performance reliability efficiency asset management … · 2013. 8. 21. · john m. cappelletti...

PERFORMANCE | RELIABILIT Y | EFFICIENCY | ASSE T MANAGEMENT

PERFORMANCE RELIABILIT Y EFFICIENCY ASSE T MANAGEMENTPERFORMANCE | RELIABILIT Y | EFFICIENCY | ASSE T MANAGEMENT

WWW.PLANTSERVICES.COM

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Plant to Enterprise

Assaulting the barriers to mobility

Save Motors from Stray Currents p.29

Keep Boilers Safe p.26

Improve Shutdown Management p.17

Defi ne Energy Effi ciency p.38

What’s New in Coatings p.19

Actions Speak Louder with Words p.15

Reality vs. TV p.11

PS0912_01_Cover.indd 1 12/3/09 10:48 AM

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15 / HUMAN CAPITAL

Actions Speak Louder with WordsIn the absence of full disclosure, people assume the worst

17 / ASSET MANAGER

Improving Shutdown ManagementIt’s a matter of timing, scale, and using the CMMS

19 / TECHNOLOGY TOOLBOX

What’s New in Coatings?Thermal indicators, no-cure coatings, diamonds, and plant bat-teries are what

38 / ENERGY EXPERT

Defi ne Effi ciencyHow you measure can signifi cantly affect your success

COLUMNS AND DEPARTMENTS

20 / COVER STORY

Plant to EnterpriseAssaulting the barriers to mobility

29 / MOTORS

Shaft GroundingKeep motors alive on variable-frequency drives

26 / BOILERS

Boiler Inspection and MaintenanceFollow these tips to keep your heating system safe, reliable, and effi cient

SPECIALISTS

FEATURES

TABLE OF CONTENTSDECEMBER 2009 / VOL. 30, NO. 12

7 / FROM THE EDITOR

Bow to NoneWinners know how to use everything they’ve got

9 / UP AND RUNNINGARRA funds industrial energy projects • Sleep better during daylight

11 / CRISIS CORNER

Reality vs. TVSolid customer service is the right way to promote the profession

13 / WHAT WORKS

Turbine Retrofi t Adds Remote MonitoringControl update gives HPI the ability to protect, integrate, and communicate

34 / IN THE TRENCHES

Digital DisarrayAcme learns something about the fi ner points of e-mail expertise

36 / CLASSIFIEDS/AD INDEX

WWW.PLANTSERVICES.COM DECEMBER 2009 5

EXCLUSIVES

Enter Plant Services Best Practices AwardsOur Best Practices Awards recognize management tech-niques, work processes, product and service implementations as expressed in a short application story. The contest is open to anyone with a good story and the right to tell it. The entry deadline for the Management category is Jan. 15, 2010.www.PlantServices.com/bestpractices/index.html

Pressure Relief Valve MaintenanceThis is what you should expect from your repair facility.www.PlantServices.com/articles/2009/206.html

Heavy Lifting Equipment Boosts Results for Hazardous Glass and Glass-Product IndustriesReduce on-the-job injuries, increase productivity, improve morale, and reduce turnovers with innovative material handling equipment.www.PlantServices.com/articles/2009/186.html

Measuring Shock PulseExploring the Shock Pulse Method and the resulting savings that the Hallsta Mill in Sweden realized from using it as the primary component of its condition-based maintenance program.www.PlantServices.com/articles/2009/187.html

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from the editorpaul studebaker, cmrp

Bow to NoNewinners know how to use everything they’ve got

many people, including some Plant Services readers, continue to decry the rising strength of non-U.S. manufactur-ing, especially in Asia, most notably in China. It’s painful to see emerging economies continue to grow and invest in U.S. securities while the United States experiences high unemployment, a huge trade deficit, and a weakening dollar.

Some go so far as to see the current situation as evidence that the United States has lost it – not its status as the world’s leader (yet), but the resourceful-ness, ingenuity, and work ethic that put us there. They think we’ve gotten lazy and stupid, lost our priorities, our cre-ativity, our can-do attitude.

Well, as someone whose job is to understand as well as possible how to op-timize productivity, I have to paraphrase Mark Twain and suggest that any report of the death of the American spirit is highly exaggerated.

Every day, for every piece of bad news about the economy, competitiveness, and the future of manufacturing, I see at least 10 descriptions of higher produc-tivity, better quality, improved energy efficiency, or stunning innovation. I have no doubt that U.S. manufacturing is rap-idly improving, as it has for each of the 30-odd years I’ve been on the job.

It’s often been noted that innovation takes place at the intersections of previ-ously apparently unrelated developments, like calculators and telephones. I assert that it also favors the intersections between previously independent communities, such as IT and engineering, or production and maintenance. But like a mixture of air and vaporized gasoline, just bringing technolo-gies or groups together is not enough – you need a spark to get them fully engaged and working with each other.

In this issue’s cover story, that spark is

mobile computing. Huntsman Chemical’s technicians use hand-held devices to re-cord accurate process data and communi-cate work order information. The expected results of more accurate entries, higher workforce productivity and real-time ac-countability for technicians were met. But the technicians were pleasantly surprised to find that real-time, accurate condition information and safety notifications also

hold management accountable for solving problems and providing resources. Now the highly motivated maintenance staff has a new way to bring the plant up to their vi-sion of safety, reliability, and efficiency.

Resourcefulness isn’t putting lead paint on toys, melamine in food, or cor-rosives in drywall. It isn’t lots of people doing what they’re told, or else. It’s every individual thinking about the greater good, their job, and how they fit together, then doing what makes sense with the help of their coworkers.

If you have an example of how innova-tion and cooperation have improved your plant’s performance, please con-sider sharing it with me and your fellow plant professionals by entering our Best Practices Awards (www.PlantServices.com/bestpractices). The deadline for our Management category is January 15.

If not, well, get cracking.

www.PLANTSERVICES.Com DECEmbER 2009 7

Like a mixture of air aNd vaporized gasoLiNe, just BriNgiNg techNoLogies or groups together is Not eNough.

Putman media, inc.555 W. pierce rd., ste. 301, Itasca, Il 60143phone: (630) 467-1300, Fax: (630) 467-1120 mike BreNNer Group [email protected]

editoriaL staff

pauL studeBaker, cmrp editor in [email protected]

russeLL L. kratowicz, p.e. cmrpexecutive [email protected]

aLexis gajewskiassociate editor, digital [email protected]

stepheN c. herNer Group art [email protected]

jeNNifer dakas art [email protected]

david Berger, p.eNg. contributing editor

peter garforth contributing editor

sheiLa keNNedy contributing editor

joeL LeoNard contributing editor

BoB sperBer editor at large

puBLicatioN services

carmeLa kappeLassistant to the [email protected]

jerry cLark V.p., [email protected]

jack joNes circulation [email protected]

rita fitzgeraLd production [email protected]

cLaudia stachowiak reprints marketing managerFoster reprints (866) 879-9144 ext. [email protected]

admiNistrative staff

johN m. cappeLLetti president/ceO

juLie cappeLLetti-LaNge Vice president

keith LarsoN V.p., content

rose southard It director

pauL studeBaker, cmrp, editor in [email protected], (630) 467-1300 x433

PS0912_07_Editorial.indd 7 12/2/09 4:59 PM

GE Energy

I promise

– Andy Winston, Cement Industry Leader,Filtration Technologies

GE Energy’s Filtration Technologies Team promises a better experience. In how we work with you, how we deliver for you and how we help you solve your toughest problems. An example of this commitment can be found in our PulsePleat® Pleated Filter Elements. These fi lter elements offer signifi cant savings compared to bags and cages. Estimate your own savings at ge-energy.com/cementsavings. Or speak with one of our industry experts by calling 1-800-538-7566. It’s not just a promise. It’s the promise of something better.

To calculate your plant‘s potential savings, go to ge-energy.com/energysavings.

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up & Running

ARRA Funds industRiAl EnERgy pRojEctscombined heat and power, district energy lead the list

the u.s. department of Energy (DOE) recently awarded more than $155 million in funding under the American Re-covery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for 41 industrial energy efficiency projects across the country. These awards include funding for industrial combined heat and power systems, district energy systems for industrial facilities, and grants to support technical and financial assistance to local industry. The industrial sector uses more than 30 percent of U.S. energy and is responsible for nearly 30 percent of U.S. carbon emissions.

“To remain globally competitive, American industry needs to be energy efficient. The funding for industrial energy ef-ficiency technologies announced today will support a robust American industrial sector and help to usher in a clean energy economy,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “Many com-panies already realize that improving efficiency saves money while helping the environment. These projects will make energy efficiency technologies more widely available, cutting energy use and reducing carbon pollution across the country.”

Nine projects will promote the use of combined heat and power, district energy systems, waste energy recovery sys-tems, and energy efficiency initiatives in hospitals, utilities, and industrial sites. Combined Heat and Power and District Energy Systems generate both the heat and power needed for industrial processes on-site, instead of using electricity from the grid, and can be nearly twice as efficient as conventional heat and power production. These nine awards, totaling ap-proximately $150 million, will be leveraged with $634 mil-lion in private industry cost share for a total project value of as much as $785 million. The projects will result in almost 14 trillion Btu in estimated energy savings, which is equivalent to more than 112 million gallons of gasoline per year.

The remaining 32 awards will provide local technical support for the industrial sector through university-based Industrial Assessment Centers, state agencies, regional part-nerships, and a national technical assistance provider. This funding will enable DOE’s Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) to provide technical and financial support for local businesses and manufacturing facilities to save energy and reduce their energy costs, obtain financing to realize signifi-cant gains in efficiency and productivity, and save and create manufacturing and industrial sector jobs across the country.

The 32 projects are an extension of DOE’s successful Save Energy Now initiative, which provides plant energy assess-ments and technical assistance to energy-intensive indus-

trial facilities. Since the program’s inception in 2006, more than 2,300 assessments have been completed. More than 1,500 industrial facilities implemented the identified energy measures, which have saved $218 million, 35 trillion Btu and 2.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year.

The announcement includes projects at Seattle Steam Co., Rhode Island LFG Genco, Air Products and Chemicals, Ridge-wood Renewable Power, ArcelorMittal, Verso Paper Corp., The Dow Chemical Company, and Clean Tech Partners.

Industrial Assessment Centers are to be funded at Bradley University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Lehigh Uni-versity, Mississippi State University, North Carolina State University, Oklahoma State University, San Diego State, Tennessee Technological University, Texas A&M University, University of Alabama, University of Dayton, University of Delaware, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, University of Michigan, and West Virginia University.

