Mtfebruary 2016

An Applied Technology Media Publication
FEBRUARY 2016
Unreliability's
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Voice from the Field
C2C Assets
Stopping Leaks
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MAINTENANCE
TECHNOLOGY
THE SOURCE FOR RELIABILITY SOLUTIONS
CONTENTS
FEBRUARY 2016 VOL. 29, NO. 2 MaintenanceTechnology.com
16
13
One way to help management

understand the importance of
establishing and supporting a
reliability program is to demonstrate the cost of unreliability.
Learn how on p. 13.
DEPARTMENTS
4
6
8
29
30
39
46
47
48
My Take
Uptime
On The Floor
Internet of Things
ISO 55000
Products
Ad Index
Showcase
Final Thought
FEATURES
13
Calculate the True Cost of Unreliability
Economic impact on manufacturers that haven't bought into the idea of failurefree operation is easy to determine, and more important, enormous.
Al Poling, CMRP
16 Patience and Perseverance
End-user Clinton Davis recalls the

patience and perseverance required in the
maintenance and reliability overhaul at
the Gwinnett County (GA) Department of
Water Resources.
Michelle Segrest, Contributing Editor
20
Visit our new,
updated website;
live now!
FEBRUARY 2016
Manage Assets from

Cradle to Cradle
Moving out of the traditional 'cradleto-grave' mode has significant

benefits for your operations.
Ken Bannister, MEch Eng (UK),

CMRP, MLE, Contributing Editor
...
For information on February's
Web-exclusive content,
see page 2.
20
CENTER
25 Think Before
Tightening
26 Encourage
Hidden
Coaches
27 Best VFD
Selection
28 KISSing is
Good
32
Take Oil-Sample Analysis

To the Cloud
36
Drive On-Time LPG Deliveries

MAINTENANCETECHNOLOGY.COM | 1
WHATS NEW THIS MONTH AT
INTERNET OF THINGS
New Website Section: Internet of Things

Internet of Things technology is rapidly becoming a major
influence on how we collect maintenance and reliability
data and how we use that information to increase
uptime. Visit our new website section regularly to keep abreast of the latest
developments in this exciting area.
Bookmark MaintenanceTechnology.com/iot.
ISO 55000
New Website Section: ISO 55000

The ISO 55000:2014 Asset
Management Standard defines the
requirements for a "management system for managing assets." We'll keep
you informed about the impact this Standard will have on maintenance
and reliability in our new website section.
MAINTENANCE
TECHNOLOGY
THE SOURCE FOR RELIABILITY SOLUTIONS
February 2016 Volume 29, No.2

ARTHUR L. RICE
Chairman
arice@maintenancetechnology.com
GLEN GUDINO
President
ggudino@maintenancetechnology.com
PHIL SARAN
Vice President/Group Publisher
psaran@maintenancetechnology.com
GARY L. PARR
Editorial Director
gparr@maintenancetechnology.com
JANE ALEXANDER
Managing Editor
jalexander@maintenancetechnology.com
GREG PIETRAS
Managing Editor, Print/Emedia
gpietras@maintenancetechnology.com
ROBERT BOB WILLIAMSON
KENNETH E. BANNISTER
MICHELLE SEGREST
Contributing Editors
FRANCES JERMAN
Creative Director
fjerman@maintenancetechnology.com
MARGA PARR
Editorial Production
mparr@maintenancetechnology.com
MARIA LEMAIRE
Electronic Marketing Manager
mlemaire@maintenancetechnology.com
ELLEN SANDKAM
Direct Mail, Showcase
847-382-8100, ext. 110
esandkam@atplists.com
Bookmark MaintenanceTechnology.com/iso55k.
Editorial Office
535 Plainfield Road, Suite A
Willowbrook, IL 60527
847-382-8100 / FAX 847-304-8603
MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY APPS
Maintenance Technology App

The Maintenance Technology app for iOS, Android, and Kindle provides
each month's edition in a clear, readable format optimized for tablets and
phones. Browse the archives to catch up on articles and information you
missed. Discover the latest maintenance and reliability strategies, news,
and products in a format that works for you.
For more, visit MaintenanceTechnology.com/Apps.
Find the above, along with extra news and

products, the MT archives and more at
MaintenanceTechnology.com.
2|
MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY
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FEBRUARY 2016
Asset Analysis: Easily

compare complex data
MEASUREMENTS
ASSETS
WORK ORDERS
Tim Smith
TEAM
Thermal Image
Seattle Team
GRAPH VIEW: PAST 3 MONTHS
4/24/2015
2/24/2015 11:45 AM | Tom Smith

Work Order 60021467
4/24/2015 11:15 AM | Tom Smith

Work Order 60021621
CHANGE IMAGE
Display Markers
MEASUREMENTS
SEE IT. SAVE IT.

SHARE IT.
Alarms
Status
Organize Assets
Organize Assets
Building 1
Seattle Team
Asset List
Asset Health
All Assets
ADD ASSET
Building 1
IMPORT ASSET
Building 2
12
18
30
EDIT LIST
999+
Building 3
ASSETS
WORK ORDERS
Tim Smith
TEAM
FILTER
SEARCH ASSET
Include asset from subgroups
Building 2
Seattle Team
Building 3
Status
Asset
Last Status Change
North Campus > Building 1 > Floor 1
2/21/15 8:23AM
External Pump
Will Jones
2/21/15 6:46AM
Circulation 3
Jake Brown
Asset List & Health
Asset List
Asset Health
Asset Status: Get a complete

view of asset health
All Assets
North Campus
Tim Smith
TEAM
Asset List & Health
North Campus
ASSET
Status
WORK ORDERS
All Assets
Building 1
Alarms
ASSETS
ASSET
South Campus
MEASUREMENTS
CHANGE IMAGE
ON
Overview
YEAR: 2014
South Campus > Building 2 > Floor 1
2/20/15 10:18PM
Line 2 Supply
Larry Davis
2/20/15 7:48PM
Field Pump 7
Larry Davis
Building 2
Building 3
2014 Asset Status Overview
South Campus
Normal
70%
Moderate
13%
Total
Assets
Serious
10%
523
Extreme
7%
Building 1
Building 2
Building 3
2/20/15 10:32AM
Compressor 1
Mark Wilson
2/20/15 6:14AM
Circulation 2
Mark Wilson
2/19/15 7:58PM
Field Pump 2
Larry Davis
Asset Health: Visualize maintenance

Asset Status Summary
data to make it actionable
VIEW BY: NUMBER
VIEW OPTIONS: MONTH
YEAR: 2014
2014 Monthly Asset Status
NORMAL
MODERATE
SERIOUS
EXTREME
NUMBER OF ASSETS
50
45
40
35
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16
14
MY TAKE
Do You Want
To Know The Truth?
Jane Alexander
Managing Editor
checked in with an old friend the other day.

Heinz Bloch will be the first to admit that hes
not everybodys cup of tea. But hes mine. I
met him approximately 16 years ago and hes
been sharing words of wisdom with me ever since.
Our latest communications involved issues raised
in my December and January columns on the state
of reliability efforts across industryand lack of
management support for them.
As Heinz recently explained to a correspondent
who wondered what hed been up to lately, hes
still around, but tends to get to his point a little
faster than in the past (which he sometimes
regrets).Every once in a while, he wrote, I
participate in a failure investigation and get
more and more depressed. His recap
of such a gig and getting to the point
sparked this months My Take.
In late 2015, Heinz was called
into a plant to examine the
Not paying
attention to the
lessons learned by
others is not only
expensive, it can
be deadly.
Industry Icon
Heinz Bloch
4|
cremains (his words) of a

failed pump. Meeting with site
reliability personnel, consensus
was obtained on various deviations from best
practices. In this instance, those deviations had
converged and led to a near-miss incident. The
group then met with management to report on the
collective findings and recommendations.
As the meeting was about to adjourn, one
manager asked Heinz if he had made any other
relevant observations. His answer was another
question: Do you want to hear the truth? Unfortunately, he immediately realized that was the worst
possible reply he could have given. The managers
yes, would expose the meeting attendees to a long

list of deficiencies and risks. The managers no
would be even worse in the eyes of the attendees.
(As it turned out, that curious manager really did
want to hear the truth. Heinz obliged by revealing
more than a few problems.)
The point of this story, as Heinz noted, is that
industry can only hope good top managers are
serious about addressing the deficiencies found
at their sites. None of us stands to gain, he said,
from being indifferent to the costly mistakes of
others. Re-learning all over again and not paying
attention to lessons learned by others is not only
expensive, it can be deadly.
Think of the benefits to be had if managers across
industry would, in his words again, institutionalize
accountability at all levels. Insistence on facts
and accountability will ruffle many feathers, he
explained but ruffling feathers today would be a
very small price to pay for tomorrows operations.
To that end, Heinz continues urging managers
to annoy those they manage with advice to read
books and articles. They need help to acquire
factual knowledge, he said. He also believes its
acceptable for managers to inflict a bit of discomfort
on some of their engineers by insisting that they
present facts instead of mere opinions.
Asked to sum up what industry, in general,
could be doing to improve the state of reliability, he
quickly pointed to a time-tested, proven solution.
If we would groom and nurture maintenance and
reliability professionals, perhaps with apprenticeship
programs similar to what Siemens and DaimlerBenz have been doing for the past 120 years, he
said, we would not be in the bad shape were in
today. To put things in perspective, he continued,
If we trained, nurtured, held on to personnel, and
rewarded in the right manner, we wouldnt have
six deviations from best practices, say, on a single
component, which, in turn, could lead to the type of
previously referenced cremains of a critical pump
and associated near-miss incident.
Truth be told, whatever your cup of tea may be,
Heinz Bloch continuesfeisty as everto give
us much to think about. I am eager to hear your
thoughts. MT
jalexander@maintenancetechnology.com
FEBRUARY 2016
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UPTIME
A Top Management
Standard: The Missing Link
Bob Williamson
Contributing Editor
he term top management in the

ISO55000:2014 Asset Management
Standard is referenced throughout the
documents. In fact, top management has
the overall leadership responsibility to establish
the Asset Management System, as specified in the
ISO55001 requirements.
But, the leadership responsibility of the very
top of the organization, in pursuit of best-in-class
operations and maintenance, is not new by any
means. How the business equipment, machinery,
and facilities operate has a direct impact on the
balance sheet. So, why is it so difficult for top
management to play a key leadership role?
Top-management's leadership is
crucial in best-in-class pursuits.
Maintenance traditions
Maintenance of equipment, machinery, and
facilities has been the responsibility of a plant
engineering or maintenance department for
generations. New maintenance methods and technologies have evolved to solve problems, improve
maintenance efficiency, and ultimately keep the
physical assets running smoothly. The maintenance
department became one of many individual
departmentsorganizational siloswith an
accompanying charter and budget. Organizational
finance and accounting put maintenance into an
overhead expense category.
Traditionally, top managements responsibility
was to boost revenues and reduce expenses to meet
the profit goals for the business. Naturally, top
management became conditioned to treat maintenance as an overhead expense. As a result, the
maintenance department often became financially
constrained.
New equipment, machinery, and facilities
6|
projects frequently excluded operations and

maintenance involvement. Decisions were often
made based on functionality and cost trade-offs.
Upon completion of the project phase the new
physical assets were turned over to operations and
maintenance. Top management applauded the
project that came in under budget and ahead of
schedule. Then, top management expected operations and maintenance to control their costs for the
remaining life of the new assets.
Life-cycle costs
According to Fabrycky and Blanchard (1991) A
major portion of the projected life-cycle cost of a
product, system, or structure is traceable to decisions made during the conceptual and preliminary
design. In other words, a major portion of the
maintenance costs and levels of process reliability
are established during the design and acquisition
phases.
The concepts of physical asset life-cycle cost and
total cost of ownership are not new by any means.
Military applications were developed back in the
1960s, and industrial models began emerging in
the early 1970s.
How often should top management involve
operations and maintenance in the new physicalasset project team? How often have operations and
maintenance actually been involved? Top management sets the overall project expectations.
Top management and life cycles

Since the introduction of the ISO55000 Asset
Management Standard in 2014, a new light has
been shed on the subjects of asset management,
reliability, organization-wide life-cycle management, and the role of top management. But, the
topic is not really new. Here are a few historical
insights to ponder from an old book in my library
(Husband, 1976):
There is a glaring need for an integrated
approach to physical-asset management.
It requires an appropriate strategy of management, at board level, to make it a success.
FEBRUARY 2016
UPTIME
It is necessary to lower the traditional boundaries between the design,

maintenance, finance, production,
and other functions.
At the design stage of the process, the
designer is disciplined to design out
maintenance and design in reliability.
The designer will also, of course, be
encouraged to design in maintainability where maintenance cannot be
completely eliminated.
The idea is that communications
between design, production, maintenance, and other key functions will be
such that ideas and hard results will
flow formally and consistently around
the system.
All of the activities involvedspecification, design, purchasing, commissioning, operating, maintenance,
replacementare already being
carried out in industry. One of the
most important tasks is to show
how (these) familiar individual activities can be combined or coordinated
to achieve greater overall efficiency
in the pursuit of common (business)
objectives.
No new component skills are
involved. The emphasis is entirely
on coordinating the existing skills of
a firms engineers, accountants, and
specialist managers.
Incompetently or badly planned
installation leaves a long legacy
of operating problems.insist on
the use of systematic methods of
managing the installation project.
These are all insights from what
was known as Terotechnology in the
late 1960s and early 1970s. Then, in
the 1980s, life-cycle management with
top-management commitment became
central to the success of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM).
In the book Introduction to Total
Productive Maintenance (Nakajima,
1988), the concepts of life-cycle costs
(LCC) are introduced at the onset. Later
in the book, Dr. Benjamin Blanchards
Life-Cycle Cost (1978), principles are
cited for TPM Step 11: Develop Early
Equipment Management Program
FEBRUARY 2016
Virtually 95-percent of life-cycle cost is

determined at the design stage.
Dr. Blanchard further explained
the important relationship of LCC
principles in the introduction to
Nakajimas book (1989) TPM Development Program. Blanchard stated that
upward of 75% of the life-cycle costs are
attributable to operational and maintenance activities.
Total Productive Maintenance
(TPM), as defined by the Japan Institute
for Plant Maintenance in the 1980s,
specified that the role of the top
management of the company was to
announce that TPM will be introduced
in the plant. Top management must
incorporate TPM into the basic
company policy and establish concrete
goals. TPM can succeed only with the
commitment of top management.
TPM is yet another example of
top management sanctioning an
organization-wide initiative to improve
the life-cycle effectiveness of their
production equipment.
Engaging top management

