JANURY 2018 An Applied Technology Media Brand

Asset Data
Standards
Cyber-Challenge Predictions 18
Virtual Planning Delivers Efficiency 22
Understanding, Fighting Corrosion 28

efficientplantmag.com
Formerly
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CONTENTS JANUARY 2018 | VOL. 31, NO. 1 | efficientplantmag.com

12
Uponor North America
used digital-twin and
virtual technology to aid in
renovating and retrofitting

Data Standards Lead to Project Success building additions in its

production of PEX plastic
Acquiring and entering asset data into EAM and CMMS systems prior to project startup will help assure proper tubing. See p. 22.
equipment performance and extend life cycles.
Scott Janzen, CMRP, Emerson Automation Solutions

18 22 25 28 32
Experts Predict Virtual Planning Developing Corrosion: Good Greasing
Cyber Challenges Results in A Reliability Understand It to Is a Feeling
Jane Alexander Efficient Design Strategy Fight It Ken Bannister
Managing Editor Michelle Segrest Michelle Segrest Neville Sachs, P.E. Contributing Editor
Contributing Editor Contributing Editor

JANUARY 2018 EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM | 1

CONTENTS

8
35 Implementations
Use backlog to manage
SAP: Planning a
maintenance
Work Order
Dr. Klaus M. Blache
Contributing Editor

36
Choose, Use, Store
Shims Properly

37
Consider Your
Emergency-Stop
Needs 41 12
Uptime
38 Prepare for a strong economy
Bob Williamson DEPARTMENTS On The Cover
Become an Contributing Editor Acquiring and standardizing asset-data
6 Editorial and date entry into EAM and CMMS sys-
‘Employer of Choice’
10 News tems, prior to project startup, will help
assure proper equipment performance,
39 On the Floor extend life cycles, keep the program on

42 Solution Focus time and on budget, and generally pro-

tect the plant. Learn more on p. 12.
44 Products
46 Index
47 Showcase

48
Efficiency Insight
Refinery of the future
Gary Mintchell Visit our website!
Contributing Editor
efficientplantmag.com
...
For information on
web-exclusive content,
see page 4.

2 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM JANUARY 2018

 Choose Performance,
Quality, and Value
Without Compromise
More than 40,000 quality-tested
products at a competitive price.

© Allied Electronics & Automation, 2018 Find this and more at alliedelec.com/rs-pro 1.800.433.5700
EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM

THERE IS MUCH MORE AT EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM

WEB Our website, efficientplantmag.com, is constantly updated to keep you informed of the latest
in reliability and maintenance developments. The most recent information you’ll find includes:

MOBILE TECHNOLOGY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, DEVELOPING SKILLED

PODCAST
In a new podcast, Schneider Electric’s Kim
Custeau discusses mobile technology trends, the
role mobile systems are playing in companies
of all sizes, hurdles that might be slowing future
growth, and data security issues.
efficientplantmag.com/1801mobile
DIGITAL-TWINS PODCAST
GE Digital vice president of Intelligent Systems
explores, with editorial director Gary L. Parr,
the roles artificial intelligence and digital-twins
technology are playing in developing and im-
proving efficiency and asset reliability.
efficientplantmag.com/1801aitech
WORKERS PODCAST
Gary L. Parr interviews Uponor North America
president Bill Gray to learn about the company’s
efforts to develop skilled workers, increase fe-
male manufacturing employment, and educate
students in local schools.
efficientplantmag.com/1801uponor

BANNISTER ON LUBRICATION WEBINAR: COST OF WEBINAR: ASSET

PODCAST
In this month’s podcast with lubrication expert
Ken Bannister, he explores the many differ-
ence-making nuances of grease application,
with a focus on properly selecting, using, and
maintaining grease-guns.
efficientplantmag.com/1801lube
UNRELIABILITY
In this webinar, industry consultant and author
Al Poling explains what unreliability costs plant
operations and how building and sustaining
a reliability-focused culture can have a direct
impact on the bottom line.
efficientplantmag.com/1709unreliability
MANAGEMENT AND IIoT
Connecting your smart devices, through an
asset-management program, to the Industrial
Internet of Things is a good way to begin real-
izing the benefits of IIoT technology, including
mobile monitoring.
efficientplantmag.com/1708emerson

JANUARY 2018 • Volume 31, No. 1 Efficient Plant® (ISSN 2575-6400) is published
monthly by Applied Technology Media Inc., 535
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4 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM JANUARY 2018

STAY SMOOTH.
STAY CONFIDENT.
MOLDED-OIL TM BEARINGS
NSK’s patented Molded-Oil grease is specifically developed for situations
requiring high levels of hygiene, such as the food and beverage industry.
Molded-Oil lubricant is transported by a substance that releases the lubricant
gradually. This way, the required amount of lubrication is provided to the bearing
over an extended period of time. At the same time, the risk of oil leakages is
minimized making the bearings outstandingly smooth running.
Lubricants with USDA H1 certification are also an option.

www.nskamericas.com
column | editorial
Help For I
NDUSTRIAL INTERNET OF Things
(IIoT) is the topic of the day for enterpris-
Your IIoT
es that want to move efficiency/reliability
programs toward the predictive and, preferably,
prescriptive levels. Organizations seem to be
Efforts
organized in three camps:
 those that have fully implemented IIoT
technology and practices and are realizing
game-changing results
 those that have made an investment and
realized some success, but haven’t found a
path that leads to the promised land
 those that know they need to get on board
aren’t sure where to start and don’t have the
resources to experiment.
For the latter two camps, the overriding
question is “How?” I asked Google’s experts
for an answer to that question and they came
back to me with a white paper from SAS Insti-
tute Inc., Cary, NC (sas.com). The publication,
“5 Steps for Turning Industrial IoT Data into
a Competitive Advantage,” lays out one plan
of attack that might help your operations get
in the IIoT game. Download the document at
efficientplantmag.com/1801sas.
Here are some high points from the plan:
Step 1. Define IIoT Business Goals: This
pops up time and time again as the starting
point for technology-oriented efforts. Basi-
cally, business and technology leaders need to
put their heads together and identify areas in
which IIoT technology can benefit the compa-
ny. That calls into play the old saw of finding
places where you can realize small victories,
then building on them.
Step 2. Define an Analytics Strategy:
Once you have your use cases in place, select
an analytics platform. According to SAS, as-
sess possible options for how well they deliver
a holistic analytical life cycle that:
 efficiently prepares, stores, and trans-
These five steps may help you re-
alize IIoT implementation success. forms data for analytics
 drives discovery from diagnostic, predic-
tive, and prescriptive analytic techniques
6 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
 deploys, manages, and monitors analytics
in the cloud, the fog, and on the edge.
Step 3. Assess the Need for Edge Analyt-
ics: This is a key step. According to the white-
paper, IIoT users must do more than analyze
information. They need to turn analyses into
action, which requires a management struc-
ture designed to operationalize the insights.
Edge analytics can capture value in real time,
and it deserves special consideration by IIoT
planners. Edge analytics processes the data
stream close to the source of the data. This
allows the analytics system to stem impend-
ing problems by shutting down machinery,
triggering alerts, or taking other actions. The
capability for immediate, automated response
is not possible if analysis has to wait until data
reaches back-end storage systems.
Edge analytics also filter data at the source
so that only relevant data is sent to the cloud.
This prevents irrelevant information from
overloading networks and keeps the focus on
what’s most important to the business.
Step 4. Choose the Right Analytics Solu-
tion: Time to go shopping. This is a big hurdle
and a key decision point, so let the buyer
beware. The white paper offers a good deal of
advice to help you.
Step 5. Focus on Continuous Improve-
ment: As with network security, you can’t
take a set-it-and-forget-it approach. According
to the whitepaper, because IIoT continues
to evolve, industrial organizations should
regularly assess their use cases and analytics
performance, and update these areas as new
capabilities and business opportunities arise.
At the same time, they should re-examine
existing deployments to ensure that analytics
continue to achieve use-case goals.”
I can’t say for sure that this is a one-size-
fits-all plan. But, if you’re wrestling with
IIoT implementation, the whitepaper could
provide some food for thought. EP
gparr@efficientplantmag.com
JANUARY 2018
 CHANGING BEHAVIOR TO PRODUCE RESULTS®
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COURSE WHO SHOULD ATTEND YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO DATES & LOCATION DAYS/CEUs COST
Maintenance Maintenance Managers and Supervisors, Lead a world-class maintenance department using planning Apr 17-19, 2018 (OSU) 3 consecutive days $1,895
Management as well as Supervisors from Operations, and scheduling best practices to drive work execution, improve Sept 25-27, 2018 (KU) 2.1 CEUs
Skills Warehouse or Housekeeping areas productivity, motivate staff, increase output and reduce waste. Dec 4-6, 2018 (CHS)

Maintenance Planner/Schedulers, Maintenance Apply preventive and predictive maintenance practices. Calculate Apr 2-5, 2018 (CHS) 4 consecutive days $2,495
Planning and Supervisors, Maintenance Managers, work measurement. Schedule and coordinate work. Handle May 7-10, 2018 (KU) 2.8 CEUs
Scheduling Operations Coordinators, Storeroom common maintenance problems, delays and inefficiencies. July 23-26, 2018 (CHS)
Managers and Purchasing Managers Sept 24-27, 2018 (CU) A1 A2 B2

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Management ers, Planner/Schedulers, Maintenance to optimize investment. Understand the role of purchasing. Oct 23-25, 2018 (CHS) 2.1 CEUs
Managers and Operations Managers Implement effective work control processes.
Planning for Members of the shutdown or outage teams, Save time and money on your next shutdown by learning how to Aug 7-9, 2018 (CHS) 3 consecutive days $1,895
Shutdowns, planners, plant engineers, maintenance effectively plan for and manage such large projects. Learn 2.1 CEUs
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Predictive Plant engineers and managers, Maintenance, Collect and analyze data to assess the actual operating condition. Apr 3-5, 2018 (CHS) 3 consecutive days $1,895
Maintenance Industrial and Manufacturing Engineers, Use vibration monitoring, thermography and tribology to optimize May 15-17, 2018 (OSU) 2.1 CEUs
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Nov 6-8, 2018 (KU)

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Reliability Reliability Engineers, Maintenance Learn how to build and sustain a Reliability Engineering program, Feb 27-Mar 1, 2018 (KU) 3 consecutive days $1,895
Engineering Managers, Reliability Technicians, investigate reliability tools and problem-solving methods and ways April 24-26, 2018 (CU) 2.1 CEUs
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Asset Maintenance Managers, Operations management program. Discover how to reduce risk and achieve Mar 27-29, 2018 (CU) 2.1 CEUs
Management Managers, and Engineering Technicians the greatest asset utilization at the lowest total cost of June 12-14, 2018 (KU)
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Root Cause Anyone responsible for problem solving Establish a culture of continuous improvement and create a Mar 20-22, 2018 (OSU) 3 consecutive days $1,895
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column | implementations
Use Backlog I
T BAFFLES ME to see how
many companies fail to understand
To Manage
backlog, don’t have a backlog pro-
cess to follow, or have one and simply
don’t follow it. Maintenance backlog
Maintenance
is the methodology of calculating the
amount of work approved and waiting
to be done. Yes, it’s just a calcula-
tion, based on needed and available
Dr. Klaus M. Blache
Univ. of Tennessee Reliability & resources, but, when handled correctly,
Maintainability Center it’s the way to manage your mainte-
nance workload. Backlog is required
hours/available hours and is typically
expressed in weeks of backlog (some
facilities are still using number of work
orders, which provides no indication
of time for planning). While many
metrics can be applied, the key is to use
the chosen metric consistently. Mainte-
nance backlog work:
 should not just be the work that has
passed the due date
 should be reduced with overtime,
less-reactive maintenance, and/or
by outsourcing
 takes into consideration the priorities
of items already in backlog
 is part of good planning and
scheduling
 should be organized, i.e. sort out the
shutdown work (for when it’s need-
ed); remove duplicate work orders,
unapproved capital projects, and old/
obsolete work orders; and then focus on
all other work, based on priority
 is a factor in determining what
can be accomplished with internal
resources and what basic tasks should
be outsourced
 is increasingly disrupted with grow-
ing reactive maintenance.
Your maintenance backlog target should ‘Ready Backlog’ is one of many
be two to four weeks. key metrics. It refers to the quantity of
work that has been fully prepared for
8 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
execution, but has not yet been executed.
See the Society for Maintenance and
Reliability Professionals (SMRP, Atlanta,
smrp.org) Body of Knowledge for more
details and additional related definitions.
According to SMRP, Ready Backlog
(weeks) = Ready Work/Crew Capacity.
In the past year, I’ve seen company
Ready Backlog values ranging from as
low as a week to more than 15 weeks. Of
course, the rate at which you can reduce
a high backlog depends on the number
of people you have and how much time
can be consistently allotted to it without
disrupting normal activities. At more
than one plant, I calculated that it would
take more than a year to remove the
backlog, assuming nothing else happens.
That means a new work order may not
get completed for a year.
A backlog of less than two weeks
indicates you are over-staffed. Two to
four weeks’ worth (some go to eight)
is generally considered good. Your
backlog should be leveraged to maintain
a well-utilized workforce. If the backlog
gets too long, groups throughout the
plant will lose confidence in your process
and often start prioritizing needs as
“very high” or a safety concern to get
things done. Unfortunately, too many
companies fall far behind with back-
logged work orders and simply drop
them off the schedule. My advice: Use
backlog to help establish a competitive
maintenance process. EP
Based in Knoxville, Klaus M. Blache
is director of the Reliability &
Maintainability Center at the Univ. of
Tennessee, and a research professor
in the College of Engineering.
Contact him at kblache@utk.edu.
JANUARY 2018
 The Original and Still
Most Reliable

