Asset Management / Life Cycle Cost

Root Cause

Definition of Root Cause Analysis (RCA)

A fault tree is constructed starting with the final failure and progressively tracing each cause that led to the previous cause. This continues till the trail can be traced back no further. Each result of a cause must clearly flow from its predecessor (the one before it). If it is clear that a step is missing between causes it is added in and evidence looked for to support its presence. Below is a sample fault tree for the moral story of the kingdom lost because of a missing horseshoe nail.

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Condition Monitoring

The Trifecta of Motor Maintenance

Using the same concept of a trifecta (three factors for success), this article provides companies with the winning strategies of motor maintenance, focusing on the three reliability tasks for electric motor testing and the order in which they should be applied. Following these steps will drastically improve their odds in motor reliability and put a big payday at the end of their production goals.

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Preventive Maintenance

Piping Vibration – Causes, Limits and Remedies

We are embarking on a voyage of discovery that entails us calling at the following way stations:
Part 1 – Calculate natural frequency of a pipe
Part 2 – Calculate VIV Vortex
Induced Vibration affecting the pipe
Part 3 – Calculate the effect
of flow induced vibration as flow rates change
Part 4 – Determine the severity of the vibration to see if it is acceptable as is or if we need to make modifications.

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Lubrication

10 Steps to Getting More From Your Equipment Lubricants

Just like everything else, lubricants have a shelf-life. If you treat them right, this can be anywhere between six months to three years depending on the type. However, lubricants will only reach their max life expectancy if they are stored and cared for properly.

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Preventive Maintenance

What is Preventive Maintenance? A Comprehensive Guide

Preventive maintenance is a strategy that helps plan regular and routine maintenance to maximize the longevity of assets, equipment, and buildings. It also helps reduce the chances of unexpected equipment failures, costly unplanned downtimes and reactive maintenance. Businesses implement PM strategies by planning and scheduling maintenance activities based on real-time operational data using a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS).

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fatigue failure
Root Cause

Fatigue Failure 101

What Causes Fatigue Failure? Metal fatigue is caused by repeated cycling of the load. It is a progressive localized damage due to fluctuating stresses and strains on the material. Metal fatigue cracks initiate and propagate in regions where the strain is most severe. The process of fatigue consists of three stages.

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Preventive Maintenance

Nondestructive Testing for Protective Coatings: Implementing a Lifetime Corrosion Prevention Program

During the 20th century cheap and abundant energy made corrosion a manageable problem. This era is coming to an end. Soon, industry will find there is less funding available for corrosion prevention after adjusting for rising energy costs. At this time, management will be forced to decide whether to continue with traditional corrosion control practices or change to something new with a greater potential for energy savings. For many, this will be an extremely difficult decision to make.

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preventive maintenance best practices
Preventive Maintenance

Checking Best Practices for Preventive Maintenance

Visiting plants in different corners of the world, we often are asked: “What are the current best practices for preventive maintenance (PM)?” We usually answer that we define preventive maintenance using 95 key elements. We also point out, to some people’s dismay, that there is no single silver bullet for improving PM, but rather many combined efforts will be required to eventually yield results. Here are a few key elements that have been extracted from our program of Current Best Practices (CBP) along with test questions and best practice (BP) examples to help you gauge how well your plant practices measure up.

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10-steps-to-improve-preventive-maintenance
Preventive Maintenance

How to Improve Your PM Program in 10 Steps

If you currently have a preventive maintenance (PM) program in place and want to improve it, there are 10 steps you can follow to do so. Following these steps will uncover inefficiencies, including over- and under-scheduled PMs, equipment with PMs that don’t need them, and noncritical equipment that is prioritized over critical equipment for preventive maintenance.

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