Maintenance Technology May 2015 - (Page 13)

DON'T PROCRASTINATE...INNOVATE machine components that come in direct contact with the raw material or finished product. Typical examples can include: ■ ■ ■ Machine function-Friction linings for clutch and brake systems; hydraulic fluid for transmission, motion or braking systems; belting/sheaves or chain/sprockets for power transmission. Machine Systems-Bearing and gearbox lubricants; filter and breather devices; fluid seals; electrical fuses and anti surge devices; shear pins; covers and caps Direct-contact components-Wear bars and liners; belting or slat for product conveyance; guide cams and rails; contamination shields and deflectors. Adjustables are the items on a machine designed to be set up, adjusted or calibrated to compensate for delivery, speed, wear, misalignment, balance and out-of-true conditions due to site or machine conditions. Pinpointing weak links Identifying the consumable and adjustable items on a machine can be as simple as opening the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) manual to its specifications page where all its recommended oils and greases, replacement belt, sheaves, chains and sprockets, filters, fuses, tire sizes, etc. are usually listed. These specification pages are also where the adjustment specifications for calibrated products are listed, along with the acceptable wear limits for friction materials wear liners, and other items. Keeping in mind that the machine has been designed to operate perfectly with these strategic sacrificial weak links in place until the device or fluid becomes exhausted or worn to its critical replacement point-after which the machine will continue to run a short while before failing-it makes sense to design a failure-prevention program specifically around the condition of the weak-link devices. To aid in this type of program, simple Go/ No-Go measuring devices or gauges can be used. These can be included as part of a condition checklist PM program designed to monitor the state of MAY 2015 Identifying and focusing your proactive maintenance approach on a machine's weakest links is a fast, cost-effective way to achieve asset reliability. every weak-link device and report to planning and scheduling when an exception or No-Go state has been found requiring replacement of the weak-link device. This type of condition-based program is easy and inexpensive to implement. The key to its success is based on training the maintenance crew how to measure condition correctly, and execute the program with consistency and diligence. Training maintenance crews on these aspects includes instilling in them the discipline to respond quickly once a No-Go state has been found. Since one weak-link failure can accelerate other weak-link failures and can lead to major downtime repair, accurate checks and quick response times will pay huge dividends in machine life-cycle performance. Capturing the benefits To help ensure that you reap the dividends from machine performance that the approach will generate, the second part of this two-part column (coming in July) will investigate the undesired weak link, and how people behave in various situations that can seriously impact a machine's capability to perform either in a good or bad way. Meanwhile, remember that understanding and exploiting a machine's weakest links is simply a matter of reframing how we look at piece of equipment by stating, "You are the weakest link, hello!" Good luck! MT Ken Bannister is an asset-management consultant for Engtech industries, Inc., specializing in bestpractice ISO 55001 asset-management implementations. He can be reached at 519-469-9173, or kbannister@engtechindustries.com. MAINTENANCETECHNOLOGY.COM | 13 http://www.MAINTENANCETECHNOLOGY.COM

Maintenance Technology May 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maintenance Technology May 2015