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M-News Edition 23
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M-News - the Maintenance Newsletter

Edition 23, March 2002

Contents

In this edition...
Web Site News - Toolstore Now Open
Feature Article - Maintenance is For Ever
Feature Article - Work Order Priority Setting
Feature Article - Condition Based Maintenance for improving Power Plant Economics
Feature Article - Vee Belt Drives
Limited Time Offer - FREE Three Months Trial Subscription to Uptime
Survey Results - Maintenance Salaries
Current Survey - Condition Monitoring and NDT Practices
Book Review - Overall Equipment Effectiveness, by Robert Hansen
Recommended Books
On the Lighter Side - Engineering Humor


If you wish to receive notification of future copies of this newsletter by email, please register at www.plant-maintenance.com/registration.shtml. If you have any feedback on the newsletter, or have something to contribute, please send me an e-mail.


Web Site News - Toolstore Now Open

In yet another new feature to our website, we are pleased to announce that, in association with amazon.com, we now provide the capability to purchase tools and hardware through the Plant Maintenance Resource Center website. Whether shopping for tools and hardware for your home renovation and repair projects, or for your workplace, why don't you have a browse through the toolstore at www.plant-maintenance.com/toolstore.shtml.


Feature Article - Maintenance is For Ever

This article is the first in a series of five offered by Pete Peeters of the Maintenance Excellence Institute which presents a strategic approach to Maintenance and Reliability Improvement. An introduction to the entire series can be read at http://www.plant-maintenance.com/articles/JourneytoMaintenanceExcellence-Introduction.pdf. The first article is titled "Maintenance is Forever", and defines the need for long-term continuous reliability improvement (CRI) within the business of maintenance and physical asset management. It sounds the alarm to support maintenance leaders in their quest to maintain facilities and equipment with diminishing funds while often gaining new production assets and facilities along with new maintenance requirements for these physical assets via new minor/major additions or acquisitions. It also strives to explain how four very basic but interrelated challenges can almost exponentially grow the scope of overall maintenance work requirements. The full article can be read at http://www.plant-maintenance.com/articles/MaintenanceisForever.pdf. Note that you will need to have the free Adobe Acrobat reader installed to be able to view this file. We will progressively feature additional articles in this series in future issues of this newsletter, but if, in the meantime, you would like to receive the entire series, we would suggest that you contact Pete Peeters via email at RalphPetePeters@aol.com


Feature Article - Work Order Priority Setting

This article was offered by Bryan Weir of Perspective MMS (http://www.pemms.co.uk) in response to some related discussion on the plantmaint Maintenance Discussion forum (see http://www.plant-maintenance.com/discussion_forum.shtml). It discusses a method for setting Work Order priorities which uses a simplified method of combining work and equipment types to calculate work order priority. This article is available at
http://www.plant-maintenance.com/articles/WOPriorities.pdf. Note that you will need to have the free Adobe Acrobat reader installed to be able to view this file.


Feature Article - Condition Based Maintenance for improving Power Plant Economics

This article from Dr. V. Bhujanga Rao of the Naval Science & Technological Laboratory in India states the case for improved use of Condition Based Maintenance in the Indian Power Industry. The demand for electrical power is growing at a rate of about 8% per annum in India, and Power Generators, as well as those involved in Transmission and Distribution, should expect considerable benefits from improved use of Condition Based Maintenance techniques. You can read this article at http://www.plant-maintenance.com/articles/CBMPowerPlants.pdf. Once again, you will need to have the free Adobe Acrobat reader installed to be able to view this file.


Feature Article - Vee Belt Drives

This article, submitted by Mike Sondalini of Feed Forward Publications, is a sample of the type of information that is available to subscribers to the Process Plant & Equipment UP-TIME newsletter. For a limited time, you can receive a three month FREE trial subscription to this newsletter (see below). This particular article discusses the use of vee-belt drives. It covers some basic theory of friction drives and lists 11 factors to be considered in order to ensure reliable operation of vee-belt drives. You can read the full article at http://www.plant-maintenance.com/articles/Vee-beltDrives.pdf. Note that you will need to have the free Adobe Acrobat reader installed to be able to view this file.


Limited Time Offer - FREE Three Months Trial Subscription to Uptime

As outlined in the advertisement above, we are pleased, to offer to M-News newsletter readers and subscribers a three month FREE trial subscription to the Process Plant & Equipment UP-TIME newsletter produced by Feed Forward Publications. This is a limited time offer, and will only be available to those who register for the trial subscription before June 15, 2002. If you were to purchase these three issues individually, then this would cost you A$45 (about US$25) - so this is an excellent value-for-money offer.

To our knowledge, there is no other newsletter available which is specifically targeted at improving shop-floor level knowledge and skills, allowing them to proactively engage in maintenance and reliability improvement. We think that once you have started receiving and sharing the newsletter with your Plant Operators and Maintenance workforce, you will soon discover the value that it can bring to your organization. We are sure that you will then choose to subscribe to the newsletter on a more permanent basis.


Survey Results - Maintenance Salaries

This survey has now closed, and the results are being compiled. I hope to be able to bring you an analysis of the results in the next issue of M-News. In the meantime, sincere thanks to the 181 people who participated in this survey.


Current Survey - Condition Monitoring and NDT Practices

Which Condition Monitoring and NDT techniques do you use at your workplace? Do you use contractors to perform these tasks? Which techniques give you the best results? Let us know in this survey which will remain open until May 15, 2002. You can complete the survey, or view the results to date at http://www.plant-maintenance.com/survey.shtml.


Book Review - Overall Equipment Effectiveness, by Robert Hansen

Disregard the title to this book. While it certainly covers the theory and practice regarding the establishment and use of Overall Equipment Effectiveness as a performance measure at your site (and does this well), this book in fact covers much much more. In reality, it is a highly practical guidebook for Reliability Improvement in general. While there are a couple of areas where highly experienced Maintenance practitioners may have some quibbles, overall these are minor. This book is a recommended and worthwhile addition to the range of books available on Maintenance and Reliability Improvement. You can view our detailed review, and/or purchase this book through amazon.com, at http://www.plant-maintenance.com/books/0831131381.shtml.


Recommended Books

View our current Top 5 recommended books, and the current Top Ten Best Selling Maintenance Books at http://www.plant-maintenance.com/maintenance_books.shtml.

On the Lighter Side - Engineering Humor

Engineers and Light Bulbs

How many first year engineering students does it take to change a light bulb?
None. That's a second year subject.

How many second year engineering students does it take to change a light bulb?
One, but the rest of the class copies the report.

How many third year engineering students does it take to change a light bulb?
"Will this question be on the final exam?"

How many civil engineers does it take to change a light bulb?
Two. One to do it and one to steady the chandelier.

How many electrical engineers does it take to change a light bulb?
None. They simply redefine darkness as the industry standard.

How many computer engineers does it take to change a light bulb?
"Why bother? The socket will be obsolete in six months anyway."

How many mechanical engineers does it take to change a light bulb?
Five. One to decide which way the bulb ought to turn, one to calculate the force required, one to design a tool with which to turn the bulb, one to design a comfortable-but functional- hand grip, and one to use all this equipment.

How many nuclear engineers does it take to change a light bulb?
Seven. One to install the new bulb and six to figure out what to do with the old one.



I hope you have enjoyed this newsletter. All feedback, comments and contributions to future editions are very welcome (as are enquiries about contributions to, and sponsorship of, this newsletter).

Alexander (Sandy) Dunn
Plant Maintenance Resource Center
webmaster@plant-maintenance.com
http://www.plant-maintenance.com


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