For more information on the awards, see www.energy.gov/news2009/documents2009/project_descriptions_itp_ARRA_Awards.pdf.

gEt REcognizEd FoR EnERgy sAvingsManufacturing plants across the United States are participating in Save Energy Now energy assessments of-fered by the Industrial Technologies Program (ITP), and facilities that have made progress in implementing the as-sessment ecommendations to save energy and cut costs are being recognized by Save Energy Now.

To qualify for an award, your company must participate in a Save Energy Now energy assessment and report the progress on schedule. The assessment can be completed by an Energy Expert or an Industrial Assessment Center.

Selection is based solely on energy savings activities that have been fully implemented – not those that are in progress or planned. Only activities that have been completed upon submission of the final progress report will be considered for recognition.

Once you meet the criteria, your plant will be selected for one of the following awards:

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10 December 2009 www.PLANTSerVIceS.com

up & Running

• Energy Saver Plant: More than 75,000 MMBtu total energy savings or more than 7.5% total energy savings.

• Energy Champion Plant: More than 250,000 MMBtu total energy savings or more than 15% total energy savings.

• Energy Champion Team: More than 10% total energy savings in the original plant and replication in two or more plants.

As soon as ITP determines that your plant has met the qualifying criteria based on submitted progress reports, you will be notified that you are eligible for an award. Once you accept your award, your company will be publicly recog-nized at major industry meetings or ITP events each year, and on the Save Energy Now Web site. In addition to an award, you will receive a promotional award template that includes logos and a customizable banner to help you pu blicize your success throughout your company and in your corporate communications.

At the request of the company, the award can be extended to suppliers who the company feels have helped them reach their award level.

For more information, contact the EERE information Center at www1.eere.energy.gov/industry/bestpractices/info_center.html or call (877) 337-3463.

SlEEp BEttER DuRing Daylight

Chronobiology international, informa Healthcare’s journal on how biological rhythms affect the systems of living things, has published a new study which shows that the use of blue light-blocking eyeglasses can help facilitate daytime sleep for shiftworkers.

The study recruited permanent nightshift workers from Canada Post’s distribution center in Quebec City. Workers were asked to wear specialized blue light-blocking glasses when outdoors. The glasses block the transmission of blue light because this is the portion of the light spectrum that most affects the body’s circadian clock and sleep-wake rhythm. They also wore light monitors on their wrists.

Workers obtained 30 minutes more sleep within the same time in bed, suggesting fewer awakenings and better sleep efficacy. A good day’s sleep for those who work through the night is important to the health of the worker and the safety of those around him or her. w

For further information, contact [email protected].

DiD you miSS automation FaiR?If you wish you were among the 8,000 attendees from 60 countries in Anaheim, Calif., November 11-12, you can feel like you were there by selecting the most interesting topics from ControlGlobal’s live coverage at www.controlglobal.com/articles/2009/RaF09_22.html.

WEt DuSt Won’t EXploDEOr will it? Decide for yourself whether wet dust removal is right for your application. Tri-Mer’s Whirl Wet brochure describes updated technology for high-efficiency collection of soluble and insoluble particulate, 3 microns and larger. It includes application profiles from Kraft, Barnes Aero-space, Florida Tile, Musashi Auto Parts, and others. View it at www.tri-mer.com/pdf-files/WhirlWet_brochure.pdf.

KEEp hazmat REgS hanDyLabelmaster’s 2009 Early 49 CFR Parts 100-185 is in the same format as the government release, but with additional features that make it easier to locate the information you’re looking for. Find requirements for markings, labels, placards, shipping papers, train-ing, emergency response, packaging, and domestic transportation in a convenient booklet at www.label master.com/Shop/books/dot/2009-10-early-49-cfr.

put piD tuning tipS in youR poCKEtControlSoft Inc.’s PID Loop Tuning Pocket Guide is now available in its 4th edition. The new edition of this con-cise, 12-page publication includes tuning instructions for cascade loops and an expanded reference section on common controllers. Find it at www.controlsoftinc.com.

tESt youR KnoWlEDgE, tESt youR luCKProper Selective Coordination can help increase the reliability of your facility’s electrical distribution system. Find out how much you know about it by taking Ferraz Shawmut’s latest PIQ Quiz and enter a sweepstakes for a $100 gas card. See http://us.ferrazshawmut.com/piQpR.

CalCulatE BEaRing iSolatoR RoiInpro/Seal Co.’s motor cost justification worksheet is an Excel module that identifies energy and operational savings a plant can attain through the use of bearing isolators. The worksheet works with motors and other types of rotating equipment, calculating ROI for bearing isolators based on repair costs and energy savings. Visit www.inpro-seal.com.

RESouRCES

PS0912_09_10_UpRun.indd 10 12/2/09 4:09 PM

Reality vs. tvsolid customer service is the right way to promote the profession

last summer, Bruce Price, past president of the Port-land, Wash., chapter of the Association for Facilities Engi-neering, invited me to keynote the Washington State Society for Healthcare Engineers conference. Some years ago, Bruce left the manufacturing world to become the facilities engi-neer for a hospital. He learned that the healthcare profession also is fighting the maintenance crisis and thought that I could offer some ideas to help them with this critical issue.

This hits close to home. My father, a doctor, often dropped me off in the hospital waiting room while he made his rounds. That’s where a six-year-old child learned that what was depicted on TV didn’t reflect real life.

For example, on “The Flintstones,” when a man cried, the laugh track fired up. If Fred dropped a bowling ball on his foot and cried, everyone laughed. I’ll never forget the first time I saw a real man cry in the waiting room. I did what I thought I was supposed to do, I laughed. Soon, my father appeared, pulled me by my ear to the vending machines, and asked why I was embarrassing him and laughing at a crying man. “Daddy, I learned from TV, when a man cries, you’re supposed to laugh.” He said, “Son, that man’s child fell off a ladder and will never walk again. How is that funny?”

I shared that moment with the attendees to show that TV doesn’t depict reality. I asked what body part a plumber is known for. Everyone responded, “posterior cleavage” or the non-PC term, “plumber’s crack.” I asked if that image helps recruitment of future generations to pursue this career.

Despite the economy, 12 of the attendees had open techni-cian positions that pay more than $20 per hour. More than 80% were in their 50s and several were beyond retirement age. They complained that the pipeline for qualified replace-ments for their management jobs is small or doesn’t exist.

To change our profession’s image, we must upgrade our customer service. Below are the points of my presentation:

• Be reliable and provide reliable care• Do what you said you’d do when you said you’d do it• Do it right the first time, on time• Be credible when you give assurance it will be done right• Be attractive because sloppiness affects quality perception• Be responsive to downtime: someone is losing money• Be empathetic: put yourself in the customer’s shoes• Never ignore a customer’s opinion: listen to what they

tell you, don’t tell you, and can’t express• Provide answers to customer questions before they ask

• Make customers feel good about being your customer• Each day, ask yourself, “Am I ready to meet customer

needs?”• Get your staff more training to handle more problems• Don’t just give excellent customer service – subtly make

them aware of your great service

• Ask customers about their unmet wants• Treat customers as life-long partners• Set service quality goals and rewards• Select and train your front-line service staff carefully• Get out of the office and find out what’s really happening• Be patient but never be satisfied• Respond to needs and those internal customers will

become more responsive to yours• Show more respect and you’ll get more respect• When complimented, simply say, “Thanks, and we could

do even better for you if we had a (fill in the blank).”• Provide responsive service and your requests for re-

sources will be taken seriouslyAfter I finished, an engineer told his story. To help elevate

patient care, his hospital has a rapid-response team that goes in after a patient leaves to repair scratches, disinfect the bathroom and shower, touch up paint jobs, replace cracked laminate, repair leaky faucets – anything to help leave a pristine room for the next patient. At first, nurses resisted releasing the room. After piloting this project and seeing satisfied patient responses, they now support the move.

Perhaps we in manufacturing could learn from this and implement rapid-response teams to perform PMs, like rac-ing pit crews, to elevate our customer service image. And if proactive, customer service-sensitive engineering and maintenance teams became the standard, we’ll minimize the disastrous effects of the maintenance crisis and relieve future crying moments that will certainly not be funny.

e-mail Contributing editor Joel leonard at [email protected].


DesPite the eConomy, 12 of the attenDees haD oPen teChniCian Positions that Pay moRe than $20/houR.

CRisis CoRneRJoel leonard

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When a large Southern utility dusted off a fleet of unused combustion gas turbine engines to modernize them for generating backup electricity during peak energy-consump-tion periods, it called on project developer HPI LLC (www.hpi-llc.com) to upgrade the control systems. HPI supplied a standardized, digital control system offering improved reli-ability, enhanced turbine control and diagnostics informa-tion, and remote start capabilities.

HPI specializes in providing retrofit controls for gas and steam turbine power generation, compres-sors, and mechanical drive systems. The company opened its doors in 2002. Its team of engineers and technicians have completed more than 70 gas turbine models for more than 20 manufacturers.

Four General Electric MS5001 (Frame 5) turbo-generator packages were fitted with Allen-Bradley ControlLogix controllers. HPI chose ControlLogix for its ability to integrate discrete, motion, process control, batch, drive systems and safety using a single develop-ment environment and a single, open communication protocol. “We used to buy separate controllers and wire them together, but the Rockwell Automation Logix controller allows us to provide turnkey solutions that go beyond just the gas turbine control,” says Jerry Wheelwright, vice president of engineering, HPI.

For networking and visualization, HPI networked Allen-Bradley FLEX I/O modules with copper and fiberoptic ControlNet and EtherNet/IP network communications. The remote, panel-mounted control system includes digital, ana-log, and temperature-monitoring modules., The terminals, fuses, relays, and conduits were preinstalled in subpanels to reduce the amount of on-site wiring.

The utility can operate the system from a remote site five miles away. Engineers also developed a live feed from explosion-proof cameras within the turbine enclosure at other customer facilities.

“The ability to monitor and control the turbines at any time of the day from a remote location is a significant benefit to this customer,” Wheelwright says. “The utility can have gas turbines spread around the state and run the controls through larger steam turbine plants that are manned 24 hours a day, helping to eliminate the need to staff each individual site.”

To reduce the condition-monitoring system costs, the utility wanted to retain the existing vibration probes, so HPI

used Rockwell Automation XM-120 dynamic measurement modules. Two of the two-channel modules on each of the four turbines interface with the equipment via ControlNet to DeviceNet interface modules.