Establishing an asset-management
system must be a strategic decision, a
commitment, made by top management. Top management refers to the
individual or group that controls an
organization from the highest level.
This could be the board of directors,
the chief executive officer, and the other
C-level executives.
History has shown that this level of
top management often has a difficult
time getting behind an initiative that
spans the life cycle of an asset, a period
of time that typically outlives their
tenure in office. History has also shown
that top management seems to have
difficulty understanding the value of
maintenance in the asset life cycle and
the impact that the design phase has on
maintenance costs.
In this very brief review of assetmanagement initiatives, known by
various names, the ever-present
reference to the essential role of top
management is stressed. We all should
know that, without real top-management commitment, asset-management

initiatives will continue to be misunderstood as yet another maintenance
program, or receive little of the
organization-wide, multi-department
collaboration required to fundamentally
establish a life-cycle asset-management
system.
In the absence of an international
standard for a Top Management
Management System we must learn
to collaborate, to educate, and to
aggressively pursue life-cycle asset
management as the right thing to do. It
wont be very long before the traditional
approaches to caring for our equipment,
machines, and facilities become highly
ineffective. MT
Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM,

and a member of the Institute of Asset
Management, is in his fourth decade of
focusing on the people-side of world-class
maintenance and reliability in plants
and facilities across North America.
Contact him at RobertMW2@cs.com.
References:
Benjamin S. Blanchard, Design and

Manage to Life Cycle Cost, M/A Press,
1978, Oregon.
W.J. Fabrycky and Benjamin S.
Blanchard, Life Cycle Cost and
Economic Analysis, Prentice Hall
1991, NJ.
T.M. Husband, Maintenance Management and Terotechnology, Saxon
House 1976, England.
Seiichi Nakajima, Introduction to
Total Productive Maintenance,
Productivity Press (English printing)
1988, JIPM (Japanese) 1984.
Seiichi Nakajima, Editor, Total
Productive Maintenance (TPM)
Development Program, Productivity
Press (English printing) 1989, JIPM
(Japanese) 1982.
ON THE FLOOR
An outlet for the views of
todays maintenance
& reliability professionals
Aligning Team Goals

With Corporate Goals
Jane Alexander
Managing Editor
lignment, in the context of this magazine,

typically refers to the actual aligning of
equipment and components in plants and
facilities. There is, however, another area
of alignment that should be just as important to
our readers and their organizations: the alignment
of maintenance and reliability goals with corporate
business goals.
As listed here, this months Reader Panel questions have generated quite a number of thoughtful
answers. In short, we asked our panelists the
following:
'Every day, management has a meeting

on the floor where all aspects of daily
operations are addressed.'
1. If they were aware of their company/organiza-
tions corporate business goals (or, if consultants, those of their clients/customers) beyond
increasing profits and how these goals are
communicated.
2. Assuming they were aware of these types of
corporate goals, how did their maintenance
and/or reliability goals (or those of their clients/
customers) align, and in what areas was there
misalignment.
3. Did their maintenance and/or reliability departments (or those of their clients/customers)
have a focused plan to improve and sustain
alignment with corporate business goals and, if
not, what was preventing the establishment of
such a plan?
Its clear these questions overlap to some
degreeand thats the way most of this months
respondents chose to answer them. Some
responded to all questions, others to just one. Thus,
for the sake of clarity and brevity, weve edited and
compiled the separate answers from each panelist
8|
into a single response from the individual. We also

indicate with which industrial sectors they are
associated.
Maintenance Leader, Manufacturing,

Midwest
Good question this month! At our company,

in each plants main information center and in
department huddle areas, information boards state
the following: our mission statement, our goals for
the year, and a daily update of production achieved
versus our customer demands. We also have
plant-wide meetings throughout the year. Every
day, management has a meeting on the floor where
all aspects of daily operations are addressed. This
[meeting] includes maintenance personnel.
From the maintenance-end of the business,
PM scheduling is addressed, along with any other
project work that is scheduled. Also, each day at
the start of all shifts, each maintenance team has a
huddle to discuss the following: uptime, downtime,
PM scheduling, PM compliance, response times,
and burden rate. I would say, that these goals are
communicated welldaily, weekly, monthly, and
yearlyto the entire team. In conclusion, our goals
across the board, other than increasing profits, are
one of the things that I feel is done well within our
company.
Industry Consultant, West
[Regarding my clients corporate business goals],

the safety aspect is emphasized every day, with crew
safety meetings and safety KPIs that are shared
weekly (with most clients) or monthly (with fewer
of my clients). The link between planned/scheduled
work and safety is reinforced in what I teach (at the
request of upper management). Having spent 30
years as a craftsman working in the trenches, I wish
this emphasis had started long ago.
From the 30,000-ft. level, operations maintenance, and reliability groups seem aligned, yet
most times (with my clients), closer examination
reveals that operations wants the machine to run
when they want it to run. But usually, the operaFEBRUARY 2016
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tions group has little or no interest in

performing maintenance. At the very
least, it is low on their priority list, and
when maintenance is performed, it is
[done] without enthusiasm and ownership. Eventually, the maintenance/reliability group has to step in and repair
the equipment that was not properly
maintained.
The feeling seems to be that operations ought to operate the equipment,
not maintain it, and that the maintenance/reliability group ought to
keep the equipment running, without
need to understand the process or the
expectations from the equipment.
One of my clients has really emphasized the importance of maintenance/
reliability group influence on the
business plan. They update all of the
personnel in the plant on the KPIs tied
to the maintenance/reliability group.
The upper management group also
makes the correlation for all of the plant
personnel showing how reliability is
tied to the weekly production targets
and customer-relations aspect of the
business. To achieve established goals,
a multi-tiered plan, with monitoring of
performance, is published for all plant
personnel to see. For its maintenance/
reliability group to be successful, this
client has spent a lot of money on
training for planning, scheduling, and
precision-maintenance work, advanced
industrial-engineering training, supervisor training, and stores-department
improvement.
Other clients know that there needs
to be an investment in the maintenance/
reliability groups to bring them up to
speed, but they dont have the incentive
to invest the funds for that improvement. They will spend far too much
on emergency repairs, rather than on
prevention. Corporate-level and plant
upper-management being reactionary
instead of proactive prevents improvement of maintenance/reliability teams.
Technical Supervisor,
Energy Sector, Northwest
[Corporate] goals (safety, budget,

and operations) are communicated
10 |
share their
we dont have any other option than to

align with the companys operations
goals. The misalignment is evident
at the plant or floor level where this
objective meets reality. Capex (capital
spend), Opex (operational spend),
hiring, and training usually can be
delayed or put on hold every time goals
are not achieved.
Our company is on a journey of
excellence for that purpose [improving
and sustaining alignment of goals]. A
global and divisional center of excellence has been created. I lead the RCM
program at the divisional level. So
yes, we are moving slowly, but surely,
incorporating best practices, world-class
benchmarking, etc.
goals and listen
Now for one more question
throughout the organization with

monthly, quarterly, and annual updates.
[Through alignment of maintenance
and/or reliability goals with corporate
business goals] we maintain high unit
availability and minimize unit forced
outage events, and maintain the highest
standards in public and employee safety.
We have plans to continue to improve
our operation, minimize forced outages,
and maintain high unit availability to
'Good leaders
to their teams!'
provide the maximum value for our

members.
Reliability Engineer,
Manufacturing, Midwest
Im relatively new in the company (no

more than a year). At the corporate level
(where I work), I think there is some
clarity [regarding corporate goals].
There is a quarterly meeting where all
management in our division is informed
on how we are doing, where are we
going, and the challenges ahead.
Our RCM (reliability-centered
maintenance) program is part of a
center of excellence in our division, so
An industry consultant from the

Midwesta frequent participant in our
Reader Panel discussionsoffered a
more general comment about communicating corporate business goals and
aligning them with maintenance and/
or reliability goals. It adds a thoughtprovoking wrap-up to this column.
As he put it, weve touched on a very
sensitive point here. Only exceptional
organizations are conscious about the
benefits of keeping everyone in the
decision loop, he wrote. Goals should
actually be common property so people
can contribute their experiences and
ingenuity to ease the accomplishments
and improve the expectations. Good
leaders share their goals and listen to
their teams!
That leads to one final question:
How does your organization align with
respect to these observations? MT
About the MT Reader Panel

The Maintenance Technology Reader Panel includes approximately 100 working
industrial-maintenance practitioners and consultants who have volunteered to
answer monthly questions prepared by our editorial staff. Panelist identities are
not revealed and their responses are not necessarily projectable. Note that our
panel welcomes new members. To be considered, email your name and contact
information to jalexander@maintenancetechnology.com with Reader Panel in
the subject line. All panelists are automatically included in an annual cash-prize
drawing after one year of active participation.
FEBRUARY 2016
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Produced by:
RELIABILITY STRATEGIES
Calculate the
True Cost of
Unreliability
The economic impact on manufacturers that havent
bought into the idea of failure-free operation is easy
to determine and, more important, enormous.
Al Poling, CMRP
ALTHOUGH EXPERTS HAVE espoused the virtues of
equipment reliability for decades, countless manufacturing
operations still suffer significant and unnecessary downtime due to
equipment failure. Apparently these manufacturers haven't bought
into the benefits of failure-free operation. What will it take to get
them to accept the time-proven benefits of reliability? Perhaps
they will never be convinced by examples of other manufacturing
operations, believing that they are somehow unique. If the benefits
derived through reliable operation won't lead them to change,
perhaps an examination of the true cost of unreliability will.
The big picture

Businesses operate under the basic equation of: profit = sales
minus cost. Although equipment failures affect both sides of the
equation, this article focuses on the impact of unreliability on
maintenance coststypically the largest fixed costs in a processindustry manufacturing facility. End users can apply the following
calculations from a hypothetical plant to their own business and
develop an order-of-magnitude estimate of the impact of unreliability on maintenance costs at their site(s).
For purposes of these calculations, lets assume our hypothetical
operation has a plant replacement value (PRV) of US$1 billion and
a resident maintenance workforce of 150 craft-level employees.
Maintenance-labor cost
Maintenance costs in a plant include those for skilled craft labor
to repair and restore equipment to good operating condition
following a failure. The current average U.S. Gulf Coast, fully
loaded, maintenance skilled-craft wage rate is approximately
$45/hr. Using the U.S. standard of 2,080 hr./man-year, with an
estimated overtime rate of 5%, the cost/year/skilled craft worker is
approximately $100,000. Consequently, 150 skilled craft workers
will cost approximately $15 million/year. In terms of man-hours,
FEBRUARY 2016
including overtime, the number is about 300,000 man-hour/year.

Benchmarking studies have confirmed that best-performing
plants average 1% downtime due to unreliability/year, while
average performers suffer 7% downtime due to unreliability.
These numbers include annualized downtime for turnarounds.
To calculate the annualized downtime for turnarounds, simply
take the total downtime for your last turnaround and divide it by
the number of years between turnarounds. A 30-day turnaround
taken every three years equals 10 days of annualized downtime
due to the turnaround alone.
Best performers average less than four days of downtime/
year due to unreliability, including annualized downtime for
turnarounds. Average performers endure more than 25 days of
downtime/year due to unreliability.
There is a direct correlation between the number of equipment
failures and the number of craft workers required to effect repairs.
In theory, the average-performing manufacturer would have seven
times more maintenance craft workers than the best performer.
That, however, is in theory only. Achieving and sustaining failurefree operation requires truly skilled craft workers and, even they
have to focus their efforts on failure avoidance instead of repair.
Work sampling studies have revealed that the efficiency of
maintenance-craft workers is extremely high in highly reliable
operations, as their work is well defined and scheduled in advance.
In comparison to reactive maintenance, schedule interruptions
happen on an exception basis in a failure-free environment.
Instead of seven-times as many skilled craft workers needed in an
average-performing plant, we'll estimate (conservatively) that the
number is half that (or three and a half times).
With regard to maintenance labor, the cost of unreliability is the
difference between the number and associated cost of skilled craft
workers required to support a reliable operation versus an unreliable one. Assuming that the aforementioned 150 such workers,
costing $15 million/year, are working in an
operation suffering average unreliability,
the additional maintenance labor costs are
70% of the total$10.5 million/year. In
this example the true cost of unreliability
in skilled craft workers is an additional 105
such workers costing an additional $10.5
million/year, whereas a reliable operation
would only need 45 skilled craft workers.
This calculation does not factor in the
elimination of overtime that would be
found in a failure-free environment. While
equipment still fails, the impending failure
is discerned well in advance so repairs
can be made during normal maintenance
work hours.
LINE ITEM: $10,500,000 =
maintenance-labor
cost of unreliability
Maintenance-material cost
Repair material is another major element
of maintenance costs. Unfortunately, the
ratio of maintenance-material cost to
maintenance-labor cost varies by region
due to differences in the prevailing wage
and the availability (or lack) of repair
materials. Equipments material of
construction also factors into material-tolabor ratios.
A reasonable hypothesis is to use a oneto-one ratio of maintenance material to
maintenance labor. Applying this ratio to
our hypothetical plant with 150 maintenance craft workers at a cost of $10.5
million/year means the site spends another
$15 million on maintenance-repair material annually. Using the same approximation as we used with maintenance labor,
70% of these material costs would be
avoidable if the plant were operating in
a failure-free mode. In monetary terms,
this represents yet another $10.5 million
attributable to unreliability.
LINE ITEM: $10,500,000 =
maintenance-materials
Equipmentreplacement cost
In consequential failures, equipment
cannot be repaired and, thus, must be
replaced. Benchmarking studies have
shown that manufacturing operations
14 |
running their equipment to

failure spend exponentially more
than best performers spend on
maintenance capital, i.e., equipment replacement.
Manufacturers that take care
of their equipment and embrace
failure-free operation derive
extraordinary service-life from that
equipment. Conversely, those who
operate in a run-to-failure mode
wear out equipment quickly.
Run-to-failure is a particularly
costly maintenance strategy. Best
performers will spend 1% or less
of their PRV each year to replace
equipment that has reached the end of its
useful life. In contrast, average performers
will spend 3% to 5% annually on replacement equipment. Determining the true
cost of unreliability, therefore, requires
factoring in the price tag for equipment
replacement.
A reasonable assumption is that best
performers spend 0.5% of PRV and
average performers spend 4% of PRV
on annual equipment replacement.
That means, based on our hypothetical
plant, with a PRV of US$1 billion, a best
performer would be spending approximately $5 million annually on equipment
replacement due to unreliability, and an
average performer would be spending
approximately $40 million annually. Thus,
in our hypothetical example, the true cost
of unreliability reflects an additional $35
million/year for equipment replacement.
LINE ITEM: $35,000,000 =
equipment-replacement
Additional costs
Another significant maintenance cost
involves maintenance administration and
staff. Granted, there is not a direct correlation between the number of maintenance
salaried personnel and maintenance wage
personnel. Still, there are common ratios
of salaried to hourly wage personneland
they differ dramatically between better
and poorer performers. Merely reducing
numbers of skilled craft workers, though,
doesnt translate to an equal percentage
reduction in staff. For example, in
average-performing operations, there may
Unreliability: A Very
Expensive Proposition
The three largest maintenance-cost categories
affected by unreliability are maintenance labor,
maintenance material, and maintenance capital,
i.e., equipment replacement. In our hypothetical
manufacturing operation with a plant replacement value (PRV) of US$1 billion and resident
workforce of 150 skilled craft workers, we can
calculate the cost of unreliability individually and
collectively as follows to the right:
be more maintenance supervisors, but

the ratio of craft to supervisor positions
is higher. In best-performing operations,
the ratio of maintenance supervisors to
craft personnel is lower. This situation
results from recognition of the value of
maintenance supervisors as facilitators
who can greatly enhance the efficiency of a
maintenance workforce.
A similar condition exists with maintenance planners. Poor performers have
larger numbers of skilled craft workers/
maintenance plannerswith some of the
worst performers in the range of 60:1.
An individual maintenance planner cant
effectively serve such a large number
of skilled craft workersand is likely
operating in a reactive mode, expediting
materials or performing other duties
required to support reactive maintenance.
In contrast, the ratio of skilled craft
workers to planners at a best-performing
site is more apt to be in the 20:1 range.
With this type of ratio, a planner can
prepare detailed job plans, procure
materials, and efficiently perform other
planning functions. The net result is that
there will be no appreciable administration
and staff cost savings in moving from a
run-to-failure to failure-free environment.
This is due to changes in ratios of craft
to staff positions and the redeployment
of some personnel from reactive work
to proactive functions that are needed to
support failure-free operations.
Additional maintenance costs
affected by unreliability involve facilities,
including offices, shops, break rooms,
restrooms, and related infrastructure costs.
Rolling-stock requirements can also be
FEBRUARY 2016
$10,500,000 = maintenance-labor cost of unreliability