Type E Bearing
When Dodge® created the Type E bearing in 1943,
• Introduced in 1943
it quickly became the industry standard. And, after
74 years of improving and expanding the Type E, it
has become the most widely used, reliable industrial
bearing in the world.
• Proudly Manufactured in Marion, NC and Rogersville, TN
Designed with innovative features to improve
bearing life, reduce maintenance costs and simplify
installation, our Type E family of bearings meets
the needs for the most rugged, wet and dusty • Complete Inventory, Sales and Support
applications and environments. When you choose
genuine Dodge Type E bearings you’ve chosen the
original, unequaled bearing in the industry.

baldor.com 479-646-4711 • Reliable and Safe for the Toughest Environments

©2017 Baldor Electric Company

department | news
NEWS
New Year,
New Trade
Name
For Allied
Electronics
ALLIED ELECTRONICS (alliedelec.
com, Fort Worth) has announced that it
is now operating under the trade name of
Allied Electronics & Automation.  the distribution arm of Columbia Radio Corp.
The company’s ownership and staff haven’t
changed. According to its president, Steve
Newland, the new trade name better reflects
the business as a premier distributor of elec-
SKF Expands,
Simplifies Software
As A Service
Offering
SKF (skf.com, Gothenburg, Sweden) is
expanding and simplifying its software-as-
a-service (SaaS) offering to help customers
and service partners increase performance
and productivity, while reducing the
time spent working to identify complex
equipment faults.
Its Enlight Centre software platform fea-
tures a new server-less, micro-service-based
system built on Amazon web services.
According to the company, this cloud-based
platform will enhance SKF’s ability to con-
nect more deeply with its customers at their
point of need.
10 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
tronics and automation and control products. trocomponents (London) purchased Allied.
Allied Electronics & Automation was Today, the company and its sister company
founded in Chicago, in 1928, as Allied Radio, RS Components (rs-online.com, also based
in London) represent the trading brands of
That name changed to Allied Electronics in Electrocomponents plc, a global distributor
1961 to reflect a move into industrial sales. for engineers.
Acquired by Tandy Radio in 1970, the com-
pany moved to Fort Worth. In 1999, Elec-
New Safety Resources
For Oil & Gas Sector
GRAPHIC PRODUCTS (graph-
icproducts.com, Beaverton, OR) has
released a portfolio of new visual
communication resources specifically
tailored for the Oil & Gas sector. Among
these materials, a free guide to signage
helps safety managers and supervisors
review regulations and standards, understand
the top hazards, and learn how effective label-
ing and signage can help address those hazards. A
free, printable infographic on Oil & Gas statistics and best
practices provides compelling information to share with workers and spread aware-
ness on a variety of industry topics. An article titled “10 Tips for Oil and Gas Industry
Workers” helps reinforce the importance of the re-evaluation of safety programs and
behavior to more effectively address worker safety issues and reduce the rate of injuries
and accidents. For more information, visit the company’s website at graphicproducts.
com/resources.
JANUARY 2018
It’s time to redo the
formula on condition
monitoring

Vibration sensors offer a better ROI than you think

The Fluke 3560 FC pays for itself in months by reducing downtime and outside costs for
vibration specialists.

Get the facts at

www.fluke.com/3560fc

The Accelix software platform integrates all of your maintenance solutions,

providing a seamless tool to software experience. ©2017 Fluke Corporation.
6010358-en
 feature | data management

Data Standards Scott Janzen

CMRP, Emerson
Automation Solutions

Lead to Project Success

Acquiring and ASSETS BEGIN TO degrade as soon as they are in
entering asset operation. If the documentation for those assets is lost in
a storage room collecting dust, equipment may not receive
data into EAM
the level of maintenance that it truly needs. This lack of
and CMMS
maintenance is compounded when the enterprise-as-
systems prior to set-management systems (EAM) and computerized-main-
project start- tenance-management software (CMMS) systems aren’t
up will help updated during project implementation. Without detailed
assure proper asset data, maintenance technicians don’t have immediate
equipment access to essential information.
As technicians become more and more frustrated with
performance
the state of the plant due to their lack of access to vital op-
and extend life
erations and maintenance (O&M) or Industrial Internet of
cycles. Things (IIoT) sensor data, and as equipment degrades due
to improper maintenance and lack of monitoring, assets
begin to fail, resulting in plant downtime and increased
safety risk.
With today’s sophisticated IIoT environment, we
install all types of sensors on our assets for safety, proper
operation, or to tell us when maintenance is needed. But
those sensors simply just send, in most cases, a 4- to-20-
mA signal to the distributed-control system. Without the
documentation to turn that signal into an alarm or trend-
able machine data, it’s just a 4- to-20-mA signal with no
real value. For organizations to prepare for IIoT advances,
including remote monitoring, cloud analytics, and eventu-
ally to move from predictive to prescriptive maintenance,
they need clear data-acquisition standards for sensors, de-
vices, and assets that will enable them to capture and then
share the data. Preparing for IIoT technologies tomorrow
starts with data decisions organizations make today.
For organizations to
prepare for IIoT advances, BETTER DATA, BETTER PROJECTS
particularly to move from
predictive to prescriptive Failure to expedite and organize data acquisition is not
maintenance, they need only harmful to future plant operations, but can also in-
clear data-acquisition stan-
crease risk to the execution of current projects. If technical
dards for sensors, devices,
and assets. data is not delivered until late in a project, assets cannot be

12 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM JANUARY 2018

 feature | data management
Preparing for IIoT technologies tomorrow starts with data decisions made today.
set up until they have arrived on site, putting asset
configuration on the critical path and increasing the
risk of budget and schedule overruns.
Additionally, the process of generating equip-
ment documentation becomes more costly and
cumbersome after a project has been completed.
Instead of spending technician hours going through
disorganized data delivered after project completion,
organizations can save a great deal of money on the
documentation process by incorporating a data-
acquisition plan into the project scope. As a bonus,
properly planned asset-data collection will lead to
more accurate and organized plant documentation.
In a best-case scenario, a data-acquisition stan-
dard would be developed with the requirements
incorporated into the bid specifications. Organi-
zations that embrace a standard in the early stages
of project planning will realize four key benefits:
extended asset lifecycles, general plant protection,
on-time/on-budget project delivery, and plant-
personnel engagement.
EXTENDED ASSET LIFECYLES
Establishing equipment baselines is key to realizing
long asset life. As previously mentioned, assets begin
to degrade as soon as they are put into service, so
equipment examined six months after installation
will not be running the same as it was on the first
day. Maintenance teams need to be able to collect an
accurate predictive maintenance (PdM) baseline for
new equipment so that later readings and exam-
inations can be compared with the as-delivered, or
new-asset, readings.
In one example, an organization experienced
problems with a series of new mixers they had
installed. Maintenance personnel performed
motor-circuit-evaluation (MCE) testing on the
mixers after they had been in operation for a couple
of months and thought that the readings seemed
acceptable. The mixers continued to fail and the
organization went through multiple replacements.
Eventually, the maintenance team established
JANUARY 2018
an MCE baseline on a new replacement unit and
determined that the rapid degradation was due to a
manufacturer defect. Had they established a baseline
before plant startup, the cost of multiple replacement
mixers could have been avoided. Unfortunately,
since the mixer documentation was delivered after
the units were online, by the time the assets were
set up in the CMMS and a work order generated to
perform the MCE, the damage was already done.
Another factor is how thoroughly and accurately
maintenance databases are populated. If equipment
documentation is delivered at or near the end of
project implementation, the EAM and CMMS will
likely not have been populated with the information
needed to establish an equipment baseline. It is com-
mon for organizations to fill in fields with dummy,
or placeholder, information while waiting for accu-
rate specifications to arrive. Frequently, many fields
are left blank indefinitely as the company focus shifts
to production. Common examples of these fields
include serial numbers, model numbers, manufac-
turer, equipment type, and description.
Once startup occurs, no one has the time to go
back and reconcile the EAM and CMMS data with
the documentation received at the end of the project.
As a result, the maintenance databases are com-
promised when operations begin and, as data drift
takes hold, the databases only get worse. These data
issues can have a significant impact on maintenance
efficiency.
Not having access to asset data in the CMMS
significantly increases the amount of time it takes a
maintenance planner to set up a maintenance pro-
cedure, order parts, and write work orders. Instead
of having the information on hand in the CMMS,
the planner will have to make a trip to the asset and
hope the data plate is accessible. Depending on the
plant or process, this could be a loss of several hours.
When organizations develop a data-acquisition
standard and include it as part of the project’s bid
specifications, they can ensure that their equipment
will be properly configured, tested, and documented
EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM | 13

Having asset data sheets
and O&M manuals delivered
and organized before a new
project goes live means
having the tools necessary
to protect the plant from
critical issues.
14 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
feature | data management
to improve asset lifecycles. Best practices to ensure
equipment documentation is ready when the project
team needs it include:
 document delivery deadlines—ideally before
equipment is on-site
 document delivery standards clearly communicat-
ed to vendors
 timelines for data entry into EAM and CMMS
 standardized guidelines for data entry in EAM
and CMMS.
PROTECTING THE PLANT
Having asset data sheets and O&M man-
uals delivered and organized before a
new project goes live means having
the tools necessary to protect the
plant from a significant number
of critical issues. For a main-
tenance program to function,
technicians need to know not
only what maintenance is re-
quired on each asset, but also the
tolerances within which those ac-
tivities must be performed. Having
data available also makes it possible
to have IIoT system safety alarms
and condition-monitoring programs
ready at startup.
Incorporating asset data and maintenance
requirements at the outset also has an impact on
manufacturer warranties. A warranty is of little value
if the organization is not performing the required
maintenance steps. Complex devices will require
regular checks and replacement of consumables.
These functions include:
 filter changes
 oil analysis
 motor-circuit analysis
 backlash checks.
An example of the importance of those functions
involves a polymer company that had a new $35,000
gearbox installed as part of new process startup. Three
months after startup, the gearbox suffered a major gear
failure, requiring complete replacement. The failure
also caused a five-day shutdown of the new process
that was generating $50,000/day in revenue.
The asset data and manuals for the new process
had been turned over only a month before the failure
and had not been entered in the CMMS. Because the
maintenance team did not have the operation and
maintenance manuals at startup, they did not know
there were critical backlash checks that needed to be
performed before and just after startup that would
have prevented the failure. Because the checks were
not completed, the gearbox manufacturer would not
cover the cost of the replacement. The company lost
not only the $50,000/day revenue, but also the cost of
the gearbox replacement and expedited delivery fees.
For organizations that operate within strict
environmental and safety constraints, equipment
incidents can be costly to more than just the budget.
Environmental or safety incidents can have a lasting
impact on a company’s reputation. When reputation
and safety are on the line, maintenance strategies must
be planned before an incident. Without adequate,
accurate data, such a plan will be particularly difficult
to implement.
This is illustrated by a wastewater-treatment-plant
capital-improvement project (CIP) that involved
installing new chlorine peristaltic metering pumps. At
startup the pumps still had “Warning: Insure Pump
Tube is Compatible with the Fluid Being Pumped”
safety tags hanging on them. The O&M manuals had
not been turned over with the list of compatible pump
tubes, so operations personnel assumed the correct
tubes were installed.
During the third night of operation, one of the
pump tubes failed and caused the pump casing to
crack. Chlorine leaked out and filled the containment
area, destroying equipment worth several thousand
dollars and causing an expensive hazardous-material
cleanup. These fees were relatively low compared with
the fine the plant had to pay for dumping improperly
treated water into a stream for two weeks until the
process could be restarted. The follow-up investigation
found that the installed pump tubes were not compati-
ble with chlorine.
The blessing of new equipment at any plant can
quickly turn into a curse if that equipment isn’t prop-
erly managed and maintained. It is easy to assume that
a maintenance plan will fall into place after a project
is completed, but the reality is that many maintenance
JANUARY 2018
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If contractors don’t deliver technical data on a schedule, or, worse, if technical data is
delivered at the end of the project, proper maintenance planning is not possible.
strategies never get off the ground from lack
of data and resources for the assets that need
to be maintained. Starting a maintenance
program properly means allocating time
and resources to effectively and accurately
document asset specifications. To accom-
plish that, organizations need to have a data
standard in place.
ON TIME, ON BUDGET
Many organizations focus nearly of all
their energy on getting equipment installed
and meeting startup dates. Ensuring that
equipment will run properly is typically not
a concern until after project completion.
These organizations miss out on key strate-
gies to ensure a smooth startup and project
success by not incorporating a plan for data
collection into project-bid specifications.
When asset data is delivered well before
equipment arrives, not only can plants have
a comprehensive maintenance plan in place,
they can also ensure the plant’s ability to
adequately plan for a smooth, successful
startup. Many of today’s lubricated assets
require a specific lubricant and additional oil
changes during their initial startup. Oil, air,
16 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
feature | data management
and process filters may need to be changed
more frequently during the earliest stages.
Not having the necessary maintenance items
available can cause major delays and result
in high expediting costs.
However, if contractors aren’t delivering
technical data on a schedule, or, worse, if
technical data is delivered at the end of the
project, none of this planning is possible.
PUTTING PERSONNEL
IN CONTROL
In most projects, the implementation team
simply receives any technical data when and
how the project contractors decide to deliver
it. Establishing guidelines ensures that the
organization will receive data in a format
that is compatible with its document-man-
agement software, allowing easy organiza-
tion and use.
Documents that once were buried or lost
will now be clearly organized and indexed
for quick searches and easy import into
EAM and CMMS, as well as other software.
Moreover, sites can ensure that all plant
stakeholders have input into document de-
livery. Document-management champions
can quickly and easily direct documentation
to the people who need it most:
 Operators:
+ interested in operations sections of
maintenance manuals
+ may need other specification sheets
depending on processes
 Maintenance personnel need:
+ technical specifications on gearing
information and vibration, tempera-
ture, and pressure thresholds
 Electricians need:
+ specific motor data
 Instrumentation techs need:
+ data sheets
+ calibration of equipment as delivered.
If only one person is determining what
documentation is needed (especially if that
person is outside of the organization), much
of the necessary content from collected
documentation will likely be missed. Or-
ganizations that set up a site champion and
customize data-acquisition standards with
the guidelines for individual departments
should see a dramatic increase in efficiency
of maintenance and operations.
Project-implementation teams that
consider what data they need to collect,
and how to best collect it can successfully
implement a reliability program that will
extend the lifecycles of critical equipment.
In addition, these organizations will see
direct savings, during and after project im-
plementation, as good choices enable lower
overall costs and less rework, and the setting
up of an effective maintenance plan. When
organizations see data acquisition as a criti-
cal element of project success, they build for
success—now and in the future. EP
Scott Janzen, CMRP, is a reliability consultant
at Emerson Automation Solutions, Houston.
He has more than 35 years of reliability and
automation experience including 20 years in
the U.S. Navy. Janzen worked previously with
Management Resources Group (MRG) before
it was acquired by Emerson in 2014.
JANUARY 2018
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 feature | operational strategies

