenkelberg 2007) on this
subject to a group of reliability professionals, I asked
if anyone in the room had encountered trouble
with MTBF. Nearly every person of the over 100 in
attendance quickly raised their hand. We spent the next
hour sharing horror stories resulting from the misuse
of MTBF. We traded approaches to educate engineers,
managers, customers, and vendors on the actual
meaning and proper use of MTBF, plus when to use
other measures.
USA
What is MTBF?
Technically, MTBF (MTTF actually, more on that
later) is commonly assumed to be the unbiased
estimator of the exponential distribution parameter,
theta.(1995) Actually t is the expected value or
mean of the lifedata distribution.
This is based on how we calculate the value based
on either test or field data. For example, if we
have 50 units that all run for 100 hours and right at
the end of 100 hours one of the units fails.
We can calculate the MTBF as follows. First
determine the total hours all the units operated.
That’s easy, 50 units times 100 hours is 5,000
hours. Then divide the total operating hours by the
number of failures. In this simple example, that is
one, for a resulting MTBF = 5,000/1 = 5,000 hours.
1
E Exponential
∫
( t) = tλe −λt dt = 1 λ = θ
Figure 1. Estimation of MTBF or Theta for Exponential
It is the inverse of the failure rate that permits
a simple estimate of the distribution parameter.
Using the Note: if we had 100 units run for 50
hours and had one failure at the end of 50 hours,
the result is the same. Or, if one unit runs for 5,000
hours
2
before failing. Or, 5,000 units each running
for one hour, then one fails.
Well, it is not so strange if the underlying failure
mechanism has a equal chance of causing a
failure every hour (or moment). If the chance of
3
failure is constant, or we say the hazard rate or
failure rate is constant, then the above method to
estimate MTBF is valid.
There are better ways to estimate MTBF when the
assumption of a constant failure rate is not true.
When the failure rate is changing over time, as
with bearing wear out, the exponential distribution
5
is a very poor means to describe the behavior. It is similar to
describing a parabola with a straight line. The straight line
just doesn’t have enough information to describe the curve.
Yet, most often MTBF is calculated E Exponential
as described t ∫ above
using the constant failure 1 rate or exponential distribution
assumption. Figure 2 shows
two other lifedata distribution
expected values. After fitting
the data to the appropriate
distribution, formulas like
these also provide the MTBF
value, and without making 2
the constant failure rate Figure 2. Expected Values for
assumption.
Weibull and Lognormal
Light Bulbs & Smoke
Detectors.
3
How often do you change incandescent light bulbs?
Randomly, right? When a bulb burns out you find a spare
bulb and replace the burned out one. Do you then think
about changing the rest of the similar light bulbs in the
house? Probably not.
Incandescent light bulbs tend to follow the exponential life
distribution. (This is not actually true (Donald L Klipstein
2006), yet in my experience and limited data the time-tofailure
distribution in my home it is close enough.) And
5
as such there is no rationale to conduct preventative
maintenance. The memoryless feature of the distribution
suggests the new bulb has exactly the same chance of
failure in the next hour as the existing working light bulb.
So there is no time or cost benefit to the preventative
replacement.
6.
Now, if your community is like mine, you receive annual
reminders to change the batteries in your smoke detectors.
Those 9V batteries do tend to drain. Each battery drains
or is consumed (‘wears’) at slightly different rates, due to
variation in initial power density, contact resistance, power
demands, etc. The batteries last a bit longer than a year and
do not follow a constant failure rate at all. After about a year
the smoke alarms begin to trigger low power alarms.
This then leads to the annual effort to change all of the 9V
batteries in smoke detectors. I’ve seen the same behavior in
office buildings using fluorescent tube lighting.
( ) = tλe −λt dt = 1 λ = θ
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33
AMMJ
July 2013
The maintenance crews tend to replace entire banks
of tubes. When queried, I learned of their experience.
“When one goes, E then all will fail soon after. So, while
we have the ladder Exponential ( t) = ∫ tλe −λt dt = 1
1
out, we just replace them λ = all.”
θ
There are a few common ‘issues’ with MTBF. In
support of the phrase ‘worst four letter acronym,’
consider each element of the four letters.
M - stands for Mean.
Speaking statistically, this is the expected value or the
first moment of the distribution. Each distribution has
2
a mean value. The general formula for the expected
value (1995), denoted E(X), is shown in Figure 3.
3
Figure 3. General Expected Value from
probability density function
The issue stems, in my opinion, from those
undergraduate statistics classes most would rather
forget. The normal (Gaussian) distribution dominated
those lectures. Many sections and test questions
started with the phrase “Assuming a normal
distribution....” It was drilled into our engineering
minds. The learned response was that ‘mean’ is
5
‘average’, as well as the 50th percentile of a normal
distribution. One half of values are above and one half
are below.
Therein dwells the root of a mistaken understanding of
MTBF. Not all distributions have the same properties
concerning mean values, which was most likely not
mentioned during the undergraduate statistics course.
6.
For example, the exponential family of distributions
has an expected value, or mean, which is defined as
the 63.2 percentile. About one third (36.79%) of values
are above the mean and about two thirds (63.21%) are
below the mean.
Let’s assume we have 1000 light bulbs with an MTBF
of 100 hours. How many will still be working at the end
of 100 hours of operation? To answer this question,
consider that for each hour, each light bulb has a 1 in
100 chance of failing.
E Exponential
t
1
Therefore, we expect to lose about 10 in the first hour.
Surprised? This is as expected if using the reliability
function of the exponential distribution.
If we run the time out a little further the plot shows what
we commonly call the exponential decay. The chance of
failure each hour for each light bulb is the same. It just
takes more time to have the same 2 number of failures.
In the first hour of the experiment with 1000 light bulbs,
10 bulbs should have failed (1000 x 1/100 = 10 failures in
one hour). When there are only 500 light bulbs remaining,
it takes two hours to incur 10 failures (500 x 1/100 = 5
3
failures in one hour). See figure 5.
Another way to determine the
answer to how many will still
be working at the end of 100
hours is to use the exponential
distribution’s reliability function.
Figure 4 shows the function and
associated calculation. We would
expect 36.8 light bulbs to still be
5
operating after 100 attempt to
Figure 4. Calculation for
operate for 100 hours.
Reliability at 100 hours
Figure 5.
Only 368 still operating at 100 hours
6.
∫
( ) = tλe −λt dt = 1 λ = θ
T - stands for Time.
Hours, cycles, years, pages and many more ways of counting
some form of use are common. Keep in mind that the MTBF is
the inverse of failure rate. The failure rate units are the number of
failures per unit time. Inverting this give us units of time (hours,
cycles, years, ...) per failure.
I am not sure why (tend to think it was a marketing decision)
someone decided to invert the negative connotation of ‘failures/
hour’ into the positive sounding ‘hours/failure’. Therein clicks
another issue with MTBF. The units of MTBF, often in hours, is
often confused with clock or calendar time. It really is a confusing
unit of measure to convey the probability of failure. Instead
of stating a light bulb has a 0.01 chance E of failure per hour
Exponential
t ∫
of operation, our dislike for numbers 1 between 0 and 1 (recall
probability and stats classes!) is avoided by inverting the failure
rate. Now it reads 100 hours MTBF. This apparently sounds
much better.
B - stands for Between (or Before?).
Either way, between or before, when linked with the rest of the
acronym it conveys a failure free period. It would have been
2
better to state MTF, Mean Time of Failures. While that suggestion
isn’t really that good, the idea of a failure free period, is not part
of the definition. I heard one design team manager explain
MTBF as the time to expect from one failure to the next. The time
between failures. So, once a 3 failure occurs, we have the MTBF
hours before we would expect the next failure.
MTTF, the closely associated metric to MTBF, uses “To” instead
of “Between”, and creates the same confusion. With “To”,
“Before” or “Between”, two thirds of the light bulbs will fail at the
100 hour mark. And, they will fail randomly across the entire
duration of interest.
When the MTBF value is very large, say 1 million hours, it may
seem like a failure free period is occurring. It’s just that the
5
probability of failure is very small, 1 in a million chance of failure
per hour.
Running a test of 10 light bulbs
for 1000 hours with an actual 1
million hour MTBF probability
of failure would result in an
expected ZERO failures (an Figure 6. Probability of
6.
expected 1% units failing - it may failure is pretty low for very
take an average of ten runs of the high MTBF values
test for a single bulb to fail), as
shown in the calculation in Fig 6.
( ) = tλe −λt dt = 1 λ = θ
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34
AMMJ
July 2013
F - stands for Failure.
Who defines “failure” in your organization? If your
customers return a product, are they are classified “No
Trouble Found”? In a classical sense a product failure
is when the product does not meet stated performance
specifications. Yet, customers will return products
that fail to meet their expectations, as opposed to
performance specifications, and it still creates warranty
expenses.
Many forms of product testing only apply one form of
stress, which only promotes a subset of all possible
failure mechanisms. Basing the MTBF calculation on a
single stress test, while possible to be accurate enough
for use, is often missing important life-cycle conditions,
stresses and failure mechanisms.
The simple issue here is that the internal definition of
failure may be different than your customers’ definition.
Be clear and concise, plus open to new definitions
of failure. However, it is generally limited to product
specifications.
History of Use.
Karl Pearson first mentions the ‘negative exponential
distribution’ in 1895. The Exponential Distribution
has a number of interesting properties, one of which
takes advantage of the tools available in the 1950’s
and 60’s. One specifically interesting property is the
ability to add failure rates. Adding was rather easy at
the time using mechanical and later electric adding
machines. However, using a slide rule and tables for
the exponents is cumbersome with possibly 100’s or
1,000’s of calculations needed.
In 1961, the first issue
of the MIL-HDBK-217
(Defense 1992) detailed
how to perform parts count
predictions. The method
relied on the ability to add
failure rates, as shown in
figure 7.
Figure 7. The Exponential
Distribution permits adding
failure rates
Work continues to this day to update and revise the
methodology (Gullo 2009). These efforts may take us out
of the era of mechanical adders, as today doing complex
calculations is as easy as turning the crank.
Today we have models and distributions for the complex array
of failure mechanisms and should take advantage of this
knowledge. Limiting the combination of failure rate information
to a constant for each component distorts and misleads those
attempting to make decisions based on the prediction or data
analysis.
Examples of Misuse of MTBF.
While it is a convenient assumption to say the component,
product or system has a constant failure rate, this is often
not true. And, this assumption does lead to very poor
understanding, modeling and decisions related to real
products.
The obvious misuse stems from the various ways that
individuals misunderstand MTBF. For example, if an electrical
engineer believes MTBF to be a failure free period, his
selection of components will have a significantly less desirable
field failure rate. I, and many of the reliability professionals
I’ve spoken to, have also run across this common
misunderstanding in the engineering community. Simply
confirm a common understanding of the terms being used.
Another simple issue is the advertising of product or
component reliability by simply stating an MTBF value. Without
stating the conditions, environment, usage period, and other
reliability related bits of information, the reader is left to wonder
what the MTBF really means.
