Hydrocarbon Processing - November 2021 - 15

Reliability
HEINZ P. BLOCH, RELIABILITY/EQUIPMENT EDITOR
Heinz.Bloch@HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Houston: We have another problem
The state of understanding science and
facts on one side and distinguishing these
from anecdotes and far-fetched opinions
on the other side, should be concerning
to us. Institutions of higher learning can
be disinclined to teach needed, applicable
or actionable knowledge. While there has
been talk about apprenticeship training,
we have also heard selfish comments to
the contrary. Fear was expressed that the
trained technical person will be hired away
by companies that themselves do not invest
in training. As a result of this prevailing
mindset, little or nothing is done.
Moreover, an overdependence on the
Internet causes some to not learn how to
" connect the dots " and to often miss seeing
matters in their proper context.
In need of more lubrication knowledge.
Decades ago, it became evident
that lubrication issues in process industries
caused disproportionate financial
underperformance. Experts knew that
with a little more forethought, industry
could capture large benefits from reliability
improvements. At that time, I approached
one of the department heads
at a major university and suggested that
they add an undergraduate course in lubrication
technology.
The department head's answer was
swift. He said his university would become
the laughingstock of its peers for
teaching engineers how to use an oil can
or grease gun to refill bearing housings
and he, for one, would neither support
nor even mention such a recommendation
to his fellow educators. In the roughly
30 yr since floating this recommendation,
I have dealt with ever more lubrication
matters. I was given ample opportunities
to contribute to books on lubrication
technology and testify as an expert
witness on lubrication-related mistakes
in U.S. courts, as well as international
courts of arbitration in Washington, D.C.
and London, UK. I am firm in my understanding
that lubrication knowledge adds
FIG. 1. Pump manufacturers at work in Cressier, Switzerland.
much more value than meets the eye of
the uninformed or indifferent observer.1
Consider imitating the successes
of others. I have probably lived long
enough to see how reluctant people in
authority can be to give others an opportunity
to comment on matters, before deciding
on a course of action that may (or
may not) be the best. While completing a
3-yr apprenticeship in 1953 and qualifying
for work in a rather basic technology
craft, the writer and his peers spent 20%
of their working hours as apprentices in
trade schools. Mandated by Germany's
Federal Education Ministry, this schooling
covered the relevant theories and sciences
underlying their respective crafts.
In 1958, the prescribed curriculum for
mechanical engineering studies at the
New Jersey Institute of Technology included
a hands-on machine shop course.
With apologies for inserting a personal
note: Between my second and third
years of engineering college, I spent a
few months at a BASF site that operated
55,000 process pumps. In short, there do
not seem to be any downsides to simply
imitating the approach taken by other
successful industrial societies. Thoughtful
education in both theory and practice
will benefit society.
My recipe for success would be for a
university (or universities) located somewhere
between Brownsville, Texas and
Mobile, Alabama to offer a BS degree
in fluid machinery engineering. Internships
would be arranged at one or more
top-tier companies that repair and upgrade
process pumps, dynamic and positive
displacement gas compressors, and
various types of turbines for customers
around the world.
Companies that would make room
for these internships might make it one
of their priorities to point out best available
equipment-related components and
maintenance avoidance strategies (FIG. 1).
These would range from amendments to
API equipment standards to foundation
Hydrocarbon Processing | NOVEMBER 2021 15
Hydrocarbon Processing - November 2021

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