Experts Predict
Cyber Challenges
Jane Alexander
While cybersecurity concerns will continue to cast
Managing Editor shadows over the industrial landscape in 2018,
some rays of sunshine are breaking through.

18 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM JANUARY 2018


A RECENT TWO-PART blog by
Mille Gandelsman and Yariv Lenchner
of Indegy (indegy.com, New York) put
the New Year into perspective with
regard to industrial cybersecurity.
Part I examined threats that industri-
al IT and OT security professionals
can expect in 2018 and beyond. Part
II highlighted some things that are
on the horizon for the industrial-
control-system (ICS) security area.
The discussion began with the authors’
acknowledgement of the increase
and acceleration in connectivity and
digital transformation in industry over
the past few years—and the fact that
continuing advances in such initiatives
will be introducing new cybersecurity
challenges and landscape changes.
Their predictions, divided into a
bad news/good news scenario, are
summed up here.
THE BAD NEWS
Ransomware will continue wreaking
havoc on industrial organizations.
JANUARY 2018
feature | operational strategies
In 2017, global ransomware outbreaks such threat: It has quietly developed a cyber
as WannaCry, NotPetya, and Bad Rabbit, army capable of unleashing attacks against
caused widespread disruptions among critical infrastructure that could have glob-
organizations in all industries, including al implications.
manufacturing and transportation services. Russia also has developed cyber-
It’s a good bet this trend will continue. weapon capabilities. It has been accused of
The ransomware variants of 2017 extensive attacks on Ukraine’s power grid,
weren’t specifically designed for industrial cutting off electricity to nearly a quarter of
networks. But, since these environments a million people in December 2015, and
included many legacy Windows-based taking down a transmission station in 2016.
systems that weren’t properly patched or In November 2017, during her annual
secured, they were easily compromised. speech in London’s Guildhall, U. K. Prime
Thus, it’s important to apply appropriate Minister Theresa May accused Russia of
patches and strengthen security controls to attacking Britain’s national power grid and
protect these systems. its telecom companies.
Fortunately, the disrup- These developments,
tion to industrial organiza- according to Gandelsman
Industry still
tions caused by ransomware and Lenchner, point to
in 2017 did not directly has work to do what is known as a “Red
affect automation control- when it comes Button” capability, whereby
lers. Controllers continued to dealing with adversaries have gained a
to operate manufacturing cyberthreats. foothold inside industri-
and other processes, even al networks and critical
after Windows-based op- infrastructure and are ca-
erator and engineering workstations were pable of shutting down power grids, water
compromised and became unavailable. supplies, and other crucial operations with
Gandelsman and Lenchner do, however, the push of a button.
predict that a new, more damaging type of Introduction of IIoT (Industrial Inter-
ransomware will specifically target control- net of Things) technology without full
lers. They cite a study conducted at Georgia consideration of security will continue.
Tech (Georgia Institute of Technology, The constant need to modernize industrial
gatech.edu, Atlanta) in early 2017, wherein systems, increase productivity, and improve
researchers designed a cross-vendor ran- maintenance procedures is driving the
somware worm capable of targeting PLCs implementation of IIoT technologies. This
that are exposed online. Given the fact this trend can expose already-vulnerable ICS
proof of concept now exists, Gandelsman networks to cyberthreats they have never
and Lenchner expect to see a threat in the before faced.
wild in 2018. Designed by various industrial vendors,
There’s a real possibility of a ‘red many IIoT technologies may not include
button’ cyber weapon. While much of the hacker protection. In turn, those devices
world’s attention recently has been focused might expose an ICS to a wide array of cy-
on North Korea’s development of nuclear berthreats and exploitation attempts. Since
weapons and long-range ballistic missiles, OT environments lack visibility and securi-
the country poses another significant ty controls, it is very difficult to detect such
EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM | 19

+
ABOUT
THE
EXPERTS
VoIP, IP networking, and call-center
technical management positions at
threats in real-time or even post attack.
Gandelsman and Lenchner note that it’s
important to carefully consider these threats
and look into security controls that will help
prevent and detect such threats before they
take down operational processes and critical
services.
The ICS cybersecurity skills gap will
continue to grow. While the shortage of
skilled ICS cybersecurity professionals isn’t
a new concern, the skills gap continues to
grow. Despite awareness of the need for
ICS cybersecurity, countless organizations
struggle to develop a strategy and place
skilled professionals in key roles.
Many, in fact, are still debating who
should be responsible for ICS security:
20 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
feature | operational strategies
MILLE GANDELSMAN is CTO of Indegy,
New York, where he leads the company’s
technology research and product
development. Prior to Indegy, he led
engineering efforts for Stratoscale
and spent several years managing
cybersecurity research for Israel’s elite
intelligence corps. Gandelsman is an IDF
Talpiot graduate with more than 15 years
of experience in ICS and cybersecurity.
YARIV LENCHNER is director of
product management for Indegy,
New York. He is an expert in ICS,
technologies. Lenchner has held
CyberArc, Nice Systems,
and RiT Technologies.
Should it be the IT security operations
center (SOC) team, which is familiar with
cybersecurity best practices, yet lacks the
understanding of operational technologies
and their requirements? Or the operation-
al team that knows and understands OT,
but isn’t familiar with cybersecurity best
practices and is already over tasked with
the demanding work of maintaining and
ensuring operational safety, reliability, and
continuity?
According to Gandelsman and Lenchner,
the successful deployment of industrial cy-
bersecurity projects must leverage resources
from IT and OT. Business-level oversight
and leadership helps ensure that the two
sides will collaborate effectively.
THE GOOD NEWS
Awareness of OT security gaps has been
growing. In 2017, more organizations
implemented ICS security solutions and in-
tegrated them with existing SOC tools, such
as SIEM (Security Information and Event
Management)) and incident-management
systems than in previous years.
As Gandelsman and Lenchner wrote, the
increase in security alerts generated from
ICS environments is raising awareness
among IT and executive management of
the critical security gaps that need to be
addressed in these environments.
Cybersecurity protection is critical for
industrial-building management/automa-
tion systems.
Buildings are typically not considered
critical infrastructure, yet they house oper-
ations such as data centers and healthcare
and government services. Building-man-
agement systems/building-automation
systems (BMS/BAS) centralize a wide range
of important control functions and services,
including HVAC, lighting, water and
wastewater management, fire-suppression
systems, closed-circuit television (CCTV),
and access control.
Since modern BMS/BAS systems are
often connected to the corporate network
and the internet to enable remote control
and management, they, too, are exposed to
cyberthreats. Gandelsman and Lenchner
caution that such systems, similar to many
industrial systems, haven’t been designed
JANUARY 2018
 feature | operational strategies
with security in mind. They note, however, that
increased awareness in the importance of and
threats to BMS/BAS systems is finally boosting
interest in protecting them from cyber incidents.
Adoption of industrial cybersecurity frame-
works will increase. Though most industrial
cybersecurity frameworks aren’t mandatory,
Gandelsman and Lenchner described a significant
uptick in organizations looking to implement
them during 2017. They expect this trend to con-
tinue in 2018. While cybersecurity compliance is
an important goal, they wrote that it’s even more
imperative to implement measures that provide
much-needed visibility into industrial network
activity to detect incidents and conduct the right
incident response. Such frameworks include:
 NIST Cybersecurity Framework: The Na-
tional Institute of Standards and Technology,
(nist.gov, Gaithersburg, MD) published the first
version of the Cybersecurity Framework (CSF)
for operators of critical infrastructure in 2014.
In 2017, NIST released an update titled “Frame-
work for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cy-
bersecurity Version 1.1.” that incorporates feed-
back and comments from the agency’s Dec. 2015
Request for Information. NIST also published
the “manufacturing profile” of the cybersecu-
rity framework, which enhances (but does not
replace) current cyber-security standards and
industry guidelines. It can be used as a roadmap
for reducing manufacturer cybersecurity risk.
 NERC CIP: The North American Electric
Reliability Corp. (nerc.com, Atlanta) intro-
duces Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP)
standards to ensure reliability of the nation’s
Bulk Electric System (BES). The current version
of NERC CIP includes 11 critical infrastruc-
ture-protection cybersecurity standards that
specify a minimum set of controls and processes
power-generation and -transmission companies
should follow to ensure the reliability and secu-
rity of North America’s power grid. Deploying
traditional IT security controls, such as firewalls
and antivirus software, is not sufficient for CIP
compliance. To meet NERC’s CIP standards,
electric-utility owners and operators must also
JANUARY 2018
have complete visibility into all ICS assets and Organizations
network activities. must take
 Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing Guide- cybersecurity
lines: The current good manufacturing practice far more
(cGMP) regulations for validating pharmaceu-
seriously than
tical manufacturing require drug products to
be produced with a high degree of assurance
in the past.
that they meet all attributes they are intended to
possess. The U.S. Food and Drug Administra-
tion (fda.gov, Washington) issued guidance that
requires manufacturers to maintain processes
in a state of control over their entire lifecy-
cle, even as materials, equipment, production
environment, personnel, and manufacturing
procedures change.
Secure and encrypted industrial protocols
will be introduced. In 2018, Gandelsman and
Lenchner expect industrial technology vendors
will introduce devices that support encryption
and other embedded security controls. Although
this is a positive trend and a crucial step toward
making industrial control systems and critical
infrastructure more secure than in the past, they
predict it will take decades before all legacy tech-
nologies are replaced. Even then, they believe no
single product, technology, or methodology can
fully secure ICS environments.
The solution? A defense-in-depth approach,
they wrote, one that addresses internal and exter-
nal security threats, is what’s needed. As they put
it, this begins with consolidated OT-network-ac-
tivity monitoring and integrity validation for
critical devices such as industrial controllers.
BOTTOM LINE
Cyberthreats are everywhere. And they’re not +
going away.
To read the full
The bottom line, according to Gandelsman
two-part series on
and Lencher, is clear: Referencing past, current, which this article
and future industrial realities, they conclude is based, as well
that significant increases in ICS network threats as download
demonstrate the need for organizations to take various resources
cybersecurity far more seriously in the coming associated with
the discussion,
year. That is, if those organizations really want
go to blog.indegy.
to reduce the risk of successful cyberattacks on com.
critical infrastructure. EP
EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM | 21
 feature | plant profile

Results in
Efficient Design
Michelle Segrest
Contributing Editor

In a huge expansion JON SILLERUD HAS spent half of his 30-yr.
project, Uponor North career managing new-growth projects for large
America benefits from manufacturing facilities. This experience has
digital-twin technolo- taught him valuable lessons about strategic
planning. “Spending time in detailed planning
gy and other tools to
is always time well spent,” said Sillerud, the vice
plan for current and
president of operations for Uponor North Amer-
future growth. ica and executive leader for the biggest expansion
project the company has ever undertaken.
Thanks to continuous, long-term growth,
Uponor North America made the commitment
to invest in a gigantic expansion project that has
included $17.4 million for new construction on a
58,000-sq.-ft. expansion on its main Apple Valley,
MN, campus and the $6.35-million purchase of
an existing 237,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility
in the nearby town of Hutchinson—located about
70 miles west of Apple Valley.
Uponor North America, which manufactures
crosslinked polyethylene (PEX) pipe and relat-
ed products, is growing its U. S. manufacturing
operations to support continued opportunities in
commercial and residential construction. It has
taken only nine months for Uponor to complete
the new construction project on its campus and
the company expects to begin pipe production
in the first quarter of 2018. Production in the
Hutchinson acquisition facility is expected to
begin during the second half of 2018. The new
acquisition, combined with the new construction,
brings the company’s total footprint in North
America to more than one-million sq. ft.

