asset management data quality pg 8

PM#4

0065

710

How inefficiencies erode profits and

performance.

spring 2016

INSIDE: Oil & Lubrication n Tier 4 Generators n Aftermarket services n safety

ResourceEngineering &Maintenance

REM

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Features

Energy Management

The Energy ChallengeWithout an effective energy management system, inefficiencies go unnoticed. Amin Almasi discusses why spreading energy management responsibilities within the business can lead to effective outcomes.

10

AFTERMARKET SERVICES

Safety as a ServiceManaging safety during shutdowns,

turnarounds and outages can be a logistical

challenge, especially when headcounts swell

from 50 to perhaps 200 additional workers.

Outsourcing it to a provider that is fully aware

of high-risk situations is a solution.

OIL & LUBRICATION

Influence Safe PerformanceLubrication plays a big role in affecting safe

performance. An optimized lubrication program

enables a plant to protect vital equipment

and enhance safety – particularly in extreme

environments such as oilfield operations.

POWER GENERATION

Tier 4 GeneratorsRegularly scheduled lifecycle maintenance

saves time and money by preventing downtime,

allowing small issues to be addressed and

prolonging service life. In critical applications,

generator maintenance plans are a must.

Spring 2016 Volume 9 Issue 2

14

16

18

EXPANDED COVERAGE

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A glimpse of what's online now:

CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE AT:

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Contents


REM

4 From The Editor Track energy efficiency.

6 Newsmakers Energy forecast; mining supports

carbon pricing; maintenance

workshops; engineering job scope.

8 Data Quality Who laid off the asset management

data quality people?

20 Hot Products Filtration systems; thermal

multimeters; data portals; forklifts;

shaft-mounted gearboxes.

22 Palmer & Planning Protect maintenance planners from

everyone.

Departments

4 REM Spring 2016 • www.rem-mag.com 4 REM Spring 2016 • www.rem-mag.com

Printed in CanadaPublication Mail Agreement #40065710ISSN 2290-4441

REM Resource Engineering and Maintenance is published fourtimes yearly – Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.

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CIRCULATIONemail: [email protected]: 416-442-5600 ext 3552Fax: 416-510-5170Mail: 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON M3B 2S9

Occasionally, REM will mail information on behalf of industry-related groups whose products and services we believe may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to receive this information, please contact our circulation department in any of the four ways listed above.

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No part of the editorial content of this publication may be reprinted without the publisher’s written permission. ©2016 Annex Publishing and Printing Inc. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher. No liability is assumed for errors or omissions.

All advertising is subject to the publisher’s approval. Such approval does not imply any endorsement of the products or services adver-tised. Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that does not meet the standards of the publication.

REM Resource Engineering & Maintenance is published byAnnex Business MediaPHONE: 905-727-0077FAX: 905-727-0017

MEMBERSOF

EDiTOr [email protected](416) 510-6851

PubLisHEr Jim Petsis [email protected](416) 510-6842

sALEs [email protected](416) 510-6803

ArT DirEcTOr GrahamJeffrey

cOnTribuTOrsAminAlmasi Richard(Doc)PalmerJimCharboneau LuisRojasChrisMcKinnon

AccOunT cOOrDinATOr [email protected] (905) 713-4334

circuLATiOn [email protected]

vicE-PrEsiDEnT, AnnEx businEss MEDiATimDimopoulos

PrEsiDEnT & cEO, AnnEx businEss MEDiAMike Fredericks

Energy efficiency and energy savings have always been essential to operations in the oil and gas industry. But in recent years the spotlight on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, energy supply constraints and exorbitant fuel pricing has spurred the need for well-structured energy management systems.

When the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) introduced ISO 50001:2011 Energy management systems – Requirements with guidance for use, it provided a framework for using energy more efficiently. Since the standard is voluntary, companies can choose their own energy savings approach. Companies can either systematically integrate energy management into their improvements and pursue their goals of optimizing their systems through operation and maintenance with no financial investment; they can make minor investments related to maintenance, including optimizing process control systems for creating optimal operating conditions over time; or they can make a substantial investment in system design changes and implement new technologies.

A systems approach can take energy management to the next level. A lineup of complementary ISO standards has since emerged to offer practical guidance for implementing, maintaining and improving an energy management system (ISO 50004); to develop energy baselines and performance indicators (ISO 50006); and to help measure energy performance at organizational, site or product level (ISO 50015).

After being certified against ISO 50001, companies across the world have reported millions of dollars in energy cost savings. The first Canadian mining company to be certified – New Gold Inc. New Afton Mine, located in Kamloops, B.C. – reports that total annual energy savings have exceeded 2.4 gigawatt-hours since implementing ISO 50001 in the first quarter of 2014.

New Afton consists of an open pit, underground workings, historic support facilities, a new concentrator and a tailings facility. Its efficiency goals were in part achieved by making full use of a cost-shared assistance program offered by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), which offers up to 50 per cent of eligible costs to a maximum of $40,000 for industrial energy management programs.

New Afton attests to the value created by the NRCan program, for both the external recognition of its sustainability efforts, as well as for the accountability required internally from having its teams collaborate with an auditor to assess the organization.

Other industrial examples include the Chrysler Group LLC’s Brampton, Ont. automotive assembly plant, which reports savings of more than $2-million dollars annually and the IBM Bromont manufacturing plant in Quebec, which cut energy consumption by 9.2 per cent and saved $550,000 in 2013.

To reap dividends these organizations have been implementing their energy management programs with a level of rigour and tenacity to ensure success. They are in a position to explain why and how innovation and creativity within their environmental function – along with the collaboration of the financial, engineering and operational roles – was critical to their overall energy management improvements. n

Track energy efficiency

Rehana BeggEditor

Winter 2016 • Volume 9 Issue 2


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6 REM Spring 2016 • www.rem-mag.com 6 REM Spring 2016 • www.rem-mag.com

Newsmakers

Mining supports carbon pricing

The Mining Association of Canada (MAC)

and its members, comprising some of

Canada’s largest mining companies, have

issued principles for climate change policy design

to support an efficient pan-Canadian approach to

addressing this important issue.

“Today, one of Canada’s largest industries is

coming out in support of a carbon price, identifying

it as the most effective and efficient means of driving

emissions reductions and making real progress in

the global fight against climate change,” stated Pierre

Gratton, president and CEO, MAC.

To inform the design of a carbon price regime,

MAC’s Principles for Climate Change Policy Design

document recommends the following:

• Establish a broad-based carbon price that is

applicable to all sectors of the Canadian economy.

• Berevenueneutralbyinvestingrevenuesgenerated

through carbon pricing into the development

of lower emission technologies to manage the

transition to a lower carbon future, including

climate adaptation, and to ensure a level playing

field for emission intensive industries.

• Address competitiveness and carbon leakage

concerns across all sectors to prevent declines in

investment, employment, tax revenues and trade.

• Bepredictable,flexibleandsensitivetochanging

economic conditions and geographices, to enable

consumers and industry to adapt and to treat

regions fairly.

• Besimple,complementaryandeffectivetoensure

that a national climate change regime works in

tandem with existing provincial schemes, avoids

duplication, and is simple to administer.

• Support investments in thedevelopmentand

implementation of technologies that lower

emissions through capital investments, which

could include public-private partnerships.

• Recognizeearlyaction,acknowledgingthatsome

companies have been proactive in reducing their

climate footprints and that several provinces have

established climate change mitigation regimes.

In the mining sector, GHG emissions are emitted

primarily as a result of the use of fossil fuels for

energy; as such, emissions are controlled by

managing consumption.

For more information, visit www.mining.ca.

EDC earmarks CAD 750 M for Canadian SMEs in oil and gas sector

Expor t Deve lopment Canada (EDC)

announced it will make up to CAD 750M

of financial capacity available to Canadian

companies to help support the Canadian oil and

gas sector (O&G).