For a component that has an increasing failure rate over time,
like a cooling fan that experiences bearing wear out, the MTBF
is a valid approximation of the fan failure rate over some
specific period of time. The fan datasheet often does not state
the expected duration over which the constant failure rate
applies. If the vendor is designing and evaluating fan life for
an expected one year of use, then the life data may actually
be exponential. If the application that the electrical engineer is
considering includes a cooling fan to operate for 10 years, then
he may be surprised when the product qualification or field
performance experiences higher than expected fan failures.
MTBF
Part 2 of these articles on
MtBF will be published in the
September ammj
“Mtbf actions”
Summary.
This paper illustrates a few of the mistakes or
issues around the common misunderstandings
of MTBF. Being aware of these issues helps the
reliability professional guard against serious errors
when using MTBF. Additionally, knowing when
to use MTBF and when not to use it for reliability
tracking or analysis is beneficial. A Future paper
will explore how to best spot misuse and what to
do about the issue.
Awareness is the first step.
References
(1995). Handbook of reliability engineering and
management. New York, McGraw Hill.
Defense, U. D. o. (1992). Reliability Prediction of
Electronic Equipment.
Donald L Klipstein, J. (2006). “The Great Internet
Light Bulb Book, Part I.” Retrieved 2/12/2010,
2010, from file:///Users/fms/Documents/Books/
ReliabilityPrediction/The%20Great%20Internet%20
Light%20Bulb%20Book,%20Part%20I.webarchive.
Gullo, L. (2009). “The Revitalization of MIL-
HDBK-217.” Retrieved 2/12/2010, 2010, from
http://www.ieee.org/portal/cms_docs_relsoc/
relsoc/Newsletters/Sep2008/Revitalization_MIL-
HDBK-217.htm.
Schenkelberg, F. (2007). Trapped by MTBF
- A Study of Alternative Reliability Metrics.
International Applied Reliability Symposium, San
Diego, CA, ReliaSoft Corporation.
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The Maintenance
Seminars
Planned Maintenance (1 Day)
The Why, What, How & Who Of Maintenance
35
AMMJ
July 2013
The Seminars are presented by
Len Bradshaw
Len Bradshaw is a specialist in
maintenance management, maintenance
planning/control and asset management,
with over 35 years of experience in these
fields.
As the Publisher of the AMMJ he keeps
in touch with World leaders in the
fields of Maintenance, Reliability and
Asset Management. He has worked in
Maintenance and Plant Engineering in
Europe, Asia, Africa and Australasia.
Len has a Masters Degree in Maintenance
Management from Manchester University,
he helped create the Maintenance
Management programs at Monash
University and also was a member of
the panel for the Australian Maintenance
Excellence Awards.
Maintenance Management (1 Day)
Moving towards better asset performance, better
maintenance, better reliability & asset management.
Len Bradshaw is
available to run these
excellent seminars
anywhere in the World
• In Your Company
or
• Added to Your
Conference
Who Should Attend:
Maintenance Planners
Maintenance Supervisors,
Trades, Technicians.
Maintenance & Reliability
Engineers, Managers
and Contractors.
mail@theammj.com
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1 2
Why, What, How & Who Of
Maintenance
1 Day Seminar
Why good maintenance is so important, What different ways we can do
maintenance. How we plan and do maintenance. How we monitor machine
condition. How we organise parts and materials. Who does the planning, the
maintenance work, the reporting and history - and the skills required.
Maintenance Management
Seminar
1 Day Seminar
This seminar introduces the wide range of Maintenance Management activities
and techniques that may be applied within your organisation and the contribution
Maintenance can make to improved service, performance and profitability. It is
important to have an understanding of what can be done and what can be achieved.
36
AMMJ
July 2013
1 Consequences of Good or Bad
Maintenance
• The direct & indirect costs of Maintenance.
• The real cost of failures & cost of Downtime.
• Identifying/recording real maintenance costs.
• Short term and long term impact of
insufficient resources in Maintenance
2 Maintenance Activities
• Emergency, corrective, preventive,
predictive, condition based, and Proactive
maintenance.
• Fixed time replacement of components.
• Understanding failures in maintenance.
• The different failure types and how they
affect what maintenance should be used.
• What maintenance is needed. Basic rules in
setting inspection and PM frequencies.
• Introduction to maintenance plan
development.
3 Maintenance Planning
• Maintenance Planning and Control
• Coding, inventory and asset registers.
Asset technical databases. Rotables.
• Asset and task priority or criticallity.
• Maintenance requests. Quick work request.
• A PM becoming a Corrective task.
• The small job.
• Backlog and frontlog files.Opportunity
maintenance. Backlog file management.
• Planning PM routines and corrective work.
• Determining the weekly workload
• Maintenance planning coordination meeting.
• Work order issue, work in progress.
• Feedback & history.
• Performance measures.
• Who should be the planner. Responsibilities
and duties of the planner.
3 Computerised Maintenance Management
Systems
• Working with a CMMS
• The move towards Asset Management
Systems and beyond the basic CMMS.
• GIS, GPS, Internet, Web based systems.
* Mobile maintenance and mobile CMMS.
4 Inspections & Condition Monitoring
• What inspection and preventive/predictive
techniques are available in maintenance.
• A look at the wide range of inspection and
condition monitoring techniques
• Visual inspections, oil analysis, vibration
monitoring, thermography, acoustic
emission, boroscopes, fibre optics,
alignment techniques, residual current, etc..
5 Maintenance Stores
• Store objectives and stock control.
• Impact of maintenance type on stock held.
• Who owns the stores? Who owns the
parts? Maintenance of parts in the store.
• Location of the stores.
6 Maintenance People and Structures
• The different organisational structures used
for maintenance activities.
• Restructured maintenance, flexibility,
multiskilling and team based structures.
• Maintenance Outsourcing/Contracting
1 Business & Organisational Success Via
Better Maintenance
• The key role that maintenance plays in
achieving business success. Maintenance
as a profit creator.
• Maintenance in Good or Bad business
times. Proving your worth. Reducing Direct
or Indirect maintenance costs.
• Maintenance Impact on Safety, Insurance
and Legal Costs. Risks of poor or under
resoursed maintenance.
2 Achieving Better Maintenance
• Common features of the best maintenance
organizations in the world.
• What is Maintenance Excellence.
2.1 The Best People:
• Leadership, recruitment, training, flexibility,
motivation, teams, TPM, performance,
rewards, core skills and outsourcing.
Matching people and structures to your
organisation. The rise of the “super”
contractors.
2.2 The Best Parts Management:
• Stores management, stores objectives,
vendor and user alliances, internet spares,
parts optimisation, improved parts specs.
automated stores, stores personnel.
2.3 The Best Maintenance Practices:
• Moving through Preventive / Predictive to
Proactive Maintenance. Earning time to
develope new techniques for improved
asset management.
3 Maintenance Strategies
For The Future
• Setting Strategies: From Policy Statements,
Audits, Benchmarking, Gap Analysis and
Objectives through to Maintenance
Performance Measures.
• Examples of Maintenance Objectives and
Performance Measures.
4 An Introduction to Analytical Methods
In Maintenance
• Maintenance Plan Development and
Optimisation Software.
• Example of how to collect, use, and
understand maintenance data.
• Using downtime data to minimise impact of
downtime.
• Using failure data to optimise maintenance
activities using techniques such as Weibull
analysis.
• Fine tuning PM activities.Can we use
MTBF? Timelines, Histograms, Pareto
Analysis, Simulation.
5 An Introduction to Asset Management
• Asset Management & ISO 55000. How much
do I really need to know about Asset
Management
• Plant Design considerations that improve
reliability, availability and maintainability.
• Introduction to life cycle costing of assets.
• Plant replacement strategies;software tools.
• Better maintenance specifications of
machines.
mail@theammj.com
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Maintenance
& Reliability
News
37
AMMJ
October July 20132012
WANTED
Your maintenance & reliability News:
News items must be sent to the AMMJ at least 2 weeks
before the publication date. Submit News items as PDF’s or
Word Docs. editor@theammj.com
Olympus takes a closer
look on the inside
The ability to inspect internal surfaces and other features of
a product without causing damage is one of the key benefits
offered by industrial videoscopes. Remote Visual Inspection
(RVI) of materials, components & structures allow technicians
to detect cracks, bubbles, and other flaws that might lead to
failure or other problems with equipment in the future.
Olympus, a world-leading manufacturer of optical, electronic
and precision engineering products, has been at the forefront
of videoscope and endoscope development for many
decades. This experience has given the company a major
share of the world market for medical endoscopes. The two
types of Remote Visual Inspection (RVI) instruments were
developed from the same combination of lens and light
technology.
The inside story
A videoscope is an inspection instrument that allows an
engineer or technician to view the components of a machine
in situ or see inside confined spaces. It consists of a small
camera mounted on a length of cable that can be controlled
by the operator. Modern videoscopes incorporate light
sources into the tip of the probe as well as motors to move
the LED and lens assembly.
The camera and cable connect
to a portable base unit and the
images are viewed directly on a
built-in monitor or plugged into
a larger, separate monitor. The
head of the device is carefully
threaded through an opening. As
the camera moves, it provides a
real-time image of the environment until it reaches the target area.
The technician operating the videoscope can adjust the focus and
move the camera as needed to examine different features of interest.
The outside diameter of a videoscope can be extremely small - the
smallest produced by Olympus is 2.4 mm - which allows them to
be used for activities like checking the quality of internal welds and
looking inside delicate systems to determine the causes of errors.
While images can be viewed in real time, data can also be recorded
for later review. Technicians are able to search for faults which may
have been missed on the initial pass while looking at real time video.
Technological advances
According to Mark Wheatley, Sales Specialist at Olympus, the
greatest advances and improvements for videoscopes during the
past two to five years have been in battery and LED technology.
“Batteries are smaller and lighter so videoscopes are decreasing in
size as well,” he said. “The limitations of original videoscopes were
getting light into the area being inspected and the size of the power
supply.”
Early videoscopes were large, bulky devices with CRT displays.
Moreover, they had the restriction of needing to be plugged into a
power socket, with long lengths of trailing cables.
Olympus’ versatile iPLEX LX videoscope
The compact iPLEX UltraLite
videoscope from Olympus
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Maintenance & Reliability News
38
AMMJ
October July 20132012
Technological developments have meant that
the cost of the units has dropped significantly,
with the latest MX2 model half the cost of its
predecessor.
This has made the instruments affordable for a
wider range of customers.
Wheatley explained that other developments
have also had an impact. “Untethering
videoscopes from mains power has opened
up whole new market segments,” Wheatley
added. “Smaller organisations, like pest control
companies and business aircraft operators, can
now afford to use the latest test instruments.”
Leading the way
Olympus has been leading the world in the
development of LED technology used in RVI
instruments. The company also has patented
a technology called WiDER . This is a system
that increases the background signal—similar
to gamma correction in digital photography—
allowing less light to be used and reducing flaring
off surfaces and washing out of the image. “This
sets us apart from our competitors,” Wheatley
said. “Not only can we now put a lot more light
out of the end of the scope but we can use that
light far more effectively.”