Above. The Hutchinson, MN, facility provides Uponor with an additional 237,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing and office
space, bringing the company’s total footprint in North America to more than 1-million sq. ft.

Left. The manufacturing annex, located across the street from Uponor’s North American headquarters, added
88,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing and office space in early 2017 to the company’s Apple Valley, MN, campus.

22 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM JANUARY 2018

 feature | plant profile

Left. Uponor manufactures a flexible, plastic tubing called PEX

for use in plumbing, heating, and cooling systems in homes and
businesses around the world.

Above. Operating 24/7, the company’s PEX operations extrude

and package pipe for shipment to distribution centers through-
out North America.

With such a large expansion project comes
specific challenges, Sillerud said, particularly
with regard to space planning. The construc-
tion on the 24-acre Apple Valley campus uses
the last amount of available space. Planning
the layout was crucial. “First, we needed to
understand the main functions we want from
this space from a manufacturing standpoint,”
Sillerud explained. “Then we had to have a
clear understanding of what we need on the
people side.”
DIGITAL-TWIN TECHNOLOGY
With 24/7 manufacturing operations, Uponor
personnel had to take into account the actual
production space, along with planning fully
appointed break rooms for the employees
and office space for future needs. To make the
most efficient use of the space, the company
worked with a general-contracting firm and a
design firm that used digital-twin technology
to virtually plan the space using 3D modeling.
“There were some things we wanted to
do with the layout of the new construction,
specifically to improve the flow and make
operations more efficient,” Sillerud explained.
“By starting with a clean slate, we were able to
design the new building so that we could have
more optimal flow, and in some cases a safer
flow, with less traffic congestion. This was a
big advantage rather than simply having to fit
a certain number of machines into a particu-
lar-sized space.”
Through digital technology, Sillerud and
his team determined an ideal two-row layout
and orientation for its extruders, which are
the heart of the manufacturing process.
“We found out that one configuration is far
superior to the others,” he explained. “This is
a fairly new learning for us, and we were able
to incorporate the new learning into the new
space as well as the acquired space. This helps
us with efficiency and safety by providing less
conflict between humans and forklifts.”
Digital-twin technology is a dynamic dig-
ital representation of an industrial asset that
enables companies to better understand and
predict the performance of their machines,
find new revenue streams, and change the
way their business operates. Many companies
produce various forms of the virtual tech-
nology. “It’s not easy to go back and change
things that are already incorporated into a
main manufacturing space,” Sillerud said. “It
is time intensive and expensive to turn the
machines 180 degrees.”
By determining the ideal flow of ma-
chines, materials, and personnel using virtual
technology, Uponor will also be able to use
the newer, more-efficient concept when
retrofitting the Hutchinson facility, which was
previously used to manufacture digital disc
components. While Uponor manufactures
an entirely different product, the infrastruc-
ture of the acquired building is ideal, with
advanced systems already in place, such as
high-capacity electrical power, high-capacity
chilled water, and compressed-air systems.
Most of Uponor’s strategic planning for
both spaces has been based around material
flow and reducing non-value-added activ-
ities. “We are very heavy into the world of
operational excellence and lean manufactur-
ing,” Sillerud said. “So anytime we have new
space, we are able to implement many new
concepts which reduce waste and make us
more efficient.”
The company had to consider many
priorities when designing the space with
productivity and efficiency in mind. “What
we’ve learned is that we need all future space
to be very flexible. That means having fewer
center posts. Little things like that have been
considered so that the space can be easily
reconfigured if needed as the future demand
presents itself,” Sillerud stated.
“We used a large general-contracting firm
and a design firm, and they used virtual-re-
ality tools so we could see the designs in 3D,”
he said. “This technology really helps the

JANUARY 2018 EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM | 23


In May 2017, Uponor
invested $17.4 million
to add an additional
58,000 sq. ft. to its
manufacturing annex in
Apple Valley, MN.
Digital Twin and AI
Technology Podcast
Interested in learning more
about the impact digital-twin
and artificial intelligence
technologies are having
on manufacturing? Listen
to a conversation editorial
director Gary L. Parr had with
Jeff Erhardt, vice president
Intelligent Systems, GE
Digital, at
efficientplantmag.com/gepod.
Michelle Segrest is president
of Navigate Content Inc.,
and has been a professional
journalist for 28 years.
She specializes in creating
content for the processing
industries and has toured
manufacturing facilities in 52
cities in six countries on three
continents. If your facility
has an interesting efficiency,
maintenance, and/or
reliability story to tell, contact
michelle@navigatecontent.
com.
24 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
feature | plant profile
users visualize the space and it also helps to
de-risk the construction process because
you can design without conflicts
between electrical, mechanical, and
pneumatic lines. You can move
things around virtually now to
avoid having to move things physi-
cally later. It’s so helpful.”
Sillerud explained that the
technology is also beneficial when
virtually considering aspects such
as plumbing and electrical systems to
ensure adequate clearance with regard to
floor height and other specific variables. By
looking at the 3D modeling for machine layout,
he said, it helps to better integrate the building’s
drawings with machinery placement.
PLAN FOR GROWTH
The new building and the Hutchinson facility are
linked to Uponor North America’s five-year master
plan. “We started out strategically looking at the
projected growth for the business,” Sillerud said.
“Then we brought that down to a granular level in
terms of what we need for space, machines, and per-
sonnel. At the existing site, we have to look at how
to configure space, based on the overall envelope of
the building, that would be the most efficient use of
the land that we had available. The new site—which
is a 237,000-square-foot building on a 34-acre
site—gives us very significant headroom for future
growth.”
In addition to using strategic digital-twin tools
and careful planning, Uponor made extensive use
of the experience and input of the employees who
work on the manufacturing floor every day.
“It was important to get their understanding and
buy-in and ideas,” Sillerud said. “This has been very
helpful. They are the ones who have to live it every
day. We have a very collaborative continuous-im-
provement culture here at Uponor. In the past five
straight years we have been named one of the top
workplaces in the state of Minnesota. We work
together very openly. It’s just natural for us to work
together. We don’t work in silos.”
Change management is part of every large
project, continued Sillerud, who has spearheaded
two new greenfield construction projects for large
plants, nine plant closures, and four brownfield
projects. “I have a lot of experience dealing with
growth,” he said. “The more you can communicate
and involve people with the change, the more they
feel that they are part of the change rather than feel-
ing that the change is happening to them. Through
the planning and execution process, it’s very much
a cross-functional team effort involving production,
maintenance, engineering, facilities, EHS, quality,
IT—all functions were represented to be able to
optimize our plans and then the execution.”
EXPANDING IN HUTCHINSON
The Hutchinson building already has the benefit of
solid manufacturing infrastructure.
“The envelope of this building works quite
well for us,” Sillerud explained. “We are able
to renovate certain portions inside to get the
process-specific infrastructure that we need for
mixing and tooling, quality labs, etc. We are able
to convert the building quite easily to be very well
suited for our needs. We will now have the ability
to continue our profitable growth and provide
more opportunities for our people as we grow.
We are also excited about the ability, with these
new spaces, to do layout and other organizational
things in a more efficient manner than we’ve been
able to do in the past.”
Even with a good existing manufacturing infra-
structure, the company was able to find opportu-
nities to design improved flow and processes. In
addition to the forklift-only aisles, all IT systems
have been coordinated with the multi-site manu-
facturing scheme.
“This is something you can do when you have a
wide-open canvas to work with,” Sillerud said.
“Because of the five-year master plan, we were
able to project into the future where all the addi-
tional assets would reside. That really helped us
from a layout standpoint. We had to design with
a fast-forward of five years and knowing what will
be there. We had to begin with the end in mind.
This kind of planning will pay huge dividends for
us,” he concluded. EP
JANUARY 2018
 feature | voice from the field

Developing a
Reliability Strategy
Gina Kittle drives processes and Michelle Segrest
Contributing Editor
programs for her company and SMRP.

GINA’S Kittle works with SAP

AS A YOUNG GIRL, Gina Hutto power user Alexandru
CREDENTIALS work as a team and I
Ilie, Electrical Repair,
Kittle would sit in the garage with her set the overall reliability to deploy SAP Plant
 B.S. in Mechanical Engi- Maintenance in the
father and grandfather and study their strategy,” she explained.
neering from Tennessee new Timken PWP
Technological Univ., 1996 every movement. She watched her father—a “We’ve been very busy Plant in Romania, July
mechanic—fix anything that the neighbors need- deploying our SAP plan 2017. Images courtesy
of Timken
 Certified Maintenance ed repaired. Her grandfather, Owen Ramsey, and EAM (enterprise
and Reliability Profes- worked with Red Stone Arsenal in Huntsville, asset management) tools
sional, CMRP (2007) AL, where he was part of the core group that across the various plants. I’m also involved in
launched the first missile into space. Kittle would training and the standardization of PMs (predic-
 Former Reliability Cen-
play with his drafting tools and ask hundreds tive maintenance) tasks across multiple plants—
tered Maintenance Prac-
titioner and Facilitator of questions about how things worked and how really, anything that has to do with maintaining
to fix them when they broke. Even though she the equipment of the bearing-producing facilities,
 Total Productive Manu- didn’t really know what engineers did, she knew I support them in whatever they need.”
facturing Training she wanted to be one. While all this keeps Kittle busy, she finds time
“My grandfather passed away when I was to also be the treasurer of the executive commit-
 SAP Plant Maintenance in the fifth grade, but I remember seeing the tee for the Society for Maintenance and Reli-
Module Training
newspaper articles about his involvement with ability Professionals (SMRP, smrp.org), Atlanta.
the missile,” Kittle said. “I found what he did so Since attending her first conference in 2001, she
 Worked with 14 North
American sites and 12 interesting. He worked on cars and would show has served on various committees and the Board
international sites de- me what he was doing. I learned about all the of Directors since 2013. Her ultimate goal is to
ploying SAP Plant Main- tools and how to use them. This was manual become the first female chairperson of SMRP.
tenance and implement- machinery, and just being around it inspired me. “Within SMRP, I have been able to work with
ing Timken Reliability
Even though I didn’t really know the definition some really great people,” Kittle said. “It has given
Strategy
of an engineer, I just kept telling everyone, ‘I’m me a platform to learn and share knowledge
 Experience implement- going to be an engineer.’” about the reliability industry.”
ing Total Productive Kittle now has a mechanical engineering de- Kittle remembers being a bit overwhelmed by
Manufacturing (TPM) gree and works as the program manager for The her first SMRP conference 16 years ago.
practices and using Reli- Timken Company’s manufacturing advancement “I didn’t even know half of the terminology
ability Centered Mainte- program, Product and Process Development. back then, and I was blown away by the knowl-
nance (RCM) to develop
Based at the global headquarters in North edge that was in the room,” she said. “The next
specific critical-asset
maintenance strategies Canton, OH, she owns the reliability strategy for year I began to get engaged with the committees
Timken’s 26 international bearing facilities. “We and worked my way to conference chair. This was