“The prolonged downturn in the price of oil has

had a profound impact on Canada’s smaller supply

and service companies,” said Mairead Lavery,

senior vice-president, Business Development.

“Our goal is to make sure that well-run companies

have the financial tools they need to get through

this downturn. We want them to be ready to take

advantage of the turnaround when it happens.”

The focus of the CAD 750 M effort will be

onSMEs,where theadditional liquiditycanbe

most effective in sustaining employment and

strengthening the economy. Particular emphasis

will be put placed on helping companies making

investments in four key areas: increasing a

company’s productivity, infrastructure that will

increase market access for resources, investing

in new technology that can help diversify their

products to different industries, and building the

sector’s environmental sustainability.

MarkSenn, regionalvice-president,Western

Canada, will oversee the CAD 750 M envelope.

“EDC is open for business in Canada’s O&G sector,

and we want to help as many export-minded

companiesaswecan,”Sennsaid.

EDC products and solutions are designed to

facilitate foreign trade through a range of solutions.

For more information, visit www.edc.ca.

‘Long view’ on energy

T he National Energy Board’s flagship

document, Canada’s Energy Future 2016:

EnergySupplyandDemandProjectionsto

2040(EF2016)hasbeenpublished.Theprojections

presented in EF 2016 are a baseline for discussing

Canada’s energy future and do not represent the

Board’spredictionsofwhatwilltakeplaceinthe

future.

key findings of EF 20161.Recentdevelopmentshavehighlightednumerous

uncertainties for Canada’s long-term energy

outlook.

2.IntheReferenceCase(abaselineoutlook,based

on a moderate view of future energy prices and

economic growth), energy production grows

faster than energy use and net exports of energy

increase.

3. The levels of future oil and natural gas production

are highly dependent on future prices, which are

subjecttoconsiderableuncertainty.

4. Without development of additional oil pipeline

infrastructure, crude oil production grows less

quicklybutcontinuestogrowatamoderatepace

overtheprojectionperiod.

5.Thevolumeof liquefiednaturalgasexports is

an important driver of Canadian natural gas

production growth.

6. Total energy use in Canada, which includes energy

use in the energy production sector, grows at

similar rates in all EF 2016 cases. GHG emissions

related to that energy use will follow similar trends.

C. Peter Watson, P. Eng. FCAE, chair and CEO

oftheNEB,writes:“Canada’senergyfuturewill

not be determined by a single force, but rather

the interaction of many. Energy prices, economic

growth, policies and regulation, market access and

infrastructure development, and the development

and use of new technologies will all play an important

role. It is our goal to help Canadians understand

these complex interactions through our analysis,

reports, and statistics.”

SOURCE: National Energy Board

SMRP webinar series features Ramesh Gulati

T he SMRP Oil, Gas and Petrochemical

SharedInterestGroup(SIG)launchedits

2016BodyofKnowledge(BoK)webinar

seriesinApril.Theseries,producedbytheSociety

ofMaintenanceandReliabilityProfessionals,will

cover topics in the industry as they relate to the

sixpillarsof theSMRPBoK.Eachwebinarwill

behostedbyassetmanagementexpertRamesh

Gulati,CMRP,CMT,CAMA.Webinarswill run

every month through October 2016. Topics include

Manufacturing Process Reliability; Equipment

Reliability;OrganizationandLeadership;andWork

Management.

For webinar dates, visit www.smrp.org.

www.rem-mag.com • REM Spring 2016 7

Newsmakers

Pipeline firms to post emergency manuals online

Standard for responsible mining released

TheNational Energy Board (NEB) is the

firstNorthAmericanregulatortorequire

pipeline companies to publish their oil and

gasemergencyproceduresmanualsonline.TheNEB

hasissuedaBoardOrderthatdirectsNEB-regulated

pipeline companies to publish their emergency

procedures manuals online for public viewing by

September30,2016.

Companiesarerequiredtopublishallemergency

procedure manual information online, with the

exception of information that would compromise

infrastructure protection and personal security and

safety. Although excluded from online availability,

they remain in company emergency procedures

manualsprovidedtofirstrespondersandtotheNEB.

The Order applies to both oil and gas pipeline

systems with a few exceptions for small systems.

Companies must post the entirety of their

emergency procedures manuals on their company’s

public Internet site and update published

procedures manuals as changes are made. However,

companies may protect information including:

personal information, such as names, medical and

contact information; security information such as

information where there is a risk that its disclosure

will impair the security of a pipeline; and species

at risk and heritage resources information such as

the location of Indigenous traditional land use sites,

archaeological sites or paleontological sites.

For more information, visit www.neb-one.gc.ca.

The Initiative for Responsible Mining

Assurance (IRMA) released the second

and revised draft Standard for Responsible

Mining for a 60-day review and public comment

period ahead of the first-ever global certification

program for industrial-scale mine sites, planned to

begin in late 2016.

ThisseconddraftoftheStandardforResponsible

Mining reflects the input from over 1,400 points

of comment contributed by more than 70

organizationsandindividualsworldwide,including

industry and technical experts.

With growing awareness and demand for

ecologically and socially responsible products

Employment growth for engineering technology professionals

Canada’s engineering and applied science

technicians and technologists possess highly

in-demand skills and make a significant

contribution to the Canadian economy, according to

anewstudyfromTheConferenceBoardofCanada.

The report, titled Assessing the Economic

Contribution of Canada’s Engineering and Applied

ScienceTechniciansandTechnologists, indicates

that employment growth for this occupational

group has strongly outpaced overall employment

growth for Canada over the past 15 years and that

their wages are more than 20 per cent higher than

the national average.

In2013-14,morethan400,000Canadianswere

employed as engineering and applied science

technicians and technologists, according to the report,

which was commissioned by Technology Professionals

Canada, an alliance of four Canadian technology

professional associations including Ontario

Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and

Technologists (OACETT).

Creating an economic portrait of this diverse group,

who are spread across every segment of the economy,

requiredanexaminationof21occupationalcategories

within the engineering and applied science technology

sector.Inquantifyingtheircollective impact,the

report revealed that the economic contribution of

engineering and applied sciences technicians and

technologists,accordingtothemostrecentStatistics

Canadadata,wasworth$54.7billion–3.3percentof

the Canadian GDP – which is larger, proportionately

speaking, than the share of technicians and

technologists in the Canadian workforce.

SOURCE: The Conference Board of Canada

jewellers,electronicsbusinessesandothershave

sought assurances that the minerals they purchase

are mined responsibly. The Standard seeks to

emulate for industrial-scale mine sites what has

been done with certification programs in organic

agriculture, responsible forestry and sustainable

fisheries.

The Standard for Responsible Mining’s best

practicerequirementsforminingincludeelements

such as health and safety for workers, human rights,

community engagement, pollution control, mining

in conflict-affected areas, rights of indigenous

peoples, transparency in revenue payments from

companies to governments, and land reclamation

once mining is done.

Stakeholdersandthegeneralpublicareinvitedto

participate in this next round of feedback and input.

After the June5commentdeadline, theSteering

Committee will make another set of revisions and

releasethefinalStandardinlate2016.

For more information, visit www.responsiblemining.

net/irma-standard.

New business development manager for pump manufacturerKSBCanadahasappointedMarcusHendersonto

the position of business development manager to

build business in areas of water and wastewater

management,aswellastheMROmarketforlarge-

scale industrial and municipal centrifugal pumps.

Byadding theexperiencedmarketing strategist

to its Canadian sales force,

Mississauga-based KSB is

able to provide extra support

to its coast-to-coast sales

teams stationed in Montreal,

Calgary, Edmonton, and in

the Maritimes – and to their

growing customer base.

Henderson, a graduate

oftheToronto-basedSt.MichaelsChoirSchool,

and the Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts and

Queens University, where he studied Chemical

Engineering, began to develop a career in pump sales

andaftermarketservice,specializinginmunicipal

andindustrialwastewatertreatmentequipment.