In retrofit situations, HPI’s customers typically have an overspeed protection system that is either obsolete or hydraulic, which makes the system difficult to test and maintain. For the Southern utility project, HPI replaced the overspeed protection systems with XM-220 dual-speed modules. The XM-220 mod-ule is an intelligent, two-channel measurement module that ac-cepts input from two tachometers. The module measures speed, rotor acceleration, and peak speed and is capable of detecting zero speed, locked rotor, and reverse rotation.

The turbines haven’t experienced a start failure since the control upgrade. HPI was pleased with the flexibility of the XM series, the ease of configuration, and the ability to see that the protective circuits are working, and decided to stan-dardize on the equipment for future upgrades.

“We chose the XM series for two reasons,” says Wheel-wright. “One was availability. It was on the shelf when we needed it. The second reason was its ability to interface with other probes and the rest of the system.”


What Works

turbine retrofit adds remote monitoringControl update gives hPi the ability to protect, integrate, and communicate

Remote, panel-mounted control systems for four General Electric MS5001 turbo-generator packages include vibration, speed, and temperature-monitoring modules.

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Actions speAk Louder With Wordsin the absence of full disclosure, people assume the worst

not long ago I was at the home opener of the local high school football season. To be clear, our team has had a dis-mal recent history; they’ve won only three games in the past two years. With a new coach and a new attitude, these young men had won their first road game in convincing fashion, so expectations were high.

The rival from the next town over would be a legitimate test, and our team was answering the call. We were ahead by six points at the beginning of the 4th quarter and driving for another touchdown with the ball on our opponent’s 11 yard line. Then it happened… A pass play across the middle. A defensive back clearly ran into our receiver before the ball got to the receiver. The ball deflected off our receiver’s hands and was caught by another defender. For the mere seconds it took for the official to throw the yellow penalty flag on the field, we held our breath. When the flag was finally thrown we were high-fiving each other because we knew the penalty would put the ball on the goal line.

Then the referees huddled and the head referee bent over, picked up the flag, and waived it over his head; this meant “no penalty.” Worse than that, the other team was awarded an interception, giving them possession of the ball and end-ing our scoring drive. The home town crowd was enraged. “What are you doing?!”, “Who’s paying you off, Ref?” and other utterances of disbelief were heard for several minutes. The opposing team eventually scored and the home team lost by one point.

We’ve all experienced something like this. When people don’t know what’s going on, they tend to think in negative terms. In the situation that night on the football field, it seemed as though the officiating team was biased. For the record, I’ll state that 99.9% of all amateur and professional officials in every sport are not biased. But the emotions of circumstances often make us think the worst.

When game films were scrutinized the next day, it was realized that a defensive lineman actually had tipped the ball. That meant that, by definition, a defensive pass interfer-ence penalty could not be called and the officials had made the right call.

Most high school football games don’t have instant replay on the big screen, nor do they have microphones on the of-ficials as they do in major college and professional football. Because of this, the official’s reasoning and decisions were not readily available to the fans.

In the workplace, supervisors and managers often don’t take the time to educate their staffs and team members on the full scope and realities of what they are up against. In the absence of information and understanding, people tend to believe the worst. It’s human nature. It’s like the fans that were too far away to see what the referee sees.

Some team members are ultimate fans and want to know as much as possible. Other team members are like spouses of football fans who don’t follow the games, but can appreciate the scope and complexity of the rules. You see, it’s not just about making everyone into “wanna-be” supervisors; it’s about giving them access to the big picture. Transparency and inclusiveness lead to building and sustaining trust.

Decisions don’t always make sense when you don’t know the whole picture. That night on the football field, had there been slow motion instant replay on the Jumbo-Tron, or had the referee simply given the motion indicating the ball had been tipped, a lot of inappropriate thoughts about the offici-ating team’s heritage and integrity might have been avoided.

In good or difficult economic times, it may become the path of least resistance for managers and supervisors to avoid interacting with employees who may ask difficult questions. What tends to happen is that the workforce spends more time thinking about what’s going on, and less time thinking about doing their job in the safest and best way possible.

When there is a lack of information there is a void that often is filled by guessing at the manager’s or supervisor’s intentions. The greater the level of trust within the organiza-tion, the less negative are the thoughts attributed to those intentions. Facing difficult situations head-on is not always comfortable, but it is, by far, a more respectful way of treat-ing your team. Interact with your team proactively, keep them informed, give them access to the big picture.

tom Moriarty, p.e., cMrp, is president of Alidade Mer inc. contact him at [email protected] and (321) 773-3356.


A defensive bAck cLeArLy rAn into our receiver before the bALL got there.

huMAn cApitALTom moriarTy, P.E., CmrP

PS0912_15_HumanCap.indd 15 12/1/09 3:49 PM

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One of the most resource-intensive activities you can undertake is planning and executing a outage or shutdown. Many people use the terms outage, shutdown, and turn-around interchangeably to mean the period of time during which major assets or an entire facility are taken off-line to complete maintenance work that’s difficult or impossible to perform otherwise. Shutdowns are complex, costly, and disruptive. That’s precisely why there’s usually potential for improvement, especially if the maintenance department is constantly putting out fires. Consider the opportunities.

TimingMany companies shutdown during the summer when office and operations staff take vacations. Try a cost/benefit analysis on the shutdown timing to find the most cost-effective time slot. Some companies have saved millions simply by moving the shutdown away from summer or other heavy vacation periods. This is especially advantageous if you can move the shutdown to a low point in the annual cycle when product demand is slow. Some companies struggle to recover from a summer shutdown, spending too much on overtime and inventory stockpiling to deal with peak demand.

Technical resources, internal and external, are more readily available outside of summer months. It’s difficult to encourage the maintenance staff to stick around during a shutdown while everyone else is taking advantage of nice summer days. Hiring contractors during peak vacation periods is problematic, and many companies have to hire less experienced resources or pay premium rates. Similarly, availability and premium pricing also applies to special equipment, spare parts, and utilities.

Size maTTerSAnother opportunity lies with shutdown scale, frequency, and quantity. Many companies shifted from a large-scale, bang-bang approach to more mini-shutdowns performed more frequently. This lessens operations and maintenance disruption, reduces labor costs, and cuts production losses and start-up costs that arise after prolonged downtime.

A good CMMS can gather and analyze different job plans and schedules with associated cost data to better understand the cost/benefit of the options. For example, if you have a single, two-week plant shutdown each year, explore the idea of shutting down different areas, lines, or equipment in sequence so the plant is covered during the course of a year.

This can result in less downtime with some stockpiling of work-in-process inventory, but not to the extent needed for a full shutdown. You also might be able to establish redun-dant processes to limit outages, outsource some production during mini-shutdowns, use condition-based monitoring to

reduce shutdown frequency, and re-engineer equipment to allow safe maintenance while equipment operates.

This is similar to the thinking of 20-plus years ago, when annual production and spare parts inventory counts required shutting down the plant for days, hiring people to count, check, record, and analyze data. As ERP systems and CMMS packages improved, cycle counts made it possible to spread inventory counts throughout the year on a rotational basis with little disruption and cost.

Planning and SchedulingThe key to an efficient shutdown is detailed plans and sched-ules. CMMS packages and specialized turnaround software optimize plans and execute schedules accurately. The soft-ware features and functions facilitate mobilizing the right resources at the right time, with the right materials and job plan. Features include ability to input:

• Planned and actual work orders, including standard tasks; estimated labor hours/dollars; skills, parts and tools required; quality standards; inspection metrics and triggers; precedent relationship with other tasks/work orders; safety procedures, and technical documentation

• Work breakdown structure from project level to master work order level to task level

• Schedule sortables by crew, date, location, etc.• Budget linked to breakdown structure and timeline• Contingency planning for delays; what-if analysis or

simulation to find best/realistic/worst-case scenariosThe software tool also should assist with key processes:


many cOmPanieS benefiT by ShifTing frOm a large-Scale, bang-bang aPPrOach TO a higher quanTiTy Of mini-ShuTdOwnS PerfOrmed mOre frequenTly.

aSSeT managerdavid berger, P.eng.

imPrOving ShuTdOwn managemenTit’s a matter of timing, scale, and using the cmmS

PS0912_17_18_AssetMgr.indd 17 12/2/09 4:10 PM


• Procurement, to plan the timing of purchased materials and services, expedite them, and report on variances

• Inventory management, to ensure stocks are optimized and parts are inspected, kitted and released on a timely manner

• Technical analysis and reporting, to expose and solve prob-lems through Pareto analysis, root cause analysis, etc.

• Warranty analysis and reporting, to ensure recovery of costs• Project tracking, to determine if the plant shutdown is on

time, on budget and maintaining the expected quality levelIn general, the greater the level of detail, the easier it is to man-

age the plan execution. Given that a multi-week plant shutdown can cost as much as the maintenance budget for the balance of the year, it’s well worth the time and money to do it right.

Stakeholder involvementKeeping key stakeholders involved from the planning stages to the post-implementation review improves the quality and buy-in of the plan. Senior management should develop the shutdown philosophy and strategy in light of the corporate vision and strat-egy. The shutdown team develops and implements of the detailed plan. The shutdown team should include senior representation from maintenance, operations, engineering, and finance (in-cluding capital planning and purchasing). Marketing might be involved to ensure customers are served during the shutdown.

It’s also critical to communicate often and effectively with shop-floor personnel such as technicians, operators, stockkeep-ers, and so on. Specialized training might be required to ensure front-line staff and contractors are adequately prepared for executing shutdown procedures safely and efficiently.

Performance meaSurementThe shutdown team needs to define success for the program by establishing performance targets for various drivers and tracking them using the CMMS. Drivers and performance targets include:

• Project management (lower shutdown costs)• Customer satisfaction (higher quality of output)• Operational capability (equipment reliability)• Risk management (decreased lost-time injuries)After the shutdown, conduct a post-mortem to determine what

to improve for future shutdowns. Continue tracking the perfor-mance measures on the CMMS to ensure that you achieved your targets. If not, determine what can be done differently in the short term, or for the next plant shutdown.

e-mail contributing editor david Berger, P.eng., partner, Western man-agement consultants, at [email protected].

(Editor’s note: The Plant Services CMMS/EAM Software Review, at www.PlantServices.com/cmms_review, provides a comparison of more than a dozen popular software packages.)