Olympus videoscopes have many features
and functions built in to the unit which can be
accessed by purchasing software codes’. These
enable different measuring, recording and
reporting functions to be used during inspections.
The company continues its research and
development to improve videoscope technology
and enhance RVI functionality.
Meeting the needs of customers
Probes for videoscopes can be up to 30 metres
long. “While the standard 4 mm probe is suitable for
probably 90 per cent of all inspection applications,
Olympus is willing to work with customers to adapt
or modify instruments to meet their needs,” said
Wheatley.
Organisations for whom Olympus has helped develop
custom videoscopes include Rolls-Royce and Volvo.
To assist in the inspection of engines for the Airbus
A380, Olympus worked with Rolls-Royce to adapt
instruments and choose the appropriate length and
size probe to inspect turbine blades while minimising
the risk of components falling into the engine.
Olympus also works with the Department of Defence
to supply instruments to inspect the internal bore of
the barrels of artillery pieces. “Having instruments built
to military specs means that Olympus scopes have
enhanced durability and reliability,” said Wheatley.
Over the years Olympus has been called on to provide
solutions for some unusual situations. “One request
was from the Australian Zoo in Queensland where
they wanted to observe bee and insect activity in
logs,” Wheatley said. “Another was a requirement
from a transport company to inspect gas bottles
mounted to the top of its busses, but without the need
for the technician to climb up.”
Olympus produces a wide range of videoscopes
along with replacement parts and accessories. “For
every non-destructive testing application, Olympus
has a videoscope available for the job,” Wheatley
concluded. “The combination of ever smaller batteries
and better, brighter LEDs has changed the face of
scopes altogether.”
www.olympus-ims.com www.olympus.co.nz
Inspecting the inside of an insulated feed supply pipe
with an Olympus iPLEX Mk II videoscope.
Inspecting marine turbine engine manifolds with an iPLEX LX
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39
AMMJ
October July 20132012
Maintenance & Reliability News
SKF’s INSOCOAT® Bearings Increase
Service Life In A Hot Gas Fan
The challenge
AssiDomän Cartonboard AB, a major international
producer of heavy duty carton-board was
experiencing high maintenance and repair costs
related to their large flue gas recirculation fan.
These costs were the result of premature bearing
failures caused by stray electric currents introduced
into the bearings by the variable frequency converter.
The bearings in the hot gas fan motor in the boiler
lasted only six months on an average.
AssiDomän Cartonboard AB in Frövi, Sweden
A solution was needed to eliminate the damaging electric
currents, improve reliability and reduce maintenance and
repair costs. The maintenance department decided to install
INSOCOAT® bearings, available only from SKF®, in the fan
motor.
Savings and value
Since changing to INSOCOAT bearings five years ago, this
producer has had no bearing failures in the hot gas fan. In
addition, the frequency drive can be used to its full capacity.
This plant’s savings in maintenance and repair costs using
INSOCOAT bearings are dramatic. In addition, reduced
downtime and increased productivity have had a significant
impact on the bottom line. www.skf.com
New book by Ray Beebe
Steam Turbine Performance and
Condition Monitoring
Ray Beebe has long experience with
steam turbines and their condition
monitoring, dating from the start of
his engineering career in the power
generation field in the then State
Electricity Commission of Victoria,
Australia.
Coupled with experience gained
interstate and overseas, he developed
condition monitoring by performance
and vibration analysis on machines at several power
stations and shared this through in-house training. His
time as an academic at Monash University from 1992
gave the encouragement to collate this experience into
papers for journals and conferences.
This book combines these experiences with many others
he has gathered over the years, plus many drawn from
the published experiences of others. Case histories
cover from leakage monitoring to the detection of mineral
deposits on blades; from the determination of designrelated
root causes of vibration to diagnostic procedures
used by the author. There is a comprehensive list of
references, many available free on line.
Heinz Bloch, eminent engineer and author, said that
this book is a text that begged to be written, and that it
constitutes knowledge transfer of the highest order. He
considers it a marvelous blend of straightforward practical
experience and structured analytical approaches. He
envies today’s readers and wishes that he had it himself
years ago.
Published by Reliabilityweb.com, price $US49.99
http://books.mro-zone.com/Steam_Turbine_
Performance_and_Condition_Monitoring_p/
mm9780985361983.htm
This is Ray’s third book, following Machine condition
monitoring (1988, revised 2009) and his award-winning
Predictive maintenance of pumps using condition
monitoring (2004).
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www.ashcomtech.com
MaintiMizer CMMS/EAM Solutions
Maintenance & Reliability News
R
Increasi
Im
40
AMMJ
July 2013
Australia’s CSIRO Awards Planned Maintenance
Contract to Marine Software
U.K based Marine Software Ltd has been successfully
awarded the Planned Maintenance Contract for
the 94m Research Vessel “RV Investigator”, by the
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research
Organisation (CSIRO). CSIRO is Australia’s national
science agency and one of the largest and most diverse
research agencies in the world.
CSIRO required a Classification Society type approved
computerised Planned Maintenance system to
comply with the ISM code, statutory and classification
certification requirements, in addition to an integrated
Spare Parts system.
Marine Software will supply the MPM - Marine Planned
Maintenance “Gold” version, and have also been
commissioned to construct a fully populated and
scheduled Planned
Maintenance database,
ready for use upon
installation. In addition,
CSIRO will take
delivery of the MSK -
Marine Storekeeper
product, to include
an optional barcode
scanning package.
Software installation
with initial crew training
will be conducted on
site at the Sembawang
Shipyard, Singapore.
www.marinesoftware.co.uk
info@marinesoftware.co.uk
Bentley announces AssetWise Ivara
Performance Management (Version 7.0)
Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the leading company
dedicated to providing comprehensive software
solutions for sustaining infrastructure, has announced
the release of its AssetWise Ivara Performance
Management 7.0 software for infrastructure asset
reliability improvement.
The new version provides additional global reach and
software administration efficiency, along with Bentley
SELECTserver support for increased licensing
flexibility. Bentley also previewed the forthcoming
APM Supervisor Dashboard app to leverage
information mobility for operations and maintenance
managers.
AssetWise Ivara Performance Management 7.0
AssetWise Ivara Performance Management 7.0
integrates the former Ivara EXP Enterprise software
into Bentley’s product development process and
systems architecture. It also supports Bentley’s
SELECTserver, enabling users to maximise license
utilisation and minimise software administration
through benefits such as trust licensing and
portfolio balancing, providing assured access to
critical and appropriate software. In addition, a new
Environment Migration Wizard reduces by up to
80 percent the manual effort required of system
integrators to migrate and deploy configurations and
customisations between environments.
To facilitate fully global deployments of AssetWise
Ivara Performance Management, version 7.0
supports Unicode – for Asian and other double-byte
languages – and also will be delivered in Portuguese
and Dutch in addition to existing language versions.
By enabling global operations and maintenance
teams to share the same database, accessed in
Get a GRIP on Your
Maintenance Department
multiple native languages, benchmark asset knowledge
and performance experience can be more advantageously
pooled, and implementations can be accelerated across
plants, sites, and countries.
Also introduced in version 7.0 the APM Mobile Service
Provider, which
What’s
will support
Missing
mobile
inand smartphone apps
including the Your forthcoming Tool Bag? APM Supervisor Dashboard
app for Android devices, Windows 8 tablets, iPhones, and
iPads. With its facilitation of information mobility for open
shareable asset information, AssetWise Ivara Performance
Management can help owner-operators to leverage reliability
information across the entire asset lifecycle to achieve worldclass
infrastructure asset performance.
Bentley’s APM Supervisor Dashboard App
The APM Supervisor Dashboard app gives operations
and maintenance management teams an at-a-glance,
actionable, 24x7 view of asset health key performance
indicators (KPIs) on smartphones, tablets, and other mobile
devices. In addition to providing supervisors, even off-site,
with uninterrupted operations and safety dashboards, the
new app empowers them to respond to alarms and perform
approvals via server connectivity.
Aligning for Asset Performance
Bentley Systems CEO Greg Bentley underscores the
company’s unique ambition for asset performance
management across the full infrastructure lifecycle – from
CAPEX through OPEX – to realise intelligent infrastructure.
He speaks about the auspicious confluence of three key
computing “accelerators” that are now making this feasible:
• Industrial “Apps” need only innovatively apply the
enormous consumer-driven investment and invention in
devices and communications, for industrial-strength returns.
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41
AMMJ
July 2013
Maintenance & Reliability News
• Immersive Documentation intuitively bridges
the virtual world of design and engineering
with the physical world of operations and
maintenance, advancing from “the semantic
web” to “the Internet of things.”
• Performance Modelling continues Ivara
APM’s progression – from “big data”
monitoring to deriving actionable reliability and
safety improvements – to now incorporate the
design engineers’ analysis for modelling of
asset health.
About AssetWise Ivara Performance
Management
AssetWise Ivara Performance Management
provides a cohesive and integrated approach
to developing, implementing, and managing
a living asset reliability program. It is a
comprehensive, end-to-end solution for
operational excellence that helps eliminate
unexpected downtime, reduce operational
costs, increase availability and asset
utilisation, ensure compliance with industry
regulations and guidelines, meet safety, quality
and operational targets, and eliminate islands
of data. For additional information about
Bentley’s asset performance management
solutions, visit www.bentley.com/Ivara.
AssetWise is a system of servers and services
that helps owner-operators achieve worldclass
asset performance and proactively
manage asset lifecycles with assured
information integrity. For additional information
about Bentley’s infrastructure asset
management solutions, visit
www.bentley.com/AssetWise.
Bentley Infrastructure 500 Top
Owners ranking
To download the
Bentley Infrastructure
500 Top Owners
ranking, a unique
global compendium
of the top public- and
private-sector owners
of infrastructure
based on the value of their cumulative
infrastructure investments.
visit www.bentley.com/500.
Maximise energy savings and
reduce lifecycle costs with CompAir
CompAir has just announced the launch
of a new range of high performance
compressed air filters. The LF series
combines state-of-the-art technology
in order to maximise energy saving
potential and reduce lifecycle costs.
The reliability of compressed air filtration
is paramount to prevent contaminants
entering the air distribution system.
Contamination in the form of dirt, oil
and water can lead to; pipe scale and
corrosion within pressure vessels,
damage to production equipment, air
motors, air tools, valves and cylinders,
premature and unplanned desiccant
replacement for adsorption dryers as well
as spoiled product.
The LF series of compressed air filters
from CompAir efficiently removes
contaminants from the compressed air. In
addition, a user-friendly filter housing and
a sophisticated element design ensures
high performance whilst at the same time
maximising energy savings and reducing
lifecycle costs.
When compared to some filter designs,
the CompAir LF series filter elements can
reduce energy consumption by reducing
the pressure drop over the life of the
element by as much as 20 kPa. As an
example, a 150 kW air compressor, with
at 93% motor efficiency, running 24 hours
per day, with an electrical cost of $0.23/
kW-hr and a 20 kPa reduced pressure
would create an annual saving of over
$6,000!
Lifecycle costs are minimised with the LF
series thanks to several ingenious design
features. For example, the sophisticated
filter head design. This allows for modular
connections with the option to bolt up
to three filters together providing a
space saving solution and eliminating
the cost of inter connecting pipework.
