Industrial Maintenance & Engineering Articles

  ✫彡  Developing Competencies During The Economic Downturn

Developing competencies open roads to worker productivity in the workplace, employability, and sustainable development. This article by Armando Justo points out competency-based training to improve employee skills will be key differentiators for the future success of organizations and countries alike.

  ✫彡  Maintenance Managers in the Pursuit of World-Class Performance

This whitepaper outlines in detail how a savvy maintenance manager can cause organizational change, and why. In today's competitive economy, those not willing to succeed will cease to exist. This advanced knowledge and insight is invaluable for career planning.

  ✫彡  Residential Electrician to Industrial Electrician

An Industrial Careers Pathway from Residential Electrician to Industrial Electrician.

  ✫彡  Training Business in Recession; "The Training Recession"

Recession survival tips on how and why not to cut training.

  ✫彡  Free 25 RFID Case Studies Ebook

This free Ebook is an RFID application storybook, which has twenty-five different RFID technology application stories from around the globe.

  ✫彡  Pharmaceutical article - RFID Systems helps with FDA regulations By Sangeeta

Pharmaceutical article and white paper attempt to present a solution to ensure timely compliance Prescription Drug Marketing Act (PDMA). The pharmaceutical supply chain makes an excellent example of supply chain management RFID used for a track and trace system.

  ✫彡  The Impact on Your Business of Defect Cost and Failure Cost By Mike Sondalini

Article about defect and failure true costing, that adds economics to RCM and FMEA to help companies recognize and prevent this tremendous waste of money.

  ✫彡  Model-Based Tuning Methods for PID Controllers. - By Jeffrey Arbogast ( Department of Chemical Engineering, Douglas J. Cooper, Ph.D. and Robert C. Rice, Ph.D. (of Control Station, Inc.)

Discussed are the qualities required for "good" dynamic process data and tuning methods for dynamic modeling the process data for controller design. As it is common for process data studies to be performed with the PID controller in automatic (closed loop), this article is a must-read.

  ✫彡  Safety Circuits, Force Guided vs. General Purpose Relays - By Robert Anderson, BSEE

This article helps you understand how relays work, in particular, the force guided relays. Safety Circuits, Force Guided vs. General Purpose Relays.

  ✫彡  Keys for Effective Troubleshooting - By Warren Rhude

Troubleshooting Electrical Circuits and Equipment can be a complex and hazardous process. This article describes the skills required to become an expert troubleshooter.

  ✫彡  Hazardous Area Installation Management - By Abhisam Software

In a recent study by the Health and Safety Executive, UK, 11 out of 12 facilities had potentially dangerous hazardous area electrical & instrument installations. This White Paper is an attempt to help engineers and managers, not only in the UK, but also elsewhere, to have a clear understanding of this subject and address the key issues involved.

  ✫彡  How to Troubleshoot like an Expert ' a Systematic Approach - By Warren Rhude

To expertly troubleshoot electrical equipment, problems must be solved by replacing only defective equipment or components in the least amount of time.

  ✫彡  Plant Maintenance Management of your PLC - By Don Fitchett

When the PLC (Programmable Logic Controllers) is not functioning properly, lines shut down, plants shutdown, even city bridges and water stations could cease to operate. Thousands to millions could be lost by one little PLC in an electrical panel that you never even knew existed.

  ✫彡  OEE Analysis at Toyota Motor Manufacturing - Reader Response

A reply to one reader's inquiry for help doing an OEE analysis of a well-established automotive industry automotive plant, Toyota Motor Manufacturing.

  ✫彡  The True Cost of Downtime - By Don Fitchett

The key to realizing greater savings from more informed management decisions is to predetermine the "True" cost of downtime for each profit center category.

  ✫彡  The Japanese Path to Maintenance Excellence - By Mike Sondalini

Equipment criticality determines what level of preventative maintenance to use and much more. We can learn from Mike's visit to a major Japanese manufacturer.

  ✫彡  M2M Device Networking - By Marty Huff

An article about how the ability to extract raw data from a device, machine, or appliance and convert that data into useful information transforms the decision-making from an art to a science.

  ✫彡  How a Photoswitch Saved My Job - by Larry Bush

An article by author Larry Bush about how a more advanced photo sensor on a canning equipment seamer in the food processing industry had saved his job.

  ✫彡  Hydrocarbon Traces In Purging Nitrogen'(via Chromatography) - by P.K. Rao

When the reactors of Hydroprocessing Units and Reformers and other plant equipment are given for maintenance or for the regeneration of the catalyst, it becomes necessary to remove all residual hydrocarbons from the system. RTOL Lab's editor, P.K. Rao provides the procedure in this article.

  ✫彡  Electrical Industrial Troubleshooting - by Larry Bush

An article on electrical industrial troubleshooting with sections on industrial motor control and programmable logic controller. Covers problem solving with motor test and short circuit training.

  ✫彡  Contract Maintenance or Not? - by Torbjorn Idhammar

What kind of maintenance should or should not be contracted out and the reasons for choosing either option.

  ✫彡  OEE Reports - Automated Capturing & Recording of Availability Data - by Bob Giese

With automated OEE, you not only result in a smoother running facility, but you get OEE reports that help you identify where and how to improve your operating effectiveness.

  ✫彡  Lean Maintenance using Six Sigma DMAIC - by Howard C. Cooper

You can not have truly lean manufacturing without also having Lean Maintenance. This article is a detailed overview of how to successfully implement Lean Maintenance. From identifying the barriers, defining the problem, to arriving at a solution. This article is a great start in controlling the project.

  ✫彡  Writing the Perfect PM - by Ralph Hackle

From developing a PM template with an example PM template to using RCM tools to determine the frequency of each PM.

  ✫彡  EDR - Engineering Driven Reliability

With his article 'The One Absolutely Critical Point RCM, FMEA and the like  All Miss!', Mike is introducing the next evolution in reliability. After 300 years, it is time for Engineering Driven Reliability (EDR)!

  ✫彡  Total Performance Safety

Performance Safety recognizes individual and team performance in pro-active (not reactive) injury prevention techniques that will totally prevent, or at least, reduce exposures to hazards.

  ✫彡  RCM - Reliability Centered Maintenance

Mike Sondalini explains when it pays to use RCM while revealing an implementation method that results in even greater savings for your organization.

  ✫彡  OEE - Overall Equipment Effectiveness

Overall Equipment Effectiveness is a benchmarking tool as well as an analysis tool. This article covers what OEE is, why you should use OEE, and how to use it.

  ✫彡 The knowledge network, networking people

The most powerful aspect of the knowledge network is often the most overlooked advantage. That advantage is a solution that results when two or more individuals communicating back and forth with a common goal.

  ✫彡  Maximum Hydraulic Component Life - By Brendan Casey

Defining Fluid Temperature & Viscosity Limits for Maximum Hydraulic Component Life

  ✫彡  CMMS ROI Calculator

How to cost-justify your CMMS program. A Return on Investment (ROI) calculation results in a value that represents the benefits received from a project against the total costs of the project.