Plant Services - August 2008 - (Page 32)

MANAGEMENT Personnel the hands of operators or maintenance engineers, not in a file cabinet,” says Scott Miller, business manager, asset management, Rockwell Automation (www.rockwellautomation.com/rock wellsoftware/assetmgmt). thought it was in the automation system and made about 150 modifications – tweaks – before they figured out it was actually a mechanical problem. They fixed that in an hour, but now the machine was out of control. Maintenance departMents aren’t doing the work – they’re Managing and outsourcing. It can be a challenge to justify the ROI without having a disaster and losing all your machine settings. “It’s an insurance kind of sale,” Miller says, “but its value is in the daily occurrences that add up. Changes in run rates due to small changes don’t shut the plant down, but they add up. The system lets you detect and back out small problems.” “One client had a problem they worked on over a weekend. They They were able to point back 150 versions and put the machine controls back where they were on Friday.” Sublet expertise “Years ago, there used to be big maintenance programs,” says Tim Last, business development manager, Atlas Copco (www.atlascopco.com). “We used to train customers and sell spare parts, and show owners how to maintain and troubleshoot. But now, maintenance depart- Our repeat customers are few and far between. And frankly, we’re pretty happy about that. We’ve got a long list of satisfied customers. But as happy as they are, it will be a long time before we hear from them again. It’s because they’re using HammerTek’s Smart Elbow® in their conveying system. Other elbows wear out fast and need to be replaced often. We’ve seen it with pretty much anything transported through conveying systems. But the Smart Elbow® relies on deflection — not impact — eliminating the impact-related problems with virtually every other conveying elbow. Take advantage of our free trial* and see for yourself why the Smart Elbow® is built to endure. *please call for complete details. P.O. Box 416, Landisville, PA 17538 • 888-82-ELBOW • 717-898-7665 • Fax 717-898-9279 www.hammertek.com/impo • email: elbows@hammertek .com ments aren’t doing the work – they’re managing and outsourcing.” Industrial facilities have always relied on outside services for niche expertise as well as manpower to help handle shortterm heavy work loads. Now many are trusting contractors to fill a broader range of knowledge gaps. Equipment vendors, specialist companies and full-service contractors are offering every level of assistance, from scheduled maintenance to full responsibility for systems and machines. “It saves cost due to economy of scale,” Last says. “We know compressors, and we improve reliability of pressures and machines. We actually do the preventive maintenance and we change parts in time, so uptime has risen from 80% to 90% 10 years ago to 99.9% these days.” Focusing on an area of expertise and competing against other service providers can give vendors an edge over your in-house staff. “We are always learning new things and trying new things, and some of them work,” Last says. “We often can solve a problem, reduce a cost, or make an improvement at much lower cost than clients could do on their own.” Vendors often offer global breadth and deep expertise. “Wherever you are, we have people with 10 years or 15 years of experience,” Last says. “People tend to stay with us, so they know the processes and machines. The same is true of our distributors.” Service technician pools are growing quickly. “There’s lots of competition for the kinds of people we’re recruiting,” Last adds. “We must offer good possibilities, packages and training. “Will a service provider watch out for your best interests? We offer value for money, to help you invest in solutions like systems that save energy, monitor compressors 24/7, etc., that we’ve come up with because we’re monitoring so many compressors in so many places. And there’s plenty of competition – companies that can do similar things – and that’s raising the standard.” August 2008 32 www.PLANTSERVICES.com Made in the USA http://www.rockwellautomation.com/rockwellsoftware/assetmgmt http://www.atlascopco.com http://www.hammertek.com/impo http://www.hammertek.com/impo http://www.PLANTSERVICES.com

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

Plant Services - August 2008 Contents From the Editor Letters The PS Files Up and Running Crisis Corner What Works Asset Manager Technology Toolbox Cover Story Compressors Lubrication Valves Web Hunter In the Trenches Product Picks MRO Marketplace Classifieds Energy Expert

Plant Services - August 2008

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