$10,500,000 = maintenance-materials cost of unreliability
$35,000,000 = equipment-replacement cost of unreliability
$56,000,000
TOTAL MAINTENANCE
COST OF UNRELIABILITY
affected, as can various support staff outside of the

maintenance function, such as human resources,
training, and safety. Generally speaking, though, there
is no substantive reduction in administration, staffing, and
related cost categories as a result of reducing and/or eliminating
unreliability.
The bottom line

As discussed here (and shown in the accompanying sidebar), the
true cost of unreliability is enormous. By adding up the previously
noted line-item maintenance costs for our hypothetical plant, we
can see that unreliability amounted to a staggering $56 million (or
80%) of unnecessary spending for maintenance labor, materials,
and equipment replacement costs.
Given this type of economic impact of unreliability, why dont
all manufacturing operations transition from failure-prone to
failure-free environments? Unfortunately, theres no single root
cause. Many factors contribute to the situation. Among them:
The constant distraction of equipment failures is akin to putting
out fires. Consequently, everyone is so focused on reacting that
they believe they cant take the time to implement measures
to avoid the failure. A fairly simple solution here would be to
devote a small number of employees to developing and implementing plans to avoid equipment failures. For this approach to
be effective, however, those proactive resources cant be dragged
back into firefighting mode. Otherwise, nothing will improve.
Poorer-performing operations rarely have a strategic plan or, if
they do, its typically mere window-dressing written to satisfy
corporate management. Without a well-thought-out vision or
mission, plant personnel will naturally accept the status quo as
the normal mode of operation.
There is a lack of leadership in poorer-performing manufacturing operations. Either the current management lacks the
requisite leadership skills or there are no incentives positive or
negative to change the status quo. Humans respond to stimulus.
If there are no consequences for being unreliable, nothing will
change. Conversely, if there are no rewards for becoming reliFEBRUARY 2016
$70,000,000 = Total current annual maintenance cost

for labor, material, and maintenance capital, i.e., equipment
replacement.
80% = Percentage of the total maintenance labor, maintenance material, and maintenance capital spent unnecessarily
due to unreliability.
At first glance, these figures may appear unrealistic. Theyre
not. The harsh reality is that unreliable operation is very
expensive for any manufacturer, regardless of size.
able, or if the existing reward system somehow perversely

rewards unreliable behavior, nothing will change.
Better-performing manufacturing operations typically share the benefits of failure-free operation
with all employees. As a result, everybody has
a stake in improved reliability.
While this discussion used a hypothetical
manufacturing site to illustrate the true cost
of unreliability, the same ratios can be applied
to obtain an order-of-magnitude estimate of the
cost of unreliability for your operations. Remember,
though, that someone needs to take the initiative before improvement can begin. MT
Al Poling has more than 35 years of reliability and maintenance
experience in the process industries, many of them spent in engineering and corporate-leadership roles with several companies.
A Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional (CMRP)
through the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (SMRP), he served as technical director of the organization from 2008 to 2010. Prior to starting his own consultancy,
Poling served as the project manager for Dallas-based Solomon
Associates International Study of Plant Reliability and Maintenance (RAM) Effectiveness, during which he worked with clients
to identify performance improvement opportunities through
benchmarking. For more information, contact al.poling@
ramanalytics.net.
LEARN MORE
The Business Case for Asset Reliability
maintenancetechnology.com/?p=5274
Choose Reliability of Cost Control
The Risk Is In The Management
Reliability Business Case: Conversion Costs
VOICE FROM THE FIELD
Patience and
Perseverance
Clinton Davis helps to shape and implement maintenance
and reliability overhaul of major utility.
Michelle Segrest, Contributing Editor
GROWING UP IN Gwinnett County, GA, Clinton
Davis was raised to believe that fixing things yourself
is just a way of life. All of the men in his family were
union plumbers and his father, Wayne, had a motto:
Never pay someone else to do something you can do
yourself.
The everyday practice of this philosophy provided
Davis with hands-on experience in breaking down
equipment, learning how it works from the inside out,
paying attention to the details, and taking pride in
putting it all back together and watching it work.
Davis remembers one single event that shaped his
career path. He was 16, and the rear drum brakes on his
1978 Pontiac Grand Prix were worn out. He bought the
parts, lifted the car, removed the wheels, drums, shoes,
and hardware and then realized he didnt know how to
put it back together.
I had not paid attention when I was taking it
apart, he said. I was in a hurry and wasnt patient. He
reluctantly asked his father for help.
His father explained to him that Lesson One in
any project is the importance of paying attention to
the details. We walked back out to the car and my
Dad told me he was only going to show me how to do
this once. He put one side back together, and I had to
watch him closely. Then he left me to figure out how
to repair the other side. Many hours passed and when
I was finished, he checked my work and gave me a few
suggestions so I would learn.
Six weeks later, Davis had to repair the front brakes.
This time, he remembered the details. Ive been wide
open ever since.
Since that time, the now-43-year-old Davis remembers this experience with every project he undertakes.
I take my time when I break things down, even with
16 |
projects and work requirements. I take the time to

understand how all of the elements work together. This
creates a better understanding and makes it easier to
put it all back together.
The experience was a turning point in shaping the
direction of Davis career path. It was just one of those
moments in your life when everything falls into place,
he said. I wanted to have the opportunity to work with
my hands. And now I love to dive into the details. Most
of our technicians are in these roles because they feel
the same way. We find out a piece of equipment failed,
we repair it, and then it is back to 100 percent. There is
a lot of pride involved in what we do every day.
A new program for improvement

Davis is currently the section manager of asset reliability and performance management for the Gwinnett
County Department of Water Resources (GCDWR).
Prior to this role, he worked for 13 years as a technician, analyst, and section manager. For the past two
years he has been supporting a 3-to-5-year program
designed to improve the maintenance and reliability at
the GCDWRs five facilities, which includes two water
plants, three wastewater plants, and a pumps/tanks/
boosters group.
Within the facility operations, there are approximately 222 employees. Davis section has a staff of 15
full-time professionals and two interns. We support
operations and maintenance from the customer
perspective, Davis said. Our planners and schedulers
are assigned to facilities and report there every day to
plan and schedule for maintenance and operations. My
staff is not all here in the central location. They are out
in the facilities where they are needed.
Getting the new program started was not easy.
FEBRUARY 2016

"The goal is to
be a world-class
utility and
become the
benchmark for
others."
utilities that had been positively affected by good

maintenance and reliability programs. The goal is to
be a world-class utility and become the benchmark
for others, Davis said. We did some peer exchanges
with other utilities to learn how they are structured
and organized. We studied the maintenance, reliability, and operational programs they have in place
and how they communicated with their staff. These
were all things we had struggled with organizationally in the past.
With the reorganization, the utility moved from
having water, wastewater, and pump/tanks/boosters
as three separate entities to a homogenous and
united family of facilities.
Previously, all of these sections kind of functioned as little islands all unto themselves, Davis
said. Everyone in each facility reported to the plant
manager or plant superintendent. We had warehouse, maintenance, operations, housekeeping
everybody worked for the plant manager and they
all did things a little differently. There was not a lot of
sharing of resources from plant to plant. When large
projects came up at one facility, it was difficult to get
help from the other facilities.
Backed by strong leadership, support, and executive sponsorship, the entire system was restructured
Certified Maintenance & Reliability

Professional (CMRP), SMRP
Tivoli Process Automation Engine, IBM
Advanced Reliability Centered Maintenance
Root Cause Analysis
Crystal Reports Level I and II
Clintons
In 2006, Davis was working as a trades technician on wastewater equipment in a centralized
Credentials
maintenance group. At that time, the wastewater
and water plants were in separate divisions. The
utility decided to implement a CMMS program at
one of the facilities and Davis was selected for the implementation team, along with two other colleagues. They collected
to break down the silos and effect positive changes in operations,
data, groomed data, coded data, and put it together to form the
maintenance, and reliability.
foundation for the new system. The team worked with some
We had some programs in place, but prior to the reorganizaoutside consultants for guidance and expertise. Eventually, his
tion it was all kind of ad hoc, Davis said. We had a vision of
two colleagues moved on to other things and Davis was given
what we wanted to be and what we wanted to do, but we had to
the opportunity to run with it.
figure out how to get there. We had to figure out what that road
I managed some maintenance-related projects and facilitated
map would look like.
an RCM pilot project for one of our plants in the late 2000s,
The utility partnered with a local firm to dive into the weeds.
Davis explained. One of the drivers and takeaways from that
In March 2014, they performed an asset-management best
project was realizing we needed a good system to make the most
practices assessment. The firm spent two weeks on site, studied
use of all the data so we would have the information we needed
all of the data, interviewed technicians and operators, and got a
to make good decisions. Prior to that, everything was kind of
feel for the morale and the culture.
paper-based and maintenance records were not as good as they
Beyond that, we did some staff engagement, which was
should be.
something that had seldom happened in years past, Davis said.
The GCDWR underwent a complete reorganization in
We brought in maintenance and operations coordinators and
January 2014. The implementation team researched other
FEBRUARY 2016
supervisors from all of our facilities for

workshops to find out what was important to them. We made sure that senior
management was not at the workshops.
This gave them freedom to speak and
be honest. We wanted to find out what
they needed to be more effective in their
roles.
Implementing the program
They are now in the middle

of a 2-year project. Previously,
contractors were used for this
and there was no continuity.
Oil sampling, precision alignment,
and predictive maintenance are
being performed internally by
the predictive-maintenance team
and maintainers at the facilities.
Training and certification is
offered to staff who perform these
functions and more than 20% of
maintenance technicians in infrared
Clintons Top Five Tips
From the assessment and the employeeengagement exercise, a 3-to-5-year road

map was developed.
The assessment effort focused on
seven key areas with 79
sub-elements. It included
Clintons Best
everything from effective
planning and scheduling
Advice for M&R
to having enough informaProfessionals
tion in the job plans, to
lubrication procedures, to
Never stop
communication.
learning.
We cant possibly implement
Always try to
everything on this road map individulearn more than is necesally or with a small group, Davis said.
sary to perform your day-to-day
So we use a team-based approach,
duties. If you are being hired
broken down into five focus areas.
as a trades technician to do
leadership
maintenance in a facility and
operations excellence
predictive maintenance
you have an opportunity to learn
reliability engineering
about a different area, pursue
work management.
that. Cross train when you have
Team members are operators,
the opportunity. Always be
maintenance professionals, and
willing to learn something new
warehouse staff. They work with
and be a resource for others.
sponsors and facilitators to get all of
the elements implemented. Whether
it is a change in the CMMS, exploring
thermography and machinery lubricabringing in facilitators for certain
tion have been certified.
projects, or critical equipment, the
We trained our reliability engineers
whole plan involves the team members
on root-cause analysis and did some
so everyone will have an opportunity to
cause mapping, Davis said. Our
shape the utilitys future.
leadership team is focused on improving
We have made some great progress in
communication and helped train our
the past few years, Davis said. Plansupervisors and managers on meeting
ning and scheduling and warehouse
facilitation and public speaking.
staff have been through best practices
implementations. Maintenance planning
and scheduling was previously executed
Planning and scheduling
by our trades coordinators. We refocused
improvements
and retrained the planners and schedBefore the reorganization, the CMMS
ulers, and have made enormous positive
system generated work orders and the
changes in quality and efficiency.
trades coordinator assigned them with
For predictive maintenance, a team
no formal process. The utility personnel
of internal technicians was formed.
struggled to execute all of the required
18 |
1. Lead by example.
2. Maintain effective
communication.
3. Always function on the
basis of continuous
improvement.
4. Know the purpose of your
assets and learn from them.
5. Be patient, be detailed, and
focus on the big picture.
maintenance tasks.
We were deferring about
10% of our routine maintenance
because we just didnt have the
resources, Davis said. With the
training of our planners and schedulers,
we were able to get them focused
on their core functions with weekly
schedules and goals. They have used this
to balance resources for maintenance.
Now, if we have 400 hours available next
week for maintenance at a facility, we
are going to schedule 400 hours of work
that is due to be completed. This keeps
the maintenance staff focused on the
schedule and getting the work executed.
Prior to that initiative, the utility was
only completing about 35,000 work
orders/year, of which only 70% was work
that had been planned and scheduled.
As of December 2015, 89% of the work
within facility operations is now formally
planned and scheduled with an average
of 59,000 work orders/year using the
same-size staff. Completion times
also dropped significantly from 3 hr./
work order to just more than 90 min./
order across all proactive and reactive
maintenance.
Davis credits this success to the
effective implementation of maintenance
planning and scheduling, warehouse
best practices, training of staff, and
using key tools and technology such
as infrared thermography, vibrationanalysis tools, condition assessment,
and precision-alignment equipment. He
added that using the CMMS every day to
FEBRUARY 2016
analyze information and find key areas for

improvement is essential.
Emergency work orders are not
formally planned, of course, but must be
addressed immediately. The benchmark
for planned and scheduled maintenance
work orders is 95%. It is ok if emergency
or urgent work break the schedule, Davis
said. But we must also take the time to
investigate the failure and try to prevent
it from happening again. My personal
philosophy is that every failure is an
opportunity to improve how we manage
our assets. We are not perfect and, when
something happens, we need to use it
as an opportunity to understand what
happened, why it happened, and learn
from it.
Lessons learned
Challenges and mistakes along the way
are simply a part of the journey. Davis said
that the biggest mistake that can be made
in implementing any new program is
neglecting to engage the entire staff.
We have some sharp people, but
people are not always willing to tell you
what they dont like or if something is
not working, Davis stated. If you are
not engaging with them and working to
get that information it may be a missed
opportunity. I am a believer that negative
feedback is sometimes the best information. Sometimes its a training opportunity
or a need to improve a process. When
we started out we talked about all the
things we wanted to do from a technology
standpoint and a best-practice standpoint.
But without engaging the staff, we
wouldnt have made so much progress so
quickly. We help them to understand how
what they do every day relates to the big
picture.
Davis said the biggest challenge in
implementing the new program was
addressing the overall culture of the
organization. When we reorganized
there was uncertainty. We moved some
people around because we needed their
knowledge and expertise in other areas.
Most people dont like change, and it is
still a work in progress. We want people to
enjoy their work and share their opinions
and concerns.
Building the right team is also essential,
FEBRUARY 2016
Davis said. We look for people who have

aptitude and ability, and this is equally
and sometimes more important than the
functional ability to do the job. We are
always looking for team players.
With continuous improvement the
never-ending goal, the work is never done.
The checklist comes from the details and
the daily progress that contributes to the
overall big picture.
Davis has learned that when assembling and implementing a program such
as this, a focus on everything may get
you nowhere. Its never going to be
finished. You have to focus on getting
the staffs skills up to speed, mentoring,
bringing in some experts, and start a little
smaller. You must pare it down to what
you need in the immediate future, and
what you can successfully implement and
sustain. Then build upon that.
The GCDWRs road map is laid out
sequentially. So, if I float off the planet
tomorrow someone can come in and
make sense of it, Davis stated. And, like
my father taught me, its always about
paying attention to the details. Through
this 3-to-5-year program, we came out
of the gate after the first assessment at
47% out of 100, give or take. We just had
our 2015 assessment and we are up to
63%. These are the opportunities I enjoy
because it visualizes all that progress of all
those little details. And its easily shared
with other people. We can all see the
progress.
From the age of 16, Clinton Davis
knew he wanted to work with his hands,
repairing and building things. So whether
its rebuilding the 78 Pontiac or helping
to implement an entire maintenance
and reliability best-practice program for
a huge utility, he uses these skills and
lessons learned to this day. MT
Michelle Segrest has been a professional
journalist for 27 years. She is co-owner
of Business Discovery Services Group
in Birmingham, AL and spearheads the
companys Marketing Services division. She
has worked as a journalist in the industrial
processing industries for nine years. If you
know of a M&R professional who is making
a difference at their facility, please send an
email to michelle.segrest@bdsgroup.de.
HigH Definition
Vibration anD
bearing analysis
HD ENV is a new advancement