JANUARY 2018 EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM | 25

 feature | voice from the field
GINA’S TOP 5 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE RELIABILITY
1 Start with
the basics.
2 Use the right
Gina Kittle, program
Don’t under-
manager for The Timken estimate the
Company’s manufac- importance
turing advancement of basic tasks
program, Product and and operator-
Process Development. based mainte-
nance.
a huge experience seeing thousands of people
come together to improve maintenance and
reliability. It’s amazing. I’m making bearings,
but you may work with someone who is mak-
ing ice cream, or someone making insulation
or producing fruit or making pistachios. But
we all have the same issues.”
Kittle takes the knowledge gleaned from
SMRP and uses it to develop best practices for
Timken. “I use the metrics definitions every
day,” she said.
WOMEN IN ENGINEERING
Kittle is aware that she is a woman in a
male-dominated profession, but she doesn’t let
that drive her. “Especially in today’s world, my
goal is to be known as a mechanical engineer
with the right credibility and the right certifi-
cations,” she explained. “I want to be held up
on the merit of my 20-plus years of experience.
It shouldn’t matter whether I’m a female. How-
ever, it’s important to bring diversity to how
groups like SMRP interact.”
Even with this positive attitude, she can’t
ignore that diversity has not always come easy
in business, and particularly in manufacturing.
“It has been a struggle,” she admitted. “When I
first started out in the mid-to-late 1990s, there
were contractors that didn’t want to deal with
me. They would walk right by me and shake
my boss’ hand even though I was in charge of
the project. There are times when women in
our field must overcome things like this, but at
the same time, you can’t let it weigh you down.”
26 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
tool at the
3 People support
what they help
right time— to create. From
the right pre- technician to oper-
dictive tech- ator to supervision
nology, TPM and upper-level
principles, management, all
RCM Princi- should be part of
ples, etc. the process.
Kittle offers advice for all young engineers—
male and female. “As women, we have to pro-
tect our image a little more than men do,” she
explained, “from little things like how we dress
to big things like being sure that our voice is
heard. I would advise any young engineer to
put your time and effort into making sure that
the information you have is correct. If you say
something, be sure you’ve done the research
and are certain this is the way to go. Once you
lose credibility, it’s hard to get it back.”
STRIVING FOR EXCELLENCE
With Timken, Kittle supports plants of all siz-
es. One may have 80 maintenance technicians,
and another may have six. Therefore, programs
that work in one facility may not succeed in
another. This requires creativity in developing
reliability strategies.
“When I go into the plants, I’m on the floor
troubleshooting,” she said. “I also do a lot
of training on root-cause analysis and teach
about different methodologies. When I go
into a plant I’m first taken to the source of the
biggest headache. Then we develop a plan to
correct it.” This problem-solving aspect is one
of her favorite parts of the job.
SPECIAL PROGRAMS
When she began working in the company’s
Union, SC, plant 21 years ago, Kittle was in-
troduced to one of her first mentors, Bob Wil-
liamson, CMRP, CPMM, and member of the
Institute of Asset Management. “Bob trained
4 Keep it sim-
ple. Don’t
5 Maintain
management
overcompli- support by
cate process- constantly
es, especially keeping the
in the begin- return value
ning. Keep it in front of all
simple for all the stake-
to understand. holders.
us, and we began having pit-stop events using
TPM principals,” Kittle said. “We dug a little
deeper than autonomous maintenance and
improved our overall PM with some robust
maintenance plans and procedures. We found
a significant amount of savings in decreasing
downtime. We used this program for many
years. Later, we automated the operator check-
lists but, for the most part, we stuck with the
five pillars of TPM (there are six now). I later
moved to Pulaski, TN, but the program was so
strong it sustained.”
Kittle incorporates many manufacturing
best practices, but the key to what drives most
of her programs is effective metrics tracking.
“From a global perspective, we try to always
know exactly where we are by tracking three
main metrics categories,” she said. “You can’t
look at just cost, or just proactive maintenance,
or just PM compliance. You have to look at all
of them in a cross-functional way. Drawing
conclusions around the metrics is key for us. It
also lets us focus on where to spend the most
effort. Specific programs may work for one
plant, but not for another.”
Kittle still incorporates some of the same
philosophies she learned from Williamson.
“I use a lot of the RCM philosophies, but I
try to bring it all together without calling it a
name,” she explained. “Sometimes we just need
to get back to basics and use the principles
of TPM and allow the pillar of autonomous
maintenance to make a difference. There are so
many tools in the reliability toolbox. You have
JANUARY 2018

Corrosion:
Understand It to Fight It
THE PLANT’S ROOF was typical in that
it was almost flat, with well-placed drains.
One section, though, was not draining
properly and vegetation had begun growing
in the shallow pond that resulted from the
situation. After discussions with the site’s
engineering and maintenance staff and a
walk-through of the facility, failure-analysis
consultants who had been working on other
projects at the site uncovered the problem:
The troublesome section of the roof was
over an area that was frequently wet, and
the supporting columns had buckled several
inches because of corrosion.
The issue with that plant roof was a close
cousin to that shown in Fig. 1 on p. 29. The
railroad-bridge-support column in this
image is an excellent example of the costly,
potentially dangerous, damage that corro-
sion can cause in infrastructure and other
plant assets.
28 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
feature | reliability issues
CORROSION COSTS
There have been many studies about the
cost of corrosion.
NACE International, formerly known
as the National Association of Corrosion
Engineers (nace.org, Houston), conduct-
ed research from 1999 to 2001 that found
direct corrosion costs in the United States
amounted to $276 million (about 3.2% of
the country’s GDP). In March 2016, NACE
released a study that estimated worldwide
corrosion amounted to $2.5 trillion (about
3.4% of the GDP) and indirect costs dou-
bled that.
In the 2016 study, NACE estimated that
between 15% and 35% of those corro-
sion-related costs could be eliminated using
current technology. Researchers also offered
that, comparing corrosion costs in 1975
with those in 1999, an intelligent approach
to automobile design and elimination of
Knowing what
your operations
are up against
is crucial in
preventing
costly,
potentially
dangerous,
damage.
Neville Sachs, P.E.
corrosion appeared to have reduced the cost
to American consumers by about 52%.
HOW CORROSION OCCURS
Energy is needed to convert mined ores into
useful metals. Corrosion is the natural result
of those metals trying to revert back to their
original states. Consider, for example, that
there’s very little difference between the rust
from corroded steel and the iron ores that
were originally refined to make that steel.
The actual corrosion process is an
electrochemical reaction. Depicting a steel
bar in a liquid, Fig. 2 on p. 29, shows how
this reaction takes place. In the diagram,
corrosion is attacking the anode, with iron
ions being released into the solution, while
hydrogen is being generated at the cathode.
Water (H2O), is made up of two hydrogen
ions and one oxygen ion. The iron ions from
the anode (the Fe symbols) will ultimately
JANUARY 2018

Fig. 1. This railroad-bridge support column
exemplifies the costly (potentially dangerous)
damage that corrosion can cause in infrastruc-
ture and other plant assets.
unite with oxygen in the water, whereupon
several different types of rust can form.
At the cathode site of the piece, atomic
hydrogen is being released. Most of those
hydrogen ions then mate with another
hydrogen ion and form molecular hydro-
gen, the readily flammable gas we’re used to
thinking about. But some of the ions remain
solitary and they are the cause of the many
forms of hydrogen damage including hydro-
gen embrittlement, cracking, and blisters.
For wet corrosion, a liquid must be
present to provide the complete circuit
required by the electromechanical reac-
tion. Electrons that flow from the cathode
to the anode have to eventually return to
the cathode, and they do so by traveling
through the liquid.
Referring back to the railroad-
bridge-support column in Fig. 1 (above),
note the presence of a fair amount of silt.
This has two substantial effects on the
corrosion rate:
 The silt holds moisture that allows
corrosion to attack the column for a longer
period of time than if the steel were dry.
 Chemicals such as road salt are in the silt.
As the moisture in it evaporates, the chemi-
cal concentration increases. The chemicals,
in turn, make the water more electrically
JANUARY 2018
feature | reliability issues
H2
H2
H2 H2
H2 Liquid Electrolyte
H- Fe++
H2
Fe++ Fe++
Fe++
Fe++
H- H- H- H- H- H- H-
H-
Cathode Site H2
Anode Site
Steel Bar
Fig. 2. Depicting a steel bar in liquid, this diagram shows how corrosion occurs. The liquid contains water.
When iron ions (Fe) off the bar unite with oxygen in the water, different kinds of rust can form.
conductive and significantly increase the usually rapidly increases, then drops off and
rate of corrosion. ceases when the liquid vaporizes.
Temperature is a third important factor in
corrosion. Below freezing, ice can’t conduct TYPES OF CORROSION
corrosion currents. But, as the temperature While more than 99% of corrosion losses
increases, the corrosion rate increases. A are from the wet variety, dry corrosion also
good example is the rapid attack on hot occurs, but only at greatly elevated tempera-
piping with moist insulation. The exact tures. A common example would be the for-
solution chemistry has a major effect, but mation of oxide scales on a barbecue grill.
up to about 175 F (80 C), the corrosion rate In North America, the recognition and
+
FORGET ABOUT ‘THE OTHER GUYS.’
WHAT ABOUT YOUR OPERATIONS?
There’s a tendency by some plant personnel to “look at the other guys,”
rather than effectively confront problems in their own operations. With
regard to corrosion, that might mean focusing on the idea that other
sites’ costs must be higher, or believing that paper mills, with their hot
and humid environments, must surely have more potential for corrosion
than, say, air-conditioned manufacturing facilities. But two of the most
memorable failure analyses I ever encountered actually involved air-
conditioned plants.
 The first was a manufacturing operation where a buried water line erupt-
ed twice in eight years. Each of those two events shut the site’s machin-
ing lines down for several days.
 The second involved a pharmaceutical plant where many millions of dol-
lars of product had to be scrapped because of corrosion in a cooling sys-
tem’s sensor.
Remember this: Practically anywhere the relative humidity exceeds
60%, there’s a potential for corrosion. No plant can escape it. —N.S.
EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM | 29

Fig. 3. A common example of galvanic corrosion involves a joint between steel and
copper pipe where the steel will always be attacked. This joint was submerged in
water for only nine months before damage occurred.
description of corrosion have been driv-
en largely by work initiated by Dr. Mars
Fontana of The Ohio State University (osu.
edu, Columbus, OH). We usually describe
corrosion by how it appears. The common
categories (or types) are:
 Uniform corrosion causes about 80% of
all corrosion. It occurs where anode and
cathode sites relatively uniformly swap
position. Examples include the rail-
road-bridge-support column shown in Fig. 1,
buried steel water lines, nooks and crannies
on vehicles where deposits build up, and
machine frames and bases in damp areas.
 Pitting corrosion manifests as isolated
areas of attack. With carbon steel, it may
take years before leakage occurs while stain-
less-steel pitting might progress at a rate of
0.001 in. (0.025 mm)/day. Steel examples fre-
quently include water and wastewater tanks.
Stainless-steel examples include external
areas with dirt deposits on them.
 Galvanic corrosion occurs when two
chemically different metals are joined.
One is always the anode and continuously
attacked, protecting the other piece. A com-
mon example involves a joint between steel
and copper pipe, where the steel will always
be attacked.
Figure 3, at the top of this page, shows
a bronze fitting and a steel pipe that had
been submerged in water. Perforation of the
30 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
feature | reliability issues
freshly cut pipe threads happened in only
nine months.
 Selective leaching is essentially galvanic
corrosion within a metal. The common in-
dustrial application involves buried cast-iron
water or waste lines where the graphite in
the iron acts as a cathode, and the iron is eat-
en away, leaving a weak and brittle graphite
pipe. When initially excavated, the pipe may
appear almost undamaged, but sandblasting
will rapidly remove the graphite leaving
proof of the mechanism. (A frequent prob-
lem with buried-pipe replacement is that the
new piece is always anodic to the older sec-
tions. The new one will rapidly corrode and
leak, and personnel will blame the material,
not knowing that the actual problem is their
lack of corrosion knowledge.)
 Crevice corrosion occurs in a small gap
between two pieces of metal. It allows a
corrosion mechanism to act in a way that’s
similar to pitting corrosion. Although it’s
not a common industrial mechanism, it can
happen with poor joint control on welded
assemblies.
 Intergranular corrosion involves galvanic
attack at the grain boundaries within a
metal. It’s usually associated with a poor
choice in materials of construction for
chemical processes.
 Erosion corrosion is a combination of
actions. Corrosion results in an oxide on a
metal’s surface. The oxide, though, slows
the attack because it prevents fresh corro-
dent from reaching the surface. If there’s a
fast fluid flow that scrubs the oxide off the
surface, corrosion continues at a very rapid
rate. A common site for erosion corrosion
is the outer radius of piping elbows in steel
lines with untreated waters and flow rates
exceeding approximately 10 ft./sec. (3 m/sec).
It’s also been seen in pumps as a result of
poor choices of construction materials.
The previous seven categories/types
are basically different-looking versions of
galvanic corrosion. Two other corrosion
types—stress-corrosion cracking and
hydrogen damage—result in metallurgical
damage leading to often hard-to-detect
catastrophic failures.
 Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) can
occur with almost any metal and is the
result of a combination of stress, a chemis-
try that attacks the metal’s structure, and a
susceptible metal. Industrially, although it is
sometimes seen with nitrates and steel, the
most common situation involves 300 series
(austenitic) stainless steels and chlorides.
One interesting example of the inter-
action of stress, a sensitive material, and
attacking chemicals involved a series of
large stainless-steel vessels. The problem
stemmed from two critical design flaws: The
tanks were downwind of several cooling
towers, and their roofs were supported by
ASTM A 36 steel beams. Thermal expan-
sion caused stresses where the beams were
welded to the roof panels, and drying of
the mist off the cooling towers increased
chloride content in the air. After about 10
years of operation, hundreds of small stress
corrosion cracks in the vessels were noted.
Consultants monitored this collection of
cracks for approximately two years and saw
little change in them. When operators in-
creased the pressure in the tanks, however,
the number of cracks suddenly increased.
The following real-world examples are
JANUARY 2018