Additionally, the clever Port Plates are
provided to accommodate the existing
pipe distribution size preventing the costly
oversizing of filters.
The filter housing is made from a high
quality aluminium construction and is
100% leak-tested. With ACME threads
and a ribbed housing construction, the LF
series compressed air filters have been
designed to be service friendly.
Suitable for temperatures up to 120 o C,
compatible with synthetic and mineral
lubricants, suitable for use in oil-free
compressed air applications and with
flow capacities up to 1500 SCFM, the
LF series compressed air filters meet
the requirements of a wide range of
applications. www.compair.com.au
Caterpillar Endorses AMT For Mining
Products
Caterpillar Inc. has officially endorsed
iSolutions International Pty Ltd.’s AMT
Asset Management software as “their
preferred software tool for the management
of Caterpillar mining products”
“This is a great endorsement to get,
Caterpillar are the largest supplier of
mobile earthmoving equipment globally
and recognised for their technology and
innovation” said Graeme Elgie, CEO of
iSolutions. “They do not endorse products
lightly and it reinforces AMT’s position as
the industry’s leading asset management
software solution”.
“This also represents the start of an
exciting new chapter for us. Over the next 3
months we will be working with Caterpillar
to explore different areas where AMT can
support their Dealers and their customers.
It is anticipated a number of new
opportunities will emerge that will further
AMT’s footprint” said Elgie.
AMT, utilises the Framework® methodology
and is recognised as a market leader in life
cycle costing, budgeting and maintenance
strategy optimisation.
iSolutions has worked with Caterpillar
and Caterpillar Dealers for over 15 years.
iSolutions developed the Caterpillar
products Analyzer and Calculator for
MARC rate development and contract
management in 1999. AMT has been
built on the success of these solutions
and forms a comprehensive equipment
management platform that supports a
number of Dealer processes. Currently
over 25 Caterpillar dealers use AMT.
stuart.burckhardt@isipl.com
www.isipl.com
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42
AMMJ
July 2013
Maintenance & Reliability News
Domsjö Fabriker boosts its condition monitoring
with SPM technology
Swedish biorefinery Domsjö Fabriker now invests in the
Ex version of the latest portable instrument Leonova
Diamond® from SPM, containing the patented and
award-winning SPM HD® measuring technique and
powerful vibration analysis.
Domsjö Fabriker is already using SPM HD for online
condition monitoring on parts of its three dryers with
great success. The new portable instrument is primarily
intended for periodic measurement in explosive
atmospheres, but also outside the ATEX areas.
Maintenance technician Lars-Göran Häggström
commented on the company’s investment in SPM
technology: ’The reason we chose Leonova Diamond in
an Ex-approved version is that we need to measure on
low RPM equipment, which we have also measured on
with our previous equipment, but without detecting the
damages. Furthermore, we need EX-rated measuring
equipment since that is a requirement in some areas
of the plant, such as the ethanol production and biotreatment
facilities where we produce methane gas.
The price of the equipment was also right. There was
no downside to the inclusion of further measuring
equipment in the package. I have to say it is with
anticipation that we start to use this new measuring
equipment. We have had very good backup from SPM
with the online monitoring system, so we have nothing
but positive experiences of SPM as a supplier. ’
Domsjö’s main product is specialty cellulose, used
in viscose fabric which is an environmentally sound
alternative to cotton and synthetic textile fibres.
Production takes place at the production unit in Domsjö
just outside Örnsköldsvik on the Swedish east coast.
The products are mainly sold outside Sweden, with the
largest markets in Asia, particularly China.
www.spminstrument.com
info@aptgroup.com.au www.aptgroup.com.au
Do you run a complex erp but still
publish Data in a spreaDsheet?
Simple, rugged, and reliable thickness gauge
from Olympus
An innovative, all-in-one
solution that is suitable for
virtually every thickness
gauge application is
now available from
Olympus, a world-leading
manufacturer of optical,
electronic and precision
engineering products.
The 45MG is an advanced
ultrasonic thickness gauge
packed with standard
measurement features
and software options. This
unique instrument is compatible with the complete
range of Olympus dual element and single element
thickness gauge transducers.
The basic configuration of the 45MG is a simple and
straightforward gauge that requires minimal operator
training to tackle most common thickness gauging
applications such as wall and coating thickness,
mineral deposition and corrosion. Additional software
options and transducers turn the 45MG into a
significantly more advanced instrument that allow it to
be used for applications well beyond a typical entrylevel
unit. Examples include fibreglass (to 100mm),
rubber, very thin materials (

Maintenance & Reliability News
43
AMMJ
July 2013
eMODAT: a multi-platform solution for mobile
workflow management
Medium-sized companies and global players profit
from excellent usability, compatibility and diversified
features
eMODAT is Devacon’s answer to the call for a
sector-independent, flexible, and cost-efficient
workflow management system. The formula of
success? The multifunctional application is based
on a classic client-server architecture which
harmonizes perfectly with all standard mobile
terminal devices and interfaces in the market. ‘All
kinds of companies from all around the globe are
looking for a flexible software, which can easily
be integrated into existing structures. And none of
them wants to be dependent on their smartphones
or the systems they come with’, explains eMODAT
project manager Marcus Heinrich.
First of all, Devacon supplies users with a basic
system which comprises all server components
for administration, forms and user management.
At a later point – when the specific need arises
– customers can add individual modules of their
choice according to their specific requirements.
‘eMODAT is a convenient and cost-efficient starting
point for companies to venture out into the world
of mobile data capturing. Customers exclusively
purchase the packages they will effectively use
on a regular basis.’ The advantages are obvious:
‘Comprehensive full versions tend to jack up the
price while most of the customers do not even need
all the modules that they eventually pay for.’ The
Devacon team installs the web-based application at
the customer’s site. After an introductory training, it
is the employees themselves who take care of the
system’s configuration via the web browser.
Medium-sized
company or global
player: eMODAT
adapts to any need
that customers may
have. Depending on
the size & the field of
activity, companies
are free to choose
individual features
to be added to the
application as well
as the respective
licences that they
consider indispensable for their work.
Field service engineers and hoteliers especially
appreciate the Photo module while the healthcare
industry is delighted by HL7 Integration into all
standard hospital information systems.
‘Companies that exclusively work with PDF or
Excel files will find that the Data Export module
is a superfluous luxury for them. Global players
working with SAP will definitely think differently,
though’, elucidates Heinrich.
The opportunity to develop individual elements
which go beyond the existing portfolio is a
welcome challenge for the team, too. ‘When
customers approach us with an idea for a
special feature, we check whether it may be of
interest to other users as well. In this case we
standardize the module and bear the majority of
the development costs: a win-win situation for
both parties.’
www.emodat.com www.devacon.eu
Fluke Networks family of
certification tools improve
profitability for cable installers
Fluke Networks has announced its new
family of Versiv Cable Certification
Testers designed to help data
communications installers more quickly,
accurately and profitably achieve
system acceptance for copper and
fibre jobs. Versiv is a powerful platform
offering interchangeable modules for
copper, fibre and Optical Time Domain
Reflectometer (OTDR) testing, as
well as new software innovations that
speed test time and accuracy, and simplify testing setup, planning and
reporting.
In a global study of cabling professionals, mistakes, complexity and
rework are adding more than a week of labour to a typical 1,000 cabling
drop installation, resulting in average losses of more than $2,500 USD.*
To combat these growing challenges, Versiv has been built from the
ground up to go beyond testing and troubleshooting to address the entire
certification lifecycle. Its new capabilities help contractors manage the
complexities of today’s certification landscape and reduce errors that can
threaten profitability.
Key to simplifying the complexity is the new ProjX management
system. In addition to letting team leaders set up test parameters to
work across multiple jobs and media, the system accelerates planning
and setup of projects by letting technicians capture consistent test
parameters across an entire job, or switch from job to job by simply
clicking between projects stored in the tester. The system also enables
up-to-the-minute project analysis and oversight to help speed certification
and reporting. If problems are encountered during the testing process,
technicians can create a “Fix Later” troubleshooting to-do list for later
evaluation by more experienced installers.
For more information about Versiv Certification Testers, visit
www.flukenetworks.com/versivfamily
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Maintenance & Reliability News
44
AMMJ
July 2013
iReliability TM Launches New Website
To reflect the evolution of our software
capabilities and continued growth, we have
redesigned the iReliability TM website. The site is
now live at iReliability.com.
iReliability TM aims to serve a broad audience of
professionals and members of the maintenance
and reliability industry seeking a streamlined
maintenance and reliability software.
The new website includes an animated home
page menu, a gallery of interactive software
test drives and demonstrations, and expanded
software feature information including overview
videos.
We look forward to updating this site on a
regular basis, keeping all of our content,
interactive test drives and demonstrations fresh.
We hope you are as excited as we are with the
new website and we invite you to visit early and
often.
www.ireliability.com
Boliden Expands Online Condition
Monitoring System
Last year, Swedish mining company Boliden made the
strategic decision to implement condition monitoring
solutions from SPM Instrument for its mining equipment.
Boliden AB is a metal company and the Boliden Group
operates mines and smelters in Sweden, Finland, Norway
and Ireland. The Renstrom mine in North Sweden is now
getting ready to implement online condition monitoring
with the SPM Intellinova Compact on its main hoist. The
hoist may be used for up to 1340m, making Renstrom the
deepest mine in Sweden. The system will monitor hoist
bearings and gears to safeguard the 24 hour operation
and provide automated alarms for any inconsistencies.
The SPM HD measuring technique and vibration analysis
will be used to monitor the performance. Installation and
contracting of the SPM Intellinova Compact has been
arranged to begin in the second quarter of 2013.
Condition monitoring is all about optimizing operations
and maintenance for the purpose of lowering costs. The
difficulties of getting reliable results when measuring on
low speed applications are a well-known problem. These
applications create signals with low energy content,
where earlier vibration technologies made it difficult
to measure such signals with satisfactory results. The
SPM HD measuring technique combines the well-known
and reliable True SPM-method with a highly advanced
digital technique. Thanks to its high dynamics, SPM HD
can distinguish the weaker yet relevant signals, which
are typically hidden among stronger signals caused by
mechanical shock phenomena or electronic noise. The
ability to detect very weak signals therefore gives decisive
advantages when measuring at low speeds. Real world
testing has provided up to six months’ forewarning, leaving
ample time to plan maintenance and repairs.
Much of the work in modern mines is performed using
technologically advanced machinery, systems and
devices. As some machines have partly automated
functions, they place high demands on maintenance.
Therefore maintenance engineering is a priority for Boliden
as it will help to improve the monitoring of the machinery.
For further information, please contact apt Technology Pty
Ltd (part of the apt Group).
Telephone +61 (2) 9269 1500
info@aptgroup.com.au www.aptgroup.com.au
Motor Diagnostic Workshop 16-20 September 2013
(Holiday Inn, Perth City Centre)
The apt Group bring you the annual Motor Diagnostics
Workshop, presented by Bill Kruger on his 19th consecutive
trip to the region. Bill has travelled the world teaching
the Theory and Application of Motor Diagnostics, helping
Fortune 500 Companies implement Predictive Maintenance
Programs. Learn how to predict plant problems earlier using
a “Prescription for Motor Health”.