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Technology ToolboxSheila Kennedy

WhaT’s neW in coaTings?Thermal indicators, no-cure coatings, diamonds, and plant batteries

new formulations, capabilities, and applications are driving improvements in coating reliability, performance, and economy. The developments reduce energy, materials, and maintenance while being easy on the environment.

Clean air compliance: Manufacturers are required to minimize the volatile organic compound (VOC) content in their products. Ford Motor Co. engineers and suppliers responded by developing a cost-efficient and low-VOC paint and automated application process being rolled out glob-ally. Ford used to apply three layers of paint in separate stages using bulky, energy-intensive equipment. The new 3-Wet paint technology allows primer, base, and enamel coats to be applied sequentially while still wet, without manual intervention, in an integrated booth. The technology meets Ford’s standards for chip, scratch, and etch resistance; durability; and appearance. The high-solids, solvent-borne formulation produces fewer pol-lutants than current waterborne and solvent-borne paints. The robotic application process eliminates equipment and associ-ated pollutants and reduces the cycle time by 20% to 25%.

This should produce 6,000 metric tons less CO2 per year compared to waterborne systems and 8,000 metric tons less CO2 compared to conventional solvent-borne systems. Also, there’s a VOC emissions savings of 5% related to processing.

Temperature indication: One protective coating changes color to pinpoint the source of a maintenance problem. For instance, refinery and petrochem process equipment that operate at high temperature might overheat because the interior refractory lining failed or it’s bypassing hot gases. Dampney Company’s silicone-copolymer Thurmalox 260 TIC Series coatings reveal the hot spots that indicate over-heating by changing color. Designed for the 400°F to 650°F range, the heat-resistant, self-priming, VOC-compliant coating changes color permanently at intervals of 25°F to 50°F, depend-ing on formulation. The corrosion-resistant red, blue, yellow, or violet coatings provide weathering and UV stability.

Efficient application: The hang, spray, and bake method of applying coatings to metals is labor- and energy-intensive and consumes large amounts of powder. Greenkote’s thermochemi-cal surface treatment requires 50% less energy and 90% less powder than regular diffusion coatings. The corrosion-resistant coatings are free of hexavalent chromium. The liquid-free pro-cess is applied in bulk to save cost. The parts and powder are introduced to a rotating oven, where the powder content and thermal cycle define the characteristics of the coating and

surface. This high-performance, low-cost is an alternative to other methods such as chemical or electrodeposition, CVD, PVD, and diffusion. Savings range from 20% to 70%.

Tunable deposition: A diamond’s strength, durability, and chemical resistance make it an appealing material for coatings in harsh or demanding environments. sp3 Dia-mond Technologies enhanced its ability to cost-effectively

deposit or grow uniform diamond films to reduce heat generated during sliding friction and increase component reliability. The company’s chemical vapor deposition (CVD) capability includes coatings ranging from super smooth nanocrystalline films (surface roughness less than 10 nm) to controlled microcrystalline films (surface roughness greater than 10 um). They can be deposited on silicon carbide, ce-mented carbide, silicon, tungsten carbide, and graphite.

In addition, sp3 sells its CVD reactor technology to com-panies that want to apply diamond coatings in-house. The reactor controls film growth and properties, which.

Novel engineering: Researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden discovered a way to coat algae blooms to make batter-ies. Cladophora algae’s cellulosic nanostructure serves as an coating substrate for batteries. The cellulose has a large surface area that, when coated with a thin layer of conducting poly-mer, reportedly produced a battery that is virtually weightless and set new charge-time and capacity records. The research highlights the potential for eco-friendly, lightweight and cost-effective energy storage systems.

e-mail contributing editor sheila Kennedy, managing director of additive communications, at [email protected].


www.ford.comwww.dampney.comwww.greenkote.com

www.sp3diamondtech.comwww.uu.sewww.sspc.org

RefeRence Web siTes:

a neW pRoTecTive coaTing changes coloR To pRovide a visual clue ThaT pinpoinTs The souRce of a mainTenance pRoblem.

PS0912_19_TechTool.indd 19 12/1/09 3:50 PM


PS0912_20_25_CvrStry.indd 20 12/2/09 4:56 PM


MANAGEMENT / Production oPtimization

Capital investments are scarce, employment is down, and manufacturing is barely ticking over in much of the world, but purveyors of mobile computing hard-ware, software, and wireless infrastructure are still seeing steady – in some cases, aggressive – growth. Word is out about increases in productivity, effective knowledge man-agement, and positive culture change in companies that hand out handhelds. Now the barriers to implementation are under siege.

“Life is more competitive,” says Joe Granda, executive vice president, marketing, Syclo (www.syclo.com), which is expanding its mobile software and systems integration workforce. “Organizations have gone to a lot of effort to streamline activities – six sigma, asset management, supply chain – and they’ve done a pretty good job of improving productivity and processes. So what’s the next step? Mobile.”

Mobile computing lets companies leverage office system improvements in the field. You can reduce cycle times to reduce labor costs, improve customer satisfaction, and increase product quality; get information into the hands of people and back into the system; and handle regulatory compliance with documentation for the EPA, FDA, and Sarbanes-Oxley.

Better information management is breaking down bar-riers between production and maintenance. “As companies put in more maintenance management systems because costs are high and equipment is breaking down, they find that they now know what the backlog is, but they’re not

catching up,” says David Dollar, product manager for In-telaTrac at Wonderware (www.wonderware.com). Operators can collect condition data to help them operate within the design envelope and keep the process or machine tuned. “They can extend the time between maintenance and notify maintenance earlier if a problem starts to occur, so you replace a bearing instead of a shaft and bearing,” Dollar says. Along with extending intervals based on more proactive operation, you can empower operators with correct pro-cedures and focused advice, and lead them through minor troubleshooting.

Mobile devices also are being used to capture unin-strumented process data. Some 40% of equipment isn’t instrumented or has only local gauges. Operators often open or close valves manually, setting positions with verbal communications, and the records are poor. Mobile devices can bring those values into the process historian,

allowing the operator to feed information into multiple systems of record.

For example, EPA requires inspections of flanges and valves for fugitive emissions. “You attach RFID tags – not bar codes that can be copied – at the locations,” Dollar says. “You have to be within two inches to scan them, then answer questions to confirm the inspection. Reports are e-mailed

to the EPA. The EPA visits less often because the inspections are rigorous and documented, and the EPA accepts them.”

The same wireless infrastructure can be shared among mobile computing, security, building management, and con-trol systems. It can reduce capital expenditures and improve reliability when adding measurements for monitoring and controlling equipment, energy, and emissions.

“The business case for mobile workers is compelling,” says Paul Brooks, business development, networks, Rockwell Au-tomation (www.ra.rockwell.com). But as shown in Table 1, research shows that manufacturers also see some challenges.

ENGiNEEr Your EThErNETMost industrial facilities are settling on wireless Ethernet (WiFi) as the primary plant-f loor mobility backbone, with radio, cellular, GPS, Bluetooth, etc. used where needed, as needed. Infrastructure costs are coming down

TAblE 1. MobilE CoNsEquENCEs

Key Benefits* Key Challenges*

1. empower employees to be more productive

1. security concerns/risks

2. Reduce labor costs 2. Cost of hardware, total cost of ownership

3. Work order accuracy, asset tracking accuracy

3. Cost of software, integration, service, and support

4. improved compliance documentation

4. integrating mobile applications with infrastructure

5. impact on revenue generation

5. hardware quality

* Manufacturers’ responses to “What are your organization’s key benefits and challenges with regard to the deployment of mobile and wireless technologies?” (Motorola)

PS0912_20_25_CvrStry.indd 21 12/3/09 10:10 AM


as architectures are standardized, application engineers and installers become more familiar with industrial requirements, and competition heats up among industrial and commercial suppliers.

“Ethernet – 802.11 – is being accepted as the network,” says Marty Jansons, networking consultant, industry com-munications group, Siemens Industry (www.usa.siemens.com/industry). “People are giving wireless a go, trying it in an area that’s unreachable by wires or using it to upgrade a fieldbus system. We see 802.11a, b, g and n.”

In a plant, wireless applications as diverse as security video and real-time crane control can be integrated on one wireless infrastructure by supporting different radios that don’t interfere. “802.11g on 2.4 GHz offers three channels,

802.11n offers three on 2.4 GHz and 22 on 5 GHz,” Brooks says. “Sharing time is fine for PCs and emission controls, but not for controlling a heater or a crane.”

For safety and security reasons, the mobile computing, control, and business networks should be separated and firewalled (Figure 1), asserts Steve Lambright, vice presi-dent, marketing and customer services, Apprion (www.apprion.com).

“Now your wireless infrastructure can support many ap-plications – maintenance, process control, business systems, condition monitoring, security video, emergency notifica-tion, voice – so you can share up-front costs,” Lambright says. “You don’t have to justify it on just one application.”

That justification begins by defining what you want the network to do. “Wireless is a shared medium,” says Jan-sons. “You can have eight people fighting for access, or you can separate them into channels to guarantee access. On 802.11g, you can segregate traffic and have separate names, encryption, and passwords. What do you want, what do you need, what are your security requirements?”

Then, find out what it will take to install it in your facil-ity, starting with a site survey. “WLAN and mesh network planning software can do predictive analysis of coverage in a given facility,” says June Ruby, director, manufacturing solutions group, Motorola (www.motorola.com). “It’s a cost-effective way to plan.”

Software can tell you if the IT network will interfere with plant data transfer, overlap will compromise the security of office wireless, or structures will interfere. “Metal shelving and concrete walls can be put into software and simulated using algorithms,” says Jansons. “The survey lets you know what coverage you can expect, decide wired versus wireless, and weigh cost versus coverage.”

Wireless can be expensive if a lot of hard wiring is neces-sary to connect wireless access points. “Repeaters have made that cheaper, but areas with lots of metal are still a prob-


PoNdEriNG PlATforMsHere are seven areas users might examine to streamline implementation, according to Joe Granda, executive vice president, marketing, Syclo (www.syclo.com):

1) Business continuity: capabilities such as server clustering with failover so people can keep working, and load balancing to keep up with adding users.

2) mobile device management: Know where the devices are and perform upgrades, patches, and troubleshooting from a central location. Handle increasing numbers of diverse devices.

3) online, offline: Follow business rules and perform validation without compromise whether on a Lan, WiFi, Wimax, cellular or no network. manage costs by prioritizing data transmissions by network.

