Plant Services - February 2008 - (Page 7)

FROM THE EDITOR mike brenner, group publisher mbrenner@putman.net editorial staff paul studebaker, cmrp pstudebaker@putman.net russell l. kratowicz, p.e. cmrp editor in chief executive editor managing editor senior web editor senior technical editor group art director art director contributing editor contributing editor contributing editor contributing editor contributing editor contributing editor russk@putman.net lisa towers Change agent One plant’s path to proactive maintenance ltowers@putman.net michael ermitage dan hebert, p.e., mermitage@putman.net dhebert@putman.net stephen c. herner jennifer dakas sherner@putman.net jdakas@putman.net david berger, p.eng. peter garforth sheila kennedy joel leonard r. keith mobley, cmrp ricky smith, cmrp A publication services carmela kappel jerry clark jack jones ckappel@putman.net jclark@putman.net jjones@putman.net rita fitzgerald assistant to the publisher v.p., circulation circulation director production manager reprints marketing manager rfitzgerald@putman.net claudia stachowiak Foster Reprints claudia@fostereprints.com (866) 879-9144 ext. 121 administrative staff john m. cappelletti julie cappelletti-lange keith larson rose southard president/ceo vice president v.p., content it director PLANT SERVICES (ISSN 0199-8013) is published monthly by Putman Media, Inc., 555 West Pierce Road, Suite 301, Itasca, IL 60143. Phone (630) 467-1300, Fax (847) 291-4816. Periodicals Postage paid at Itasca, IL and additional mailing offices. Canada Post International Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement No. 40028661. Canadian Mail Distributor Information: Frontier/BWI,PO Box 1051, Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada, L2A 5N8. Printed in U.S.A. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to PLANT SERVICES, Putman Media, Inc., PO Box 3435, Northbrook, IL 60065-3435. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Qualified reader subscriptions are accepted from PLANT SERVICES managers, supervisors and engineers in manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Canada. To apply for qualified-reader subscriptions, please go to www.plantservices.com. To non-qualified subscribers in the U.S., subscriptions are $96 per year. Single copies are $15, except the August and October issues which are $36. Canadian and foreign annual subscriptions are accepted at $145 (Foreign airmail $200/ yr). Single copies are $81. © 2008 by Putman Media, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without consent of the copyright owner. In an effort to more closely align with our business partners in a manner that provides the most value to our readers, content published in PLANT SERVICES magazine appears on the public domain of PLANT SERVICES’Website, and may also appear on Websites that apply to our growing marketplace. Putman Media, Inc. also publishes CHEMICAL PROCESSING, CONTROL, CONTROL DESIGN, FOOD PROCESSING, INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING, THE JOURNAL, PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURING and WELLNESS FOODS. PLANT SERVICES assumes no responsibility for validity of claims in items published. out,” he said. “It was failing and would t the recent Ultrasound World have caused unplanned downtime.” conference, the most powerThis “right call” built trust in the ful presentations were made by system, but Denver needed to untechnicians with first-hand experience derstand how different loads, speeds, with the nuances of the technologies and applications, materials, etc. affect the how they interact with real equipment readings, and how to deal with them on the plant floor. Of those, the most to make reliable findings. He learned memorable was by Denver Osthoff. to record and trend “decibel” readings Denver’s management bought an (if the reading rose 20 ultrasonic instrument in decibels, the bearing 2003 as part of a corpoDenver made it should get attention), rate initiative to implethe first step in training ment enhanced PdM look easy. that earned him Level 1 technologies. The mecertification. chanics were practiced at Denver’s presentation included muland partial to the screwdriver method tiple cases in which detecting incipient of bearing evaluation – put the end failures turned potential unplanned of a long screwdriver on the housing downtime events at costs of $70,000 and the handle up to an ear to listen or more apiece into planned repairs at to a bearing, lever the shaft or bearless than $2,000. The plant now has ing holder with a big screwdriver or three Level 1 technicians and, he says, prybar to detect looseness. As a group, “In the past two years we haven’t exthey weren’t interested in trying to see perienced a catastrophic failure in our how the instrument would supplant plant with the exception of a pump their trusty screwdrivers. that we knew about before it failed.” But Denver agreed to give it a shot. When you talk with consultants With practice, he was able to idenand experts about the journey from tify the difference between typical reactive to proactive maintenance, and unusual sounds. The first time you tend to hear a lot about executive he encountered an alarming sound, involvement, top-down commitment, he wasn’t sure it meant anything, but KPIs, culture, change management he reported it to his supervisor. “The and other complications. mechanic working on the bearing was Denver made it look easy. sure it wasn’t failing,” Denver says. “But even though he wasn’t convinced the information was correct, the area supervisor made the call to replace it.” The old bearing wasn’t obviously PAUL STUDEBAKER, CMRP bad. “That night, after everyone else EDITOR IN CHIEF was gone, I cut it open and cleaned it pstudebaker@putman.net up, and sure enough, it was on its way (630) 467-1300 ext. 433 February 2008 www.PLANTSERVICES.com http://www.plantservices.com http://www.PLANTSERVICES.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Plant Services - February 2008

Plant Services - February 2008 Contents From the Editor Letters The PS Files Up and Running Crisis Corner What Works Asset Manager: Why Six Sigma? Technology Toolbox: Ensuring a Calm Response Cover Story: Best Practices Awards Lubricants: A Slick Success Story Motors: Reliable Torque Compressors: Before You Call for Help Web Hunter: Exploiting Intellectual Capital In the Trenches Product Picks Classifieds Fast Facts Energy Expert: Energy, Climate and Food

Plant Services - February 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.