The workshop will enable you to improve you motor
reliability of any type and size using the industries best kept
secret: All-Test Pro Motor Diagnostic Instruments. This also
provides insights for both on-line and off-line evaluation of
the complete motor system.
For further information, please contact apt Risk
Management Pty Ltd (part of the apt Group).
Telephone +61 (2) 9269 1500
info@aptgroup.com.au www.aptgroup.com.au
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45
NEWS:- Special Feature:
Preventing shut downs and fires
AMMJ
July 2013
Maintenance & Reliability News
www.flir.com
Thermal image without MSX Thermal image with MSX:
As compared to standard thermal images, MSX technology
allows for the additional detection of important details.
Images of cable connections in a circuit breaker. The plastic cable
coating is already porous, the insulation is peeling and temperatures
are high above 60°C, thus indicating an acute problem.
The cause for this has to be found by checking for defective fuses
in the breaker, excessive contact resistance at the cable connection
points (e.g. due to oxidation), etc. The cable then has to be partially
replaced or at least shortened (if it is long enough), stripped and
reconnected.
Thermal imaging has become an important tool for
electrical inspections in many industries. A power failure
can result in expensive shut downs. But there is more.
Aside from the production loss there is a greater danger
FIRE.
A small electrical problem can have extremely
far-reaching consequences. The efficiency of the
electrical grid becomes low, and so the energy is spent
generating heat. If left unchecked, heat can rise to the
point where connections start to melt.
Not only that, but sparks can fly, setting the
environment on fire. Insurance companies are now
taking this into consideration and require regular
thermal inspections. This provides new opportunities for
dedicated specialists. The company EGI in Duisburg is
a perfect example.
A Duisburg success story
The electrical systems specialist EGI was established
in Duisburg in 1980. Today EGI provides its customers
in the areas of industrial, commercial and building
technology with electrical installation services. More
than 40 employees work for the company with DIN EN
ISO 9001, DIN 14675 and OHSAS 18001 certifications.
Michael Weigt has been managing director since 2005
and has strengthened the company with regard to
management and engineering.
He also focused on extending the business model
and identified thermal imaging inspections as a new
opportunity.
Thermal imaging inspections:
an additional service
“I asked myself the question which service we could
offer that requires additional know-how that our
customers don’t have themselves. Thermal inspections
of electrical installations were a perfect opportunity.”
explains Michael Weigt.
In 2007 Michael Weigt researched the thermal imaging
camera market, obtained information about different
manufacturers and tested various thermal imaging
cameras at trade shows.
Decision for the market and technology leader:
FLIR Systems
Worldwide thermal imaging camera market leader
FLIR Systems quickly made the shortlist. “From the
very beginning, I was not looking for a toy, but a
well-engineered and high-resolution thermal imaging
camera.” Michael Weigt was impressed by the image
quality and attractive design of the FLIR T360.
Time for training
“In the midst of the economic crisis, our new
thermal imaging business got off to a slow start in
2008/2009.” says Michael Weigt in retrospect. “We
faced skepticism and the same arguments over
and over: “We’ll check that ourselves. Our own
electricians can do that. We don’t have a budget
right now for thermal inspections.” But Michael Weigt
didn’t let this deter him, because he was convinced
of the potential of thermal imaging for electrical
inspections.
He and some of his technicians followed a training
course at the Infrared Training Center (ITC) in order
to gain more in-depth knowledge of the FLIR thermal
imaging camera and FLIR Reporter software. Extra
training was provided by FLIR sales partner Herzog.
In the beginning, the jobs consisted of examining
individual electrical cabinets in schools, hospitals,
banks and public buildings. Today EGI inspects
electrical installations for industrial customers.
Thermal imaging for electrical inspection
“Control rooms can include up to 40 electrical
cabinets and they have to be inspected every 4
years. This is not only stipulated by law, but also
required by insurance companies for fire prevention.
And this makes a lot of sense”, says Michael
Weigt from experience, because some of these
control rooms have been in operation for 30 years.
“Old cable coating can become porous”, Weigt
explains. “External factors such as UV radiation
and subsequent chemical processes in the material
change the softening agents in the plastic coating
over the course of time, thus making it more brittle
and causing it to break off.”
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Maintenance & Reliability News
46
AMMJ
July 2013
In addition to this, contact points oxidize and fuses
become overloaded. The FLIR thermal imaging
camera detects this immediately. Defective electrical
components are then noted for replacement during the
next planned shutdown.
Inspection with a thermal imaging camera allows
the system to be under load. Electrical systems
tend to heat up before they break down. A thermal
imaging camera will clearly identify “hot spots” so that
preventive action can be taken before failure occurs.
Thermal imaging can also be used to detect
asymmetrical loads. The reason for this is not always
faulty modules. Older systems have often been
extended over the course of time. In such cases, an
electrical circuit could be exposed to more load than
originally intended. This requires immediate action,
because excess load can cause heat problems and
poses a fire hazard.
“If serviced regularly, even older electrical installations
can run smoothly and unplanned shutdowns and high
costs of downtime can be efficiently avoided.”, says
Michael Weigt.
Thermal imaging for quality control
EGI not only provides thermal services, but builds its
own electrical switchboards and cabinets. EGI uses
thermal imaging also to monitor the quality of their
own cabinets and document this for the customers. All
components are wired and each screw contact has to
be tightened to a specific torque. A thermal imaging
camera is used before commissioning the system
to detect excess heat & to immediately correct the
problem.
A new camera due to positive business development
Starting in 2010, EGI received an increasing number of
orders for thermal imaging and decided to buy a new
thermal imaging camera. EGI decided for the FLIR
T440. One of the unique features in the FLIR T440 is
Multi Spectral Dynamic Imaging (MSX).
MSX is a new, patent-pending technology based
on FLIR’s unique onboard processor that provides
extraordinary thermal image details in real time.
• Real-time thermal video enhanced with visible
spectrum definition
• Exceptional thermal clarity to highlight exactly where
the problem is
• Easier target identification without compromising
temperature data
• Unrivalled image quality. No need for a separate
digital photo for reports
Unlike traditional thermal fusion that inserts a thermal
image into a visible-light picture, FLIR’s new MSX
embosses digital camera detail into thermal video and
stills. MSX provides sharper looking thermal images,
quicker target orientation, clutter free reports and a faster
route to solutions.
Interchangeable wide-angle lens for tight spaces
The FLIR T440 comes equipped with a 25° lens, which
is ideal for many applications. But thermal imaging
professionals often don’t have enough space in tight
rooms. Therefore EGI decided to purchase an additional
interchangeable 45° wide-angle lens, because sometimes
the distance to the electrical cabinet is only 80 cm when
taking thermal images. Even at such short distances, the
45° lens provides a full picture, in which problem areas,
even in thin cables, can be clearly identified.
Technician Andre Bacht is not only impressed by the
touchscreen display with its sketch feature. This new
FLIR Systems feature allows to clearly indicate on a
saved image the location of the problem area both
on the thermal and the visual image. This can be
done immediately on the touch screen of the camera.
The indications you make on the thermal image will
automatically appear in your report. He also uses the
Meterlink feature.
FLIR MeterLink technology makes it possible to transfer, via
Bluetooth, the data acquired by an Extech clamp meter into
the thermal imaging camera. This saves time since there
is no longer the need to take notes during the inspection.
Furthermore it eliminates the risk of erroneous notes
and speeds up the reporting process since all values are
automatically included in the inspection report.
“We used to note the values of a clamp meter separately on
a sheet of paper and allocated them to the correct thermal
image later on. Of course this posed the risk of mistakes.”
explains Andre Bacht. He also uses the camera’s integrated
wireless LAN feature to transfer the thermal images to his
tablet PC.
Conclusion
Michael Weigt’s strategy has been an absolute success.
“Our goal consisted
of tapping into a new
business area for EGI with
qualified services. We have
achieved this, and thermal
inspections inspection
has also proven to be
an interesting job. FLIR
thermal imaging cameras
are perfect for the task.”
www.flir.com
info@flir.com.au
Thermal image: Picture in picture in picture feature feature
A conspicuous cable or terminal can
be detected here. The system operator
should inspect the cause.
Thermal Thermal image: image: thermal thermal fusion feature fusion feature
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Maintenance & Reliability News
uncil
Asset News Management Conference 2013
and
Melbourne, Events Australia
g
Held at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, the 2013 Asset
Management Conference was a huge success. With 24 different
Chapter exhibitors, News and over 300 delegates, the week was jam packed with
presentations, tutorials and workshops, Asset not Management to mention Conference networking, 2014,
engaging and socialising opportunities with local and international
industry leaders. A wide range of topics Conference were Perth covered 2014 will be over held the at the week, Crown
Metropol. Call for papers for the Asset Management
including the forthcoming ISO 55000, leadership and culture, reliability,
Conference 2014, Perth will open at the end of June
finance and IT, tools and techniques and sustainability.
from key industries both nationally and
The Asset Management Council was
internationally.
pleased to host the Global Forum
· Deryk Anderson
Maintenance and Asset Management (GFMAM) at this years’
· Gopi Chattopadhyay
Asset Management Fundamentals
conference, with members attending from all over the globe: UK, USA,
· Ron Shuttlewood
This one day course provides participants with an
· Brad Thompson Canada, Japan, South Africa, Brazil, understanding France, of Germany,
the fundamentals of good asset
· Mark Jordan Saudi Arabia and more.
· Steve Berquist
The annual Asset Management Awards asset management Night and capability. Dinner was a fantastic
night. Held at Zinc Federation Square Should and you hosted pass the accompanying online exam,
you will receive a Certificate of Achievement. This
by Marty Fields, the crowd was well fed and
laughing all night long. Congratulations Certified to Associate all of our in Asset
award winners, and especially to K2
Management
Technology
(CAAM) and
Brisbane Chapter
Brisbane Chapter Annual General Meeting
The Brisbane Chapter Annual General
Meeting was held on 20th May.
The updated Brisbane Chapter Committee
is:
The positions on the committee are:
· Chapter Chair: Mark Jordan
· Vice Chapter Chair: Gopi Chattopadhyay
· Secretary: Brad Thompson
The role of treasurer has been removed
from the Chapter
/ Woodside who were announced as future the employees Asset of your
About The Management AMC Council’s nominee for deeper Engineers understanding of
Australia’s 2013 Engineering Excellence
topics and
Awards.
issues.
The week closed out with an inspiring Course presentation
Dates:
from Antarctic Exhibition Leader Rachael July
Robertson, farewell drinks and a bespoke Thursday 11 tour | Townsville of
the MCG.
August
Thursday 15 | Sydney |
All in all it was a fantastic week and Thursday a huge 22 success.
| Perth |
Thank you to everyone involved, and September we look
Thursday 12 | Adelaide |
forward to seeing you at the Asset
Thursday
Management
12 | Sydney |
Council’s 2014 conference in Perth: the AMPEAK
Asset Management Conference.