4) Lean and clean architecture: no intermediate database, no heavy server-side processing – they don’t scale up, and can cause latency issues. Both 32- and 64-bit compatibility for speed. Load balancing and support for virtual as well as dedicated hardware servers.

5) devices and peripherals: Support multiple devices (laptops, Windows handhelds, iPhones, Black-berries) with the same software logic, without rewriting code. “You’re going to have them all thrown at you, along with peripherals such as barcode, rFid, meters and GPS.”

6) Productivity and Qa tools: Wizard-driven envi-ronments ease code development and test.

7) Security: Support services (LdaP [lightweight directory access protocol], active directory, single sign-in for multiple applications (cmmS, financial, Hr), remote wiping of devices that are lost or stolen. “Everything should be encrypted whether it’s over the air or not.”

14,000

12,000

10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

0Jan-07

Feb-07

Mar-07

Apr-0

7

May-07

Jun-07

Jul-07

Aug-07

Sep-07

Oct-07

Nov-07

Dec-07

Wirelessapplication

network

Businessnetwork

Controlnetwork

L3.5

L4

L3

L2

L1

sEPArATE ThE NETworks

figure 1. for safety and security, the mobile computing, control, and business networks should be separated and firewalled. (Apprion)



MANAGEMENT / PRODUCTION OPTIMIZATION

lem,” says Dollar. “You can a ord 90% coverage much more reasonably than 100%, so consider applications that are de-signed to run in an occasionally disconnected environment. Mesh networks are coming that may be better.”

When calculating ROI, consider how long the system will run. “Five years? 10 years?” asks Jansons. “Some people use commercial equipment that runs either a, b, or g. You may want ruggedized, industrial components that run all three or any one or two. � en you can put the control system on 801.11a and communicate on 802.11g. You’ll need separate antennas, and you get separated tra� c with no interference or data overload.”

Every site is unique, or as Jansons put it, “� e medium is standard, but there’s always an ‘X’ factor.”

In most facilities, plant engineering initiates the wireless infrastructure project . “� ey want to try to do a project wirelessly but don’t know how,” Jansons says. “It’s a chal-lenge for IT to understand the requirements of the plant world, but once they do, they can handle it. Start with what you want to do. Learn the technology, and get a site survey from the plant perspective. � en involve IT.”

When it’s time for installation, some plants do it them-selves. Some hire system integrators, and some use their IT

department. “We do application engineering, and can help with or coach the installation,” Jansons says.

Expect a learning curve. Over the course of an extensive implementation at Huntsman Chemical’s Port Neches, Texas, plant, the electrical contractors learned better ways to set up, install, and commission. “Number 100 went in in a third of the time of number 1,” says Lambright. “Every facility has its own way of doing things. We’ve learned to combine our best practices and theirs. Over time, we’ve been able to establish proven best practices to design, install, tune, go live, and operate complex networks.”

INNOVATIONS DRIVE ROIAdvances in so� ware and devices are speeding ROI by mak-ing it faster and easier to develop and implement applica-tions. Mobile has become more reliable, versatile, and able to handle mission-critical applications. “To ease implementa-tion, use a so� ware platform as a foundation and run pre-built, pre-integrated applications,” says Granda. “Once you have a platform, each application takes less time, training and IT to implement.”

Industry is comfortable with Windows Mobile as an operat-ing system, according to Dollar. “� rough Windows Mobile 5,

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then 6.1 and now 6.5, the platform has really improved over the years, with a lot more capabilities for a richer interface.” It’s cer-tified on many devices, all of which can run the same code. “It handles full VGA, ¼ VGA, Motorola, Honeywell,” he says, “and the same software runs on Windows XP and Vista, so we have to do less development – just what we need to support barcode readers and condition-monitoring devices.”

Device manufacturers offer handhelds at every price point, set of capabilities, ruggedness, and certification, “the right device for every purpose,” says Ruby, “including voice over wireless LAN and interfaces for PBX and mission-critical private radio.”

The mobile worker can have a walkie-talkie, push-to-talk phone, and palm-top computer with docking, all in the same device. “Now, technicians are familiar with the devices and just want to access the applications,” says Cliff White-head, business development manager, strategic applications, Rockwell Automation. “They just expect it to happen.”

A security guard might only need a rugged, two-way ra-dio, or he might also need to access video surveillance feeds with a rugged, hand-held, mobile computer. A maintenance technician needs to eliminate paper and capture data, and might use Bluetooth to collect data from accelerometers or temperature probes. Views of the process control system al-low them to see and acknowledge alarms, and variables such as tank levels and flow rates.

Devices can use the most appropriate available network for the application. GPS allows triangulation and real-time location you can use to marshal personnel in an emergency. With the right management software, you can get notifica-tion if a device doesn’t move or is inactive for too long.

Handhelds range from slightly rugged smart phones optimized for bar-code scanning to Class I, Div. 1 devices you can drop on concrete. “Devices have become so critical to businesses, they don’t want to be without them,” Ruby adds. “Some service plans even offer rapid swap-out for damaged devices.”

Bear in mind that whatever you choose is likely to be only a starting point, with additional ROI coming from applica-tions you’ll discover later. “First, acquire or develop applica-tions that make maintenance more productive. That makes the infrastructure more attractive,” says Whitehead. “Once it’s in place, there’s no limit. The ability to make it mobile depends less on the devices than on the creativity and abili-ties of users, and we never know what people will come up with. The market pulls us into new, creative applications.”

Your cosT MAY vArYThe same software tools that streamline commercial mobile phone and IT support are making life a lot easier for admin-istrators of industrial handheld devices, and lead to the same kind of choices for how to source a system (Table 2). The Gartner Group (www.gartner.com) associates the lowest per-unit, three-year costs with a strong customization of a mobile enterprise application platform (MEAP), estimates somewhat higher costs for hosting a packaged system on-site, and sees scratch-built systems as a wild card. Gartner finds the low up-front costs of software as a service (SaaS) to be more than offset by monthly fees before the three years are up.

Seven areas of concern and how your implementation model affects them are described in the sidebar, “Ponder-ing Platforms.”

Regardless of how it’s implemented, remote administra-tion is unequivocally a boon to commanders of fleets of devices, allowing software changes and hardware enable/disable over the network. “With our mobility services

Going Mobile: Power Tools for culture changewww.plantservices.com/articles/2006/161.html

Mobile Mindset: The reasons to Hand out Handheldswww.plantservices.com/articles/2007/230.html

case study: Huntsman Extends IT to Its Field operationswww.apprion.com/ApprionExpertise.casestudies.asp

White Paper: unlocking the value of Mobile computingwww.syclo.com/resources/resource.php?id=7&category=19

more resources at www.plantservices.com

TAblE 2: PAY NoW or lATEr?Model CoMponents tCo*

Mobile enterprise application platform (MeAp)

$50,000 customization

$992Built-in mobile device management

Minor upgrade path

packaged, on-premises

$20,000 server license$1,080

ongoing upgrades

Build from scratch

$200,000 customizationVaries

Major upgrade at three to four years

software as a service (saas)

$20,000 customization$2,340

ongoing upgrades

* three-year total cost of ownership per seat for 500-seat mobile field service management system (Gartner Group)


platform (MSP), you can drill down into devices and do revi-sions, operating system patches, even disable or wipe from a central location,” says Ruby. “You don’t have to physically bring in devices.”

Users may have thousands of mobiles deployed around the world. “With Microsoft Systems Center Mobile Device Man-ager, we can turn capabilities on and off,” says Dollar. “For instance, if security requires it, we can turn off the camera on hundreds of handhelds without touching them. A lost hand-held can be remotely wiped so it can’t log in.”

Get It DoneWith so many tools available on mobile devices – the CMMS, operator screens, accessing machine operating conditions, work orders, instructions, one trip for parts and tools, “the case for a wireless infrastructure is becoming a no-brainer,” Whitehead says.

But because so many departments have a stake in the out-come and a use for a mobile computing and wireless network-ing infrastructure, a critical factor for success is communi-cation among groups – maintenance, engineering, security, safety – to agree on needs and priorities.

Brooks sees the necessary disciplines converging in four areas:• In network technology, one software tool makes a com-

mon platform.• In the physical network, one infrastructure separated logi-

cally for different applications.• Culturally, maintenance and IT are recognizing their

interdependence and more often share responsibilities, goals, and a common language.

• Organizationally, maintenance and IT remain different people, but more often have the same boss: a production director who wants to take responsibility for things critical to production, including IT.

“Any battle between maintenance and IT is a waste of time,” Brooks says. “The leaders will be the ones most adaptable to the other’s needs.”

When mobile computing is working well, it helps every-body. “The fact that a work order can be completed on loca-tion, quickly, accurately, and in real time, drives accountabil-ity down to the operator,” says Lambright. “But it also drives it back up to management. Now the operator can make manage-ment aware of the situation here and now, and it’s incumbent on them to take advantage of it.

“At Huntsman Chemical, this concept changed the perspec-tive of operators and technicians. It lets them hold management accountable for what they think is important to the plant.”


Boilers can be dangerous if not inspected and main-tained. Each year, countless accidents, breakdowns, and shutdowns occur among the approximately 43,000 industri-al boilers in the chemical, food processing, paper, re� ning, and primary metals industries throughout the United States.

Boiler breakdowns can cost thousands of dollars in equip-ment repairs as well as hundreds of thousands in property damage and income losses. Accidents also can cause loss of life and structural damage to plants, facilities, and equip-ment. Compared to one unplanned plant shutdown, the cost of boiler inspection, maintenance, and repairs is minor.

While boiler safety devices are designed to prevent dangerous conditions from turning into disasters, only proper maintenance prevents the development of dangerous operating conditions in the � rst place. Proper boiler mainte-nance, servicing, and inspection is not only a safety issue, it

also can be an economic matter. Downtime can shut down operations and production, and every hour that it’s stopped can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. No plant wants emergency shutdowns or downtime, and the plant manager doesn’t want to be responsible if boilers (or other equipment) aren’t serviced, inspected, and maintained properly.

Regular boiler inspection is the law, most o� en governed by the state, but in some cases governed by a municipality and city. Boilers must be inspected by certi� ed inspectors according to a mandated schedule. � e day-to-day boiler maintenance and service is the responsibility of plant en-gineers or plant managers. Remember that most problems don’t occur suddenly. � ey develop slowly over a long time. So slowly, in fact, that the maintenance sta� can grow accus-tomed to the change without realizing it has taken place.