For more information, visit www.ksb.ca.

Mining skillsTheMiningIndustryHumanResourcesCouncil

(MiHR) reports that 1,046 workers have now

achieved national certification in the occupations

ofUndergroundMiner,SurfaceMiner,Minerals

Processing Operator and Diamond Driller through

the Canadian Mining Certification Program

(CMCP). The program is exploring expansion

into three in-demand occupations in 2016, namely,

FrontlineSupervisor,IndustryTrainerandHoist

Operator.

For more information, visit www.mihr.ca.

8 REM Spring 2016 • www.rem-mag.com

By Jim Charboneau

The petroleum-triggered economic global downturn has impacted all aspects of industrial life. And as fuel/energy maintenance

professionals we are tasked with keeping our wells, pipelines and plant assets in state of good repair, with high availability and ensuring safety and profitability are on target. We do this with blind trust in the information technologies (IT) and operational technologies (OT) provided by our business owners, operations/maintenance leadership and chief technology officers.

Company newsletters boast of corporate technology visions with glossy nerd speak getting us to believe: IT/OT convergence where “smart” assets have embedded chips that “talk” to our operators about their “health”; more confusing acronyms like IoT (Internet of Things) convincing us that our future is in the “digitalization in the cloud”; that happiness is a “UX” (user experience) on a sleek new tablet device or smartphone and an uber-cool group of anonymous people in Halloween masks are challenging our wit with stories of intrusion and cyber security threats.

While drilling and well production is down and our maintenance budget isn’t what is used to be, we have had to cancel more than a few inspection contracts, defer planned rebuilds, change routes and work schedules, replace condition-based maintenance with run-to-failure tactics for less critical equipment; extend pipeline inspections and hope our predictive maintenance assumptions result in reactive and emergency work that is manageable.

Faced with these economic realities, our asset integrity leadership have fought hard to keep quality maintenance technicians and engineers working; trying to invest in

updated tooling and focus on safety and skills training to replace the knowledge leaving the shop after each retirement. Sure, getting emails from a smart IT/OT device telling us that a pump coupling is noise is a “neat” thing but it doesn’t solve the bigger problem we have right now – Who laid off the asset management data quality people?

Our field operations and plant information technology spend has rolled back IT/OT projects such as ISO 55001 compliance, promising better predictive maintenance tactics that would optimize wrench time leaving our crews with more time to do preventive work and cost saving bench work.

Our supervisors take plans and work schedules from the planner and after a safety talk, some locker room banter about who is retiring next month, the impact this week’s oil prices have on our company and job security, we dispatch the crews to begin our maintenance/reliability day – tools in hand.

As maintenance professionals, all we need are a few creature comforts, say decent selection of snacks in the new vending machines, a pair of dry boots, good work schedules, work orders we can actually read with updated maintenance instructions, a list of spare parts we might need and time to do the job right.

Friday comes along and the second round of layoffs, albeit only two to three people, has seen the dismantling of our once robust Asset Integrity Working Group. We no longer have maintenance planners fussing over quality job plans; taking care to update bill of materials needed to order the right parts for the job; or getting new safety data sheets and OEM drawings. The task of updating or adding new equipment specifications into

the EAM system along with accurate spare parts items and inventory data has been delegated to a field-ops purchasing clerk who is pretty busy multi-tasking – otherwise known as “wearing many hats.”

Truth be told, the biggest problem most fuel/energy production operations have is not threat of intrusion by some hacker, but the progressive erosion of our day-to-day EAM data caused by decades of doing-more-with-less and a domino effect of layoffs that saw lower priority placed on asset data cleanup and governance.

As the day progresses we are spending more time watching oil prices swing than we do chasing parts to fix things – then we come to the realization that the asset management data quality people are us!

This blind trust in our EAM data may not be apparent, a hidden failure of sorts, but the symptoms of eroded, old “master data” in the EAM system are starting to become more visible and is impacting our business every hour of every day:•Fieldworkordershavetherightlocation

but the equipment data is outdated•Field work orders have the correct

equipment but wrong job plans, tasks applied

•Preventive maintenance work packagesare issued with wrong intervals or task lists

•Repetitive work orders have not beenupdated to reflect new equipment configuration

•Backlogworkordershavestaleorincorrectpart numbers

•Backlogworkorderswereestimatedusingold task lists and material costs

•MaterialreservationsforplannedworkarenotgeneratedduetowrongMRPdata

•Billofmaterialsused forkitsor rebuildsare missing or have duplicate parts

•Purchase Request/Orders fail to getprocessed due to incomplete description/vendorMost of the EAM data erosion we have

experienced happened progressively and silently because checks and balances were replaced by “time-saving” shortcuts, sudden changes in roles and activities, leadership changes that shifted priorities – all quite justifiable and expected when jobs are lost but also quite preventable if we had realized that our maintenance staff were the data

Who laid off the asset management data quality people?Turn to people, process and technology to get back on track.

Truthbetold,thebiggestproblemmostfuel/energyproduction operations haveisnotthreatofintrusionbysomehacker,buttheprogressiveerosion of our day-to-day EAMdata...

DataQuality

www.rem-mag.com • REM Spring 2016 9Daemar_REM-Spring-2016_Ad-01_outlines.indd 1 4/28/2016 4:11:43 PM

REM_Daemar_Spring.indd 1 2016-05-04 9:01 AM

quality people all along.While there is no genie in a bottle that can

help us get out of this data quality funk, there are a few people-process-technology things that can be done in the immediate term to help get pipeline, plant and wellhead EAM data back in the right place: a. People: Re-establish or start a new Asset

Integrity Working Group. Work with management, supervisors and maintenance staff to establish small volunteer “quality circles” of three to four people that meet on Tuesdays and Fridays for one hour per week to take one or two problems or issues and agree to solve them. It might be to review and correct a maintenance job plan for a pump or identify two or three materials items or BOMs that need to be fixed. The management member will sponsor and take ownership to getting these done.

b. Process: Build a bridge between IT andbusiness culture – not that it’s broken but begin the open discussion about “EAM

data quality” to your interdepartmental management meetings, safety talks and coaching moments encouraging everyone to identify data or information issues. Support supervisors with short, scheduled follow-up meetings and simple communication processes enlisting members of the corporate IT team to establish a high priority on EAM data remediation. Allot two hours on Wednesday to address issues.

c. Technology: Last and certainly not least, Maintenance, Operations and Information Technology leaders need to work together to explore ways to effectively and economically “refresh” their IT/OT and EAM enterprise solution architecture supporting our Maintenance teams. Small investments/easy to implement off-the-shelf software such as adding a Management of Change (MOC) button on a mobile work order device could allow the field technician who found a bit of bad data in the maintenance plan MRO BOM

to send an email message directly to the IT member – effectively shortening the time between discovery and resolution from days to minutes.We need to take a moment to recognize

that previous information technology methods may have broken down over the stress of layoffs or organizational change and that making the business case for investing in things like IoT (Internet of Things), digital IT / OT asset management, EAM master data governance and smart technology to improve the user experience may well have some solid returns – even if it’s simply putting a smile on the faces of your maintenance teams again. n

Jim Charboneau spent most of his millwright appren-ticeship days creating maintenance plans in Viscalc spreadsheets on an Apple IIe computer in the late 1970s. Charboneau would go on to be a maintenance reliabil-ity specialist, EAM solution architect, vice-president, project manager and consultant. Today he is director, EAM for Chicago-based Utopia Inc. Reach him at [email protected].


The energy Challengeincentives for managing energy in oil & gas and resource facilities.

EnergyManagement by Amin Almasi


Using energy more efficiently offers economic benefits because saving fuel and energy is a lot cheaper than buying it. A strategic approach to energy management allows a plant

or organization to gain a better understanding of energy use and implement technologies, pro-cesses and practices that will decrease costs, im-prove profitability and reduce carbon emissions and waste.

