Efficient Plant April 2018 - 6

column | editorial

What?
No Color?
Gary L. Parr
Editorial Director

We're presenting
our editorial in
black and white
this month to focus on the
fundamentals of making a plant
operate efficiently.

6

| EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM

T

HESE DAYS, AND rightfully so, our manufacturing
focus tends to be on moving
to the top quartile, data collection and
analysis, and Industrial Internet of
Things. In other words, all things digital. We focus on those factors because
implementing today's technology puts
reliability and maintenance professionals in a position to make significant
contributions to asset management and
the bottom-line profit increases that
result from efficient manufacturing.
But, in implementing all of this
leading-edge technology, it's very easy
to forget the fundamentals. As any
sports coach will tell you, no matter how
talented the players, if they don't execute
the fundamentals well, the outcome is
rarely positive.
This month we're shining some of
our spotlight on fundamentals, i.e., the
black-and-white functions of managing
assets that, if not done well, will be problematic for even best-in-class operations.
Think of it in terms of the numerous
times a leader in an auto race has been
eliminated because a $2 part failed.
To reflect our focus on these go, nogo fundamentals, we're presenting this
month's entire editorial content in black
and white. If you are one who reads a
magazine from the front and starts with
the editorial, you won't be surprised.
If you're someone who leafs through a
magazine from back to front and saves
the editorial for last, you now know that
the black-and-white graphics were intentional and not some printer error.
What are the fundamentals in our
issue spotlight? Here's a sampling:
 On p. 10, Randall Noon, answers
the question, "What's Wrong With My
Bolts?" by using two real-world myster-

ies to explain why bolts can be too loose
or too tight. He also provides an excellent refresher on bolt fundamentals.
 Vertical-motor bearings can be a
challenge to design and maintain.On p.
16, Jim Bryan of the Electrical Apparatus Service Association, St. Louis (easa.
com), helps you understand differences
between bearings used in horizontal and vertical motors, and how to
maintain vertical units so they provide
proper thrust, perform well throuoghout their life cycle, and don't leak.
 Klaus Blache helps you measure your
knowledge of reliability and maintenance basics. Start by turning to p. 8
to take a 25-question true-and-false
test. Be sure to have your colleagues
(management?) join you so you can
learn together. Then, turn to p. 35 to see
how well you did and read explanations
about each of the answers.
 Of course, no collection of fundamental plant information would be
complete without an article on the basics of lubrication and, this month, Ken
Bannister delivers. In his article "Lubricant Myths That Can Cost You," on
p. 35, Bannister covers misconceptions
about selecting lubricant types, under
and over lubricating, and cleanliness.
He also provides a checklist of reasons
for lubrication-related failures.
Finally, be sure to check out our
"Reliability & Maintenance Center"
section, starting on p. 30, for basics about
using SAP functions, cybersecurity,
compressed air systems, and chain-andsprocket maintenance. All told, it's a
black-and-white issue about black-andwhite topics, and we hope you find it
valuable enough to store on a shelf for
future reference. EP

gparr@efficientplantmag.com

APRIL 2018
http://www.EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Efficient Plant April 2018