Also, regular inspections provide optimal function and energy e� ciency. Boilers are voracious energy users. Inef-� ciency means wasted energy and increased operating costs.

Regular inspections also can extend the life of the vessel. As every plant owner and manager knows, industrial boilers are a major investment, costing upwards of $200,000.

KEY BOILER SAFETY FEATURESBoilers have a variety of safety features designed to prevent accidents and keep them functioning at optimal e� ciency.

Safety valves are the primary safety feature. Designed to relieve the pressure if other systems fail, every steam and water-heating boiler must have at least one safety or safety relief valve of su� cient capacity to match burner output.

� e ability of a safety valve to function properly can be a� ected by internal corrosion or restricted � ow. Internal

26 DECEMBER 2009 WWW.PLANTSERVICES.COM

IT’S NEVER RECOMMENDED THAT A BOILER BE OPERATED TOO CLOSE

TO THE SAFETY VALVE SETTING.

PS0912_26_28_Boilers.indd 26 12/1/09 3:52 PM

corrosion typically is the most common cause of “freezing” or binding in safety/relief valves. This is generally caused by slight leakage or “simmering” caused by an improperly seated valve disk, and is a condition that must be corrected im-mediately. It’s never recommended that a boiler be operated too close to the safety valve setting because the set pressure can cause the valves to leak slightly, resulting in an corrosion buildup that eventually prevents the valve from operating.

Water level control and fuel cutoffs have separate func-tions, but sometimes are combined in one unit. They provide a water level control function and a safety feature of a low-water fuel-cutoff device. Piping must be open and free of scale or sludge buildup at all times. Properly installed piping uses cross tees for easy cleaning and inspection. Check low-water fuel cutoffs periodically for proper operation. Because this test requires boiler water to go to the minimum safe level, qualified personnel should use extreme caution.

In addition to periodic tests of the low-water device, flush the float chamber on the water level control and the low-wa-ter fuel cutoff thoroughly to remove accumulated sediment. Disassemble, clean, and check both controls annually.

The water gauge glass on a boiler lets you verify the ac-tual water level in the boiler. If not cleaned and maintained, the sight glass might show there’s sufficient water when the boiler is actually operating in a low water condition. A stain or coating sometimes develops on the inside of the glass where it’s in contact with boiling water, and this can give

the appearance of adequate water levels, especially when the glass is either completely full or empty of water.

If necessary, replace the glass even if the boiler must be shut down to do so. The piping leading to the glass gauge can become clogged and should be cleaned and inspected regularly to avoid false water level readings.

Stack temperature gauges monitor the temperature of the flue gas. A high temperature indicates that the tubes might be developing a soot or scale buildup. Also, the interior baf-fling might have deteriorated or burned through, allowing hot gases to bypass heat transfer surfaces.

The fuel system, particularly the burner, requires periodic cleaning and routine maintenance. Failure to maintain the fuel system in good working order could result in excessive fuel costs, loss of heat transfer, or even a boiler explosion.

Boiler log records are probably the single best method to ensure a boiler is getting proper maintenance. The logs provide a continuous record of operation, maintenance, and testing. Because operating conditions change slowly over time, a log is the best way to detect significant changes that might otherwise go unnoticed. Boiler log success is deter-mined by how vigilant you are in regularly updating it.

EfficiEncy and pErformancE tipsA boiler accounts for much of a plant’s energy budget, and even a small decrease in efficiency can cause a sharp increase in energy costs. Key factors influence boiler efficiency:


safEty / Boilers

it’s important that you regularly observe and check on the status of a variety of boiler components. some basic and general tips include:

• Test for proper functioning of controls, including the pressure gauge, low-water cutoff devices, thermometers, temperature controls, gauge glass, and pressure relief valve.

• Test drains and blowoffs to ensure they’re functional.• Check the fuel system for leaks and ensure that fuel filters and strainers are replaced regularly.• Ensure that shut-off valves are leak-tight. If unsure, perform a leak tightness test.• Ensure that the valves in instrument lines are functioning properly.• Open the boiler vent valve or top tri-cock to vent air and fill the boiler with treated water to its proper level.

Check that the expansion tank is properly filled.• Verify that vent valve on gas-fired boilers is operating as required and that the vent isn’t clogged.• Verify that the flame scanner or sensors are properly connected and functioning.• Check instruments and safety devices for proper setting. Ensure that the water pressure regulator

functions as required.• Ensure the recirculation pump works as required.• Confirm that there are no signs of overheating, corrosion, or erosion.• Check that heating system isolation valves are functioning properly.• Verify that there are no leaks from any part of the boiler or external piping. Have a qualified contractor repair cracked

surfaces immediately. Bulges or other deformities indicate defective controls or safety devices, or improper burner operation.

• Test safety valves on a regular schedule. Replace leaking safety valves.• Inspect low-water fuel-cutoff control for proper sequence and operation. Verify that it shuts off the fuel supply

to the boiler as required.

GEnEral tips for optimal boilEr safEty and maintEnancE


Optimal air-to-fuel ratio is impor-tant because a boiler requires just the right amount of oxygen to ensure ef-ficient combustion. Excess air consumes energy because it’s being heated un-necessarily and released up the stack. If there’s too little air, not all the fuel burns and this also wastes fuel. The unburned fuel continues to move through the sys-tem, and leaves behind soot. Additional-ly, too little air might cause a build up of carbon monoxide and smoke. Analyze the flue gas to measure the amount of

oxygen and the stack gas temperature to calculate efficiency. Make adjustments o optimize the excess air and incoming air temperatures.

To measure the ratio, use a comput-er-based distributed control system (DCS), which automatically reduces oxygen levels as needed, optimizing the air-to-fuel ratio.

Treat feedwater before pumping it into a boiler. Raw water can cause corro-sion or sediment buildup, both of which reduce efficiency. Impurities waste energy because they necessitate routine blowdowns. The cleaner the water sup-ply, the fewer blowdowns you’ll need.

Clean heat transfer surfaces to re-move the soot buildup that acts like an insulator, and diminishes the efficien-cy of heat transfer between combus-tion gas and steam generation.

Heat loss can waste a huge amount of energy. To minimize it, install an economizer to recover waste heat from the stack. The heat can then preheat

the feedwater. Be sure to have the boil-er cleaned and tuned before installing an economizer to get an accurate mea-surement of stack gas temperature. Additional heat can be extracted from the flue gas (below 300°F) by use of a condensing economizer.

A stack temperature gauge indicates the temperature of the flue gas. The lower the flue gas temperature, the more efficient the system. Approximately 1% of boiler thermal efficiency is lost for a 40°F increase in stack temperature.

Collect condensate from steam traps for reuse as feedwater. This reduces boiler operating costs and usually is more cost-effective than using fresh utility water. It takes less fuel to convert recovered condensate into steam than the cooler fresh utility water. The tem-perature of recovered condensate is high (160ºF to 200ºF), whereas the fresh water temperature usually doesn’t exceed 80ºF.

Boiler inspectors can educate youAsk your boiler inspector for more information about how your boiler works and tell them about any problems you’re experiencing. Their extensive knowledge and practical ex-perience can help you learn everyday procedures to ensure a long lifespan and safe vessel operation.

stephen Kleva is ceo and president of insparisk, llc in Glendale, n.y. contact him at [email protected] and (888) 464-6772.


safety / Boilers

topic searcHWaste fuels “Burning waste paper pellets”steam audits “Get a grip on the steamer”

for more, search www.plantservices.com using the keywords boiler, economizer, and fuel.


Boiler loG records are proBaBly tHe sinGle Best metHod to ensure a Boiler

is GettinG proper maintenance.



RELIABILITY / MOTORS

Already common in HVAC, pumping, and industrial automation systems, the use of variable-frequency drives (VFDs) is growing. VFDs are smaller and more powerful, more reliable, easier to program, and less expensive than ever. But, VFD/motor systems must be designed for reliabil-ity and trouble-free operation to keep the energy savings, which can reach 20% or more, from being wiped out by a system failure.

VFDs can induce electric currents on motor sha s that ruin bearings, shorten motor life, and diminish system reli-

ability. One way to mitigate the e� ects of these currents is to ground the motor sha to protect bearings and eliminate expensive repairs.

ENERGY-SAVING POTENTIAL� e VFD converts line power to direct current and � lters it to smooth the waveform. A pulse-width-modulation inverter turns the DC back to AC, but now in variable form. � e typical output frequency, also called the carrier or switch frequency, is between 2 kHz and 12 kHz.

VFDs that drive motors directly in constant-torque ap-plications avoid using any more power than necessary. With encoder feedback, a VFD also can control motor speed.

Regardless of the application, engineers who select the VFD should understand the entire system, including the possible current paths. A pulse-width-modulated wave-form has high-frequency components (harmonics) that are coupled capacitively to the motor sha and can discharge through the bearings. Even inverter-duty motors are vulner-able to bearing failure from VFD-induced currents.

� ese currents can cause pitting, fusion craters and “� ut-ing” (Figure 1). � is electrical-discharge machining leads to bearing noise, premature bearing failure and motor failure. � ere is considerable evidence to prove that VFD-induced bearing damage is a large and growing problem. Consider:

• Most motor bearings are designed to last 100,000 hours, yet motors controlled by VFDs can fail within one month (720 hours).

Shaft GroundingKeep motors alive on

variable-frequency drives

NOT VERY MUSICAL

Figure 1. Fluting is a problem that sparking inside a bearing can promote.

By Adam Willwerth

PS0912_29_33_Motors.indd 29 12/2/09 4:34 PM


Reliability / Motors

• An HVAC contractor recently reported that every 30 hp to 60 hp fan motor he installed in a large building proj-ect failed within a year (two within six months). Repair costs totaled more than $110,000.

• Several large pulp and paper companies noted that VFD-controlled AC motors typically fail within six months because of bearing damage.

• The largest motor manufacturer in the United States has cited eliminating drive-related motor failures as its No. 1 engineering challenge.

• Almost a dozen Internet blogs focus on VFD-induced shaft currents.

Other problems appear if the motor isn’t designed for use with a VFD, or if the motor or VFD are mismatched to the load. For example, when maintaining constant torque, a motor loses efficiency and runs hotter at lower speeds (but hotter still when controlled by a VFD). If the motor is operated at less than 30% of maximum speed, it might need extra cooling or thermal protection.