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HD ENV provides crisp and clear spectrums and time signals, even on equipment where interferences or variable
RPMs may have limited past monitoring attempts.
Sophisticated vibration analysis capability, HD ENV, and SPM HD technologies are combined with the comprehensive Condmaster software to give
your condition monitoring program
the clarity of HD - providing fantastic
opportunities to plan maintenance and
ensure production.
HD ENV and SPM HD are available in the
affordable and customizable Leonova
Diamond and Leonova Emerald portable instruments or in the Intellinova
family of modular online systems.
SPM Instrument Inc.

Tel. 1-800-505-5636
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HighDefVibBeaAna_54x254mm2125x10in.indd 1
2016-01-15 13:54
LIFE-CYCLE STRATEGIES
Manage
Assets from
Cradle to
Cradle
Moving out of the traditional cradle-to-grave
mode has significant benefits for your operations,
and may already be a corporate must-do.
Ken Bannister, MEch Eng (UK), CMRP, MLE
Contributing Editor
20 |
IN THE PAST, our cradle-to-grave life

spans would have been divided into three
distinct phases: birth and formative years,
productive years, and end of life. Medical
advances over the past two-plus decades,
however, have been helping humans
live on in others through post-mortem
tissue and organ donations. This ability to
repurpose/recycle ourselves has created
a fourth stage of existence, allowing us to
progress from a cradle-to-grave life cycle to
a cradle-to-cradle (C2C) model.
Humans, though, still have little control
over our conception, and as finished
products, we are never perfect. Granted,
with diligence, reasonable life-style choices,
and attention to health and safety, people
can be extremely productive for a long
time. Our plants physical assets, including
machinery and facilities, could be more so.
With them, we can exercise control from
concept through production, to disposal and
beyond, through recycle or refurbishment.
Physical assets prior to the 1970s were
typically robust-built. With design-load
FEBRUARY 2016
With plant assets, we can exercise control from concept through production,
to disposal and beyond, through recycle or refurbishment.
factors as high as 1.5, they were capable of absorbing significant
abuse and overloading before failure occurred. Since that time,
technological advances have led to more-complex designs and
purpose-built assets loaded with on-board diagnostic capabilities. Todays design approach enables most OEMs (originalequipment manufacturers) to realize improved reliability and
efficiency with leaner (less built-in redundancy) design-load
factors.
More recently, asset design and operating elements have been
challenged to take into account not only an assets ambient operating conditions, but also its lifetime carbon-footprint impact.
An assets carbon footprint reflects a C2C approach by factoring
in lifetime consumable-resource use that includes energy (fuel),
lubricants, and water, as well as the impact of materials used in
the assets manufacture, effluent discharge from the production
process, and how the asset and its components will be recycled/
repurposed at the end of their lives. The emphasis on carbon
footprint and how equipment is designed, operated, and
disposed/recycled have moved operations from the cradle-tograve-style approach of the past to todays more environmentally
sensitive and efficient C2C
asset-management approach.
Key strategies and tactics
to be addressed and employed
when implementing C2C
asset life-cycle management
can be defined by five
elements: design, operational,
maintenance, performance,
and disposal/recycle.
Design
When asset designers or
architects first put pen to
paper (or hands to CAD
programs) for new projects,
theyre usually working
toward an end-user specification. This specification is
usually wrought through a
combination of customer
surveys and actual client
specification requests (all
based on the customers
understanding of their
requirementsbe it good or bad) and the designers knowledge

of engineering, maintenance, the production process, and
typically encountered ambient-condition factors. When
budget is also factored in, however, many designs can be highly
compromised. If specifications are too vague, and the designer
has little experience with maintenance and operation reliability
needs, the end product may suffer from built-in redundancy,
operational inefficiency, and reduced ability to ensure successful
life-cycle management.
The more open designers are to collaborating with end-user
engineering, production and, most important, maintenance
staffs to build an asset specification and design, the more
likely they are to achieve operational reliability, operability,
and sustainabilityall hallmarks of a successful design. Such
thinking is already employed with great success in factories and
production lines designed and built to manufacture a product
for a specified contract and/or time period after which the line is
dismantled and recycled. This approach dictates a very different
design mindset that employs maintenance strategies and design
elements to include:
Perimeter-based maintenance design. With this approach,
an asset is designed to allow the maintainer or operator to
perform basic preventive and diagnostic maintenance tasks
while the equipment is running. The design includes setting
up go/no-go gauging systems to view fluid levels; pressure/
flow/temperature indicators; minor mechanical adjustments;
filter change-outs; and data-collection-point arrangements
for predictive maintenance (PdM) and oil sampling.
Engineered lubrication systems. As much as 70% of
rotating-equipment failure is caused by ineffective lubrication
systems and practices. Including an engineered centralized
lubrication-delivery system with a reservoir that can be
filled in a perimeter-based approach will effectively increase
bearing and rotating equipment life by as much as three
times. Use of engineered lubricants can not only extend
lubricant change-out intervals and reduce their associated
lubricant-disposal requirements, but also significantly reduce
operational energy costs by as much as 18%.
Mistake-proofing (poke-yoke). Designing a device, mechanism, component, sub-assembly, or perishable tooling
system in a fail-safe mannerso it will only operate or go
together one way and, for assembly or defect-detection
purposes, that there is no confusion as to how the device is to
be positioned or usedhas been proven to reduce production errors, manufacturing defects, asset downtime, and
Todays design approach enables most OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to realize
improved reliability and efficiency with leaner (less built-in redundancy) design-load factors
close to par.
FEBRUARY 2016
MTTR (mean time to repair).

Technology choice. Asset designs
that use unproven cutting-edge
technology arent easily embraced in
work environmentsespecially when
the end user has standardized on one
or two control-system manufacturers
and computer-platforms/architectures.
Using proven technology can better
position users with regard to spareparts management and training
for operational and maintenance
purposes. The decision to adopt new
technology must be a wholesale,
multi-departmental decision that helps
build a life-cycle strategy for training
on, using, and maintaining that
technology.
The green machine. An assets
conceptual and design phases are
when its eventual disposal and
environmental issues should be
considered. Many forward-thinking
corporations now mandate that all
new equipment must be recyclable
upon retirement.
Operational
Ideally, in a best-practice organization,
maintenance works cooperatively
with operations to drive continuous
improvement initiatives such as RCM
(reliability-centered maintenance), CBM
(condition-based maintenance), 5S, and
lean manufacturing, all of which are
designed to maximize throughput and
asset-life-cycle longevity. Collaboration in
C2C asset management entails decision
making in the following areas:
Operation within design specs. In the
equipments design stage, operational
specifications, such as production
throughput and operational speeds,
are determined. Each time the
asset is operated beyond the design
parameters, reliability is challenged
and asset failure can be accelerated.
Operations and maintenance must
agree to operate within operational
design limits.
Constraint recognition. Under the
theory of constraints, an asset is designated either as a constraint bottleneck
or a non-constraint. Bottleneck assets
22 |
The emphasis on carbon footprint and how equipment is designed, operated, and
disposed/recycled have moved operations from the cradle-to-grave-style approach of
the past to todays more environmentally sensitive and efficient C2C asset-management approach.
usually operate at maximum design

throughput, whereas non-constraint
assets will operate at a reduced rate of
speed or intermittently due to their
built-in redundancy. Recognizing
constraints improves maintenancescheduling requirements.
Autonomous operator maintenance.
Both RCM and CBM recognize the
value of autonomous operator maintenance. Through basic perimeter-based
maintenance engineering and training,
standardized routines, and checks
can be performed by operations staff
and allow maintenance to perform
more complex and intensive tasks.
Additional benefits include facilitation of operator asset ownership and
improved communication between
operations and maintenance.
Production-evidence data capture.
Successful asset life-cycle management
demands a forensic understanding
of all equipment failure occurrences.
Each time an asset is unavailable
because of a forced stoppage or
slowdown, the event is recorded and
classified. These evidence data are then
analyzed to determine the root cause
and build asset-management decisions
based on facts, not opinions.
Maintenance
Maintenance must work smart, not hard.
Employing strategies and tactics that
enhance maintenance effectiveness is
paramount to maximizing asset effectiveness and longevity:
Reliability-based maintenance. A
reliability approach to maintenance
requires maintenance to understand
which components are more likely
to fail, how they will fail, and the
consequence of their failure. Following
an RCM approach, maintenance can
choose a suitable approach to failure
prediction and prevention, or decide
to allow the component or assembly
to run to failure and simply replace.
Following RCM ensures maintenance
does not cause downtime through
ineffective overhaul strategies and
preventive maintenance (PM) tactics.
Condition-based scheduling. Moving
from a fixed PM/PdM schedule in
which preventive/predictive work is
scheduled on a fixed calendar or meter
basis, to a condition-based approach
which schedules the work based on
pre-set condition parametersis
a normal progression toward asset
life-cycle management. Maintenance
requirements are dependent upon
FEBRUARY 2016
ambient condition factors and how

well an asset was assembled during
its manufacture. PM/PdM thats
performed in a just-in-time (JIT)
fashion is less taxing on maintenance
resources and the production asset.
Note that condition-based maintenance demands a disciplined, proactive
maintenance-management approach
that allows the immediate planning
and scheduling of necessary repairs
anytime a downtime-threatening event
becomes evident.
Purchasing spare parts based on
a life-cycle costing (LCC) model.
Buying spare parts based on price alone
has caused infinite grief and downtime
in every organization. Buying spare
parts based on quality and reliability
first, then price, is mandatory in a
life-cycle asset-management approach.
Consider the following LCC example.
Component A is priced at $100, and
fails approximately every three years.
Component B is priced at $50, and
fails annually. If the maintenance cost
of replacement is $200, component
As replacement cost over three years
amounts to $300. Component Bs
replacement cost is $750 plus the cost
of two additional downtime occurrence losseswhich could amount to
substantially more.
Standardization. Once reliable
components and supply distributors
are established, their use can be
standardized throughout an organizationand included in any new design.
Employing this strategy facilitates
spare-part management and decisions
based purely on service and life-cycle
reliability.
Performance
The adage what gets measured, gets
done applies to the C2C management
approach. Concurrent performance
measurement of production, maintenance, and human resource (HR) issues
will tell a complete story of expectations
and the reality of the operational state.
Performance measurement vindicates
the management approach and exposes
improvement opportunities. True
FEBRUARY 2016
performance measurement will include:

Set goals and expectations. Achieving
success means you must first define
success. Knowing your stakeholders
and their objectives is the first step
in setting up deliverable goals and
expectations for the asset and its
management.
Leverage KPIs (key performance
indicators). KPIs are the currency of
performance measurement and the
primary indicators in determining an
operational state. Begin with baseline
measures and use them, initially, to
identify internal areas of strength and
improvement opportunities. Overlay
the objective goals and expectations to
establish the gap analysis from which
business-improvement strategies can
be mapped.
Use measurement trending. As the
asset life-cycle management program,
or improvement initiative, is rolled out,
the performance measures are gathered
on a regular basis and compared
with the original baseline, previous
measures, and target goals. With three
measurement sets, a trend can be
plotted to determine either a positive or
negative trend for achieving set targets.
Manage by facts, not opinion. To
simultaneously measure the impact
of production, maintenance, and HR
(training) on a facility and its asset lines
and individual asset pieces, we must
synergize data collected in our ERP
(enterprise resource planning), CMMS
(computerized maintenance management software), EAM (enterprise
asset-management), and production
and other management systems.
Through performance measurement,
the data are turned into interpretable
information that allows management
to make decisions based on facts, not
opinions.
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eliminate hazards before they
happen. Add this valuable
resource to your tool belt.
Disposal/Recycle
When an asset no longer serves its
purpose, the maintenance department is
usually involved in its decommission and
disposal/recycle.
Disposal. Asset disposal involves a
pre-built workflow/business process
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Cradle-to-cradle asset life-cycle management is a highly disciplined strategy.

that defines which departmentand specific people in
that departmentperforms what actions throughout the
event. Maintenance is tasked with retiring the asset in the
asset-management program and safely managing its records
according to corporate record-retention requirements.
Preparing the asset for physical disposal calls for maintenance to decommission it by dismantling the equipment and
determining which material is salvageable, recyclable, and
hazardous, and which is saleable for profit.
Recycling. In a C2C design, the maintenance department
will already know what percentage of the assets materials
are recyclable and how they are to be treated for recycling
purposes. Components and base materials are sorted and
can be recycled as spares or sold for profit as scrap material.
If an asset has completed its initial end-user contract purpose
and is still deemed usable, it can be refurbished for reuse and
sold whole, providing it doesnt contain any design issues.
Cradle-to-cradle asset life-cycle management is a highly
disciplined strategy involving long-term thinking and harmonization of strategies and tactics. This holistic framework for
improving business performance calls for excellent interde-
partmental cooperation between engineering, operations,

purchasing, and maintenance. MT
Ken Bannister is principal asset-management consultant with
EngTech Industries Inc., Innerkip, Ontario, Canada. He has
specialized in asset-data-register development, CMMS implementations, and lubrication-management programs for almost three
decades. Contact him at kbannister@engtechindustries.com.
LEARN MORE
Information Management Strategies to Achieve
Collaborative Asset-Lifecycle Management
Take A CSI Approach to Asset Management
Extending the Operating Life of Your Motors
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24 |
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FEBRUARY 2016
FLUID-HANDLING
MAINTENANCE+RELIABILITY
If Its
Leaking,
Think
Before
Tightening
CENTER
Applying more compression on the
sealing element is typically assumed to
be the right solution to a leak.
Your natural inclination to

stop a leak could lead to
greater problems.
Henri Azibert
Technical Director
Fluid Sealing Association
WHENEVER A PIECE of equipment is

leaking, our natural inclination is to tighten
whatever can be tightened. Applying more
compression on the sealing element is
typically assumed to be the solution. The
expectation is that the tighter the fastener
and the greater the clamping force, the
higher the level of sealing performance.
Unfortunately, this is not necessarily the
case and, quite often, will make matters
worsemuch worse. Given the fact that
safety should always be a primary concern,
working on pressure-containing equipment
requires careful thinking before any remediation is considered and implemented.
Headquartered in Wayne, PA, the