For more information, please visit
http://www.amcouncil.com.au/conference.html
The Asset Management Council is a non-profit,
member network committed to advancing asset
management knowledge and capability of
members and the broader community.
As an independent professional body, the Asset
Management Council unites professionals and
organisations from asset intensive industries
to work together and enhance Australia’s
international competitiveness.
www.amcouncil.com.au
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47
Asset Page Management Council
47
AMMJ
October 2012
We are excited to announce that the Asset Management
2013. This engaging conference will attract asset owners
management, covers the knowledge and skills required,
and illustrates how business can benefit from effective
contributes to 50% of the required points to become a
is evidence to current and
asset management related
Asset
Management
Fudamentals
Course
News
and
Events
Go To Contents Page
Sally Nugent AMC CEO
Chapter News
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Equipment & Services for
Plant & Buildings
ARTICLES
48
AMMJ
July 2013
Upgrading of existing
hydraulic actuators for
valves to 4 • • • 20 mA control
Karl Morgenbesser
kmo turbo GmbH Germany
Hydraulic actuators are often used in
combination with turbo compressors, steam and
gas turbines. Their task is for example to operate
anti-surge valves, guide vanes, valves for steam
or gas supply. Hydraulic actuators are perfectly
suited for control tasks. It would be a step
backwards to replace a hydraulic actuator by a
pneumatic one.
A hydraulic control valve actuator always includes
a servo cylinder (power piston) and a positioner
(pilot control). The still widely used hydromechanical
positioners consist of a combination of elements
as pilot valve, feedback piston, levers, springs and
diaphragm bellows. Many service engineers hesitate
to touch this complexly appearing mechanical unit
and avoid any maintenance or adjustment work.
They prefer to replace it with suitable electronics. At
the latest such modification becomes necessary in
case of implementing the unit into a process control
system.
A common approach is to install an I/p-converter
(mA to pneumatic pressure) or an I/h-converter (mA
to hydraulic pressure) between the new electronic
controller output and the existing hydromechanical
positioner. However the results of such modifications
are hardly convincing, because the friction and
temperature sensitive hydromechanical parts remain
untouched. Usually the hydromechanics is the main
cause of troubles. Additional possible sources of
malfunction are the converters.
Of course it is an option to replace the hydraulic
actuator by a brand-new one with mA control. Actually
only the high investment costs run counter to this.
Preserving intact servo cylinders
kmo turbo uses an own upgrading solution, which
preserves the servo cylinder, gets rid of the sensitive
hydrome-chanics and gets along without additional
converters.
Central component of the kmo concept is a 4/3 way
valve for a double-acting cylinder and a 3/3 way valve
for a single-acting cylinder including an integrated
position control, operated via 4 … 20 mA.
Instead of replacing the still intact servo cylinder, too,
it is kept and equipped with a high-precision, noncontact
position measurement.
Even without original design drawings kmo turbo
is capable of determining the necessary retrofit
measures based on a simple sectional drawing or an
on-site inspection only.
Compact hydraulic cabinet
Usually one machine requires several hydraulic
actuators to be modified. kmo turbo favours a central
arrangement in a hydraulic cabinet.
All electric and hydraulic control components and a
junction box are installed in a common hydraulic cabinet.
The way valves and solenoid valves of all actuators are
arranged on a common manifold block. With this, there
is only one common oil supply and only one common oil
return.
The manifold block is equipped with connectors for
transmitters for all relevant measuring points. These
signals are used for remote indication and monitoring.
For local indication there are additional measuring
points.
Steam turbine with low pressure hydraulics
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49
AMMJ
July 2013
Short commissioning time
Before delivery to customers, the control cabinet has
passed a 100% performance test. The only remaining work
on site is the final field wiring and the hydraulic piping.
Each overhaul is used to make the actuator more
convenient for maintenance: tube fittings are renewed,
washers are replaced by O-rings, piston rings are replaced
by sealing bands, …
Most of the new piping system can be installed in advance.
To connect actuator and manifold with the piping system
kmo turbo recommends the use of high pressure hoses.
With good planning in advance, the whole retrofit and recommissioning
can be accomplished within a few days only.
Installation scheme of the overall machine modernization
Control cabinet + guide vane actuator + blow-off valve actuator
The Upgrading Concept of kmo turbo
Solution and Benefits:
• Removal of sensitive hydromechanics - reduces maintenance!
• The actuator gets equipped with a way valve controlled via
4 20 mA, moreover with a high-precision, non-contact
displacement measuring system. kmo turbo uses worldwide
approved, rugged products of German manufacturers.
- high reliability!
• A compact hydraulic manifold block ensures a leakage-free
connection of the individual components.
- shortens commissioning time!
• All relevant pressures are measured: for remote indication
and monitoring via transmitter / locally via leak-proof plug-in
manometer. - simplifies troubleshooting!
• An electrical junction box is installed in the control cabinet, too.
The wiring inside the cabinet is pre-assembled
and functionally tested.
- shortens commissioning time!
• A well approved method is to connect
the actuators and the oil pipes by means of
high-pressure hoses. This enables the
pre-installation of additional piping.
- shortens commissioning time!
• The weak point of old hydraulic control
actuators is the hydromechanical positioner.
The servo cylinder itself rarely shows signs of
wear. Thus kmo turbo recommends to keep
the servo cylinder. With only few reasonably
priced measures more comfort in
maintenance can be achieved.
- reduces investment costs!
kmo turbo specialises in modernising
hydraulic control valve actuators as well as
in instrumentation and control systems for
turbo machinery. Their innovative, reliable and
beneficial solutions are the result of making
use of industrial proven components, decades
of on-site experience and constant striving for
improvement.
karl.morgenbesser@kmo-turbo.de
OLD CONSTRUCTION:
Mechanical pilot control and
complex pipework
NEW DESIGN: without mechanical
pilot control and with non-contact
displacement measurement and
hose connection.
www.kmo-turbo.de
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Drive Asset Performance and
Deliver Stakeholder Value:
Four Powerful Opportunities to Maximize Uptime and
Minimize Costs with MRO Analytics
Andy Hill, CEO, Oniqua MRO Analytics
Analytics help you visualize exactly how effective
and efficient your maintenance activities are,
benchmarked against best-in-class. You can easily
identify focus areas for improvement.
In this example, Preventative Maintenance and
Planning already meet best-in-class standards,
while the other functions require various levels of
improvement to come up to best-in-class.
[end graphic and caption
50
AMMJ
July 2013
With all the buzz around analytics in the technology
universe, it’s hard to sort out hype from reality. The
truth is that analytics present organizations with an
exciting new frontier for extending and leveraging their
investments in transactional systems like enterprise
resource planning (ERP) – and the technology is
proving its value.
Transactional systems like ERP and enterprise asset
management (EAM), and decision support tools like
business intelligence (BI), can only take your data
so far. Most businesses that use these systems are
swimming in data -- but exploiting a mere fraction of
available information. Information that could be used to
make better, faster, smarter decisions. Information that
could be leveraged to improve business results.
Analytics extends ERP, EAM and BI by extracting data
held in these systems, refining it using sophisticated
algorithms and applied domain expertise, and delivering
it as actionable information that can help you make
highly effective decisions very quickly.
In the field of MRO analytics – analytics for
maintenance, repair and operations – the opportunities
are significant and the results speak for themselves.
By providing insight into complex asset performance
management challenges, MRO analytics help assetintensive
businesses reduce risk, maximize asset
availability, minimize costs and reduce business risk.
Whether you’re just finding out about analytics, or
are looking for ways to get more out of your current
analytics solution, these four analytics-enabled
practices offer golden opportunities to maximize
asset performance, minimize costs and drive
stakeholder value:
1. Inventory optimization: It’s never too late to save
with inventory optimization. The practice is arguably
one of the best investments available to any assetintensive
company. Companies that don’t have an
analytics-based inventory optimization process
are wasting precious working capital and risking
production down-time.
2. New item management: Bringing new items into
inventory continues to be a stumbling block for many
companies. A lack of science in this process will
result in excess inventory in the future.
3. Manage supplier performance: If you don’t
already measure your suppliers’ performance, why
not? It’s easy, and measuring supplier performance
helps your supply partners improve. Suppliers
genuinely want to deliver the right materials to the
right place at the right time. Implement supplier
management and be amazed at how quickly they
respond.
4. Master data governance: Smart companies are
finally recognizing the value of high quality data, not
only as an enabler for analytics, but as a necessary
foundation for efficient processes. Some are even
managing their data like another asset. Getting it right
is not easy, but it can be done.
Plant Maintenance Benchmark Scores
A = %Estimated Replacement Value; B= Planned Work;
C=Preventative Maintenance; D=Captured Work;
E=Inventory Turn; F= Inventory Service; G=Overtime;
H=Planners; I=Support; J=Training
A
10
I
H
J
G
MRO analytics presents golden opportunities for assetintensive
companies – and the applications are rapidly
advancing to offer new and exciting capabilities. What
opportunities could MRO analytics help you leverage?
How could analytics capabilities make you a hero to your
management?
www.oniqua.com
8
6
4
2
0
F
B
E
C
D
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Selection of
51
AMMJ
July 2013
bearing
type
www.skf.com
The choice of the appropriate type of
bearing (radial, angular contact or thrust)
is determined by the direction of the
load which will act on the bearing, while
the choice of the appropriate sliding
contact surface combination is primarily
determined by the way in which the load
acts (constant or alternating direction).
Radial load
When the load is purely or predominantly
radial, a radial spherical plain
bearing should be selected
(fig. 1). These bearings can
accommodate a certain
amount of axial load in
addition to the radial load, . fig. 1
Axial load
When the load is purely
or predominantly axial
then the choice should
be a spherical plain
fig. 2
thrust bearing (fig.2).
These bearings can accommodate a
certain proportion of radial load in addition
to the axial load.
Combined load
When the load is made up of radial and
axial components which are almost equal
in magnitude, an angular contact spherical
plain bearing (fig. 3) should be chosen.
These bearings can only accept axial load
acting in one direction and are generally
adjusted against a second bearing to
take any axial load acting in the opposite fig. 3
direction.
For combined loads where the magnitude of the
axial load component is smaller than the radial
load, it is possible to use a radial bearing and a
separate thrust bearing. In order for this thrust
bearing to be subjected to axial load only, it is
necessary for it to be mounted with radial freedom
in the housing. If, in such cases, tilting movements
must be accommodated in addition to oscillating
movements, the sphere centres of the radial and
thrust bearings must coincide.
Constant direction load
When the load always acts in the
same direction (fig. 4) and when,
under dynamic conditions, larger
relative movements of the sliding
contact surfaces will occur, then
a maintenance-free bearing is the
preferred choice. If, however, minor fig. 4
alignment movements occur only
infrequently (quasi-static conditions), or very heavy
loads are applied and shock loads occur when the
bearing makes infrequent alignment movements,
then steel-on-steel bearings should be used.
Alternating direction load
When the load changes direction (fig. 5) steel-on-steel
bearings are the more appropriate. Maintenance-free
bearings have only limited suitability.
