When personnel (both internal and outside contractors) is limited and budgets significantly reduced, monitoring the condition of plant equipment can be difficult. Pieces of equipment deemed “critical” frequently have fixed monitoring systems to detect symptoms of a future failure. However, less critical but equally important assets such as motors, blowers, pumps, and compressors all too often go unmonitored and relatively unnoticed until a problem occurs. The result? Costly repairs, replacements, and/or shutdowns that could have been avoided with early detection.…
Technical Articles
Debunking the Biggest Myths About the Skilled Trades
So, your high schooler informs you that they want to pursue a career in the skilled trades instead of attending a four-year university. Why is the thought of this so concerning? It’s likely due to the fact that we’ve engrained in the minds of an entire generation that the only plausible path to future success is via a four-year degree. Pursuing a vocational education (i.e. trade school) has been treated as a “Plan B/fall back option” for those who couldn’t…
Remembering the Real Reason We Celebrate Memorial Day
Memorial Day is on Monday, May 27th this year. As you plan your “kick-off to summer” celebrations that will undoubtedly include backyard cookouts, swimming pools, and blockbuster movie premieres, be sure to include a moment to honor the people who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our great country and for whom this holiday was created: our fallen veterans. Memorial Day – then and now Memorial Day was started three years after the Civil War ended, as a way…
A Cost-Effective Way to Manage Your Machine Assets in a Post COVID-19 World
To say that it’s been a rough start to 2020 would be a huge understatement. We’ve all been in survival mode – making tough decisions and what we hope are short term adjustments to how we conduct our business, and wondering when life will go back to normal…or if the “normal” we’ve known will ever exist again. If history has taught us anything it’s that short term measures required during global crises like the one we’re currently facing are often…
In This Together
These are strange and stressful times we’re living in right now. We greatly appreciate all of the courageous healthcare workers on the frontlines as well as the dedicated local and state officials who are all working tirelessly to do their part to contain this pandemic. We know decisions being made on all fronts are difficult and not done lightly. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those who have been personally impacted by COVID-19 and to those who have…
What is Vibration Analysis?
Any time a piece of machinery is running, it is vibrating. Industrial vibration analysis refers to a process for measuring the vibration levels and frequencies of machinery and then using this information to assess the “health/condition” of the machine and its components. A Brief History While vibration analysis of industrial machinery has been around for decades, it gained prominence in the 1970s with the introduction and widespread use of personal computers. This, along with the advent of digital signal processing,…
5 Tips for Implementing a Successful Predictive Maintenance Program
More and more companies are harnessing the power of Industry 4.0 and all it entails (IIoT, data, advanced analytics algorithms) and implementing predictive maintenance programs (PdM) in their facilities. When done correctly and monitored consistently, a PdM program can provide many benefits to a manufacturing facility. A few of these include: Reduction in machine failures Reduced downtime for repairs Reduction in stock of spare parts Increased understanding of machine trends Increased production Increased life of service parts However, while the…
Don’t Implement and Ignore…Tune In and Tune-Up Your CBM Program
It’s a scenario we see all too often… Company “XYZ” wants to start the new year off on the right foot. So, they implement a condition based monitoring program (CBM) with all the latest IIOT bells and whistles…and then promptly ignore it for the rest of the year, except if an alarm goes off. Fast forward to the end-of-the-year budget discussions. When cuts need to be made, all eyes turn to maintenance and the funds being spent on this CBM…
Why Vibration Analysis Should Be a Part of Your Regular Crane Maintenance
Installing a crane in your facility is a huge monetary investment and one you’ll want to protect. Just like with a car or any other piece of equipment or machinery, a crane needs regular inspections and maintenance to prolong its life, keep it operating at optimum efficiency, and to ensure employee safety. Yet cranes remain some of the hardest assets in a facility to access for inspection and maintenance purposes. There are OSHA regulations in place that purposefully limit access…
Are You Being Penny Wise and Pound Foolish with Your Maintenance Strategy?
As technological innovations and advancements continue to change the face of manufacturing at record pace, one thing remains the same no matter how “smart” our factories become: machines need maintenance. Yet as the current economic climate requires companies to produce more with less just to stay competitive, maintenance is often one of the first areas that executives look to for cost reductions. The thinking is typically along the lines of: Maybe maintenance can be delayed until a time when budget…
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