representative of more common SCC
problems in plants:
+ A 500-gal. (1.9 m3) tank where
careless filling led to overflow: The
tank held a 160 F (70 C ) caustic
cleaning solution. The overflow
ran down the tank’s side and
evaporated, eventually reaching a
concentration at which cracking
occurred.
+ A series of stainless-steel lines
that carried oil for process
machinery: Surface temperature
of the oil lines exceeded 140 F
(60 C). In a scenario similar to
the above example, process water
dripping on the hot lines caused
cracking. Figure 4 (right) shows
a view through a low-power
microscope of one 1/2-in.-dia.
(12-mm-dia.) line. A jagged and
irregular stress corrosion crack is
readily visible, as are a number of
pitted areas.
 Hydrogen damage is a particular-
ly diabolical form of attack because
it is often impossible to see prior to
catastrophic failure. It starts with the
corrosion reaction reflected in the
image of the railroad-bridge-support
column in Fig. 1, and can go on to cause
hydrogen embrittlement in metals such
as titanium, blisters in low-carbon steel,
and cracking in hardened steels.
Hydrogen blisters and cracking
appear to be similar mechanisms in
that the hydrogen ions are so incredi-
bly small they can float through the atomic
structure of steel until they find an irregu-
larity. Because of the void, the ion tends to
rest there until another one comes along
and the two combine to form a hydro-
gen-gas molecule, which has a much larger
volume than the single ion. The result is
an internal pressure that, when an external
stress is applied, causes blisters in mild-steel
JANUARY 2018
feature | reliability issues
Fig. 4. Viewed through a low-power microscope, jagged,
irregular stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is readily visible
in this section of a stainless-steel oil line.
Fig. 5. A victim of hydrogen cracking, this coil spring with a
ground plain end had been supported on a cup-like frame
that was frequently wet.
components and cracking in hardened ones.
NACE advises that hydrogen cracking can
occur in steel with hardness values as low as
HRC 23, if sulfur compounds are present.
It’s even been seen in leaking steam-line
joints with cracks in flange bolts that were
HRC 27. Rockwell hardness [HRC] read-
ings are one of the ways of measuring the
hardness and strength of a bolt. SAE Grade
5 and ASTM A 325 bolts are commonly
in the range of HRC 25 to HRC 34. SAE
Grade 8, U.S. socket-head cap screws
and ASTM A 490 bolts typically range
from HRC 33 to HRC 39. Because of
their lower ductility, these high-strength
components are much more suscepti-
ble to hydrogen cracking in corrosive
environments. A cardinal rule of good
reliability is to not use high-strength bolts
in such areas.
Although hardened bolts are among
the most common examples of hydrogen
cracking, leaf and coil springs are other
frequent victims. The coil spring shown
in Fig. 5 (left) had a ground plain end
supported on a cup-like frame that was
frequently wet. The corrosion is obvious.
KEEP IN MIND
The battle against corrosion is never
ending. In summary, if an area is wet and
metal isn’t protected, there will be corro-
sion. What’s worse, the seriousness of the
damage caused by this scourge may not be
recognized for years. EP
Neville Sachs has spent many years working
in the field of machinery reliability and lu-
brication for a wide range of industries. The
author of two books on failure analysis and
a contributor to others, he has written more
than 40 articles on these topics. A Registered
Professional Engineer, he holds STLE’s CLS
certification, among others. Contact him
directly at nevsachseng@gmail.com.
LEARN MORE
To learn more about preventing/managing
corrosion, visit:
nace.org/resources
corrosion-doctors.org
(This resource operates out of Cana-
da’s Royal Military College, Kingston,
Ontario.)
EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM | 31
 feature | lubrication strategies

Good
Greasing
Is a
Feeling

Your grease-gun technique plays a major role in determining how well you deliver the
correct amount of clean lubricant to a bearing cavity.

Ken Bannister, MEch Eng (UK), CMRP, MLE

Contributing Editor

OVER THE COURSE of the past 40 years or so, I have been in
many plants and industries and witnessed the effects of many pre-
mature lubrication failures—the overwhelming majority of which
involved manual greasing. When asked if formal grease-gun training
has ever been provided during their career, only a handful of main-
tainers have ever responded positively.
Grease-gun use falls into the same category as hand washing. Until
the recent spate of public campaigns to combat contact ailments,
many of us, including myself, have only lately been taught to wash
our hands correctly. The reality is that manual greasing, as in hand
washing, has many nuanced facets attached to its correct use that
must be performed if the act is to be consistently successful.
The grease gun’s “connect and pump” theory is overwhelmingly
simplified when compared with the necessary actions required to
grease effectively. The effects of poor manual-greasing control are
exacerbated when lack of training is coupled with the mythical belief
that if a little lubrication is good, then a lot of lubrication must be
better, and the all-time number-one job plan instruction “lubricate
as necessary”—perpetuated by equipment O&M (operations and
maintenance) manuals and work planners alike.

32 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM JANUARY 2018

 feature | lubrication strategies

The effects of poor manual-greasing control are exacerbat- A lint-free cloth is usually made from a cotton fabric with sewn and
ed when lack of training is coupled with the mythical
belief that if a little lubrication is good, then a lot of overlapped edges. The fabric is close woven and does not readily
lubrication must be better. ‘shed,’ or release, fabric fibers. Purchase or rent lint-free mechanic’s
cloths from a cleaning or safety supply house. Mechanic’s cloths
can be cleaned and reused over and over again. Disposable lint-free
Manual greasing has its place in a paper-based products are also available.
lubrication program, but requires an Rag-style cloths made from discarded garments are not recom-
“engineered” and disciplined ap- mended for wiping grease nozzles or fittings. Rags are cut or torn
proach to its use if it is to effectively to size and can be made from any fabric type, including wool (wool
extend bearing life. An effective fibers are easily shed and can roll themselves into pill balls). The
manual-greasing program must be torn and cut fabric edges easily release errant fibers that can adhere
built on four simple cornerstones: to the grease fitting or grease nozzle and then be injected into the
S consolidation—minimum fitting. The fibers can then act as an abrasive and promote premature
number of grease products bearing wear.
S standardization—all grease Step 3. Prepare gun for greasing:
guns are the same make and type Before attaching it to a fitting, ensure that the grease gun is charged
S cleanliness with grease, primed, and cleaned.
S restraint—nuanced and controlled For a trigger-style grease gun:
greasing action. S Clean fitting(s) to be greased with a clean lint-free cloth.
S Slowly squeeze the trigger toward the grease-gun barrel until the
CONSISTENT, CONTROLLED gun discharges approximately 1/4 in., or 6 mm, of grease from the
Ideally, bearing cavities need only contain
between 40% and 50% of the grease capacity to
effectively lubricate the bearing. Then, when every
bearing requirement and application frequency is calcu-
lated according to size, speed, load, and usage, and all grease
guns are standardized to a single design, the grease gun “shots per
bearing” number can be calculated and a formal program instituted.
What happens when there is no formal greasing program, or any
money or expertise available to the lubricator or maintenance staff?
In those types of situations, maintainers can exercise control over
greasing actions that will considerably extend bearing life over an
ad-hoc greasing approach by consistently following, in order, a few
simple steps.
Step 1. Action check:
Check the work order or machine plate to determine:
S grease point location (if numbered or colored)
S amount of grease required per grease point (only if some grease-
point engineering has taken place)
S grease specification matches the grease found in the grease gun.
If this information is missing, compile a data page in a lubrication
notebook for each machine and stay with a consistent standard man-
ual-grease until a product-consolidation program has taken place.
Step 2. Pre-clean:
Clean grease fitting(s) to be greased with a clean lint-free cloth.

JANUARY 2018 EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM | 33


Bannister on
Lubrication
Along with the
online version of this
article, visitors to
efficientplantmag.com will
find a link to a podcast with
Ken Bannister in which he
further explores grease-
gun techniques and how
to consistently deliver the
proper amount of grease to
a bearing.
An effective manual-greasing
program must be built on consoli-
dation, standardization, cleanli-
ness, and restraint.
34 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
feature | lubrication strategies
end of the grease-gun nozzle.
S Wipe clean the end of the grease-gun nozzle
with a clean lint-free cloth.
For a lever-style grease gun:
S Collapse lever to the barrel causing grease to
discharge from the nozzle.
S If the lever is already collapsed, open lever and
collapse, discharging a shot of grease from the
grease nozzle.
S Wipe clean the end of the grease-gun nozzle
with a clean lint-free cloth.
The gun is now ready. Continue to Step 4 im-
mediately. If the gun is dropped or placed down,
nozzle contamination of the grease-gun nozzle is
likely and Step 3 must be repeated.
Step 4. Connect nozzle to the grease nipple:
To connect to a zerk-style grease fitting, align
the grease gun nozzle with the fitting and push
the nozzle firmly on to the fitting. Ensure that the
nozzle is securely connected by slowly rocking the
nozzle side to side and trying to gently pull the
grease gun away. If resistance is felt, the
grease nozzle is connected.
To connect with a DIN-but-
ton-head-style fitting, slide the
grease-gun nozzle’s location slot
across the button-shaped head
of the grease fitting until it
comes to a firm stop
Step 5. Deliver lubricant:
If the bearing grease calcu-
lation or grease-gun shot-
size output is unknown, it
is difficult-to- impossible
to know exactly how much
grease is required to achieve a
40% to 50% cavity fill. If this is
the case, the best tactic is to “feel”
the grease into the bearing cavity
until slight resistance or back pressure
is felt against the trigger, or lever, signaling
the bearing cavity is now full. Warning! Pumping
beyond this point will almost certainly blow the
bearing seal and create an open channel for con-
tamination to get into the bearing cavity and cause
premature failure.
For a trigger-style grease gun:
S Gently squeeze the trigger (use only the finger
tips) toward the grease-gun barrel and “feel”
grease into the bearing until resistance or back
pressure is felt.
S Relax hand and allow the trigger-return spring
to reset the trigger back to the loaded position.
S Repeat if more lubricant is required.
For a lever-style grease gun:
S Gently push the lever toward the grease-gun
barrel using the palm of the hand and “feel”
grease into the bearing until resistance or back
pressure is felt.
S Pull lever back to the fully extended position
and repeat if more lubricant is required.
Note: One squeeze action of a trigger-style
grease gun and one lever action of a lever-style
grease gun equals one shot of grease.
Step 6. Disconnect grease gun:
For a zerk-style fitting, rock the grease gun noz-
zle side to side and firmly pull the gun away from
the fitting. When using a DIN button-head-style
fitting, slide the grease-gun nozzle’s location slot
across the button-shaped head of the grease fitting
in a reverse manner until disengaged.
Step 7. Post-clean:
Wipe residual grease from the grease nozzle and
grease fitting using a lint-free cloth.
S Good grease-gun hygiene automatically makes
you part of the solution. Remember that greasing
is a blind act requiring a gentle touch and active
restraint. EP
Contributing editor Ken Bannister is co-
author, with Heinz Bloch, of the book Practical
Lubrication for Industrial Facilities, 3rd
Edition (The Fairmont Press, Lilburn, GA). As
managing partner and principal consultant for
Engtech Industries Inc. (Innerkip, Ontario), he
specializes in the implementation of lubrication-
effectiveness reviews to ISO 55001 standards,
asset-management systems, and training.
Contact kbannister@engtechindustries.com, or
telephone 519-469-9173.
JANUARY 2018
 enterprise software solutions

Planning a Work Order Video Training

Want to see these tips
Kristina Gordon, DuPont
in action and/or learn
more about planning?
PLANNING IS A CRITICAL ELEMENT of the work-management process. Effective planning Go to efficientplantmag.
com/1801SAPtips and
ensures that the person doing the work has the information needed to successfully complete the
Kristina Gordon will show
job. Proper planning is also important because it promotes safe job execution, ensures cost control, you how. Watch this space
reduces downtime, optimizes resource management, supports continuous improvement, and each month for a new
enhances regulation compliance. training video.

To select open work orders to plan, go to transaction IW38. In the order

status menu bar, click the outstanding box. You may also click completed
(TECO status) or historical (financially closed) to view completed and
historical orders.
You can choose the period to and from dates for the orders that interest
you and the basic start date. This will capture work that may have been
created in the past but had the start date changed. Created On is another
possible field to populate if you are looking for the actual day a work order
was converted.
Next, populate your maintenance plant, then select a layout if one has
been created. The layout is how the report will be displayed, based on your
selection criteria. Once a high-level task list is added, the planner should field-scope the job.
Click the execute button. The open work orders will display according to Field scoping is a very powerful tool for the planning process. By identifying
the criteria stated. Click the basic start-date column and sort the list. You and better defining the problem, the planner can add to or create more quality
may also sort by revision code if used, and user status. Some companies operations to optimize the effectiveness of the work-management process.
use an array of user status entries that will alert the planner to pull work To perform a successful field scope, a planner should first review the P&ID
orders that have the correct user status on them. For example, a coordinator (process and instrument diagram), print a copy of the notification or display
will take a notification, convert it to a work order, and click a user status on a hand-held device in the field, use a good form as a checklist during the
to show where the work order is in the process. This will then prompt the field scoping project, and, if allowed, take good pictures of the issue. This will
planner to pick the order up and plan it. avoid traveling back and forth and help the planner once back in the office.
Once the work order is displayed, the first item that should be added Once workforce availability for the job is scheduled, any permits needed
is a task list. Task lists are useful because they help identify the basic have been issued, and all materials to perform the job have been received
information for recurring maintenance. This information should include the and kitted if necessary, the work can be performed. EP
following:
 high-level operation steps
 labor hours required to complete the tasks
 appropriate work centers to perform tasks Kristina Gordon is SAP PM Leader, DuPont Protective Solutions
 proper control key if creating a requisition for materials in the order. Business, and SAP WMP Champion, Spruance Site, Richmond, VA. If you
have SAP questions, send them to editors@efficientplantmag.com
The following image shows the three types of task lists available in SAP.
and we’ll forward them to Kristina.

JANUARY 2018 EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM | 35

 alignment

Always use new, clean shims. Dirt, debris, bent shims, and inconsistent
thickness can lead to problems.