Constant and alternating direction load
Applications where the load acts from one direction
for a period and then becomes alternating for a time fig. 5
require special bearings. SKF can offer a selection
of bearings for these special conditions which ranges from
steel-on-steel bearings with a special groove system to special
maintenance-free bearings. Advice can be obtained from the SKF
application engineering service.
Tilting angle
The permissible angle of tilt depends on the
Dimension Series, the size and the design of a
bearing. Bearings which have a relatively wide
inner ring sliding surface in relation to the outer
ring - as, for example, bearings of series GEH -
allow a larger tilting angle (fig. 6). The permissible
tilting angle is given for each spherical plain
bearing and rod end in the product tables.
fig. 6
Operating temperature
The influence of the operating temperature on the bearing
materials, particularly the material of the sliding layer, must be
considered when selecting the type of bearing. All spherical plain
bearings can be used without restriction in the temperature range
–30 to +50 °C. At higher temperatures the load carrying capacity
is reduced, depending on the material and sliding contact surface
combination. This is taken into account by a temperature factor
when calculating the basic rating service life.
Additionally, it must be checked to see whether the material of the
seals will limit the temperature at which the bearing can be used
or, for bearings which require maintenance, whether the lubricant
chosen will have sufficient lubricating properties at the operating
temperature.
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52
AMMJ
October July 20132012
Equipment & Services
for Plant & Buildings
Azuma Launches On-Site
Testing Capability
Sig Azuma Design can identify areas that leak water or air
Azuma Design, one of Australia’s largest NATA*
accredited, independent mechanical testing businesses,
has now launched a new portable on-site testing
capability.
An adjunct to Azuma’s testing laboratories in Sydney and
Perth, the new Portable Rain and Wind Case (PRWC)
equipment enables on-site testing for
water penetration and wind pressure on
buildings.
Azuma’s PRWC can be taken to any
product manufacturing facility or research
and development (R&D) site, or on-site to
a building where the integrity of windows
and doors requires analysis.
The PRWC equipment is capable of
creating water penetration pressures
up to 1000 Pascals and testing for wind
pressure of up to 2250 Pascals.
Azuma’s new portable capability enables
testing according to the requirements of
AS2047 Windows in Buildings standard to
ensure that products pass Serviceability
Deflection Test AS4420.2 and AS4420.5
Water Penetration Resistance Test.
During the R&D process, manufacturers can now save
significant time and costs by pre-testing products at
their own base, enabling design refinement before final
accreditation testing at Azuma’s NATA accredited facilities
in Sydney and Perth.
NEWS
“The PRWC offers the opportunity to test products much
earlier, more conveniently and more cost effectively than
before,” Mike Alchin, Director of Design explains.
“Resistance to water under pressure is one of the most
challenging things to test from an R&D point of view.
“With the PRWC we are able to go to any R&D or
manufacturing facility in Australia and test the products
right there on site, without the need for customers to come
to our facilities in the initial phase of product development.”
For analysis of the performance of installed product,
Azuma can and has tested for wind pressure
and water penetration under pressure at
major building sites in capital cities, as well as
privately owned homes all around Australia.
The PRWC can identify areas that leak water
or air by creating a pressure chamber and
measuring any leakage, to identify where
improvement of a product or rectification of a
building is necessary.
“Most wind and water testing applications are
fixed. From a rectification point of view, it is
virtually impossible to bring a problem to any
testing facility, this is why we come out to the
site in question,” Mr Alchin explains.
“Whether it’s a high rise or single house,
windows, doors or walls, we are able to test
to find the source of where water or air leaks
occur on any building.”
Depending on the geographical location and structural
requirements of a specific building, the PRWC can be
used to test to any standard required.
*NATA is the world recognised testing accreditation authority in Australia
www.azumadesign.com.au
WANTED your news on plant engineering, general
plant equipment, tools, energy, HVAC, plant services,
bearings, compressed air systems, lighting, training,
environment, etc..
Send to: editor@theammj.com
Compressed air audit business expansion
The Energy Efficiency Services (EES) division of Compressed
Air and Power Solutions (CAPS) Australia has expanded its
range of services and increase the number of staff available
to carry out the numerous compressed air energy audits it
conducts each year.
Investing more than $150K in its growth, EES has pursued an
aggressive expansion strategy to fit the needs of compressed
air users that are looking for an independent approach to
analysis of their energy use. “With compressed air being
responsible for 10 to 15 percent of industrial electricity use
Australia-wide, an air audit can reveal surprising opportunities
to reduce energy consumption and overall business costs,”
said Quentin St Baker, National Manager, Energy Efficiency
Services.
Sustainability continues to be a major goal of business across
most industry sectors. A key factor in this is the minimisation of
energy consumption and waste of resources. EES quickly acted
upon this industry brief and devised a solution that could benefit
many organisations. The company devised a custom-designed
software suite and comprehensive air audit hardware package,
which was teamed with extensive training, and development of
engineers and technicians nationwide to undertake audits. To
assist in driving implementable recommendations, additional
industry-leading experts were also employed to conduct the air
audits, provide analysis and provide independent reports.
According to St. Baker, there are still opportunities for
companies to streamline processes to reduce energy
consumption and costs resulting in the growth of energy
efficiency services and air audits.
While compressed air is an important and major part of most
manufacturing and industrial processes, many systems operate
inefficiently with old technology or ineffective controls. Large
volumes of air are wasted through leaks, inappropriate usage
and other artificial demands such as over-pressurisation.
Audits regularly show that less than half of the compressed air
produced is used for actual productive activities.
www.capsaust.com.au/
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Equipment & Services for Plant & Buildings News
53
AMMJ
October July 20132012
FLIR thermal imaging cameras help
optimize energy-efficiency in
low-cost housing solution
The building sector offers the largest single potential for improving
energy efficiency. Infrared thermography is the easiest and
quickest method to detect energy waste, moisture and electrical
issues in buildings. An infrared camera shows exactly where the
problems are and helps focus the inspectors’ attention allowing
him or her to properly diagnose areas with energy loss.
Worldwide over 1.1 billion people are living in inadequate housing
conditions. The United Nations Centre for Human Settlements
(UNCHS) estimates that 21 million new housing units are required
each year to accommodate the growth in households. One
organization that is dedicated to solving this issue is Habitat for
Humanity; their goal is to build simple, decent and affordable
homes across the globe. ArcelorMittal set out to help Habitat for
Humanity achieve that goal by developing a steel based housing
solution for families in need.
The houses needed to be simple, safe, decent, and above all: well
insulated. That is where FLIR thermal imaging plays an important
role. Research and development professionals at ArcelorMittal
Liège Research used FLIR thermal imaging cameras to optimize
the design of this housing solution.
The roof remains cold, even though one of the apartments
is heated (ΔT = 13°C). The ridge-tile appears at the same
temperature than the roof, which is a sign of well insulated roof.
Three months of development resulted in a prototype called
‘Good House’. The house uses a light steel frame structure, a
pre-painted steel roof tile system, a steel rainwater extraction
system, and a steel cladding made of pre-painted roll-formed
parts. The houses are designed to be environmentally
friendly as the steel frame results in a more durable
structure that will last longer than other similarly priced
models, they can also be easily deconstructed and
once disassembled, almost all of the materials can be
recycled indefinitely.
Energy-efficient for environmental and economic
reasons thorough thermographic inspection
ArcelorMittal also wanted the model to be energyefficient
for environmental and economic reasons, but
also to provide comfort. The prototype therefore had to
be inspected thoroughly. “Here at the Research Center
in Liège we use thermal imaging cameras for building
insulation tests, but also for shear tests in laboratory
conditions,” stated Francis Lamberg, thermography
expert at ArcelorMittal Liège Research
Lamberg uses his FLIR thermal imaging camera
regularly. “It really is a great tool for energy audits. It is
light, compact and easy to use and it provides exactly
the thermal data you need for this type of inspection.”
FLIR offers industry leading image quality
and special features
FLIR’s i3, i5, i7 are the smallest, lightest and most
affordable thermal imaging camera on the market. They
are incredibly easy to use. It really is a matter of “pointshoot-detect”
to obtain high-quality thermal images that will
immediately give you the thermal information you need.
FLIR’s E30bx, E40bx, E50bx and E60bx cameras were
developed for building and HVAC inspections and set
a new standard in excellence and value. Packed with
features such as Bluetooth and a touchscreen, you can
connect to smartphones or tablets via Wi-Fi, for processing
and sharing results as well as for remote control.
FLIR’s T400bx-Series and T600bx-Series have the
features of the E-Series and then some. The camera
series is designed for the expert requiring high
performance and the latest technology available and
feature ergonomics and flexibility with very high to
extremely high image quality. The series also includes
GPS, a compass, Instant Report, Multi Spectral Dynamic
Imaging (MSX)*and Image Sketch*.
Insulation flaws
The thermal data collected proved that the prototype
had some initial insulation design flaws both in the
window frames and in the indoor partition walls. “We
found several thermal bridges during the inspection.
A thermal bridge is an area with less insulation. Heat
follows the path of the least resistance. Often heat
will ‘short circuit’ through an element that has much
higher conductivity than the surrounding material.
This is called a thermal bridge.” Luckily both of the
insulation problems were easily solved. “A new
version was made with these changes implemented,
and repeated thermal imaging inspections proved that
the new prototype showed no thermal bridges.”
This thermal image shows that the bearing profiles in
the indoor partition wall contribute to thermal bridges
between the apartments. The new prototype therefore
had improved indoor partition wall insulation.
These thermal images show heat leakages from the
vented hood & from the lintels of the windows and doors
in both the heated and in the non-heated apartments.
Room and door insulation was consequently improved.
info@flir.com.au www.flir.com
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Equipment & Services for Plant & Buildings News
54
AMMJ
October July 20132012
ABB launches first low-voltage
breaker for energy management
and smart grid communications
Innovation can save energy equivalent to the
electric consumption of 1.4 million European
households and help to prevent blackouts
ABB has launched Emax 2, the first lowvoltage
circuit breaker with integrated energy
management functions. Replacing existing
traditional breakers with the Emax 2 breaker
has the potential to achieve annual savings of
5.8 million megawatt-hours (MWh). This is the
equivalent electric consumption of 1.4 million
EU households per year.
These energy savings would reduce emissions
by 4 million tons of CO2, or the emissions of
over 1 million cars, per year. For an individual
building installation, a peak power reduction
of up to 15 percent can be achieved by using
Emax 2 in place of traditional breakers.
Breakers like the Emax 2 are used where
protection and control of large amounts of
energy are used in a low-voltage environment
like industrial and commercial buildings, data
centers or ships.
Replacing an existing breaker with the new
Emax 2 is technically simple. Due to energy
savings, the Emax 2 breaker will typically pay
for itself within a year.
The breaker contains a protection trip relay
with an integrated power controller that
measures and evaluates energy consumption,
then manages the loads to maintain or reduce
the peak power usage as determined by the
user. This will also help prevent blackouts
since the root cause is often peak demand
exceeding supply.