Energy is an essential business input and often constitutes a significant and growing line item of plant or company operating expenses. The cost of energy is usually projected to continue to rise due to many factors, a number of which are beyond the control of most plants, facilities and business-es. Important factors include infrastructure costs to transmit and distribute energy, commodity prices, exchange rates, taxing factors and geopo-litical situations. The introduction of new carbon price or carbon tax in some countries will place further upward pressure on energy prices and improve returns on energy efficiency investments.

In any plant, energy comprises a portion of operational costs. Too often, it comprises a con-siderable portion of total operational costs. As a very rough indication, 30 - 70 per cent of com-plete operating costs could be energy costs. For some plants and facilities, energy might not be responsible for a large percentage of operational costs; however, it is often the key source of green-house gas emissions and other environmental considerations. A reduction in energy use is often the primary means by which an organization can reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and improve environmental figures. Without an effective en-ergy management system, inefficiencies in the business can go unnoticed and opportunities to improve energy use (and reduce emissions) may not be acted upon. Unnecessary energy expendi-tures erode profits and performance.

Energy management is the key to saving en-ergy in any plant and facility. Much of the impor-tance of energy saving stems from the global need to save energy; this need affects energy prices, emissions targets, and legislation, all of which lead to several compelling reasons why operators and managers should save energy at their orga-nization. Typically, energy management involves the following steps:1. Metering energy consumption and collecting

the energy data related to production, distribu-tion and consumption.

2. Finding opportunities to save energy and es-timating how much energy each opportunity could save; it would typically analyze meter data to find and quantify routine energy waste, and it might also investigate the energy savings by each proposed improvement.

3. Taking action to target the opportunities to save energy such as tackling the routine waste and replacing or upgrading the inefficient

equipment; typically it should be started with the best opportunities first.

4. Tracking progress by analyzing meter data to see how well energy-saving efforts have worked.

Many corporations and companies have histori-cally placed energy management within the envi-ronmental function, as the energy usage is often used to report environmental compliance. How-ever, plants that have achieved significant cost savings and reduced greenhouse gas emissions have cross-functional responsibility for energy management including the financial, engineering, operational and environmental roles. Companies have often found that rigorous management of en-ergy and implementation of energy management tasks requires its recognition at the top levels of business. Placing energy management responsi-bilities within the business improvement has also led to more effective outcomes.

Facility management is an important part of

the energy management. Facility management is a profession that encompasses multiple disci-plines to ensure functionality of the solution by integrating personnel, place, equipment, facilities, processes and technology. One of the central tasks of energy management is to reduce costs for the provision of energy without compromising work processes, operation, reliability and availability. In particular, the availability and service life of the equipment and facilities, and the ease of opera-tion should remain the same or ideally improve. Proper guidelines are required for the integration of energy management. Facility management and energy management deal with economic, ecologi-cal, risk-based and quality-based targets.

Doing our partAs the global community unites to fix the high CO2 emissions, every plant should have a clear view of the energy challenge and suitable energy management plan. New solutions, modern think-ing and new technologies are needed to lead into an era in which plants and facilities can truly do much more while consuming much less energy.

Industrial plants consume various forms of energy in their day-to-day operation, including gas, electrical energy and steam. By construct-ing in-house combined cycle and cogeneration power generation units (such as gas turbine trains with steam generation heat recovery systems or engine units with heat recovery), many industrial facilities are able to internally meet their electric-ity and power demands. Depending on the avail-ability, quality and cost of the external electricity supply, an industrial facility has the flexibility to either import electricity from the local grid or generate its own electricity. In many cases indus-

EnergyManagement

Dependingontheavailability, quality and costoftheexternalsupply, an industrial facilityhastheflexibilitytoeitherimportelectricityfromthelocalgridorgenerateitsownelectricity.

without an effective system, energy management goes unchecked and inefficiencies creep in. steps should be taken to track energy consumption, find ways to save energy by analyzing meter data, quantify routine waste, upgrade inefficient equipment, and track progress.


ENERGYMANAGEMENT

tries prefer to find a balance between generating a portion of their demand and importing from a local or national grid.

For plants with different energy consump-tion patterns or facilities connected to local (or national) electrical grid, the energy consumption should be optimized during peak hours, or should move the time of high-energy use to off-peak times such as nighttime and weekends. Peak de-mand management does not necessarily decrease total energy consumption, but could be expected to reduce the need for investments in networks for meeting peak demands. An example is the use of energy storage units to store energy during off-peak hours and which can be discharged during peak hours.

Load management, also known as demand side management (DSM), is the process of balancing the supply of energy (for instance, electricity to a network) by adjusting or controlling the load rather than the energy generation output. This is mainly used in electricity networks of a plant or a factory. This can be achieved by direct interven-tion of the network in real time, by the use of fre-quency sensitive relays triggering circuit breakers (for instance, ripple control), by time clocks, or similar methods. The load management allows fa-cilities and utilities to reduce demand for electric-ity during peak usage times, which can, in turn, reduce costs by eliminating the need for peaking power generation units (or importing expensive electrical power at peak hours). In addition, peak-ing power generation units often require some time (sometimes 20 minutes to 1 hour) to bring it online and it can present challenges particularly should a plant go off-line unexpectedly. The load management can also help reduce harmful emis-sions, since peaking power generation or backup generators are often dirtier and less efficient than base-load power generation units.

reap benefitsPlants can realize many benefits through effective, ongoing energy management. Following are just some ways that implementing energy manage-ment systems and processes can achieve best practices and build value:

Significant savings: Plants that have taken a strategic approach to energy management and energy efficiency often find many opportunities with attractive payback periods and ongoing re-ductions in energy expenditure.

Improved risk management: Risks associated with rising energy prices and inefficient energy use include reputational risks, price volatility and operating cost risks, supply chain risks, energy security and climate change risk. Effective energy management is a core component of an effective risk management strategy.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions: For most plants and facilities, managing energy use is the primary means by which they can manage

their greenhouse gas emissions. Improving ener-gy productivity and exploring different sources of energy can dramatically reduce the plant’s carbon footprint and associated carbon costs.

Reducing maintenance costs and improv-ing reliability: Energy management actions can usually identify problems before they occur and reduce the load of machinery and equipment. This often improves production uptime, reduces labour and component costs, and extends the useful life of the asset. For instance, inefficient operation of machinery is a sign of a developing issue and im-pending failure; through energy management ex-ercises those issues can be identified and resolved; therefore higher reliability could be expected.

Reducing personnel turnover: Businesses that actively monitor and manage their energy use often enjoy other indirect benefits, such as a more motivated workforce, demonstrable im-provements in environmental performance and new means of staff engagement.

Improving productivity: Understanding energy use as a function of output and other performance metrics can identify productivity im-provements through reduced resource consump-tion. Improvements in energy productivity are often accompanied by improvements in material use, utility use and use of other resources.

Distribution managementMany oil, gas and resource facilities have in-house power generation and produce electrical power

to meet their needs. Production of energy in a centralized power generation unit and transmit-ted via electric network to the energy customers is a common solution. Nowadays, many large plants and facilities deal with distributed gen-eration systems, especially power generation in local recovery units. Such systems could be cost effective, but complicated. Application of an ad-vanced overall power control system, such as an aggregation of some power generation units with its own local energy management system and some fixed and variable loads is a common solution for some plants and facilities. For others, an important aspect of power generation and dis-tribution optimization is the interaction between the imported power (for instance, from a local or national electric grid network) and internally generated power.