 Always use new, clean shims. The cost of new stock is minimal
when compared to the cost of extra downtime caused by an
inefficient precision-alignment process.
 Improper storage and re-use of old shim stock can contribute to
soft foot. Dirt, debris, bent shims, and inconsistent thickness of
cheap carbon-steel shims can drive up costs from lost time.
 Shims for a given alignment should be of the correct size and
the same size. They should be made of stainless steel, a material
that can withstand the compression created by a machine’s mass
and clamping force of hold-down bolts. Never combine multiple
shim sizes or materials in the same stack.
 When selecting the shim size (A, B, C, or D, for example),
choose that which offers the most contact between the foot and
base and has the proper slot size for clearance around the hold-
down bolts of the movable machine.
 Be mindful of the position of shim stacks in relation to hold-
down bolts. Maintain clearance between the shim and bolt to
prevent damage to the stack (bent shim) or bolt threads. A bent
shim can induce soft foot where soft foot doesn’t actually exist.

+
Choose, Use, Store ON A RELATED NOTE:
HANDLE ALIGNMENT TOOLS WITH CARE

Shims Properly
Although precision measuring equipment is typically made for
industrial settings, it should be handled with care. Important rules to
keep in mind:
SHIMS ARE CRUCIAL in efficiently achieving precision shaft align-  Keep precision tools in their original cases. Environmental
ment. Proper choice, use, and storage of these items are key. Tom Shelton effects from improper long-term storage can be detrimental to
of VibrAlign (vibralign.com, Richmond, VA) provided some important this equipment.
tips in a recent post on the company’s blog.  Don’t overlook routine maintenance. Calibration should be
— Jane Alexander, Managing Editor performed annually or, at a minimum, every other year.
 Casually throwing dial indicator sets into a box or drawer can
damage mounting brackets and cause hysteresis (internal
friction) in the indicators.
 Regarding laser shaft-alignment systems, remember that dirty
Tom Shelton is a trainer for VibrAlign (vibralign.com, Richmond, VA). For sensors (laser and detector lens) can lead to non-repeatable
more insight from Shelton and other VibrAlign experts on a wide range of timely measurement results. All system components should be stored
topics, visit vibralign.com/blog. properly in the carrying case to protect them from damage. EP

36 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM JANUARY 2018


Consider Your
Emergency-Stop
Needs
THE EMERGENCY-STOP pushbutton is a simple way to quickly
and completely freeze machine operation to prevent operator injury
and/or costly damage to a machine. However, according to infor-
mation from AutomationDirect (automationdirect.com, Cumming,
GA), machines that can pose danger to operators typically require a
more thorough safety system. The company’s automation experts have
some advice for those trying to determine if an emergency stop for a
machine or production line is needed, or how many emergency-stop
stations would be required and where they should be located.
— Jane Alexander, Managing Editor
For more information on wide range of automation strategies, products,
and related topics, go to automationdirect.com.
JANUARY 2018
automation
Emergency-stop stations should be clearly visible. They’re
commonly bright yellow with a red-pushbutton operator
that makes them easy to identify.
The first step is to consult OSHA (osha.gov) and other
applicable safety- and standards-related websites/sourc-
es regarding any mandates, recommendations, and
requirements for your specific area or industry. This
will help ensure you meet all safety requirements
that apply to your operations.
Once those compliance issues are clear, you can
begin considering your actual emergency-
stop needs. AutomationDirect’s experts offered a
number of recommendations. Among them:
 Carefully inspect all areas of your machines and production lines
to make clear assessments of areas where danger zones can be
identified. It’s preferable for a safety expert or engineer to perform

this inspection.
When a risk area that can benefit from an emergency-stop station is
identified, ensure that the location is easily accessible by operators.
They must be able to quickly and effectively push the emergency-
stop pushbutton.
 Emergency-stop stations should be clearly visible. They are com-
monly bright-yellow stations with a red-pushbutton operator that
makes them easy to identify. They should not be obstructed from
clear view in any way.
 The emergency-stop pushbutton should be tied to a control system
that requires some type of system reset once the e-stop pushbutton
itself is reset. The control system ensures that all safety covers and
devices are in place and that resuming machine operation is safe.
REMEMBER: As noted in this edited version of information taken
from the AutomationDirect Library (library.automationdirect.com),
the above recommendations are just that: recommendations. You
are strongly encouraged to always follow local and national safety
requirements for the best-possible safety of workers and equipment.
(Read the complete article at library.automationdirect.com/emergen-
cy-stop-control-stations-one-push-can-save-your-life/.) EP
EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM | 37
 workforce issues

+ PLUG YOUR OWN SKILLS GAP.

A successful example of this approach is a Rockwell
Automation graduate program for onboarding talent.
In it, new recruits are deliberately paired with some
of the company’s most experienced staff. As Donato

+
explained, benefits go in both directions.
CONSIDER HOW YOUR OPERATIONS
APPEAL TO THE iGENERATION.
Is your plant old, analogue, and inefficient? “A mod-
ern environment and tools,” Donato advised, “are
vital to attracting the best talent.” But that’s not all.
Sites need technology that’s simple and intuitive—
requiring fewer specialist skills. Think in terms
of open systems, virtual reality, and integration of
The enterprises least affected by workforce pressures are those that attract the best talent.

+
consumer technology and platforms.

Become An
BE ETHICAL AND INCLUSIVE.
Or, as Donato put it, “really ethical and inclusive.”

‘Employer of Choice’
A significant amount of data suggests diverse
workforces are much happier and more productive

+
than others.
In a November 2017 blog post for Rockwell Automation (rockwellautomation.com, Mil- DON’T BUY INTO THOSE
waukee), company executive Thomas Donato wrote, “The single most important asset to CHARACTERIZATIONS
any business is its staff.” While that statement is just as true now, in the digital era, as it has OF MILLENNIALS AS LAZY.
ever been, Donato, the president of EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) for Rockwell Learn what makes them tick and how they can help
Automation, also had some cautionary words. your operations transition into the IIoT era. Donato
As industry evolves, he noted, enterprises must adapt to overcome three enormous pres- cited a ManPower Group report that offers food for
sures on their “most precious commodity,” specifically that qualified employees are harder thought on the subject and may break down some

+
to find; that job roles are changing; and that workers are also changing. stereotypes.
According to Donato, the enterprises least affected by such pressures are those that attract IMPROVE EMPLOYEE
the best talent—they’re essentially, “employers of choice.” Becoming an employer of choice is DEVELOPMENT.
no small undertaking, he observed, but the dividends are huge. And the required steps need Getting talent in the door is the first step. Keeping
not be complicated or costly. and developing it, however, requires commitment
He then went on to list his key recommendations for those who want to successfully to encouraging people to explore roles and develop
manage the three workforce pressures he referenced and, in the process, become employers within a company. According to Donato, many of the
of choice in a digital world. They’re summarized here: most lauded employers of choice, including Google,
among others, take a much flatter approach to
hierarchy and a flexible and collaborative approach
to employment. “Remember,” he concluded, “when
it comes to the skillset required in the age of IIoT,
Thomas Donato is president, EMEA, Rockwell Automation, Milwaukee. Go to the company’s
these are exactly the companies competing for the
blog (rockwellautomation.com/global/news/blog/overview.page) to read his full post titled
“The Connected Industrial Future: Are You An Employer of Choice?” In it, he points to several talent you need.” EP
sources of additional reading on issues raised in the discussion. — Jane Alexander, Managing Editor

38 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM JANUARY 2018

 Answers to questions
facing today’s reliability &
maintenance professionals
Q Can I use/transfer reliabil-
ity and maintenance skills
to other activities?
A If you are fortunate enough
to work for a company that
provides sufficient training, then you
should be very grateful. As I work
with companies, small and large, it’s
evident that there are shortcomings.
You can also observe this as you
interact with other businesses in your
daily activities, such as my recent
weekend truck-driving adventure. Al-
though we moved to Tennessee several
years ago and had disposed of lots of
stuff, we still had two filled storage
units in Michigan. To move the items
out of storage, I rented a 26-ft. moving
truck from a well-known company.
What I learned from the ensuing
events relates directly to reliability and
maintenance practices.
Event 1: The online rental cost did
not match the pick-up rental cost, i.e.,
there is a data-entry problem some-
where in the company.
Lesson: Use and follow standard-
ized work processes. Do maintenance
and production share common sys-
tems and goals?
Event 2: I was told that the license
and registration papers were in the
glove compartment. There was no
glove compartment. While search-
ing for the papers, I climbed up
and kneeled on the air-cushioned
seat, lowering it several inches and
revealing documents taped to the back
window.
Lesson: Either make sure that you
JANUARY 2018
department | on the floor
have a standard product (to minimize
training) or train employees to handle Rent a
Truck, Learn
the variations. Hands-on training
has been found to deliver a payback
four-times higher than conventional
Lessons
classroom training.
Event 3: Do I need to go through
the truck-stops’ weighing scales?
Nobody at the rental facility could
Dr. Klaus M. Blache
tell me. Since I would be driving Univ. of Tennessee Reliability and
through several states, I looked on the Maintainability Center
internet at five key truck-rental and
government sites. There was
no consistent state-to-state
information, other than the
large penalties that applied
if I was wrong. So, I stopped
in each state and went to a
truck scale to assure that our
vehicle complied with relevant
regulations. For the record,
our 16,000-lb. truck with a
25,999-lb. limit had a 22,000-
lb. total weight.
Lesson: Have trusted
reference documents that are
up to date.
Event 4: There were lots of
gauges that were new to me.
For example, “what is DEF?”
The response was, “I don’t
know that one either. I’ll have
to look it up.” Also, there was
no truck instruction manual.
I did look it up for safety. DEF
is diesel exhaust fluid, which
typically is 2/3 deionized
water and 1/3 urea and needs
to also be periodically refilled.
It’s sprayed into the exhaust Renting a moving truck can teach
some important reliability and
stream to reduce NOx into harmless maintenance lessons.
EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM | 39
department | on the floor

nitrogen and water. I also learned
that, while diesel fuel is actually
safer because its vapor won’t ex-
plode/ignite as easily as gasoline,
accidentally putting DEF into
your diesel fuel tank can result in
lines bursting and probably a new
motor.
Lesson: Safety should be the
highest priority. Why insufficient safety
instructions? This is major damage that
can be avoided. It happens quite frequent-
ly, based on the number of “how do I fi x
this” questions on the web.
Event 5: There were lots of visual
controls, but I didn’t know what they all
meant. Since there was no manual, a sim-
ple sheet taped on the window behind the
seat would have taken care of it.
Lesson: Simple job aids can be
a big help for new employees and
improve uptime and reduce human
error when infrequently repaired
equipment is involved.
Event 6: I was disappointed that
the windshield-wiper fluid was emp-
ty and the interior was dirty.
Lesson: First impressions set the
tone for what is expected of others.
Event 7: It took a day of driving to get
comfortable performing basic functions
such as using only side mirrors, judging
Don’t assume you the turn radius, and backing up. Also, I
understand what it learned that people do not drive safely
takes to perform a when they are around big trucks.
job unless you’ve Lesson: Don’t assume you understand
lived it yourself. what it takes to perform a job unless
you’ve lived it yourself. At least do a Day-
In-Life-Of (DILO) walk and talk with the
experts to understand.

Looking to refocus or revitalize Event 8: When we arrived (after spec-

your maintenance program?
Looking to prepare for ISO 55001 certification?
Does your program currently:
P Lack confidence in its
maintenance data?
P Lack strategic direction?
P Lack effective communication?
ifying the date in advance) at the second
storage unit, the facility was having new
asphalt applied. Insert angry emoji here.
Lesson: Plan and schedule work only if
all participants follow the same plan.
We figured everything out eventually. I
P Lack the time to
complete all work? gained a new respect for truck drivers and
P Lack succession planning? was grateful for all of the R&M training I
P Lack effective work planning had received. The real lesson is to practice
and scheduling? and apply that training in all you do. EP

If you answered YES to any of the above,

ENGTECH Industries Inc—
call Ken Bannister at ENGTECH
successfully implementing usable asset management
programs for over 27 years—at (519) 469-9173 Based in Knoxville, Klaus M. Blache
or email kbannister@engtechindustries.com is director of the Reliability &
and let’s talk maintenance! Maintainability Center at the Univ. of
Tennessee, and a research professor in
the College of Engineering. Contact him
at kblache@utk.edu.

Helping People manage People who Manage Assets!