To manage energy, the electricity supply to
non-essential equipment is switched off and
back on again as soon as acceptable power levels
are reached. Intelligent decision making is achieved
by a built in controller and software that uses complex
algorithms to decide when it is appropriate to switch
the power while maintaining the overall functionality or
productivity of the connected equipment.
The breaker also has a
communication module
that allows it to share
vital consumption and
system reliability data
directly with smart grid
and other protocols.
“Breakers provide
one of the largest
untapped opportunities
in the electric system to
achieve energy savings.
Breakers have been
used to increase safety
and protect electric
circuits, but now for the
first time we use them
to save energy too,”
said Tarak Mehta, Head
of ABB’s Low Voltage
products division.
“Because breakers
are all around us, the
total energy savings potential is massive. It’s a great
example of how we can use smart technology to reduce
energy wastage. This is good news for the environment
and for our customers who can achieve significant cost
savings by switching to our new device,” added Tarak.
The development of the new Emax 2 breaker took
several years and was led by ABB’s development
center in Bergamo, Italy.
www.abb.com
New Australian Standards For Underground Utilities
Standards Australia has today launched a new Australian Standard
which will – for the first time – outline a consistent approach towards
the classification of information relating to subsurface utilities.
At present the existence and location of subsurface utilities can be
difficult to establish and verify, which is the problem this standard
seeks to address.
AS 5488-2013 Classification of Subsurface Utility Information is
intended to improve public safety, reduce costly property damage,
and provide more accurate information on the location and type of
subsurface utilities than in the past.
Chief Executive Officer of Standards Australia, Colin Blair, said
Australian utility owners, operators and locators have welcomed the
Australian Standard which sets a new benchmark for subsurface utility
information management.
“The primary objective of this Australian Standard is to provide utility
owners, operators and locators with a framework for the consistent
classification of information concerning subsurface utilities,” Blair said.
“The standard also provides guidance on how subsurface utility
information may be obtained, and how that information should be
conveyed to users,” Mr Blair said.
Mr Blair said knowledge of the precise details of subsurface
utilities can protect the asset lifecycle and reduce interference to
infrastructure.
AS 5488-2013 Subsurface Utility Information was prepared by the
Standards Australia Committee IT-036, Subsurface Utility Engineering.
• Heads of Workplace Safety Authorities
• Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia
• National Broadband Network
• National Utility Locating Contractors Association
• NSW Streets Opening Conference
• Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute
• Telstra Corporation
• University of New South Wales
• Water Services Association of Australia
• WorkCover New South Wales
Australian Standards are available through
SAI Global www.saiglobal.com/shop
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Equipment & Services for Plant & Buildings News
55
AMMJ
October July 20132012
Castolin Eutectic matches today’s
hardest drilling challenges
Castolin Eutectic, world leaders in wear and fusion
technologies, has released a new range of OTW
hardbanding products to increase drilling production and
improve efficiencies especially in oil & gas drilling.
The OTW range includes:
10SS – the new standard for Sour Gas, casing friendly wire
that’s easy to weld
16XS – the casing friendly leader in ‘all-purpose’ noncracking
design wires ideal in advanced drilling operations
12Ti – best in its class with tough all-round hardness, where
combined open and case hole wear performance counts
13CF – outstanding casing wear resistance against current
industry standards with exceptional tool performance
During development of the OTW range, Castolin Eutectic
constructed its own, unique hardbanding C-Wear testing
machines. As a result of this extensive testing procedure
and high quality manufacturing processes, all Castolin
Eutectic OTW products have NS1 certification – mandatory
for the oil and gas industry.
OTW-12Ti is a proprietary, gas shielded, flux cored alloy
wire specifically developed for hardbanding of drilling pipe
tool-joints. The high quality protective alloy weld deposit is
designed to give a non-cracking, smooth surface with low
friction properties.
About hardbanding
Hardbanding is the wearfacing welding process used to
protect drilling assets while minimising wear on casing
and drilling tool joints, in order to reduce operating costs.
New hardbanding technology was requested by industry
to cope with increasing well depths & high cost of failure.
Directional drilling and extended-reach drilling (ERD)
have exerted unprecedented torque and drag force on
the drill pipe – Castolin
Eutectic’s hardbanding
technology and expertise
has enabled the drilling
industry to exceed all
previous stress limit
levels on both the casing
and drilling string.
rcroft@smenco.com.au
www.eutectic.com.au
www.smenco.com.au
Airtelligence provis 2.0: New BOGE master
control for combined compressor systems
Innovative control technology helps save energy
Airtelligence provis 2.0 is a demand-based master
control for up to 16 compressors, including peripheral
devices, using intelligent algorithms. The web server
gives the user round-the-clock access to all the relevant
data, wherever the user may be.
Even if every single compressor in a station works
to maximum efficiency, there may still be room
for improvement if compressors operate as an
interconnected group.
With its innovative airtelligence provis 2.0, BOGE is
introducing a new generation of master controls that
is distinguished by significant energy saving potential
anduseful extra features, and which can be operated
intuitively and easily, while adapting flexibly to the
intended use. For all those compressed air users
who have not been using a master control up to now,
or have been using older, less sophisticated, models,
we would recommend that you consider upgrading your
systems to the latest control technology. After all, the
use of master controls – together with recovering waste
compressor heat for
uses such as heating
or temperaturecontrolled
processes
- is one of the single
measures that
achieve the greatest
and most sustainable
boost in efficiency.
From the operator’s
point of view, this
means that these
measures pay for themselves within a foreseeable period
of time - this even applies, and is particularly the case,
where existing compressed air stations are updated with
the latest superordinate control technology.
www.boge.net.au
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56
AMMJ
October July 20132012
Equipment & Services for Plant & Buildings News
Bentley Systems Proudly Supports ‘Water
For People’ with Major Donation to Help
Improve Water Systems in Emerging Economies
Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the leading company
dedicated to providing comprehensive software
solutions for sustaining infrastructure, has contributed
$100,000 to Water For People in support of the
organization’s work improving water systems in
emerging economies around the world. Bentley has
also donated a selection of eight software products
from its portfolio, including MicroStation, WaterGEMS,
SewerGEMS, FlowMaster, and Bentley Map. The
software will be used by Water For People team
members to design, engineer, and construct water
systems, as well as to map the functionality of water
points in every district.
Water For People teaches local communities in Africa,
Central and South America, and India how to build,
manage, and maintain water and sanitation systems,
and to build capacity that ensures the systems can be
operated and maintained at levels appropriate for each
community. Bentley is a global sponsor of Water For
People, with many of its colleagues – including Bentley
COO Malcolm Walter, who serves on the organization’s
board – volunteering their time to the organization.
Ned Breslin, executive director, Water For People,
said, “I want to thank Bentley not only for its generous
contributions, but also for its long-standing corporate
commitment to sustaining crucial infrastructure,
including water systems, around the globe. With the
continued support of corporate partners like Bentley, we
may one day see an end to water poverty everywhere.”
Added Malcolm Walter, “Very recently, on a trip to
Bolivia, I was able to see firsthand the difference this
wonderful organization is making in people’s lives. I
saw the happiness in the faces of villagers who now
have running water at their doorstep instead of 3 to 5
kilometers away – something that we in the developed
world take for granted.”
www.waterforpeople.org www.bentley.com
Engineers Without Borders CEO, Lizzie
Brown, named one of Australia’s 100
Most Influential Engineers
Engineers Without Borders Australia’s CEO, Lizzie Brown,
has been named one of Australia’s 100 Most Influential
Engineers of 2013.
The list, compiled by Engineers Australia annually, looks
at the ability of those nominated to participate in and lead
business, innovation and change. Brown was recognised as
an influential engineer in the Community category.
Since 2010 Brown has been CEO of EWB, a not-for-profit
organisation with 10 years experience creating systemic
change through humanitarian engineering. In the last 12
months alone EWB has contributed towards building the
technical and engineering capacity of over 40 community
organisations across seven countries in areas such
as water supply and sanitation, renewable energy and
engineering education.
Brown now leads a movement of 15,000 people and
engineering companies working together to improve
the quality of life in developing communities through
humanitarian engineering.
“It is an honour it is to be recognised on the list and have
the work EWB is doing nationally and internationally
acknowledge by Engineers Australia. It is great to see
that Engineers Australia has included Community as a
category for the first time this year,” said Brown.
Brown joined EWB as a volunteer in Brisbane in
2004, assisting with the foundation of the South East
Queensland Chapter. She took on the role of Director
of Education in 2006 before becoming the Operations
Director in 2009. She relocated to Melbourne to take on
the role of CEO in May 2010. www.ewb.org.au
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Research Papers and
Detailed Technical
Reports
A Practical Guide To Shaft Alignment
www.theammj.com/264pdf/alignment.pdf
This 63 page handbook from Pruftechnik Ltd
provides basic information and guidelines for the
implementation of good shaft alignment for standard rotating
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63 Pages
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machine systems. Laser alignment is an essential component of a viable
maintenance strategy for rotating machines. In isolation each strategy can
help to reduce unexpected failures but taken together they form the hub of a
proactive maintenance strategy that will not only identify incipoient problems
but allows extending machine operating life considerably.
www.pruftechnik.com
Each issue of the AMMJ includes a section dedicated
to research and new technology in the fields of asset
management, maintenance, maintenance engineering,
reliability, condition monitoring, plant engineering, general plant
equipment, tools, energy, HVAC, plant services, bearings,
compressed air systems, lighting, training, environment, etc..
The publication of technical reports, thesis and project reports
in the fields of maintenance and reliability has in the past been
very much neglected.
The AMMJ can now provide an outlet for your work in these
fields. Each selected Paper or Report will be published in full
(as received) in the form of a Downloadable PDF.
The AMMJ does not ask for exclusivity and you are free to
publish your papers in other publications as well as the AMMJ.
To Submit your Research Paper or Technical Report to the AMMJ email
as a PDF to: editor@theammj.com
Maintenance Labour Hours Analysis:
A Research Case Study Of
Schedule Compliance
www.theammj.com/264pdf/compliance.pdf
Fortunatus Udegbue fxudegbu@gmail.com
The objective of this paper is to draw our attention to the importance of
maintenance labor hour analysis and the usage of one of the associated
metrics “Maintenance schedule compliance”. This becomes very important to
ensure that we measure what we need to improve our business and have a
sound basis to bench mark this metric.
Asset Identification, Tracking,
Monitoring and Management
www.theammj.com/264pdf/asset.pdf
Companies, institutions and government departments are
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6 Pages
PDF Size 114KB
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8 Pages
PDF Size 700KB
starting to realise the benefits of managing their assets using dedicated Asset
Management software. In the past, organisations have not been keeping
proper records of their assets, or have only managed them with modest
levels of information that was manually recorded or on basic computer
systems. www.asp.com.au
57
AMMJ
July 2013
The AMMJ publishes these papers as received and does not accept
any liabilities in regards to the contents of the above papers.
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58
AMMJ
October July 20132012
AMMJ
General Information
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made or opinions expressed in articles, features,
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reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted
in any form by any means, including electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the publisher or
within the conditions applicable to a subscription.
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Management, Plant Engineering, MRO and
Stores. Readers from Over 130 Countries.
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Starting in the September Issue:
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