Fluid Sealing Association (FSA) is
an international trade association of
companies involved in the production and
marketing of a wide range of fluid-sealing
devices targeted mainly at industrial
applications. Founded in 1933, the association continues to be recognized as, among
other things, the primary source of technical
information in the fluid-sealing area. For
more information, visit fluidsealing.com. For
more information on technical topics, email
henri@fluidsealing.com.
FEBRUARY 2016
Flanges
Flanges sealed with a gasket should have been tightened with a torque wrench
according to the manufacturers specifications. The gasket compression loading
must take into consideration, among other factors, the process pressure, process
temperature, and the gasket material and style. This assumes using new bolts and an
appropriate lubricant to achieve an accurate clamping stress from the torque level.
In case of a problem, tightening the bolts will often make conditions deteriorate.
The gasket could be crushed and damaged. An elastomeric gasket could be extruded. The flange could become deformed. Further tightening will only exacerbate
the leakage.
Compression packing
Personnel are expected to adjust compression packing on pumps to achieve desired
leakage levels. While adjustments to reduce leakage are standard procedures, they
should only be minor. If improvements arent quickly realized, you may have a significant problem on your hands. Extrusion, excessive sleeve wear, chemical attack,
radial motion, and other factors cant be remedied by increased compression. In
those cases, increased tightening will aggravate the wear process.
Similar considerations apply to valve packing. Leakage levels are expected to be
minimal. If those levels become excessive, only very small, incremental adjustments
should be madeafter first verifying that the originally specified torque levels are
present on the gland packing bolts.
Mechanical seals
Mechanical seals typically arent subject to adjustments to reduce leakage. That said,
there are some cases where tightening comes into play.
When the stationary seal ring is of a design that can be clamped, the clamping
action can easily create distortion. A few millionths of an inch out of flatness will result in a leak. Any increased tightening of the gland bolts will worsen the condition.
Even when the seal ring isnt clamped, it is often axially supported inside a gland
plate. Deflection of the gland plate can be transmitted to the stationary seal face. In
these cases, the only way to eliminate the leakage is to loosen the bolts.
The solution begins by confirming the specified torque requirements for the
equipmentand verifying, with a torque wrench, whether those specifications had
been met. If you dont have time to research the situation, consider the possible
implications of the leakage and what is most likely causing it. When it comes to
leakage, your motto should be Think twice, adjust once. MT
WORKFORCE ISSUES
CENTER
Encourage
Your Hidden
Coaches
A MAJOR COMPETITIVE advantage for a company is
its employees ability to learn, grow, and change so they
can discover, improve, innovate, and meet the challenges
of an evolving marketplace. According to Tara Holwegner
of Life Cycle Engineering (LCE.com), Charleston, SC,
another challenge many process organizations face
involves harnessing the intellectual capital of experienced
employees and using it to benefit new employees and
enterprise initiatives.
Holwegner should know. Shes a learning and performance-improvement subject matter expert (SME) for Life
Cycle Institute. The intellectual capital to which she refers
typically isnt delivered in a classroom.
According to the 70-20-10 Framework from the
70:20:10 Forum (702010forum.com), Surrey Hills,
Victoria, Australia, about 10% of learning comes from a
formal learning environment (online or classroom); 70%
from experiential opportunities, e.g., day-to-day learning,
challenging projects/tasks, stretch goals; and 20% from
social learning (mentoring, coaching). That indicates that,
while formal instruction is critical to developing talent in
an organization, its a rather small part of how people learn
and grow.
Holwegner advises maintenance and reliability professionals to take a closer look at peoples roles and see
how they might function as coaches, knowledge agents,
and advocates for professional growth and change. Ask
yourself, Who are the hidden coaches in my organization? and How can we harness that extra 20% of learning
to produce results, influence what we teach, and make the
most of the critical 10%?
Tara Denton Holwegner is a PMP, Certified
Professional in Learning and Performance
(CPLP) and Prosci Certified Change Management
Professional. In her role as a learning and performance
improvement SME for Life Cycle Engineering, Charleston,
SC, she co-developed the organizations 3A Learning process
that incorporates the concepts of active learning and change
management. For more information, email tholwegner@LCE.
com, or visit LCE.com.
26 |
70-20-10 Model of Learning

and Development
10%
20%
70%
Experiential
Social
Formal
Source: 70:20:10 Forum
Skilled workers as hidden coaches

A skilled worker, according to Holwegner, can be an excellent hidden coach or ambassador of knowledge. Although he or she may not
have the title of expert or coach, this type of worker can be considered
an expert in a field and frequently be asked to share knowledge to
enhance competency in a certain area.
Holwegner points to several examples of hidden coaches you might
find in your company:
tenured work planners
experienced operators
skilled maintenance technicians or journeymen
millwrights
veteran craftspersons
software system power users
financial or contract analysts
top-selling salespeople
six-sigma green or black belts.
She characterizes hidden coaches as knowledge powerhouses
who can share their intellectual capital during employee on-boarding,
change and improvement initiatives, everyday problem-solving activities, and work planning. Their individual consult, she continued,
can drive solution design, identify process re-engineering needs, steer
work-procedure documentation, and influence training requirements. But theres more.
Another benefit from having a hidden coach on your team, Holwegner noted, could be their informal leadership. As a respected or
influential person within the organization, their credibility can be a
positive or negative risk to your initiative.
Harnessing the power
To make use of hidden coaches tacit knowledge, Holwegner encourages project leads to first ensure the work practices of such individuals
align with standards, then invite these employees to contribute and
participate, as well as record their best practices for enterprise use.
In Holwegners view, every organization has hidden coaches with
the capacity to mentor and motivate employees to practice behaviors
that produce results. With 90% of learning coming from on-thejob challenges and social learning through coaching, she explained,
these hidden gems can be incorporated into both strategic and
daily initiatives to manage your companys intellectual capital and
strengthen workforce skills. MT
FEBRUARY 2016
AUTOMATION SOLUTIONS
Select the
Best VFD
for Your
Application
ACCORDING TO THE technical
experts at Mitsubishi Electric
Automation, Vernon Hills, IL, (us.
mitsubishielectric.com/fa/en) there are
several factors to consider when selecting
variable-frequency drives (VFDs).
Among them:
What is your load type: constant or
variable torque?
For a constant-torque load, the torque is independent of speed (ignoring momentary shock
loads). Examples include conveyors and hoists.
For a variable-torque load, torque varies as a
function of speed. Examples include fans and
pumps. This primary distinction underlies every
decision youll make about the type of drive.
What are your acceleration
requirements?
Does it matter how fast your load accelerates
up to speed? For a fan, probably not. For a
centrifuge, almost certainly. In the latter case,
you may want to select sensorless vector control,
rather than volts-per-hertz (V/f) control.
While the V/f approach is effective for many
applications, it doesnt allow a motor to develop
near-full torque at near-zero speeds (unlike
sensorless vector control). V/f control can be
appropriate for dragging logs up a slope, but
not for a dockside hoist that needs to position a
12-ton shipping container to within inches.
For more information on

selecting VFDs, including
various design, installation,
and operational factors, visit
us.mitsubishielectric.com/fa/en.
FEBRUARY 2016
Choosing the right variable frequency drive for an application involves several important considerations. For example, based on acceleration requirements, sensorless vector control may be more
suitable than volts-per-hertz (V/f) control. While V/f control is effective in dragging logs up a slope,
its not appropriate for dockside hoists that position 12-ton shipping containers to within inches.
Controlled deceleration presents its own

challenges.
During decelerations, the motor acts as a
generator. The resulting energy needs to go
somewhere, and is typically dissipated as heat
in a braking resistor. Controlled-deceleration
capability is a good solution for constant-torque
loads, changing loads, or even unbalanced loads.
What is your speed range?
Although a conveyor belt may operate consistently at 60 Hz, for an unspooling module on a
printing line, the motor needs to deliver torque
as effectively at 0.5 Hz as 60 Hz. This is another
application where garden-variety V/f control
wont do the job. Sensorless vector control will
(and most VFDs these days include it). Keep in
mind, however, that not all offerings are created
equal. Be sure to double check specifications
against your requirements.
Do you need to optimize energy usage?
Instead of wasting all of the energy harvested
when your motor is overhauling, you can apply
it to your next move, courtesy of a regenerative
VFD. These drives have internal capacitors that
temporarily store energy for reuse.
Do you need an encoder?
Not all drives are the same at low speeds. A drive
with a 200-to-1 speed range, for example, can
provide 100% speed from your motor down to
about 1/3 Hz. This might be acceptable for some
applications, but not othersin which case
youll need an encoder, Since not all drives work
with encoders, youll want to determine your
need for this capability in advance. MT
VFD Sizing Matters

Back in the day, an undersized
drivea common situation in
plantswould simply trip when
it exceeded operating specifications. Today, VFDs are very good
at limiting themselves so they
dont trip.
The bad news? While a
properly sized drive today
might allow the system to
complete acceleration in one
second, as commanded, one
thats too small for a task will
take two or three seconds. In
short, an undersized drive will
compensate, but the system
wont perform as desired and the
compensation could mask the
true problem.
Mitsubishi Electrics technical
experts also note that its
crucial to size a drive based on
peak current commandnot
on horsepower. Because of
horsepowers connection to
motor size, its easy to focus
on it. In reality, though, you
want to size a drive so that
the maximum current in the
worst-case scenario is always
within the mode of the units
continuous-current rating.
PROCESS EQUIPMENT
CENTER
Indicators That
Keep Things Simple
KISSing Is Good
For Reliability
As catchy phrases go, Keep It Simple Stupid has legs
when it comes to managing equipment health.
THE KISS PRINCIPLE is one of the
first rules of good engineering practice.
An acronym for Keep It Simple
Stupid, it refers to the fact that most
things function best if kept simple.
According to Trent Phillips, global reliability leader for Novelis Inc., Atlanta
(novelis.com), the principle has maintenance and reliability significance.
As he wrote in a 2014 blog post on
the Ludeca Inc. (Doral, FL) website
(ludeca.com), end users often believe
that costly, complex activities/functions
are required to improve equipment
reliability. While that may be the case
in certain situations, you can make
it the exception and not the rule in
your facility. The point is not to focus
excessively on expensive, complicated
reliability functions you cannot
complete and overlook the fundamentals in keeping equipment reliable.
What types of simple reliability
improvements can you make? Phillips
emphasizes these equipment basics:
Align shafts and other components.
Balance rotating components such as
fan blades, impellers, and rotors.

Tighten appropriately; eliminate
looseness and excessive vibration.
Lubricate correctly; not too much
or too little.
Inspect.
Apply condition monitoring.
Understand where your efforts
should be focused.
Also, dont wait until equipment is
installed and operating. According to
Phillips, Failure to address these vital
aspects from the beginning through
operation of your equipment will
lead to higher maintenance costs and
reduced equipment reliability.
Unfortunately, important reliabilityimprovement efforts in plants often
fall victim to lack of resources, understanding, time, and funding. To counter this situation in a facility, Phillips
urges the reliability team to ensure
that the sites engineering, maintenance, production, purchasing, and
management teams all understand,
and routinely employ, fundamental
KISS practices. MT
Trent Phillips, global reliability leader with

Novelis Inc., Atlanta (novelis.com), believes
questions such as Can we make our
production schedule? and other crystal-balltype probing from plant personnel often put
maintenance and reliability professionals
in a tough position. In a December 2015
blog post on ludeca.com/blog, he called out
four future indicators that organizations can
leverage to help answer such questions:
Preventive maintenance (PM)
completion rate. Low PM completion
rates directly correlate with increased
future equipment-maintenance work.
High PM completion rates mean that
needed equipment maintenance is being
completed and future maintenance issues
will be avoided.
Ready-to-work backlog. This is an
indicator of preparedness and efficiency to
complete maintenance work.
Outage-schedule compliance. This
important-to-track metric is an indicator
of future maintenance work. Not adhering
to outage schedules creates deferred
equipment maintenance. This results
in increased risks and likelihood that
equipment performance will decrease at
a future time, leading to lower capacity,
increased downtime, and greater
operating costs.
Equipment-asset-health reporting.
Condition-monitoring tools, such as
vibration analysis, infrared thermography,
oil analysis, and ultrasound, can assure
that impending failures are identified
and corrected before they result in
equipment downtime or other unwanted
consequences. Tracking indicators from
these technologies together can provide
insights into future asset health. The red
assets they identify can lead to unwanted
equipment maintenance and downtime if
corrective action isnt taken. Additionally,
if an effective critical-equipment ranking
system is in place, asset-health-reporting
can help prioritize maintenance efforts.
For more information on equipment-health-related strategies and techniques, including blog posts by Trent Phillips
and other experts in maintenance and reliability, visit ludeca.com/blog.
28 |
FEBRUARY 2016
INTERNET OF THINGS
IoT Offers Reliability Solutions
n my coverage of the manufacturing and process

industries for the past 15 years, Ive seen plenty
of marketing buzzwords and campaigns come
and go. Mechatronics, Sustainability, NextGen
Manufacturing, Security 2.0 and, of course, Internet
of Things (IoT) are just a few of the recent ones.
However, IoT is truly a transformative change
for manufacturing and, with it, maintenance and
reliability.
This year, Maintenance Technology magazine
will start leading our readers through the forest of
buzzwords and content to deliver real insights into
how your maintenance team can benefit from IoT
technology. This bi-monthly column is the gateway to
a steady stream of IoT content at maintenancetechnology.com/iot. Our online destination will include
podcast interviews with subject-matter experts,
application insights, video reviews, and content from
leading experts.
IoT is nothing new for maintenance teams, with
third-party services already playing a huge role in
operations and, in turn, more connected machines
and systems. Machine analytics made possible by
ubiquitous sensors, robust networks, and standard
interfaces create new opportunities and solutions for
enterprises. This isnt a marketing campaign for the
next couple of years, its a structural change.
One example is remote vibration analysis for
large enterprises as they try to consolidate resources
across multiple plants. In a 2015 post on the Emerson
Process Experts blog (emersonprocessxperts.
com/2015/01/remote-vibration-monitoring-casestudy/), Jim Cahill cited a power-producer application
in which personnel remotely monitored their rotating
machinery to improve reliability and prevent disruption for their customers.
A North American power company used Emersons
machinery health monitors for critical machines
in three different facilities and tied them back to
its predictive-maintenance server. For non-critical
machinery, the maintenance team uses portable
analyzers to gather information (things) and then
uploads the data to predictive-maintenance software.
Using the tools, maintenance activities are performed
jointly by specialists at the company and Emerson
Process Management, St. Louis.
The solution allows plant and enterprise management, with accredited security credentials, to observe
key indicators from a PC, smartphone, or tablet.
FEBRUARY 2016
Smart-alarm features are also included for critical