This global resolve to save energy affects energy prices, emissions targets and legislation. At the plant or facilities level the incentives to become more efficient by setting aggressive tar-gets stem not only from these compelling moti-vations at the global scale, but is also an effective management strategy toward profitability at the plant level. n

Amin Almasi is a chartered professional engineer and rotating equipment consultant. He has authored more than 100 articles dealing with rotating equipment, condition monitoring, offshore, subsea and reliability. Contact him at [email protected].

Oil & gas facilities can realize many benefits from ongoing energy management. Many plants are looking at in-house combined cycle and cogeneration units as a way to become self-sufficient at meeting electricity and power demands.

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Planned shutdowns, turnarounds and outages (STOs) are often scheduled for preventative maintenance and new equipment installation that must be performed to keep a power plant

running and in regulatory compliance. To mini-mize production downtime, this work must be completed within a very tight timeframe. Power plant STOs are often feats of engineering, plan-ning and coordination – work that begins many months, even years, before the event.

At the top of the list during any planned shutdown is safety. To prevent injury or loss of life, reduce liability and keep insurance rates in check, safety departments must provide the required safety training, products and services that will ensure that all on-site personnel and company assets are protected throughout the scope of the operation.

“Safety comes first,” says Clay Sharpe, safety manager for Power Plant Field Services (PPFS). “Our crews are trained in safety measures for the work they perform, whether a scheduled outage or an emergency repair. It is our philosophy to make every effort to ensure that potential acci-dents never happen. We begin every shift with a plan to work safely.”

Power Plant Services (ppsvcs.com) is a turn-key, aftermarket manufacturer and service pro-vider to the power generation, paper & pulp, refineries, steel and chemical industries. The company has increased its capabilities to meet customers’ needs by providing services such as parts manufacturing, technical and engineering services, repair services, field machining, field services and exceptional delivery time. PPS performs emergency work as well as planned outages throughout the world.

Managing all that encompasses “safety” for an STO, however, is often a feat of its own.

During an STO, a typical power plant can see its ranks swell from 50 to perhaps 200 - 300 ad-ditional workers that the safety department and contractors providing turnkey services must properly equip and train, and provide rescue and standby emergency services. This often requires

managing multiple vendors of safety products and services as well as workers that are not familiar with the facility or its processes, yet are performing challenging, even high-risk tasks.

Now, in an attempt to eliminate a point of

complexity and coordination in an already com-plicated process, some power plant safety de-partments and equipment service contractors are outsourcing to a single combined safety ser-vice provider that can deliver the entire gamut of

SafeTy aS a ServiCesimplifying safety during planned power plant shutdowns can reduce complexity and cost.

AftermarketServices by chris Mckinnon

safety is the no. 1 priority during any shutdown-turnaround-outage event. Many operations opt to outsource their safety services to a single provider as a way to eliminate complexity. services may include safety training and supervision, confined space attendants and rescue teams.


AftermarketServices

safety-related products and services. The benefit of this one-stop-shop approach for

a planned shutdown is the single point of coor-dination, reduction in facility personnel required to manage the safety effort, access to extensive safety expertise and technical knowledge, po-tential cost savings on basic and more advanced PPE (personal protective equipment), and ability to respond quickly to unexpected situations or emergencies.

safety firstDespite the focus on timely return-to-service, those that have participated in planned shut-downs will attest that the primary emphasis is not how “fast” the work is completed, but rather ensuring the safety of all workers involved. This is not mere lip service, but the prime directive, even if that means going over budget or, in some cases, extending the project.

Even when emergency services are required, safety is the number one priority of power plant operators as well as service providers.

Well before any of the work starts, plant and contractor project managers are holding safety meetings and orienting employees on safety. This occurs both before and during the project, with managers reviewing daily reports about how many personnel are working, what they are doing, and if any are hurt they want to know exactly what happened.

PPFS, the field services affiliate of PPS, was recently awarded a contract from Chouteau Fuels (a subsidiary of DTE Energy) to remove and replace some machinery at the Grand Rivers Energy Center (GREC), in Chouteau, Oklahoma. Chouteau Fuels’ mission is to treat the coal prior to combustion, in order to reduce mercury emis-sions, thereby reducing pollution.

As a safety manager, Sharpe has a high aware-ness of the risks that exist in field services, when crews of workers travel to power plants across the U.S., and abroad. Outages normally involve disassembly, inspection, component repair or replacement, and then reassembly of equipment such as steam and gas turbines and generators. In this case, it was coal-handling equipment.

“The type of work we perform in the field is often potentially dangerous,” says Sharpe. “We have many methods we can choose from to re-duce the possibility of injury to our workers. First, we attempt to eliminate the hazard. If that is not possible, we resort to controls on the work processes, and to directing various types of safety equipment to be used.”

Outsourcing safetyIn some cases PPFS will outsource specific ser-vices from a vendor.

“This is generally a service we contract on an as-needed basis,” Sharpe says. “And we need to

know they will provide qualified workers who are fully aware of high-risk situations and have the equipment and expertise to handle an emergency.”

Sharpe says PPFS recently outsourced a por-tion of their safety project to DXP Safety Ser-vices while working at GREC.

“We contracted DXP to provide safety ser-vices for a confined space situation, which is possibly a hazardous location where people could get trapped,” Sharpe explains. “In confined space situations you are sometimes required to have attendants and rescue teams with specialized equipment. DXP’s rescue teams are specialized, such as high-angle rescue and rope rescue. They had every possible scenario covered.”

DXP Services is a multinational company that has grown significantly while aggressively pursuing new acquisitions. The company now operates as a single provider of combined safety (products + services) for plant turnarounds.

In addition to an extensive catalogue of PPE items, the company maintains a large asset base of equipment including powered air trailers, supplied air trailers, emergency showers, eye wash equipment, MROP (Maintenance, Repair, Operations, and Production) trailers, fire trucks and ambulances.

DXP also offers a comprehensive list of ser-vices, including safety training and supervision, confined space attendants and rescue teams, high angle rescue teams, rope rescue, gas detection, respiratory fit testing, audiometric testing, in-dustrial hygiene, industrial medical services, fall protection and repair services.

single-source benefitsThe benefits of a one-stop-shop approach to safety begin well before the STO. As part of the pre-planning, a safety advisor from a com-

bined service provider meets with facility safe-ty and maintenance personnel to learn about their existing procedures and processes. For shorter projects this can be two to four weeks beforehand, or for a more complex project 12-18 months in advance.

The safety advisor then evaluates and moni-tors safety hazards, and control strategies to ensure compliance with the facility’s safety rules, policies, programs, criteria and procedures as well as all governmental regulations.

Given the unique requirements of each facility, there are no one-size-fits-all safety plans so each project is client-specific. In addition, the scope of involvement can be scaled from a single worker to a complete program for the entire scope of the STO.

Another benefit to this approach is the ability to react to unexpected situations or emergencies. Although a tremendous amount of planning goes into a planned shutdown there are inevitably situations, requirements for specialized equip-ment, unexpected air quality issues and even in-juries that can leave safety personnel scrambling. With the breadth and scope of its expertise, a combined safety services company can tap into its resources quickly to resolve the situation.

Sharpe says DXP performed as a team of ex-perts with a full complement of safety equipment and expertise that provided a single-source, turnkey service.

“They were very professional and took care of the project without requiring supervision, which was exactly what we needed,” he says. “I’m very pleased with their professional attitude and services.” n

This article was submitted by DXP Safety Services. Reach them at www.DXPE.com or email [email protected].

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to safety. Depending on the environment, unique requirements and the scope of the project, a service provider will meet with maintenance personnel to learn about existing pro-cesses and protocols.


The oil and gas industry has some of the most robust safety practices of any industrial sector, but many com-panies know that ensuring employee safety is a process of continuous im-

provement.As part of this approach, companies around

the world are continuously working to further enhance their safety protocols by implementing cutting-edge technologies, frequently re-evalu-

ating safety training methods and engaging with trade organizations and third parties to ensure all steps are taken to protect oilfield workers.

