Maintenance Technology May 2016 - (Page 8)

ON THE FLOOR An outlet for the views of today's maintenance & reliability professionals Maintenance-Scheduling Triggers: Part 2 of 2 Jane Alexander Managing Editor A s noted in the April issue's introduction to this, two-part "On The Floor," when it rains, it pours. The overwhelming and detailed number of responses we received from our Reader Panelists regarding maintenance triggers simply wouldn't fit in two pages. Alas, even with this second installment, we regret that we haven't been able to capture all comments. To recap, we had asked these questions: 1. What triggers our Panelists' maintenance scheduling, or if they are consultants or industry suppliers, that of their client(s) or customer(s)? Sensors? OEM recommendations? Daily walks/ PdM tool data? Word of mouth? A combination? 2. Which approaches work best for them, and why, and vice versa? 3. Would Panelists (or their clients or customers) want to change their current maintenancescheduling process(es), and could they? If so, what would they do? Edited for brevity and clarity, here are several additional responses. College Electrical Laboratory Manager/Instructor, West... In our organization, we have different levels of maintenance staff. The maintenance crew ranges from technicians who have been at the job for 22 years to the college grads with two to three years on the job. Their diagnostic methods are very different. The operation uses a CMMS program to track the health of all process equipment. The seasoned technician walks around and touches all of the equipment at least once a day, checking for temperature, vibrations, loose parts, and strange smells. The newer technician uses some stateof-the-art test equipment: infrared heat sensors, vibration monitor, and sound-level indicators. All data go into the system so any potential problems can be handled. The process that works best varies because experience comes into play. Some pieces of equipment are very old and have their own personalities. Test equipment does not always catch some of the 8| MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY problems, but the experienced maintenance staff seems to be able to diagnose a pending problem through their touchy-feely methods. Keeping track of this history has reduced downtime on most of the equipment. Education on all processes and updated technologies has added to our success. We've been able to add preventive-maintenance hours to the schedule when we have tooling changes and other production breaks. Each experienced technician has a newer technician assigned to him for in-depth training. Every shift has a 15-min. maintenance-planning discussion before starting the daily operations. Sr. Maintenance Engineer, Process Industries, Midwest... [At our plant] it's a combination. Before last year, it was mostly set frequencies based on historical failure data, daily walks, or OEM requirements. Now, we have tied our real-time data-collection system to our EAM software and are doing more and more condition-based scheduling using online temps, vibes, run-hours, levels, etc. We still do "all of the above," but have become more well-rounded. I'm not sure there is a best approach. Any of them work. It's dependent on the situation. In some cases, walk arounds are the best because the equipment is new, or not in a harsh service, or has no failure history. In other cases, we have to monitor key operating metrics very closely to detect slight changes that signal the start of the failure curve. The best approach is often learned from past results. It would be great to have everything monitored online and condition-based, but it's not feasible, so, we continue to be flexible and adjust where necessary, using all forms of monitoring to gather the needed data. Planned Maintenance Supervisor, Midwest... Our maintenance is scheduled through a combination of methods. Sometimes maintenance, such as filter replacement, lubrication, and some oil changes, is performed after the equipment has operMAY 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maintenance Technology May 2016

Editorial
Uptime
On The Floor
A 40% Production Boost From Reliability
Beck Helps Women Excel In Engineering
Unleash Your Plant's Hidden Potential
Right-Size Your Maintenance Organization
Respect The Cornerstones of Manual Grease Lubrication
Motor Connection Advice
Maximize Millennial Workers
Compressed Air Filtration
Pneumatic Tubing & Hose Specs
Products
Showcase
Ad Index
Final Thought

Maintenance Technology May 2016