equipment. If vibration exceeds a predetermined
alarm, then signature and waveform data are
immediately saved for analysis, according to the blog
post. A yellow or red indication appears on a devices
screen and provides specific points and parameters in
Grant Gerke
the alarm.
Contributing Editor
This is but one example of Internet of Things in
action. Suppliers are just beginning to realize better
ways to handle more data points in the factory or field.
Working on an article about a manufacturing
standard for multinational companies a
couple years ago, I stumbled across the
Internet of Things Strategic Research
Roadmap, produced by the IoT
European Research Cluster.
This groundbreaking 50-page
research paper provided a comprehensive and structural view of IoT in
2011, for manufacturing and consumer
applications. It's interesting that the
paper includes a passage about the
year 2015: By 2015, wirelessly
networked sensors in everything will
form a new Web. But it will only be of
value if the terabyte torrent of data it
generates can be collected, analyzed,
Power companies are just
and interpreted.
one of many industries in
As we can see, that torrent of data has
which the next wave of IoT
arrived, and collecting, analyzing, and
technologies will transform
interpreting data is a major challenge.
maintenance and reliability.
Big changes are never easy in any
walk of life, but keep visiting maintenancetechnology.com/iot for vital IoT
applications and insight. MT
Grant Gerke is a business writer and content marketer

in the manufacturing, power, and renewable-energy
space. He has 15 years of experience covering the
industrial and field-automation areas and has
witnessed major manufacturing developments in the
oil and gas, food, beverage, and power industries.
The Internet of Things is changing the maintenance

and reliability world. Keep up to date with our
ongoing coverage of this exciting use of data and
technology at maintenancetechnology.com/iot.
ISO 55000
Asset Management
And ISO 55000
Bob Williamson
Contributing Editor
his new column, and a dynamic body of

content at maintenancetechnology.com/
iso55k, will explore the intent, issues,
concerns, and questions relating to the
ISO 55000:2014 Asset Management Standard.
Over time, it will reflect insight from a number of
sources, including emerging asset-management
practitioners and other experts in the field of asset
management.
This column and the website will address these
burning questions:
What is ISO 55000:2014?
Why should you be concerned about ISO 55000?
Do you have to become certified in ISO 55000?
What is asset management?
What is the role of maintenance?
Where do reliability programs fit?
Is ISO 55000 just another new maintenance
program?
ISO 55000:2014
Many readers are familiar with the ISO 9000
Quality Management Standard and ISO 14000
Environmental Management Standard. These, and
many other international standards, are developed

and published by the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) based in Geneva, Switzerland (iso.org).
The ISO 55000:2014 Asset Management
Standard (issued in late January 2014) defines
the requirements for a management system for
managing assets, also known as a management
standard for an asset-management management
system. The new Standard is not a standard for how
to manage assets.
While ISO 55000 is a general topic and current
buzzword in industry, keep in mind that the criteria
for certification are not contained in a document
entitled ISO 55000:2014. The Standard is not
confined to a single publication, but instead is
reflected in separate and related documents, often
referred to as the suite of ISO 55000 Standards or
ISO 5500X Standards. They are:
ISO 55000:2014Asset Management Overview,
Principles, and Terminology
ISO 55001:2014Asset ManagementManagement SystemsRequirements
ISO 55002:2014Asset ManagementManage-
The ISO
55000:2014
Asset Management
Standard is not a
standard for how
to manage assets.
30 |
FEBRUARY 2016
ISO 55000
ment SystemsGuidelines for the Application of

ISO-55001
While the three separate publications are available
for purchase from a number of sources, the ISO
website provides these online browsing versions at
no cost:
ISO 55000:2014 (iso.org/obp/
ui/#iso:std:iso:55000:ed-1:v2:en)
ISO 55001: 2014 (iso.org/obp/
ISO 55002:2014 (iso.org/obp/
Assets in context
A quick review of ISO 55000:2014 reveals that the
term asset (in the context of the standard) refers to
more than what we typically consider as physical
assets, i.e., facilities and equipment. ISO 55000, 2.3
defines an asset as an item, thing, or entity that
has potential or actual value to an organization.
This can be interpreted as intellectual property, real
estate, software, works of art, or literally anything
that an organization depends on to achieve its
goals. (Going forward, this column will concentrate
on types of assets commonly found in operations,
including physical plants, buildings, equipment and
processes, utility equipment and systems, servers
and networks, control systems, and related assets.)
Assets within an organization (not the organization, company, plant, or facility) are the focus
of ISO-55001 certification. ISO 55001 is not
about certifying asset-management methods and
programs but is the system for managing assets
throughout the entire life cycle of the targeted
assets.
To be clear, asset-management systems can also
focus on individual assets, groups of assets, types of
assets, asset systems, or asset portfolios across the
business as a whole. This means that organizations
can pursue ISO-55001 certification for an individual value-adding asset, an important production
system, and/or a type of asset that is common
across the organization and at various locations.
Assets within an organization (not

the organization, company, plant, or
facility) are the focus of ISO-55001.
restoration, decommissioning, and disposal.
Its designed to assure the organization and its
stakeholders, regulators, insurance underwriters,
and investors that the organization has a system
in place to manage their assets in ways that deliver
value aligned with the organizations objectives.
While you may now understand what ISO 55000
is, its just as important to understand what it is
not. To be precise, the Standard doesnt specify the
process, programs, or best practices for actually
managing assets. Neither is it a standard for the
management of assets. Even though maintenance
and reliability processes, programs, and best
practices fit within ISO 55000, the new Standard is
definitely not about maintenance and reliability.
Managing risk
The intent of ISO 55001:2014 is to specify the
criteria for a system to manage an organizations
assets in ways that align value with the organizations objectives. All physical assets in an organization are not equal in terms of a value proposition,
however. Some are clearly more critical to achieving
the objectives of the business than others. Likewise,
some assets present a higher degree of risk to
business goals than others. MT
Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, and a member

of the Institute of Asset Management, is in his
fourth decade of focusing on the people-side of
world-class maintenance and reliability in plants
and facilities across North America. Contact him
at RobertMW2@cs.com.
A system view
The ISO 55001:2014 Asset Management Standard
describes the elements of a system for asset
management and serves as the criteria for certification. Note that this Standard spans the entire life
cycle of the assets: design, engineering, procurement, installation, startup, operation, maintenance,
FEBRUARY 2016
The ISO 55000:2014 Asset Management Standard could play a major

role in industry in the coming years. Keep up to date with our ongoing
coverage of this Standard at maintenancetechnology.com/iso55k.
SOLUTION FOCUS
Take Oil-Sample Analysis
To the Cloud
Working together, an end user, an oil lab, and a reliability

service provider improved an important predictive-maintenance technique and gained a wealth of reliability benefits.
FOR YEARS, THE OIL-SAMPLE

analysis process was swimming in
paper. Each sample was documented in
its own analysis report, and all reports
were emailed to the responsible plant
employee. From a reliability perspective,
questions remained: Was a work order
generated? If not, why? What was found
at the repair? Is this a repetitive problem?
Did the corrective work order solve the
problem?
Companies are finally starting to
drop the spreadsheets and approach
oil analysis from a more systematic,
interactive perspective and, as a result,
are increasing equipment reliability and
performance.
U.S. chemicals manufacturer Axiall
Corp., headquartered in Atlanta, is one
example. Within just four years, the
number of machines tested has tripled
and is growing with help from cloudbased, automated systems for oil-analysis
and reliability-information management.
Reliability-service providers and oil
labs are also using browser-based systems
to improve their oil-analysis processes.
Acuren Group (Acuren), a Canadianbased supplier of asset reliability,
nondestructive, and materials testing
services in the U.S. and Canada, and
Tampa-based R&G Laboratories (R&G),
a full-service oil-analysis lab, are among
those leveraging cloud technologies to
better meet the needs of their customers.
(Acuren is a division of Rockwood
Service Corp., Greenwich, CT.)
All three companies recognize the
crucial role of oil analysis in a predictive-
32 |
Jane Alexander,
Managing Editor
with
Kevin McGehee,
Reliability Manager,
Chemicals Div.,
Axiall Corp.
Oil sample points should
be clearly labeled.
Photo: Acuren Group
Left. Oil analysis is one of the

simplest ways to start a PdM
program. Photo: Acuren Group
maintenance (PdM) program and have

succeeded in using the potential of the
cloud to make oil analysis more timely,
accurate, scalable, and visible. Their
experiences and recommendations can
help others optimize oil analysis.
Why analyze oil

Oil analysis is like blood work from a
doctor. Axiall takes samples and looks
for problems before they manifest into
an emergency situation. Oil samples are
relatively cheap compared with the cost
or value of the equipment. If a machine
is worth $700,000/day in profit, then

its well worth taking an occasional $30
sample to keep it running.
Leading performance indicators
such as ISO particle count or the
contamination level in the lubricant
can be considered a measure of the
performance of the lubrication tasks.
Viscosity or mismatched additives can be
an early indication of cross contamination of lubricants. Alternatively, lagging
performance indicators, such as the
acidity of the lubricant, signs of wear,
or progressing failures, signify existing
problems.
Oil analysis complements other PdM
methods such as vibration analysis,
infrared thermography, and ultrasound.
Sharing oil-sample data with a cloudbased reliability information system that
tracks all PdM techniques enables better
FEBRUARY 2016
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SOLUTION FOCUS
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decisions from a more complete picture of asset health. When the

reliability information is integrated with an existing computerized
maintenance management system (CMMS), it further simplifies
the execution and tracking of recommended actions.
Upgrading the process

At Axialls plant in Plaquemine, LA (near Baton Rouge), some
machines hold 3,000 gal. of oil while others hold just 2 qt. Those
most important to the business are monitored with oil analysis,
regardless of their size.
The sites prior oil-analysis approach was manual and inefficient.
Oil samples were sent to a free service for testing, and Axialls
analysts would later log into the service-providers system to view
the findings. There was no follow-through and no one to call when
questions arose. The new approach is more automated, interactive,
and effective.
Now, preventive-maintenance work orders in the CMMS tell
the plant to take oil samples at predetermined frequencies
usually quarterly. A trained technician takes and labels the samples
and has them shipped to the lab. For the plant, the rest of the
process is automated.
The lab runs the samples and performs analysis using standard
limits that determine whether they are good or bad. It automatically populates the information in Oilography, a web-based
oil-sample management solution used by the lab and the plant.
That system, in turn, automatically updates Tango, the reliability
information-management system used by the plant. Both are
products of Louisville, TN-based 24/7 Systems.
Next, a plant engineer reviews each sample using a web browser
and determines what actions, if any, need to be taken. If there is a
question about a sample, the lab is called to discuss the findings
and interpretation. The engineers recommendations are then
entered in the reliability information-management system where
they are tracked to completion.
Between the Samples Waiting Review screen, Integrated Condition Report, and metrics that show the number of assets in the
oil-sampling program and percentages of samples that are good or
bad, Axiall has a good understanding of equipment health and also
where to concentrate efforts for improvement.
The beauty of it is not having to enter anything; the results
show up in the oil sample-management system, explained Forrest
Pardue, president of 24/7 Systems. Having that system connected
to the plants reliability information-management solution is an
almost seamless method to create and track action items, and to
force them to completion.
R&G Laboratories uses the cloud to help its clients perform
timely and accurate oil analysis without cumbersome paperwork.
According to Cheryl Huff, R&Gs customer-service coordinator,
When samples are received from the customer, sample points are
set up in our database and the assessments are posted online in
Oilography. From there, the customer can access their records and
take appropriate maintenance actions.
Results are provided in the customers format of choice, whether
online or through email, an interface with their CMMS, or some
other preferred export format. The labs oil analysis results can
FEBRUARY 2016
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SOLUTION FOCUS
potentially feed into the customers failuremode assessments, improving the visibility
and quality of actionable information,
added Huff.
Bridging knowledge and

communication gaps
Program success comes from understanding the equipment, the results of
the oil analysis, and what to do about it.
Unfortunately, managing PdM programs
entirely in-house is often an unsustainable
goal. To counter the situation, Acuren
Group provides fully trained and equipped
PdM technicians who translate test results
Systematic oil-sample management ensures that nothing is missed.
into meaningful maintenance actions to its
(Source: 24/7 Systems)
clients across North America. Moving to
the cloud has streamlined the companys
Be selective and precise in sampling. Albert suggests beginservice delivery.
ning with a small number of the most critical assets and those
Our recommendations are entered in Tango alongside the
with the largest volumes of oil, and aligning the test slates and
results from other technologies. They flow directly to the CMMS
sample frequencies with the asset-maintenance strategies.
used by our clients in the form of work requests, which are then
Label the sample location points with the equipment/compoplanned and executed, noted Wesley Albert, senior reliability
nent identifier, oil brand/type/viscosity, sample type, sample
engineer at Acuren Group. By interpreting the results of all PdM
volume, and purge volume. Then, perfect the process on these
technologies in a holistic manner, we are able to pinpoint issues
assets before expanding the program to include others.
and their severity.
The most important thing is not to start too big. As R&Gs
The specific test slate is determined by the assets criticality
Huff put it, A company that wants to begin oil analysis on 400
and type, as well as the goal of the testing. Improvements to the
components might not have planned how to handle the labs
lubrication systems include the addition of proper filtration,
analysis on 400 samples. If it pulls too many samples at once
desiccant breathers, and external filtering to achieve particle
and doesnt have enough time to make the necessary system
count targets.
improvements, she said, well repeatedly get samples rated
critical and severe, and the client will be throwing its money
Steps to oil-analysis optimization
out the window. The better approach is to start out small
Integrating oil-sample management, reliability information
in one section of the plant or in a problem area, make good
management, and the CMMS puts plant professionals, oil
decisions based on the analysis results, and grow from there.
labs, and reliability service providers on the same page. Online
Fine-tune the sample frequency. Sampling frequency
visibility, dynamic interactivity, and instant information updates
depends on the machines criticality. Quarterly is most
improve the availability and quality of actionable information
common at Axiall, but samples are taken monthly on
and assure completion of recommended actions. Combining
extremely important machines, such as those that could shut
that platform with the following recommendations optimizes
the entire complex down if they failed.
program results:
More-frequent sampling provides more resolution when
Educate the masses. Companies beginning or improving an
trending the condition of the oil and detecting problems when
oil-analysis program should start with a fairly broad lubricathey occur. For instance, if someone inadvertently adds the
tion-training program for anyone who touches the oil and
wrong oil to a machine, with monthly sampling, a step change
grease. Everyone needs to understand the importance of oil
in the properties will be visible so questions can be asked and
and oil analysis, that its worth a lot of money to the company,
actions can be taken before there is unintended machine wear.
and that machines dont run without proper lubrication.
Quarterly sampling is probably too late to catch an issue such
Training should include how wear works, how particle
as this.
contamination works, how important it is to keep it the oil
Optimal sampling regularity reduces the urgency of
clean and dry, and how all of that impacts the machine. It
problems, i.e., being proactive vs. reactive. Dont wait until
should also include the different places where someone can
a machine is behaving erratically and then take a sample to
make a mistake or contaminate oil, and how that will lead to
send to the lab. Companies should routinely take and send
reduced machine life. Ultimately, it should encourage more
oil samples and monitor the trends to see when a problem is
attention to oil-related practices. For instance, an operator
coming.
on shift may rethink storing an oil container outside near a
Focus on continuous improvement. Pardue stated that
machine if rainwater is getting into it.
34 |
FEBRUARY 2016
SOLUTION FOCUS
using web-based systems to integrate
oil-sample analysis and other PdM
technology is a best-practice type of
approach. Cloud systems allow labs,
contractors, plant teams, planners,
and managers to all have access to the
reliability system and its centralized
dashboards of condition problems
and statuses, enabling continuous
improvement.
Its important to review the status
of work orders with plant production
areas weeklyand to hold people
accountable for completing the work.
Get to the root cause of failure by
aggregating all problems into equipment and fault types and looking for
patterns that provide opportunities to
improve the lubrication program.
For example, if consecutive oil
samples indicate that water is getting
into a machine during normal operations, then better seals or machinecleaning procedures should be applied.
If most oil samples sent to a lab come
back either too wet or too dirty, then a
persistent systemic problem with the