However, though these may be the most com-monly thought of steps to address safety, they are not the only ones that can make a meaning-ful difference. In fact, lubrication can also play an important role in influencing safety perfor-mance, as it has a direct impact on the very heart of any oil and gas operation – equipment

reliability. It’s widely understood that lubrication is key

to equipment performance, and using high qual-ity lubricants can enhance equipment protec-tion, improve energy efficiency and increase productivity.

But lubricants also play a valuable role in helping reduce human-machine interaction (HMI), which is one of the leading risk factors in the industrial workplace. In fact, according to

influenCe Safe PerformanCe How lubrication can help you achieve your safety goals

Oil&Lubrication by Luis rojas


Oil&Lubrication

the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), between 1992 and 2001, there was an annual average of 318,488 non- f ata l occupat iona l caught- in-r unning- machinery-accidents across industrial sectors in the United States.

The oil and gas industry has a strong safe-ty record. According to the American Petro-leum Institute (API), oil and gas production operations have had one of the lowest individual segment workplace injury rates among indus-trial categories. Despite this success, minimiz-ing HMI continues to be a core safety focus for many companies around the world, particularly considering the rise of more complex production technology and processes and the increase in operators’ mental workload.

Thus, it goes without saying that reducing the risk of equipment failure, and therefore the requirement for HMI, will reduce risk exposure for oilfield workers.

And, ensuring that you have an optimized lu-brication program in place – complete with high quality synthetic lubricants and expert technical services – will enable you to better protect vital industrial equipment to help enhance safety, par-ticularly in the extreme environments common to many oilfield operations today.

High quality lubricantsFor both onshore and offshore operations, equip-ment reliability is critical to success. Vital equip-ment – such as the iron roughneck, top drive and draw-works, among others – operate in difficult conditions, including extreme temperatures and heavy loads. A best-in-class lubrication program can help minimize unscheduled downtime and reduce the frequency of HMIs. Using the right lubricants is the foundation of any good lubrica-tion program.

To truly optimize the performance of equip-ment in challenging oilfield environments, consider synthetic lubricants. These lubricants utilize additive technologies that can help protect against conventional wear modes, leading to bet-ter equipment protection and equipment durabil-ity. For example, the high viscosity index of fully synthetic lubricants helps equipment perform better at high temperatures, as the oil will remain more viscous as compared to more conventional, mineral-based oils. This reduces the chance for metal-to-metal contact that can cause permanent equipment damage.

Further, bearing failure is a leading cause of unplanned mechanical failure of rotating equip-ment, causing production losses and leading to unnecessary HMI. Synthetic lubricants specifi-cally formulated to protect against wear can help address some equipment failures.

Using the right lubricants can also help ex-tend oil drain intervals, which is important for

safety as oil changes are a leading reason for HMI. Oil changes occur either at set mainte-nance intervals, on original equipment manufac-turer (OEM) recommendations or based on the oil condition, and oxidation resistance is a key factor in determining oil life.

All oils oxidize over time, leading to deposit formation, as well as an increase in viscosity and acidity. This process is accelerated at elevated tem-peratures and in extreme conditions – a challenge that is particularly true for the oil and gas industry.

Synthetic lubricants have much greater oxi-dation resistance than conventional, mineral-based oils, and some synthetic lubricants have been shown to extend oil life up to six times as compared to conventional oils, particularly at elevated operating temperatures.

By extending oil drain intervals, these high quality lubricants reduce the need for HMI and can deliver significant safety benefits for oil and gas producers. Workers on offshore rigs or in remote onshore locations do not need to spend as much time working with the equipment, mini-mizing any associated risks.

The benefits of synthetic lubricants are not hard to demonstrate. For example, a major Cana-dian oil and gas company was lubricating a fleet of 21 natural gas engines with a conventional oil, achieving oil drain intervals of only 1,750 hours. However, the company wanted to improve ef-ficiency and extend oil drain intervals, as well as engine overhaul intervals.

Once the company switched to synthetic, natu-ral gas engine oil and implemented routine oil analysis to monitor engine condition and lubri-cant performance, it saw immediate results – the synthetic oils enabled 3,000-hour oil drain inter-vals. Further, oil analysis results revealed hardly any signs of wear after 23,000 hours of opera-tion, and so the company also extended engine overhaul intervals from 30,000 to 40,000 hours.

In this case, while the oil and gas company saw productivity and profitability benefits from switching to a synthetic oil, it was also able to significantly reduce oil drain intervals, thus help-ing to improve the overall safety of its workforce.

Expert technical servicesThe importance of using high quality synthetic lubricants is clear, but technical services can also play a key role in ensuring you get the most out of your equipment and maximize all associated safety benefits.

Technical services can help provide valuable insight into the performance of your equipment, enabling a plant to make more informed mainte-nance decisions and further improve equipment performance and reliability.

One example is used-oil analysis, a service that monitors the condition of lubricating fluids so is-sues can be identified and addressed before they begin to impact production. This service monitors a range of factors, including a lubricant’s viscosity, oxidation and nitration, acidity, depletion levels, water contamination and typical wear metals.

The data gleaned from these tests can help extend equipment life, enhance individual com-ponent life and increase equipment reliability, all of which help contribute to fewer HMIs and enhanced safety.

For example, during a scheduled overhaul of a re-injection reciprocating compressor on an offshore oil production platform, maintenance personnel discovered extensive corrosion on the oil-wetted surfaces of the engine crankcase. Re-sults of a subsequent used-oil analysis detected persistent levels of water and chemical contami-nation in the lubricant, which contributed to the component damage.

While the company took steps to mitigate leaking seals, environmental conditions made water contamination an ongoing problem. The recommendation was that the company should install a bypass filtration system to remove water, along with a desiccant lubricant reservoir breather to maximize lubricant performance.

In this case, the technical service provided the company with the data and insight needed to ad-dress a critical equipment issue.

Don’t underestimate lubricationThere are a range of factors that influence the safety of your operation, but equipment perfor-mance is a critical – and sometimes undervalued – opportunity to enhance safety.

Lubrication has a fundamental impact on the performance of equipment. The goal of any safety- oriented preventative maintenance program should be to improve equipment reliability while at the same time reducing the need for HMIs. With the right combination of high-quality lubricants and appropriate technical services, a plant can enhance its safety program and help ensure that the equipment performs reliably. n

Luis Rojas is the industrial marketing advisor, Energy, ExxonMobil. For more information, visit www.mobil-industrial.com.

Therearearangeoffactorsthatinfluencethesafetyofyouroperation, but equipment performance is a critical – and sometimes undervalued – opportunitytoenhancesafety.


Power Generation

Tier 4 generaTorSEnsure generator longevity with scheduled and preventive maintenance.

While it’s not advisable to run generators below their optimal workload-to-fuel- consumption level, the reality on jobsites and in emergency situations sometimes demands it. If this happens to be the case, regularly scheduled and preventative maintenance regimens

become even more crucial for maintaining the health of the power system.

Light loading responsiblyGenerators regularly expected to run on light loads should be subject to more rigorous maintenance regimens to ensure there’s no excessive wear or deposit buildup. If generators must be run at light load for a period of time, then, in general, they should afterwards be run under an increased load. This raises the temperature and pressure within the generator’s cylinders, which helps to clean off deposits in the combustion chamber.

Light loading should be even more limited for natural gas generator sets. It is recommended that they be run at a 0 to 30 per cent load level only for half and hour, and from 31 to 50 per cent load level for only two hours. All light loading should be followed by at least two hours of running at no less than a 70 per cent load level.

scheduled and preventative maintenanceScheduled and preventative generator maintenance plans are a must for users looking to prolong the life of their generator equipment. For generators in critical applications, such as standby generators at hospitals, data centres and laboratories, generator maintenance plans are an absolute must. Some components of a scheduled maintenance plan may be as simple as the user making sure generator exercisers are in place and working properly. These kick on the generator at set intervals to verify that everything is working properly.