Similarly, a VFD-controlled motor’s torque might drop more quickly at lower speeds than when using pure sine-wave power. For constant-torque loads, a VFD should be rated for 60 seconds at 150% of the load. A VFD’s current rating also limits the load-acceleration rate.

The cable connecting a VFD with a motor shouldn’t exceed 50 ft. total length to avoid standing waves that meet at the motor terminals, in effect doubling the voltage to the motor. If a longer cable is required, use additional line filtering to protect the motor and other nearby sensitive equipment from harmonic content and radio-frequency interference (RFI). RFI also can be reduced by enclosing mo-tor leads in a rigid conduit. Regardless of length, the cable between a VFD and the motor it regulates can be enclosed in a corrugated aluminum sheath or another kind of grounded, low-impedance shielding.

VFDs might not be appropriate for pumps that maintain high pressure. During periods of low flow, the motor might not be able to slow down enough while maintaining pres-sure. VFDs that shunt excess energy from the DC bus can be used in systems that require dynamic braking.

look at beaRing damageShort of dismantling the motor, there are two ways to check for bearing damage from induced shaft currents: measuring either voltage or vibration to look for energy spikes in the range of 2 kHz to 4 kHz. Both methods require special equipment and experienced personnel to conduct tests and analyze the results. Both are best used early on to establish a baseline and to moni-tor trends later. Neither method is foolproof.

By the time a vibration test confirms bearing damage, it usu-ally has reached the “fluting” stage. Likewise, the main benefit of a voltage test might be the relief it provides when the results indicate no bearing damage. If a baseline voltage measurement

See the pRoblem

Figure 2. An oscilloscope trace reveals the presence of pulsing shaft currents.

Race tRackS

Figure 3. Normal minimal wear from ball-race contact.

not the cake icing

Figure 4. the phenomenon known as frosting is caused by electrical discharge that forms small craters inside the bearing.

PS0912_29_33_Motors.indd 30 12/2/09 4:35 PM


Reliability / Motors

is taken when a VFD is installed, succes-sive tests might provide early warning of harmful current loops. But, there are many variables — predicting bearing damage is not an exact science.

Induced shaft currents, which are sometimes called common-mode volt-age, can be measured by touching an oscilloscope probe to the shaft while the motor is running (Figure 2).

Rotor voltages build to a threshold before discharging in short bursts along the path of least resistance to the frame (ground), which all too often runs through the bearings. Serious bearing damage is thought to be more likely in systems that have a high car-rier frequency, a constant speed or inadequate grounding. A high carrier frequency means a high discharge rate. For this reason, use a VFD that permits fine tuning of the carrier frequency in increments of no more than 1 kHz. In general, it’s advisable to keep the VFD output frequency below 6 kHz.

There’s some debate about whether constant-speed operation makes VFD-controlled motors more vulner-able to electrical bearing damage. Ob-viously, the question is moot because VFDs are seldom used in constant-speed applications. There’s no doubt that inadequate grounding increases the possibility of bearing damage. Viewed under a scanning electron microscope, a new bearing race wall is a relatively smooth surface. As the motor runs, ball bearings form tracks in the wall. With no electrical dis-charge, the wall is marked only by this mechanical wear (Figure 3). Without proper grounding, electrical discharg-

es can quickly scar the race wall. During every VFD cycle, these

discharges leave small fusion craters in ball bearings and the bearing race wall. Before long, the bearing race becomes riddled with pits known as frosting (Figure 4). The damage leads to noisy bearings, but by the time the noise is noticeable, bearing failure often is immi-nent. Because many motors have sealed bearings, electrical damage has become

the most common cause of bearing fail-ure in VFD-controlled AC motors.

In the phenomenon called fluting, the VFD’s frequency causes concen-trated pitting at regular intervals along the bearing race wall, forming washboard-like ridges. Fluting can cause excessive noise and vibration. In an HVAC system, the noise might be magnified and transmitted through-out the building via ductwork.

Mitigating daMageElectrical damage to motor bearings of-ten begins at startup and grows progres-sively worse. The induced current must be diverted from the bearings by means of insulation, shielding, or an alternate path to ground. These technologies vary in terms of cost and effectiveness.

Insulating the motor bearings often shifts the problem elsewhere. Blocked

WATCHMAN™ Reliability Services deliver reduced machine condition monitoring cost and maximized machine reliability. Our subscription-based services range from expert analysis of data collected by you, to monitoring your critical or remote machines online. We are specialists in all condition monitoring technologies including; vibration, oil analysis, IR thermography, motor testing and more.

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topic SearchShaft currents “bearings and electricity don’t mix”Solid lube coatings “bearings roll with solid lube coatings”nanotech lubricant “Harnessing nanotechnology”graphite-metal bearings “Five bearing killers”

For more, search www.PlantServices.com using the keywords bearing, grounding, and VFd.


PS0912_29_33_Motors.indd 31 12/2/09 4:36 PM

32 DECEMBER 2009 WWW.PLANTSERVICES.COM


by insulation, sha� current seeks the next easiest path to ground. Attached equipment, such as a pump, o� en provides this path and takes on bear-ing damage of its own. Insulation is subject to contamination, and might

be self-defeating: In certain circum-stances, the insulating layer exhibits a capacitive e� ect on high-frequency, VFD-induced currents, allowing them to pass right through to the bearings it was supposed to protect.

A Faraday shield – grounded conduc-tive material such as copper foil or paint between the stator and rotor – can be installed. If built to the proper speci- cations for the motor, this can block most of the harmful currents that jump across the motor’s air gap. However, this measure o� en is di� cult to imple-ment, and attached equipment could still be vulnerable to de� ected currents. Nonconductive ceramic ball bearings divert currents from the motor’s main bearings, but might leave attached equipment open to damage of its own. Ceramic bearings can be costly and might have to be resized to handle static and dynamic mechanical loads.

Another approach uses conductive grease, which, in theory, bleeds o� harm-ful currents by providing a lower-imped-ance path through the bearings. In prac-tice, however, the conductive particles in the grease can increase mechanical wear. Metal grounding brushes that contact the motor sha� to provide alternate paths

to ground certainly help. Unfortunately, they also wear and corrode, thus requir-ing regular maintenance.

Alternate discharge paths to ground, when properly implemented, are prefer-able to insulation because they neutral-ize sha� current. Techniques range in cost and sometimes can only be applied selectively, depending on motor size or application. A viable solution would provide an e� ective, low-cost, very-low-resistance path from sha� to frame, and could be applied broadly across all VFD/AC motor applications. A grounding ring with conductive micro bers meets these criteria. It uses the principles of ionization to boost the electron-transfer rate and promote extremely e� cient discharge of the high-frequency sha� currents that VFDs induce (Figure 5).

� e technology is scalable to any

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

PltSvcs1109half-alm-ol-cs4.pdf 1 10/7/2009 3:15:08 PM

IN GENERAL, IT’S ADVISABLE TO KEEP

THE VFD OUTPUT FREQUENCY BELOW 6 KHZ.

PS0912_29_33_Motors.indd 32 12/2/09 4:37 PM


NEMA or IEC motor regardless of sha� size, horsepower, or application. � e rings have been applied to power generators, gas turbines, AC traction and brake motors, cleanrooms, HVAC systems, and a long list of other indus-trial and commercial applications.

For VFD-equipped motors of less than 100 hp (75 kW) and sha� diam-eters below 2 in. (50 mm), a single ring on the drive end of the motor sha� , the preferred location, is typically su� cient to divert harmful sha� currents.

Large AC motors (100 hp/75 kW, or more) and even large DC motors, espe-cially those with sha� diameters greater than 2 in. (50 mm), are more likely to have high-frequency circulating currents (as well as EDM-type discharges) that can damage bearings. Motors with roller bearings also are vulnerable to damag-ing currents because roller bearings have a greater surface area and a thinner lubricant layer. Such applications bene� t from the combination of a micro� ber ring on the drive end and insulation on the other end. � is also might be the solution in situations where installing a ring on the non-drive end would be impractical because of encoders, fans, or other special circumstances. � is also is a common solution for motors above 500 hp (375 kW), and most manufactur-ers already use this approach. However, when insulation on the drive end isn’t designed into the motor or can’t be installed easily, two micro� ber rings might su� ce. In critical applications

where motors have ceramic bearings, at least one ring should be used to ensure that sha� voltage doesn’t pass to other equipment.

� e rings are available in two ver-sions: a full-circle design for most NEMA- and IEC-frame motors and a split-ring design that allows � eld instal-

lation on larger sha� s without the need to disassemble equipment. A mounting adaptor facilitates installation on motors with sha� shoulders, slingers, bearing caps, or end-bell protrusions.

MAINTENANCE ISSUESOnce installed, the rings require no maintenance. Unlike conventional sha� -grounding brushes, the nearly frictionless conductive micro� bers cause no wear; are una� ected by dirt, grease, or other contaminants; and last for the life of the motor regardless of speed. Test results show surface wear of less than 1 mil per 10,000 hours of continuous operation and no � ber breakage a� er 25 million direction reversals.

Adam Willwerth is development manager for Electro Static Technology, Mechanic Falls, Maine. Contact him at [email protected] and (207) 998-5140.

Solutions in Industrial Lighting since 1938

[email protected]

713-943-0340RIG-A-LITE

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Figure 5. Without some form of mitigation, VFD-induced shaft currents (shown on left oscilloscope screen) can cause damage. The screen on the right demonstrates how effectively a microfi ber ring reduces these currents by channeling them safely to ground.


PS0912_29_33_Motors.indd 33 12/2/09 4:38 PM


in the trenches

Digital Disarrayacme learns something about the finer points of e-mail expertise

through no fault of his own, Terry Hote found himself out of work at the tender age of 48 years. The owner of the plant where he worked outsourced every single function and shuttered the entire factory, tossing 90 people out on the street. Neverthe-less, Terry had built a solid history of success in manufacturing operations management during the 20 years he worked there.

His impromptu search for a source of regular income morphed into a full-time detective job that lasted for more than 16 months. Terry became quite adept at ferreting out any job ad that bore some rational relation-ship to the skills he had to offer. In the job hunt, Terry built a growing library of customized cover letters and resumes that could be fitted to every possible job. Terry became a job-hunting machine.

He had a good feeling when he saw the ad saying Acme was seeking an operations manager for its plant that manufactured high-end plumbing fixtures. It was good that the plant was only one town away from where he lived. This fortunate confluence prompted a diligent online research effort that armed him with the company history, the names and titles of the power structure at the plant, financial reports, and some details about Acme’s plant operations. Terry gathered everything he could find on manufacturing ceramic fixtures. He was ready.