facilitys lubrication process needs to be
isolated and improved.
Finding and controlling contamination is probably the most important
step in an oil-analysis program, but,
too often, it lags in priority, according
to Huff. She believes companies that
look at contamination control on the
front end will usually have a more
successful oil program.
A sample rated severe could
have an equipment condition, such
as a failed bearing, she said, but
frequently its a water condition or
high particle count that takes the life
out of the component and contributes
to premature failure. The bottom line
is that an operation cant get the estimated life span out of a component
without having clean oil running
through the system.
Going forward
For Axiall, the overall oil-analysis
program itself is also a candidate for
continuous improvement. The site is

working to achieve a higher level of
maturity with its program.
Eventually, between 1,000 and 1,500
total machines will be on the oil-sampling
route. The plant is also increasing
utilization of its systems. As time permits,
it is setting up customized high/low
limits for individual machines in the oil
sample-management system so it can
automatically alert to problems. MT
Based in Plaquemine, LA, Kevin
McGehee is reliability manager of the
Chemicals Div. of Axiall Corp. He has
spent 20 years in industry, working in
the areas of capital-project management,
maintenance, six sigma continuous
improvement, and reliability.
LEARN
MORE
For more
information, visit:
axiall.com
acuren.com
ranglabs.com
tf7.com
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SOLUTION FOCUS
Drive On-Time
LPG
Deliveries
Reliable slidingvane pumps and

non-mechanical
flow meters are
keeping liquidpropane gas
suppliers on
schedule and their
customers happy.
Above. Thanks to the

efforts of innovative
product-transfer solution providers such as
UK-based Meller Flow
Trans Ltd., LPG-delivery
company Flogas now
has a next-generation,
fit-and-forget solution for
keeping its LPG-delivery
vehicles on the road in the
form of a product-transfer
and metering system that
incorporates Blackmer LGL
series sliding-vane pumps
and Flowcom 2000 flow
meters.
36 |
FLEET OPERATORS IN ANY INDUSTRY

have one driving principle: to keep their vehicles
on the road lest delivery schedulesand
customer satisfactionbe compromised. With
package handlers and suppliers of inventory
to grocery or clothing stores, for example, that
requirement can be pretty straightforward, i.e.,
just make it to the customers site and unload the
cargo. For other types of suppliers, however, the
task is often easier said than done.
Take liquid propane gas (LPG). Providing this
product to customers is not just a simple case

of arriving at the desired address and leaving a
box on the front porch. While a truck is a critical
and indispensable component in the LPG supply
chain, actual delivery can only be accomplished
if the vehicle is outfitted with a series of working
pumps, meters, hoses, controllers, and monitors that enable transfer of the LPG into a
storage vessel. Unfortunately, since the abuse
of daily over-the-road travel can hamper the
performance of sensitive transfer equipment, the
Application Specifics
Equipped with a Blackmer LGLD2E pump (2-in./51 mm), Flogas mini-bulk trucks perform hose-reel
deliveries through 130 ft. (40 meters) of hose at a flow rate of 53 gpm (200 l/min). On its larger bulkdelivery semi-trailers, the company uses LGLD4B pumps (4 in./102 mm) that are capable of achieving
flow rates as high as 185 gpm (700 l/min).
Featuring a cavitation-suppression liner that reduces the type of noise, vibration, and wear caused by
entrained vapors, these pumps are well suitedand UL-listedfor LPG service. Their sliding-vane design
also gives them significant self-priming and dry-run capabilities.
For more information, visit blackmer.com or psgdover.com.
FEBRUARY 2016
SOLUTION FOCUS
Opposite page. Since 1984, Flogas has
operated a fleet of LPG tankers that make
deliveries to bulk customers while also
offering cylinder-filling services at its
network of LPG depot terminals.
need for reliable components is a critical

concern for LPG delivery companies.
Vehicles are notoriously damaging and
require robust operation, explained Mark
Allcock, managing director for Meller
Flow Trans Ltd., located in Bradford,
United Kingdom. We dont want sensitive
equipment on the vehicle that will not
stand the test of time and the rigors of
daily road use.
A systematic solution
Founded in 1960, Meller Flow Trans began
as an industrial-engineering firm. In the
years since, it has evolved to focus on and
specialize in creation of product-transfer
solutions for the United Kingdoms
transport industry, including development
of cutting-edge LPG-delivery systems.
Traditionally, these systems featured a
mechanical metering component that
governed LPG transfer from the storage
tank to the delivery vehicle, and from the
delivery vehicle to the customers storage
vessel.
While mechanical positive-displacement oscillating piston-type meters have,
over time, performed well in such applications, the fact that they require moving
parts to operate makes them susceptible to
damage that can put them out of commission and hamper on-time deliveries.
According to Allcock, although
mechanical meters
are reli-
meter, produced by Flow Instruments

able in their own way, things can go wrong
& Engineering GmbH, a European
with moving parts. What were trying
company based in Solingen, Germany.
to do as a systems provider, he said, is
What sets the Flowcom 2000 apart from
bring together the most reliable pieces of
traditional meters is that it facilitates fluid
equipment that we can find to give our end
transfer through venturi-based pressureusers, our customer base, a fit-and-forget
differential metering principles, rather
metering and delivery system.
than mechanical moving parts.
In the search for a solution, eight
These were the first people I knew of
years ago Allcock and Meller Flow Trans
to
use
pressure-differential metering on
came
upon
the
Flowcom
2000
fl
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Summits selection of Barrier Fluids provides a wide range of
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Call for free technical support from our Certified Lubricant Specialist
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FEBRUARY 2016
SOLUTION FOCUS
After searching for a dependable LPG-transfer solution for

more than eight years, Mark Allcock, right, managing director
for Meller Flow Trans, was able to supply the Flogas team,
including mini-bulk delivery-truck driver Paul Ward, left, and
depot manager Gary Rolfe, center, with a reliable metering
system featuring the Flowcom 2000 flow meter and Blackmer
sliding-vane cargo pump.
2016 MetalMizer
Convenient overhead
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Made in the U.S.A.
Limited
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Also depend on the METALFLEX blade to meet

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trucks, said Allcock. The Flowcom 2000 is highly machined, a

very, very accurate piece of equipment. It lends itself perfectly to
the road-transport industry because there are no moving parts.
The Flowcom 2000 turned out to be the final piece in Meller
Flow Trans delivery-system puzzle that, over four decades,
had included LGL series sliding-vane pumps from Blackmer,
Grand Rapids, MI. (Blackmer is a product brand of the Dover
Companys Pump Solutions Group [PSG] based in Oakbrook
Terrace, IL.) Working with the vast majority of LPG-truck
fabricators in the UK, Meller Flow Trans has outfitted hundreds
of vehicles with the Blackmer/Flowcom 2000 delivery system.
Weve been selling Blackmer cargo pumps in the UK for

more than 40 years, recalled Allcock. It really is a fit-and-forget
piece of equipment, very reliable, very easy to maintain when
required, which is minimal to say the least. As a result, he
estimates that these pumps are used in 90% to 95% of the UKs
mini-bulk or bobtail LPG delivery trucks, and for good reason
(see sidebar, previous page).
Operation of the Blackmer/Flowcom 2000 delivery system
begins when the driver initiates it from a control box at the
back of the vehicle. At that time, the prop-shaft-driven pump
moves the LPG through a delivery line to a gas-bubble sensor
that checks for pockets of air in the LPG. From there, it moves
through a temperature probe that, if necessary, converts the
temperature of the LPG to 59 F (15 C). Then its on to the
flow meter, which creates a restriction in the line that builds
pressurehigh before the venturi and low after the venturi. A
differential pressure transmitter converts the pressure into a
4-to-20-mA signal thats sent back to the control box where the
driver can read the measured flow in volume or mass.
Another of Meller Flow Trans long-standing relationships
in the UK LPG industry is with Flogas, Leicester, United
Kingdom, which has been a customer for more than 30
years. Flogas entered the UKs LPG market in 1984 with
the acquisition of Portagas, and has grown to the point that
it now has LPG-delivery operations in Ireland, Northern
Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, and The Netherlands. In
the UK, Flogas operates a fleet of LPG tankers that makes
deliveries to bulk customers, while also offering cylinderfilling services at its network of depot terminals.
At the Flogas site in Leicester, we have a wide variety of
customers, cylinders, bulk, we do commercial bulk customers, a
lot of dealers that do a lot of business for us, noted Gary Rolfe,
depot manager at Flogas Leicester LPG terminal. We have
more than 100 mini-bulk trucks in the company, and have been
putting on a stronger, better metering system on the trucks.
The Flowcom 2000 meters are certainly reliable, faster, and a lot
easier for our drivers to use. Moreover, as he characterized it, the
whole process is simpler for all parties involved.
As a mini-bulk delivery driver for Flogas, Paul Ward is on
the LPG industrys front lines every day. His opinion of the
Blackmer/Flowcom 2000 solutions inherent reliability is clear.
Its good to know, he emphasized, when I set off on my
deliveries in the morning, that the pump isnt going to cause me
any problems, and that I can make my deliveries efficiently and
safely. MT
FEBRUARY 2016
PRODUCTS
PRODUCTS
FEATURED PRODUCT
Wireless Load-Out
Management Solution
This wireless load-out management solution combines the company's MU&Go plus+
system with the convenience of a pedestal-mounted console transmitter located in the
load-out control room. The system takes the operator out of the locomotive cab and positions them in the control room, optimizing personnel safety and efficiency. The solution
addresses safety concerns that arise from voice-radio miscommunication and provides
a perspective allowing the locomotive to be placed where it needs to be, reducing
re-positioning time. The management solution is PLC based and uses a customized
HMI (human machine interface) for real-time operational data from the locomotive and
control of ancillary devices such as car shakers, rotary dumpers, and other site-specific
equipment.
Control Chief Corp.
Bradford, PA
controlchief.com
Four-Channel, Real-Time Analyzer

The FieldpaqII portable four-channel, real-time analyzer is said to provide
fast data collection with simultaneous tri-axial and four-channel measurements. High-frequency spike detection and demodulated spectrum
analysis are standard features for identifying bearing and gear failures.
Features include route data collection, raw data recording, advanced
dynamic balancing, Model and ODS testing, and cross-channel analysis.
Benstone Instruments
St. Paul, MN
benstone.com
Earmuff-Fitting Posters
Free printable posters for workplace display provide
step-by-step instructions and illustrations for
proper earmuff fitting. Information is also included
on wearing, selecting, and maintaining hearingprotection earmuffs.
Honeywell Industrial Safety
Smithfield, RI
howardleight.com
FEBRUARY 2016
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ATTEND. LEARN. APPLY.

When you think about how your plant or workplace could improve, what comes
to mind? Better procedures? Better communication? Better products? Answers to
these questions are waiting for you at the 17th annual Reliable Plant Conference &
Exhibition. Join us in Louisville, Kentucky, to meet with industry leaders, exhibitors
and fellow attendees who understand and experience your challenges. Youll learn
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improvements last. Dont settle for good enough machine reliability. Solve it
with attainable solutions and results you will find at Reliable Plant 2016.
NEW FOR 2016
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20 + Case Studies
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6 Workshops
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Jim Beam Distillery Tour
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All conference sessions and proceedings
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Noria proudly stands behind Reliable

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the information and insights you gain at
this event, well refund 100% of your paid
registration fee.
PRODUCTS
Top-Mount,
Smart-Valve
Positioner
Research Control SRD991 topmount valve positioner mounts
directly to the top of a control valve
with a linear potentiometer. The
linear connection is said to mitigate
hysteresis between the positioner
and actuator by accurately and
consistently feeding back the
actual position of a valve actuator
to provide improved flow control.
Features include an LCD screen,
advanced diagnostics, partial
stroke test for emergency shutdown
applications, and network protocols
and connectivity including HART,
PROFIBUS-PA, and FOUNDATION Fieldbus H1.
Badger Meter
Milwaukee
badgermeter.com
Wireless HVAC Clamp Meter

The 902 FC True-rms HVAC clamp meter is a wireless, Fluke Connectenabled meter that allows users to document measurements, email
results to customers, and collaborate with colleagues in real time directly
from a job site. The CAT III 600-V/CAT IV 300-V-rated meter performs
HVAC measurements including microamps for testing pilot-light sensors,
resistance to 60 kOhms, AC current, AC/DC voltage, capacitance, and
contact temperature.
Fluke Corp.
Everett, WA
fluke.com
Looking to refocus or revitalize

your maintenance program?
Looking to prepare for ISO 55001 certification?
Does your program currently:
P Lack confidence in its
P Lack the time to
P Lack strategic direction?

P Lack effective
P Lack succession planning?

P Lack effective work
maintenance data?
communication?
complete all work?
planning and scheduling?
If you answered YES to any of the above,

call Ken Bannister at ENGTECH Industries Inc
successfully implementing usable asset management
programs for over 27 yearsat (519) 469-9173
or email kbannister@engtechindustries.com
and lets talk maintenance!
Helping People manage People who Manage Assets!