Load bank testing is another critical element in a preventative generator maintenance plan. This test artificially boosts the load placed on the generator, usually to about the height of the generator’s output capacity. This helps to erase any effects of wet stacking or other buildup, and to verify that a generator is actually capable of performing at its peak output rate. It is generally recommended that load bank testing be conducted at least once per year.

The ambient conditions in which a generator operates will also have an effect on how often it should be serviced. Dust, moisture, salinity, altitude and extreme temperatures will all have a bearing on how often routine generator maintenance should be conducted.

In general, regularly scheduled “lifecycle” maintenance can save time and money by preventing downtime, allowing for small issues to be addressed before they become large ones and by prolonging the service life of the generator.

Diesel generator efficiency and Tier 4As is the case in many sectors of the power generation industry, the EPA’s

final Tier 4 regulations are shaking up the way we buy and maintain diesel generators. Many of the diesel generators designed to meet Tier 4’s new emission standards are even less tolerant to light loading than previous models were. This is largely due to the fact that the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) components, which were introduced to reduce NOx emissions, must operate within a very narrow temperature range.

It is also important to realize that final Tier 4 diesel generators cannot be operated without the additive diesel exhaust fluid (DEF). DEF is a non-hazardous solution that is sprayed into the exhaust stream of diesel engines to help reduce NOx emissions. In addition to verifying a Tier 4 diesel generator is running with the proper levels of DEF, it’s also key to verify beforehand that a particular type of DEF is approved for use with the specific generator model.

Final Tier 4 engine standards are tweaking best practices for running diesel generators efficiently. While some of the effects are new to all of us, it is always best to consult experienced engineers who know how this type of machinery will function with new components and additives. Consulting a professional before any adverse effects of inefficient operation have time to add up will help to prolong the life of final Tier 4 generator equipment. n

This article was submitted by CK Power. Headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., CK Power is a leading manufacturer of power units and power generation solutions. In addition to its manufacturing capabilities, CK Power is leading distributor of new and remanufactured natural gas and diesel engines. For more information, visit ckpower.com.

include load bank testing in a generator’s preventative maintenance plan. Artificially boosting the load placed on the generator eliminates the effects of wet-stacking. The test also confirms that the generator performs at its peak.

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Hot Products

Atlas copco’s Dyn@Lyzer compaction systemAtlas Copco’s easy-to-use intelligent compaction system gives contractors real-time material stiffness readings to ensure superior soil and asphalt compaction. Dyn@Lyzer uses a glob-al navigation satellite system, such as GPS, to track the number of completed passes and the precise position of the roller at all times. The unit’s drum-mounted accelerom-eter measures the surface’s relative material stiffness and uses Evib readings to give operators immediate material stiffness results from within the cab. www.atlascopco.us

cummins Filtration Cummins Filtration, a leading designer and manufac-turer of filtration, coolant and fuel additive technology,

released its latest in NanoNet Technologies. NanoNet media is a proven protection for com-mon rail systems, designed to be up to 13 times more effective than competitive filter products at removing or retaining par-ticles. Unlike conventional filters, Nanofiber media is not affected by water in fuel and provides

the structural integrity needed for high-level performance. www.cumminsfiltration.com

EPLAn data portalThis month, the number of components in the EPLAN Data Portal will exceed 600,000 from over 125 com-ponent manufacturers, including several leading North American companies. The EPLAN Data Portal is a fast and easily searchable, cloud-based platform, acces-sible from within EPLAN engineering software, via a web browser or the EPLAN Data Portal App. Users are provided with real-time access to valuable parts and device data. The data sets for these components are validated and presented in a standardized format, so users can drag and drop them from a portal search right into EPLAN programs, automatically creating master data sets. That reduces the configuration effort and data-entry error risk from manual creation of parts and device data sets for projects and greatly increases the quality of machine and system documentation. www.eplanusa.com

Dillon reversible hard jaws Reversible hard jaws from Dillon Manufacturing, Inc., which are suitable for ID and OD workholding, can decrease the time and cost of tool set-ups, yet still accu-rately grip and locate work pieces. Manufactured of 8620

steel, case hardened, with ground locating surfaces, and black oxide coated for cor-rosion resistance. The jaws are designed to hold a specific range of part sizes and are usually used for first operation workholding. They are available in serrated, Acme Key, square key, and tongue-and-groove styles to fit all brands of chucks. www.dillonmfg.com

cynergy vacuum lifters slash packaging time of boilersA Cynergy Ergonomics vacuum lifter allows an opera-tor to lift a variety of electric boilers, with weights

to 200-pounds, and rotate them for pal-letizing and pack-aging. These mate-rial handling tasks are accomplished in just seconds, reducing the packaging and pallet-

izing time by half. The vacuum cup tooling provides a firm grip on the boiler without marring or marking it. www.cynergyergonomics.com

neospeed rivetsPOP Avdel, the largest blind rivet supplier in the industry, is now offering a countersunk rivet head option to go with the more common mushroom style for use with its NeoSpeed Speed Fastening system. Countersunk rivets are particularly impor-tant for applications in which a raised head is not accept-able in the applica-tion. These unique, splined, patent protected NeoSpeed rivets from POP Avdel deliver the widest grip range and hole size tolerances of any non-structural rivet, while deliv-ering shear, tensile and clamp performance better than or equal to traditional breakstem options. www.stanleyEngineeredFastening.com

komatsu wA500-8 wheel loader Komatsu America Corp. introduced the new WA500-8 Wheel Loader. Equipped with an EPA Tier 4 Final certified engine, this latest addition to the wheel loader family combines an enhanced lockup torque converter function

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material better, contributing to machine efficiency and productivity gains of up to 10 per cent. Also, by optimizing

control of engine power, and improving power train and hydraulic efficiency, the WA500-8 consumes up to five per cent less fuel than its Tier 4 interim predecessor.www.komatsuamerica.com

Fluke 279 Fc thermal multimeter Thermal imagers are invaluable to help quickly trouble-

shoot electrical equipment, panels, and transformers but electricians and maintenance technicians often don’t have access to one when they need it. Fluke announces the 279 FC TRMS Thermal Multimeter, the first test tool to integrate a full-featured true RMS (TRMS) digital multimeter (DMM) with a thermal camera in one device to speed troubleshooting. The 279 FC allows technicians to quickly and safely check for hot spots in fuses, wires, insulators, connectors, splices, and

switches with the imager and then troubleshoot and analyze issues with the DMM.www.fluke.com

Miller Arcreach remote control technology Miller added three additional machines to its ArcReach remote control technology for portable welding applica-tions: the XMT 350 CC/CV, XMT 450 CC/CV and Dimension 650 multiprocess welding power sources. ArcReach allows welding operators to adjust and set voltage at the point of use – the weld joint –without the use of control cords, reducing downtime and improving safety by reducing exposure to tripping hazards and lessening operator fatigue associated with walking to and from the power source. www.Millerwelds.com

crane scaleA fully portable crane scale that combines a wireless remote and battery operation to perform a variety of

weighing jobs around metal fabrication shops is available from Alliance Scale, Inc. of Canton, Mass. The Alliance/CAS IE Series Crane Scale is totally self-contained and has a sturdy aluminum die-cast case, rugged hooks and shackles, and operates up to 50 hours on a 9V battery. Suitable

for shipping & receiving, plus other material handling jobs, this versatile crane scale features a wireless remote control and easy to read 1.1” 5-digit LCD or LED displays. www.alliancescale.com.