40 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM JANUARY 2018


W Prepare for
ELCOME TO 2018 and
a much stronger and growing
economy. While some busi-
nesses are seeing results now, others are wait-
ing to see what comes next. Whether your
business is on the leading edge of the new
economy or not, most plants and facilities
will feel some impact—big or small, sooner
or later. Here’s a preview of likely effects and
suggestions on how to prepare.
SKILLS SHORTAGES
The labor pool for manufacturing, skilled
maintenance, and hands-on technical jobs
will continue to shrink. Baby Boomers’ skill
sets haven’t been replaced by subsequent
generations. New equipment technologies
on the plant floor will continue to outpace
workplace skill sets, partly for lack of effec-
tive training and partly for lack of people
with the time and/or aptitude to master
many applied new-tech skills.
Now is the time to fundamentally
re-think past training practices (or the
lack thereof). Set aside time for formal
equipment-specific training and structured
hands-on job training (OJT) for the right
people developing the right skills.
GOOD MAINTENANCE
PRACTICES
Given the skills gaps in both the workplace
and labor pool, we must think beyond
maintenance tasks being performed only by
maintenance personnel. Important, but low-
er-skill-level, tasks can, and should, be per-
formed by equipment operators—the single,
largest group closest to the equipment.
Trained equipment operators are, by far, the
best form of preventive maintenance in the
plant. This task collaboration also allows
higher-skilled maintenance technicians to
focus on tasks requiring their skill sets and
allows time to master any new technologies
JANUARY 2018
column | uptime
that could be coming into the plant.
Sounds like Total Productive Mainte-
A Strong
nance (TPM), doesn’t it? Yes, but TPM in
America was rarely deployed as designed.
The interdependent nature of the six or
Economy
eight Pillars of TPM was largely ignored
in favor of only involving operators. This
single-mindedness missed the whole point
of TPM being a focused-improvement
Bob Williamson
strategy based on business needs rather Contributing Editor
than a program to implement.
COMPENSATION STRATEGIES
The past decade’s lackluster economy led to
compensation stagnation in many business-
es. In a booming economy, some businesses
will be granting pay increases in part to
make up for losses of the past and attract
new skills.
The downside: Pay increases without
productivity increases contribute to higher
operating costs and smaller profit mar-
gins. In good times, higher costs and lower
margins can be masked by strong revenues
and earnings. But what happens if/when
business slows?
Don’t hesitate to consider “variable
compensation,” including pay-at-risk, profit
sharing, productivity bonuses linked to
business performance, and pay-for-applied
skills to help address shortages. Skill-based
pay is awarded as new skills, designed to
improve plant performance, are mastered
through a formal training and qualification
process and deployed in the plant. EP
Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, and
member of the Institute of Asset
Management, is in his fourth decade Most plants and facilities will feel some
of focusing on the “people side” of impact, big or small, sooner or later, from
world-class maintenance and reliability the new economy.
in plants and facilities across North
America. Contact him at
RobertMW2@cs.com.
EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM | 41

MOTOR TESTING
Saves Steel Mill
Time, Money
Re-testing Gerdau’s trolley motor with the
ALL-TEST PRO 5 (AT5) de-energized testing
instrument connected directly to the unit
found that the problem was in the festoon ca-
bling from the motor-control junction cabinet.
42 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
feature | solution focus
WITH AN ANNUAL manufacturing ca-
pacity of approximately 10M metric tons of
steel products, Gerdau (gerdau.com) is one
of the largest producers and recyclers of steel
in North America. Its Midlothian, TX, site
maintains an inventory of about 70 cranes in
a range of sizes for various uses throughout
the mill and materials-recycling operations.
The in-house predictive-maintenance
(PdM) team inspects the site’s overhead
cranes quarterly. Alerted to a potential prob-
lem by the ALL-TEST PRO 5 de-energized
motor-testing instrument from All-Test Pro
(alltestpro.com, Old Saybrook, CT), techni-
cians determined the root cause of the issue.
Initial analysis
during a quarterly
inspection
seemed to
suggest motor
degradation, but
was it?
BACKGROUND
The materials-recycling operation’s #4
scrap-crane trolley motor was scheduled for
inspection during the first week of March,
2017. An AT5 de-energized motor-testing in-
strument was used to perform a motor-circuit
analysis (MCA), which enables a technician
to determine the condition of an electric
motor’s windings. The hand-held AT5 had
been purchased in 2016 because it was more
portable than the steel mill’s 60-lb. testing
instrument that required a dedicated 110-V
power source.
The AT5 was connected to the motor-con-
trol panel, and a motor-circuit analysis
JANUARY 2018

(MCA) was performed on the 20-hp trolley
motor. Within only a few minutes, the test
results showed a disconcerting insula-
tion-to-ground readout of 10.1 megohm. This
“practically new” motor had been installed
onto the crane and tested in Oct. 2016. That
first test had shown a reading of greater than
999 megohm. This marked difference in test
results for a motor that had only been in
operation six months raised red flags for the
PdM team. The motor should not have deteri-
orated so quickly.
THE REAL PROBLEM
The PdM team scheduled a retest of the
trolley motor the following week. At that
time, however, they planned to connect the
AT5 directly to the motor. Within minutes of
performing the second test, the AT5 report-
ed an insulation readout of greater than 999
megohm.
At this point, the team realized the issue
was not with the motor. It lay in the festoon
cabling from the motor-control cabinet up to
the trolley motor. The cables from the drive to
the festoon-trolley junction box were checked
for damage and then promptly replaced.
WHAT THEY LEARNED
Gerdau’s PdM team did everything right:
 They tested the new motor at installation.
JANUARY 2018
feature | solution focus
This is a standard approach at the site. It’s
important to test new motors at the point of
installation. If a “new” unit is being installed
after having been stored for a significant
period of time, testing can confirm that it will
operate as promised. Testing at the point of in-
stallation might help to uncover problems that
can be resolved within the warranty period.
From a long-term standpoint, motor testing
will also establish baseline data that may come
in handy for future maintenance review and
decision making.
 They continued the testing instead of im-
mediately replacing the motor. They didn’t
waste time trying to replace a motor that was
in perfectly good condition. They knew how
much time and how many resources would
be required to replace the motor, including
an overhead crane, multiple technicians, and
additional man-hours. By getting to the root
of the problem, they saved time and money.
 They used a reliable testing instrument.
The AT5 motor tester has proven to be an
invaluable tool for motor diagnostics. Light-
weight and portable, it provides fast, accurate
results. These features and capabilities allowed
Gerdau’s PdM team to find and resolve the
real problem quickly, and then move on to
other projects. EP
For more information, visit alltestpro.com.
Significant changes in test results between
the time this ‘practically new’ trolley motor
was first put into service and after six
months of operation raised red flags with
Gerdau’s PdM team in Midlothian, TX.
+
WHAT IS MOTOR
CIRCUIT ANALYSIS?
A low voltage, non-destructive
AC signal is sent through the
motor windings to measure
the response to these signals.
The phase angle (Fi), current/
frequency response (I/F),
impedance (Z), resistance (R),
and inductance (L) of each
winding are measured and
analyzed. Winding faults are
indicated by variances in the
response to the applied signal
through the windings. These
variances cause imbalance in
the measured response to the
applied signal. Therefore, when
testing three-phase equipment
such as motors, generators, or
transformers, the response of
each phase is compared with
the other two. Phase resistance
is evaluated to determine
connection issues: inductance
is evaluated for possible
rotor problems; impedance
and inductance matching
are used to detect winding
contamination or over-heating;
insulation-to-ground tests
detect conductor-to-ground
issues.
EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM | 43
department | products

PRODUCTS
FEATURED PRODUCT

IoT Gateway Solution

The company, in cooperation with OSIsoft, San Leandro, CA, offers
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wmeng.com

REMOTE MONITORING MOTOR-EFFICIENCY CALCULATOR

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Connected Plant Thermal IQ is a
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44 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM JANUARY 2018

 department | products

SAFETY MATS, EDGES

Safety mats and edges are available in a range of sizes and lengths. Mats detect personnel
presence on horizontal surfaces. The safety function is triggered when a person steps on
the mat. Edges can be used on any surface, usually near possible crushing or shearing
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Cumming, GA
automationdirect.com

IIoT SOLUTION FOR RECIPROCATING MACHINERY

The Spotlight monitoring system is a real-time solution that leverages IIoT principles to
deliver insights into the health and performance of critical assets. The plug-and-play solution
uses Spotlight PUC edge hardware to acquire high-speed rotating data. A controller transfers
data to a Microsoft Azure cloud where the company’s Enterprise data-visulaization software
provides actionable insights and trends.
Windrock Inc.
Houston
windrock.com
EDDY-CURRENT
MEASUREMENT
The AMS EZ 1000 eddy-current-signal
digital converter reduces measurement “Equipment visuals can reduce training
chain complexity by moving from multiple time by 60 to 70%, eliminate errors,
converters to a single-user configurable and improve reliability.”
digital converter, allowing in-the-field ~Robert Williamson, Lean Equipment specialist
calibration. The single converter is
compatible with third-party sensors. Users
enter chain details and perform one-step
automated calibration to prepare the
measurement chain for use.
Emerson
St. Louis
emerson.com

• Problem & Opportunity Tags

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JANUARY 2018 BW-Ad.indd 1 EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM |

10/24/14 45
4:00 PM
efficient plant | ad index

INTEGRATED MEDIA SPECIALISTS

Midwest/West Coast INTERNATIONAL SALES LIST SERVICES
PATRICK KEEFE PHIL SARAN BRIAN CLOTWORTHY
pkeefe@efficientplantmag.com psaran@efficientplantmag.com brian@inforefinery.com
JANUARY 2018 • Volume 31, No. 1 800.529.9020
535 Plainfield Road, Suite A East Coast SHOWCASE &
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PH 630.325.2497 jokon@efficientplantmag.com MARIA LEMAIRE
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Fluke Corp. ..................................................... 11 IDCON Inc. .....................................................33 Life Cycle Engineering...................................7 Lubrication Engineers.................................27 Mapcon ......................................................... 47
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Meltric Corp.. ............................................... 47 NSK Corp..........................................................5 Royal Products. ............................................44 SAP Conference. ...........................................17 Schneider Electric........................back cover
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Strategic Work Sys ..................................... 45 Superior Signal ............................................ 47 Test Products Intl. ....................................... 47 U.S. Tsubaki Power....................................... 15 Univ. of Tennessee ...........inside back cover
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Submissions Policy: E Pla welcomes editorial submissions. By sending us your submission, unless otherwise ne- Reproduction of Materials: Materials produced by
gotiated in writing with our editor(s), you grant Applied Technology Media Inc., permission, by an irrevocable license, to edit, E Pla may not be reproduced in any form,
reproduce, distribute, publish, and adapt your submission in any medium, including internet, on multiple occasions. You are for any purpose, without permission. For reprints, con-
free to publish your submission yourself or allow others to republish your submission. Submissions will not be returned. tact Phil Saran, at psaran@efficientplantmag.com.

46 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM JANUARY 2018

 efficient plant | showcase

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JANUARY 2018 EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM | 47

column | efficiency insight
Refinery of
The Future
Gary Mintchell
Contributing Editor
A four-vendor collaboration is helping
Texmark manage 130 pumps and may be
giving us a glimpse at the refinery of the
future.
Contributing editor Gary Mintchell is an
industrial-technology subject matter expert,
co-founder of a technology magazine, and
founder of The Manufacturing Connection
[themanufacturingconnection.com). He can be
reached at gmintchell@efficientplantmag.com or
on Twitter at @garymintchell.
48 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
A
N ENTERPRISE-comput-
ing and IT-infrastructure
company’s user event seems
a weird place for a discussion of the
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
and the refinery of the future. But there
I was moderating a bloggers’ Coffee
Talk with Doug Smith, CEO, and Linda
Salinas, plant manager, of Texmark
Chemicals Inc. (Galena Park, TX,
texmark.com), along with executives
of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE,
Palo Alto, CA; hpe.com) and PTC
ThingWorx (Needham, MA, ptc.com).
Somewhat later, I interviewed an ex-
ecutive from Flowserve Corp. (Irving,
TX, flowserve.com). That manufac-
turer of pumps was also integral to the
system.
Historically, Texmark has depend-
ed on physical inspections of process
equipment to ensure all systems remain
in working order. However, these plant
walk-downs can be time-consuming and
labor-intensive. The plant contains 130
pumps and personnel spend nearly 1,000
hr./yr. on walk-downs and vibration
analysis.
The company’s vision for next-gen-
eration worker safety, production,
and asset management hinges on the
emerging promise of the Industrial
Internet of Things (IIoT): sensored de-
vices combined with advanced analytics
software to generate insights, automate
its environment, and reduce the risk of
human error.
The project established the digital
foundation by enabling edge-to-core
connectivity. HPE’s Aruba company
deployed a secure wireless mesh network
with Class 1 Div 1 access points and used
its ClearPass product for secure network
access control. HPE also upgraded the
plant-control room to enable edge-to-
core connectivity and high-speed data
capture and analytics. The HPE Edgeline
system runs Texmark’s distributed-con-
trol-system software, integrating its
operations technology and IT into a
single system.
The project then expanded to predic-
tive analytics, advanced video analytics,
safety and security, connected worker,
and full lifecycle asset management.
My interview with Flowserve about
its role in the project reveals a glimpse of
the future for operations and mainte-
nance in a plant. Doug Smith repeated
several times the importance of pumps
to the health of the refinery.
Flowserve pumps are used through-
out the plant. The company’s engineers
have modeled its pumps digitally for
what is good and what can go wrong.
It has developed a prognostic bot that
monitors data from each pump, supply-
ing important data to a software client.
“Bluetooth is the next RFID.” You all
know about Bluetooth, right, the wireless
connection for headphones to your
smartphone? Flowserve engineers have
added a Bluetooth radio to the pumps.
Then they wrote a smartphone app. A
technician need only get within Blue-
tooth range of a pump, start the app, and
read the status of the pump. The data can
be recorded and passed on to operations,
maintenance, and databases for histori-
cal analysis. This workflow is superior to
manual recording on paper.
Think of this as a potentially disrup-
tive combination—the DCS and data
hub is supplied by an IT vendor, the
human-machine interface screens sup-
plied by an IIoT vendor, and data/data
collection by the pump vendor. I think
we are glimpsing the future here. EP
JANUARY 2018
Dow Corning makes

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