FEBRUARY 2016
EngtechAd.indd 3
1/8/15 4:12 PM
PRODUCTS
Flange-Bracket Bearing
Baldor-Dodge S-2000 flange-bracket bearings are an
addition to the S-2000 spherical roller bearings line.
Incorporating the three most commonly used flange
sizes, the series is based on the same design and sealing
system as the Baldor-Dodge S-2000 spherical roller
bearing. Available with Trident or Labyrinth seal options,
it accepts standard end caps for S-2000 bearings. Its
industry-standard dimensions assure interchangeability.
Baldor Electric Co.
Fort Smith, AR
baldor.com
Pipe, Hose, Nozzle Fittings

A line of pipe, hose, and nozzle fittings in nylon and
glass-filled polypropylene includes a wide range of
products. Fittings include adapters, caps, couplings,
elbows, hose barbs, menders, nipples, nuts, plugs,
reducer bushings, and tees. Sizes range from 1/8 to
2 in., depending on the fitting configuration. Nylon
products use high-quality Type 6 resins. Poly fittings
contain a 10% glass-filled polypropylene resin. A
comprehensive Chemical Resistance Table is available
on the companys website.
Bee Valve Inc.
Elyria, OH
beevalve.com
Loads Raise Automatically

The P3 all-around spring level loader uses a system of
heavy-duty springs to automatically lower or raise a
pallet as weight is added or removed. A turntable ring
on top of the unit allows a user to rotate the load to
remain in the same position throughout the loading/
unloading process. The unit requires no power and
accommodates loads to 4,500 lb. Fork pockets at the
base allow relocation.
Presto Lifts Inc.
Norton, MA
prestolifts.com
42 |
FEBRUARY 2016
PRODUCTS
Environmental Monitoring,
Management
Trellis platform includes the manufacturers Thermal System Manager,

a comprehensive environmental monitoring and management module
that tracks the data centers thermal profile to the device level. The
module is said to offer time savings on equipment installation, enable
increased cooling efficiency, and help identify and eradicate hot spots.
Other features include integration with the companys Avocent DSView
management software, a 2D/3D visualization
capability, and performance and scalability
enhancements specific to event processing.
Emerson Network Power
Huntsville, AL
emersonnetworkpower/trellis.com
Equipment visuals can reduce training

time by 60 to 70%, eliminate errors,
and improve reliability.
Large-Pitch Leaf Chain

A series of large-pitch leaf chains has been added
to the manufacturers Drives line and includes sizes
BL12 through BL20. With improved pitch tolerance
and hole quality for better fatigue strength and pin
retention, the wide-waist link plates are said to resist
bending for higher fatigue strength.
~Robert Williamson, Lean Equipment specialist
The Timken Co.

Canton, OH
timken.com
Problem & Opportunity Tags

Gauge marking labels
Colored permanent paint
marking pens
Colored grease tting caps
Lube point labels
Vibration analysis pickup discs and labels
Temperature indicating strips, and more
Lean Machines (a how-to Book)
Lean Equipment- TPM Consulting & Training
Contact us for catalog and samples.

On-line ordering: www.theVisualMachine.com
(864) 862-0446 PO Box 70 Columbus, NC 28722
FEBRUARY 2016
BW-Ad.indd 1
10/24/14 4:00 PM
PRODUCTS
Low NPSHr,
High-Flow Pump
The LMV-803Lr API 610-compliant pump is
available in OH3 or OH5 motor-mounting
configuration that is said to provide ultra-low
NPSHr performance, approximately 5 ft. across
the entire performance range, for flows to 800
gpm and heads to 1,000 ft. The ultra-low NPSHr
allows the pump to be installed at grade level.
The vertical design aids applications in areas
including refineries, NGL, and petrochemical
and chemical plants. The pump can reportedly
meet lower NPSHr requirements than either BB2
or VS-style pumps, without risk of cavitation.
Sundyne
Arvada, CO
sundyne.com
Ultrasound World & Reliable Asset World

Two worlds with one mission: improved reliability, asset health
and increased profits. Heres your chance to learn, network &
grow professionally. Register for one, get access to both events!
The one idea you need is waiting here for you.
Come join us on
May 10th - 13th, 2016 in Clearwater Beach, FL

info@uesystems.com
800-223-1325
Intl: +914-592-1220
44 |
FEBRUARY 2016
PRODUCTS
CLASSIFIEDS
For rate information to advertise,
contact Ellen Sandkam at 847-382-8100 x 110
or e-mail: classified@maintenancetechnology.com
OIL MIST & SMOKE

IN YOUR SHOP?
www.mistcollectors.com
Tel: 1-800-645-4174
Wireless
Laser Receiver
Microgage wireless laser receiver is an option
for use with the Microgage PRO laser-alignment system. The receiver checks geometric
alignments such as equipment straightness, gantry
flatness, machinery squareness, rail and guild parallelism, and bore alignment. The unit allows work in
small, confined spaces for challenging alignments.
Pinpoint Laser Systems
Peabody, MA
pinpointlaser.com
ADVERTISE
your products, equipment, services,
training programs, and career opportunities
in Maintenance Technology's Showcase section.
GET RESULTS
Put your message in front of Maintenance and Reliabilitys
most qualified circulation with Maintenance Technology's Showcase advertising.
Reach Your Audience

CALL NOW FOR DETAILS: Ellen Sandkam
Phone: 847-382-8100 ext.110 | Email: classified@maintenancetechnology.com
FEBRUARY
2016
MT_Showcase-Promo.indd
| 45PM
MAINTENANCETECHNOLOGY.COM
9/28/15 11:08
For rate information to advertise in Showcase,

contact Ellen Sandkam at 847-382-8100 x 110
or e-mail: classified@maintenancetechnology.com
SHOWCASE
and so much
more...
Request your...
2D / 3D CAD
Catalogs
Stock / Customs
COOL ELECTRONIC CABINETS

UL Listed and CE compliant Cabinet Coolers are
the low cost way to cool and purge heat sensitive
electronics. The compact Cabinet Coolers produce
cold air at 20F from compressed air. NEMA 4,
4X (stainless steel), and 12 models are available
with thermostat control to minimize compressed
air usage. No moving parts assures long life and
maintenance free operation. Ideal cooling capacities
for control panels.
softnoze com
Sensor
Brackets
EXAIR Corporation
11510 Goldcoast Drive,

Cincinnati, Ohio 45249-1621
Phone (800) 903-9247 Fax (513) 671-3363
E-mail: techelp@exair.com
Internet: www.exair.com/48/199.htm
WORLD LEADER IN SENSOR

INTEGRATION COMPONENTS
Mount | Apply | Position | Protect
TM
TM
Mobile CMMS
3-D Sales Corporation, d/b/a Mr. Shims
POWER +
CONTROL
1connection
In
Phones & Tablets
Belt/Sheave
Laser Alignment Tool
Delivers these important benefits...

Reduces vibration
Eliminates downtime and production delays
Precut 304 Stainless Steel Shims,
Kits or ReplacementPacks
4 Sizes, 15 thicknesses
Up to 5 contacts
for POWER
+
6 contacts for
CONTROL
Provide electrical power

and control motor drives,
communicate alarms
or monitor process
Power
parameters with
Contact
only 1
connection.
Custom Shims
and Gaskets
(800) 922-4336 mapcon.com
FEBRUARY 2016
1-800-72-SHIMS (1-800-727-4467)
mrshims.com
Auxiliary
Contact
meltric.com
800.433.7642
Ratings up to
250A, 600V,
Type 4X
A company of MARECHAL ELECTRIC GROUP
FINAL THOUGHT
Certification: Which One?
hat certification should I earn?

Thats a question frequently asked
by reliability and maintenance
personnel. Thats understandable:
They have plenty of choices.
Consider the CMRP (Certified Maintenance &
Dr. Klaus M. Blache
Reliability Professional) and CMRT (Certified MainUniv. of Tennessee
tenance & Reliability Technician), both from SMRP
(UTK)
(Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals,
Reliability &
Atlanta). The CMRP, by the way, is the only exam
Maintainability
accredited by ANSI (American National Standards
Center
Institute, Washington), which follows ISO standards
for accreditation and standards. Other certifications
include the CRL (Certified Reliability Leader) from
Reliabilityweb, CRE (Certified Reliability Engineer)
from the American Society of Quality, CAMA
(Certified Asset Management Assessor), CFM
(Certified Facility Manager) from IFMA (International Facility Management Association, Houston),
and the RMIC (Reliability and Maintainability
Implementation Certification) from the Univ.
of Tennessee-Reliability and Maintainability
Center, Knoxville. The RMIC, among other
things, requires a candidate to
demonstrate a targeted capability
by implementing an actual
work-related project that makes
a measureable, positive improveIn the words of
ment on key performance indicators. An undergraduate minor and
Albert Einstein,
graduate university degree RME
program is also offered.
'The only source
To quote an unknown author,
In theory, the difference between
of knowledge is
theory and practice is small. In
practice, the difference between
experience.'
theory and practice is large. I
agree, especially when mapping a
professional-development path.
Some use the terms certification and certificate interchangeably. Certification
refers to confirming competency in knowledge/skill.
A certificate is the non-diploma document issued
after completing training. (Some consulting groups
offer certificate/certification programs, i.e., Marshall
Institute at North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, and
Life Cycle Engineering (LCE) at the Univ. of Kansas,
Lawrence.)
My answer to those who ask what reliability
certification they should earn involves other questions. After first responding that I wont recommend
48 |
an exam to take, I inquire about what they want to do

with their new, or soon-to-be, acquired, knowledge,
skills, and certification, and, their long-term goals.
Ultimately, they answer their own question.
All of the previously referenced reliabilitycertification program exams vary based on differences
in technical requirements, closed/open book formats,
and content. I encourage interested individuals to
do enough investigation to get the certification that
best supports their current and future plans. While
preparation for any of these exams will add to a
persons knowledge base, most of them also require
candidates to have some level of experience. Keep in
mind, though, that being able to do something on a
test does not demonstrate that you can implement
best practices in a dynamic work environment.
Reliability is such a broad field that its impossible
to be an expert in all areas. Think of how and why
the medical field is as specialized as it is. For example,
medicine is divided into areas such as pathology
(diagnostic- and technique-based), cardiothoracic
surgery (therapeutic and surgery on one organ),
and general practice (diagnostic, therapeutic, and
multidisciplinary). The practices of reliability and
maintainability (R&M) are similar. Instead of curing
people, we keep machinery, equipment, facilities, and
related processes running.
If someone says he or she is a reliability or maintenance engineer or technician, the question is, What
area of R&M? It could be conducting vibration
analysis, implementing a lubrication program, calculating reliability growth, or rolling out an entire Total
Productive Maintenance process requiring significant
cultural change.
While some companies have endorsed a specific
certification, most havent limited employees to
a single choice. Typically, organizations provide
guidelines with steps for increasing knowledge and
capabilities in R&Mwith certification usually
recommended about midway through the process for
personnel who desire it. A smaller group of companies, however, has made certification a requirement.
The good news is that what you need is available
and the implementation of R&M best practices is the
cornerstone that will enable industrial competitive
advantage. MT
Based in Knoxville, Klaus M. Blache is director

of the Reliability & Maintainability Center at the
Univ. of Tennessee (UTK), and a research professor
in the College of Engineering. Contact him directly at
kblache@utk.edu.
FEBRUARY 2016
Produced by names you trust
Great minds
discuss ideas;
Average minds
discuss events
Small minds
discuss people
Discover
NEW Ideas
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April 11-15, 2016
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Las Vegas, Nevada
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reliabilityconference.com | 888.575.1245 | 239.333.2500 | crm@reliabilityweb.com
Affordable Power Transmission

high-quality components at low prices!
Synchronous Drives
AutomationDirects new line of synchronous drive
components provide the same positive timing action
of gears or chains but with the flexibility and quiet
running of belts.
Timing pulleys (sprockets) in both aluminum and steel

are available in plain bore with setscrew or tapered
bushing mounting styles.
Timing (toothed) belt options include several popular
pitches and widths and are made of fiberglass
reinforced neoprene.
Tapered bushings in both QD and Taper-lock styles
are available in most popular shaft sizes for mounting
a variety of pulleys or sprockets to shafts.
Drive Pulleys
starting at:
$5.25
Get dependable power transmission at low,

low prices with SureMotion synchronous drives!
Drive Belts
starting at:
$2.00
Precision Gearboxes
Worm Gearboxes
IronHorse worm gearboxes are

manufactured in an ISO9001 certified
plant by one of the leading worm gear
reducer manufacturers in the world today.
They are available in both aluminum and
cast iron with a variety of frame sizes and
ratios. Dual shaft, right hand shaft, and
hollow shaft options are offered and come
with a one year warranty.
Aluminum gearboxes start at $88.00

Cast Iron gearboxes start at $147.00
The SureGear PGCN series is an exceptional gearbox for servo,

stepper, and other motion control applications requiring a NEMA
size input/output interface. Available in NEMA 17, NEMA 23 and
NEMA 34 frames sizes with a wide range of ratios, a 20,000 hour
service life, and a one year warranty.
The SureGear PGA and PGB series of high-precision servo gear
reducers are excellent choices for applications that require
accuracy and reliability at an exceptional value. The PGA series
is an in-line configuration while the PGB series is a right-angled
reducer. Both provide a level of precision and torque that is best
in class and come with a five year warranty.
SureGear small NEMA motor gearboxes start at $209.00

SureGear servomotor gearboxes start at $398.00
Research, price, buy at: www.automationdirect.com/power-transmission
Order Today, Ships Today!

* See our Web site for details and restrictions. Copyright 2014 AutomationDirect, Cumming, GA USA. All rights reserved.
1-800-633-0405
the #1 value in automation

Mtfebruary 2016

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The Only Coupling

The NEW patented BaldorDodge Raptor takes

Longer driven equipment life and increased

Easier installation and reduced maintenance

2016 Baldor Electric Company

Raptors slotted clamp rings offer more clearance

Download a QR reader app

One way to help management

Calculate the True Cost of Unreliability

16 Patience and Perseverance

End-user Clinton Davis recalls the

Manage Assets from

Moving out of the traditional 'cradleto-grave' mode has significant

Ken Bannister, MEch Eng (UK),

Take Oil-Sample Analysis

Drive On-Time LPG Deliveries

WHATS NEW THIS MONTH AT

New Website Section: Internet of Things

New Website Section: ISO 55000

February 2016 Volume 29, No.2

MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY APPS

Maintenance Technology App

Find the above, along with extra news and

M T (ISSN 0899-5729) is published monthly by Applied Technology Media Inc., 535

Asset Analysis: Easily

GRAPH VIEW: PAST 3 MONTHS

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SEE IT. SAVE IT.

Include asset from subgroups

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Asset List & Health

Asset Status: Get a complete

Asset List & Health

South Campus > Building 2 > Floor 1

South Campus > Building 1 > Floor 1

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North Campus > Building 1 > Floor 1

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Asset Health: Visualize maintenance

VIEW OPTIONS: MONTH

2014 Monthly Asset Status

Preventive maintenance simplified.

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Asset Alarm Summary

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checked in with an old friend the other day.

cremains (his words) of a

yes, would expose the meeting attendees to a long

NOT KNOWING CAN GET

The FLIR AX8 installs easily in electrical

AX8 gives you:

Learn more about this powerful

Intelligent, affordable condition monitoring.

he term top management in the

projects frequently excluded operations and

Top management and life cycles