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Hot Products

wis chain condition monitoring system Wajax Industrial Components has added a new Chain Condition Monitoring system (CCM) from IWIS to its product portfolio. The IWIS system measures the elongation of drive chains in operation and provides maintenance staff with an early warning that the chain is worn and needs to be replaced. The system uses IWIS patented technology to detect chain wear during operation within 0.01 mm and it runs at speeds of 30 fps or more, mak-ing it suitable for a wide range of applications. It is able to operate effectively in harsh conditions, such as in wet or heavily contaminated environments. www.wajaxindustrial.com

improve fuel economy Cummins Turbo Technologies, a global engineering leader in turbocharger technology, introduced its HE250WG turbocharger. Designed to improve fuel economy by up to 2 per

cent, this innovation in turbocharger technology offers durability and reliability in a compact and module design. Features include an optimized bearing design, which reduces sensitivity to contamination while maintaining excellent rotor system stability, to help minimize downtime.

www.cumminsfiltration.com

Heavy-duty shaft mounted gearboxes Renold Gears’ SMX range of heavy-duty shaft mounted gearboxes are perfect solutions for arduous applications in mines and quarries and are available off the shelf for fast deliv-ery as part of the company’s Rapid Response service. The SMX gearboxes are manufactured with hardened and profile ground helical gears for maximum power transmission, efficiency, long life and smooth operation. High capacity, heavy-duty roller bear-ings ensure problem-free operation and maximum load carrying capacity for heavy duty, arduous applications. The gearbox casings are manufactured from close grain cast iron for robust strength and quiet, vibration-free operation. Both sides of the SMX units are fully machined for face mounting options and they are interchangeable with Fenner (Eriks), Rexnord, Benzler, Sala and Dodge to enable fast and easy replacement.www.renold.com

Hydraulic fluid provides superior wear protectionPetro-Canada Lubricants has reformulated its Hydrex line of hydraulic fluids to deliver

leading wear protection, greater energy efficiencies, extended oil life and strong performance in wide temperature ranges. Hydrex provides up to two times better wear protection than global competitors, helps extend equipment life and reduce mechanical failures and maintenance. Engineered on a foundation of Petro-Canada’s ultra-pure, high Viscosity Index base oils, Hydrex is able to deliver maximum performance in the toughest conditions. lubricants.petro-canada.com

Hydra-cell D10 seal-less pumps Wanner Engineering, Inc. has upgraded its Hydra-Cell D10 Series seal-less pumps. Previously rated at 1,000 psi (69 bar) maximum discharge pressure, the new Hydra-Cell D10 models with metallic pump heads can now operate at up to 1,500 psi (103 bar) discharge pressure. Hydra-Cell D10 models have a flow capacity of 4.26 gpm (15.1 l/min) with a motor speed of 790 rpm when performing at the higher pressure rating. The sealless design of Hydra-Cell D10 pumps means that

there are no mechanical seals, cups, or packing to leak, wear, or replace. www.Hydra-cell.com

industry’s first in-line maintenance knife gate valveVictaulic launched its Series 795 Knife Gate Valve, the industry’s first in-line maintenance knife gate valve. The Series 795 Knife Gate Valve is ideal for fluid lines containing solids or abrasive materials common in wastewater treatment, hydroelectric power generation, mining and other industrial settings with appli-cations such as lines for slurry and tailings or cyclones. It alleviates a longstand-ing industry pain point: the labour-intensive process of removing the entire valve from the pipeline to facilitate maintenance, rebuilding and repair.www.victaulic.com

rough terrain forkliftSellick Equipment Limited Harrow, Ont., announced that a new model of the S150, 15,000

pound capacity @ 24” load centre is in full pro-duction. Powered by an economical 74 HP 4 cyl-inder intercooled tier 4 final electronic engine that produces 295 Ft/LBS of torque. The clean-burning diesel does not require exhaust after-treatment, diesel exhaust fluid, or regeneration cycles. The engine is coupled to a fully automatic power shift four-speed transmission and when equipped with

the 4x4 option, allows for on-the-go engagement of the steerable drive axle.www.sellickequipment.com

22 REM Spring 2016 www.rem-mag.com

The primary reason maintenance planning fails in most plants is that

planners are not allowed to plan. Extra duties usually overwhelm

the planning effort. The normal skills of planners along with the

non-urgent nature of planning encourage management, engineers, supervi-

sors and technicians each to demand services of the planners that replace what

the company needs.

To begin with, most plants select planners with top craft skills, excellent

organizing and data skills and great people skills. Successful planners use

these skills to quickly identify proper job scopes, gather and reapply lessons

learned over the years, and clearly communicate via written job plans. In addi-

tion, the computer nature of their position usually places planners in cubicles

or offices for 75 per cent of their day. This placement means that planners are

easy to find.

Furthermore, the nature of planning itself is not urgent. Planners work

“in the future.” Proper planning considers job requirements hopefully a week

or more before technicians would be assigned. Non-urgent work is easy to

interrupt.

Management frequently interrupts the course of planning by asking for

data. The planners being the heaviest users of the CMMS can easily compile

data for metrics or KPIs. Management drives any number of plant programs

with numbers. And planners are easy to find and not doing anything urgent.

And aren’t numbers important?

Engineers sometimes interrupt planners asking for

equipment data. Because the planners are so adept at

using the CMMS, engineers sometimes find it easier

to walk down the hall and ask for asset data than to

look it up for themselves. Using the CMMS constant-

ly for asset data makes the planners much quicker at

accessing data than other infrequent users. Planners

sometimes become “go-fors” for engineers that want

information for engineering work. In addition, many

plants use planners to review project specifications

from engineers that want “plant buy-in” before releas-

ing purchasing bid documents.

Supervisors sometimes interrupt planners to access all kinds of CMMS

data. Many craft supervisors are weak on computer skills. Because planners

deal with supervisors on a peer level, supervisors sometimes take advantage

of longstanding friendships to have planners gather CMMS data and make

CMMS updates.

Technicians frequently interrupt planners simply when they do not under-

stand planning. In many plants, technicians think they are supposed to receive

“perfect” job plans from planners. When they do not receive perfect job plans,

they go and find the planners and insist the planners correct the job plans on

the spot, such as helping find missing parts information. Yet if planners are

helping with jobs-in-progress, they are not planning future work.

All of the interruptions are for worthwhile activities. Yet, most plants

totally destroy their planning function with them. Companies must protect

their planners from such work if it precludes planning itself. Planners each

planning for 20-30 technicians have their hands full and can tolerate almost

no extra activities. Plants staffed with planner ratios below 20 technicians per

planner can usually tolerate some extra activities, but management must be

vigilant not to lose the planning function.

The company must protect planners to be able to use maintenance plan-

ning properly to improve plant reliability. Planners must be allowed to work

on future work to avoid job problems to begin with. And when technician

run into problems on jobs, the planners must settle into a role of collecting

the field solutions to keep the same problems from hap-

pening in the future, not actively participate in the field

solutions. Planners must also be free to plan enough of

the future work to fully load weekly schedules. Crews

starting each week with fully loaded schedules complete

more proactive work.

Figure 1 shows a plant in Barcelona, Spain, that was

able to start fully loaded weekly scheduling by protecting

its planners. This plant improved from completing 238

work orders per month to completing 339 work orders

per month – a 42 per cent increase. Considering that

most plants already have their reactive maintenance cov-

ered, the extra 101 work orders per month would be proactive work orders.

Imagine that! Completing an extra 101 proactive work orders per month. For

free. This plant was then well on its way to superior profitability through

superior reliability, by protecting its planners.. ■

Doc Palmer, PE, MBA, CMRP is the author of McGraw-Hill’s Maintenance

Planning and Scheduling Handbook and as managing partner of Richard Palmer and Associates helps companies worldwide with planning and scheduling success. For more information visit www.palmerplanning.com or email Doc at [email protected].

Protect maintenanceplanners from everyone

By Doc Palmer

can tolerate almost no

planned jobs, it’s time to protect your planners

Palmer’s

Tip:

Figure 1

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asset management data quality pg 8

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