He crafted a very special resume version and a hard-hitting, one-page cover letter and, following the instructions precisely, submitted them via e-mail to Acme’s HR manager, Perry Winckkel, well before the published deadline.

Thus began the waiting game. Terry knew that it was only the rare, courteous employer that acknowledges receipt of a job hunter’s resume. Still, Terry had a good feeling about this one. It was too perfect to be true.

About 10 days later, he received an e-mail that bore Acme’s domain name. Eagerly, Terry clicked it open and was surprised to discover it came from Jack Cousey, Acme’s CEO. The e-mail header showed that it was addressed to three other Acme employees (Terry recognized the names from his research). What was most confusing was Cousey’s

annotation that read, “Damn. Check this out. I’m not sure what to think about this one. He’s probably an old guy wanting something to do.”

This is all some kind of mistake, Terry thought. So, he waited patiently, but received no more communication from anyone at Acme concerning his job application. After two weeks, he concluded that Acme rejected him simply because of his age. What else could it be? His credentials were good. His skill set matched what Acme was seeking. The pay range he requested was somewhat below market value.

So, like many of the protagonists in this monthly series, Terry filed an age

discrimination claim with the state’s employment discrimi-nation agency and another with the Equal Employment Op-portunity Commission, which sent him a letter saying that he had a right to sue Acme.

How could this situation have been avoided? Is e-mail the best vehicle for submitting a job application? Is it the best for responding to a job applicant? What should be done to ensure that e-mails go where they’re intended to go? Is it the best use of a CEO’s time to get involved in hiring decisions? Should employers show enough courtesy to acknowledge resumes, solicited or not?

a plant engineer says:This situation could have been avoided if Jack had taken the time to check his e-mail before he sent it. I believe people can become too relaxed and casual in business communica-tions. Jack might receive a costly education in business com-munications if Terry elects to follow through with a law suit.

I believe e-mail is an acceptable vehicle for submitting a job application but not necessarily the best vehicle. The response to a job applicant should use the same medium by which the application was submitted. In any case, the response should be reviewed carefully by the Human Re-sources Department before it’s sent to the applicant.

The only way to ensure an e-mail goes where it’s intended to go is to carefully view the address line before sending it on its way. Even then there’s no guarantee that the person

PS0912_34_35_Trenches.indd 34 12/1/09 3:56 PM


who receives it won’t send it to an improper address. We live in a world where little value is placed on checking or double checking our work, especially when it concerns communica-tions by electronic devices. Texting and instant messaging communications have conditioned us to quick responses without much thought. In business, we must train ourselves to refrain from operating this way.

If this is the best use of a CEO’s time, it’s the CEO’s call. If he wants to see the applicants for a position, that is his deci-sion to make. But, I believe a company should only acknowl-edge solicited applications.Jeffrey L. Strasser, Bacova Guild(540) 863-2656, [email protected]

An AcAdemiciAn SAyS:Yes, e-mail is the way to go in today’s recruitment market. It seems that every company is doing it. And don’t expect a reply to the letter or resume that you send, particularly if the job was posted on the Web. Company recruiters tell me that they might receive as many as 5,000 to 10,000 responses to a job posted on Monster.com or some such site. Most of the people responding don’t have the qualifications, but try to put something in their resume that appears to relate to the job. So, recruiters are inundated with applicants (usually unqualified) and sorting them out is a major problem.

A suggested, and effective, process is to post the job and then have one of the HR people do the first sort, pulling out three to five applicants that seem to have the qualifica-tions. For those not on the final list, you might send them a pleasant rejection e-mail letter. However again, this depends on whether you have the capability to handle the number of applicants. Then, call the short-listed candidates to get a better feel for who they are, where they’ve worked, get some references, what salary they’re expecting, etc. That often narrows the list. Also, check to make sure the information on the resume is accurate – a lot of resumes contain false information. This is usually the time that some other people would get involved, particularly the people to whom the ap-plicants would report.

At this point the process has a couple of alternatives, how-ever, each certainly should involve a face-to-face interview with the candidates and the key people (maybe the CEO) with whom they would be working. For the finalists, the ac-ceptance and rejection should be done by phone.

Following this process should eliminate much of Acme’s recruitment problems and give it a good set of finalists. It would also keep applicants’ e-mail addresses out of the hands of the CEO.Professor Homer H. Johnson, Ph.d., Loyola University chicago(312) 915-6682, [email protected]

An Attorney SAyS:Isn’t this everyone’s worst nightmare – the misaddressed e-mail? With the wonders of modern technology, a slip of the finger or in imprecise glance of an eye can land one in a cyberspace nightmare. Behold Acme.

There are three ways in which this catastrophe could have been avoided. First and foremost, Acme should make its hir-ing decisions not on the basis of age but on the basis of valid job-related and non-discriminatory factors, such as educa-tion, experience, and skills.

Second, employers should be extremely careful about what they put in writing, whether that writing is an e-mail, letter, note in the file, or diary entry. Anything in writing remains for all time to become evidence that

might either help or hurt a company. In addition, employ-ers should be very cautious in deciding which aspects of a situation to put in writing. For example, Terry might have been totally unqualified for the operations manager position at Acme. But rather than ref lecting that fact in an e-mail, the CEO chose to be f lip and to refer to the fact that he was probably old. This might not have been the sole reason that Terry wasn’t considered- or even one of the reasons. All the CEO had to do to improve the situ-ation was to refer to some legitimate factor. Even a com-ment like, “Get a load of this guy. He’s been out of work for more than 16 months – he’s so desperate, he thinks he can do the plant manager’s job!” Not a very f lattering comment, but a perfectly legal one.

While employers have become savvy enough to know that they need to document an employee’s problems that lead to termination, many don’t think about the opposite end of the employment relationship. Every hiring decision an em-ployer makes is open to attack by a rejected applicant, whose numbers are legion in this downtrodden economy. Hiring decisions should be documented as carefully as termination decisions, at least with respect to the company’s reasons for not hiring an applicant.

Finally, employers need to avoid the “slip of the keyboard” phenomenon. Haste, as the age-old maxim promises, does indeed make waste.Julie Badel, partner, epstein Becker & Green, P.c.(312) 499-1418, [email protected]

textinG And inStAnt meSSAGinG commUnicAtionS HAve conditioned US to qUick reSPonSeS witHoUt mUcH tHoUGHt.

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Advertiser index

CompAny pAGe

ARC Advisory Group/Automation Research Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Arkema . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Azima DLI Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,31

Azz-Ral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Baldor Electric Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Carrier Rental Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Fluke Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

GE Consumer and Industrial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

GE Energy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Hawk IR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

IFS North America Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Lubriplate Lubricants Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

MacroAir Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6,25

Robinson Fans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Turbomachinery Laboratory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

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poLLy diCKson, inside sALes mAnAGerClassifiedsPhone: (630) 467-1300, ext. 396 Fax: (630) 364-4175e-mail: [email protected]

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reprintsFOSTER REPRINTS, (866) 879-9144 www.fostereprints.com

putmAn mediA, inC.555 W. Pierce Rd., Ste. 301, Itasca, IL 60143Phone: (630) 467-1300, Fax: (630) 467-1120

PLANT SERVICES (ISSN 0199-8013) is published monthly by Putman Media, Inc., 555 West Pierce Road, Suite 301, Itasca, IL 60143. Phone (630) 467-1300, Fax (847) 291-4816. Periodicals Postage paid at Itasca, IL and additional mailing offices. Canada Post International Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement No. 40028661. Canadian Mail Distributor Information: Frontier/BWI,PO Box 1051, Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada, L2A 5N8. Printed in U.S.A. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to PLANT SERVICES, Putman Media, Inc., PO Box 3435, Northbrook, IL 60065-3435. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Qualified reader subscriptions are accepted from PLANT SERVICES managers, supervisors and engineers in manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Canada. To apply for qualified-reader subscriptions, please go to www.plantservices.com. To non-qualified subscribers in the U.S., subscriptions are $96 per year. Single copies are $15, except the September and December issues which are $36. Canadian and foreign annual subscriptions are accepted at $145 (Foreign airmail $200/yr). Single copies are $81. © 2009 by Putman Media, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication August not be reproduced in whole or in part without consent of the copyright owner. In an effort to more closely align with our business partners in a manner that provides the most value to our readers, content published in PLANT SERVICES magazine appears on the public domain of PLANT SERVICES’ Website, and August also appear on Websites that apply to our growing marketplace. Putman Media, Inc. also publishes CHEMICAL PROCESSING, CONTROL, CONTROL DESIGN, FOOD PROCESSING, INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING, THE JOURNAL, PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURING and WELLNESS FOODS. PLANT SERVICES assumes no responsibility for validity of claims in items published.

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Define efficiencyHow you measure can significantly affect your success

When compared with the other two large energy users, transportation and buildings, industry has done by far the best job in managing energy. It has managed to globalize good en-ergy practices better than any other sector, and on an indexed basis there’s less than a 20% spread in energy use between the North American and the European averages. This spread wid-ens to 40% or higher for transportation and as much as 150% higher in homes and buildings. There’s a certain irony that the sector that has clearly done the best job in energy efficiency has such a struggle to define what it means.

This was brought home to me recently in discussions with a major manufacturer with excellent energy management teams and processes. As part of its ongoing improvement process, the question of how energy productivity should be measured and reported was reexamined. That should be easy enough to define, right? Wrong!

One of the most common criticisms of energy management professionals is that they overcomplicate the topic and make it hard for non-experts to get engaged. It’s the engagement of the financial and business leadership that often makes the dif-ference between a great program and the rest. To address the question of what should be a basic tracking index, we looked at a single plant with a pretty straightforward continuous material conversion process for a three-year period.

During that period, the total energy use, measured in MWh equivalent, had dropped by 3%. On the surface, not a bad result, but hardly the stuff of headlines. But total energy usage doesn’t mean very much if the volume of production isn’t considered. Factoring it in, the plant energy use in kWh equivalent per unit of production had dropped by 1%, rais-ing a reasonable challenge over the degree of improvement. Efforts to explain that the somewhat reduced volume tends to have this effect might fall on deaf ears.

The CFO tends to want to see the “real numbers,” also known as cash. In this case, the total energy costs rose by 10% at the same time the usage went down 3%. This tends to overwhelm the mildly positive usage story. Even worse, when expressed per

unit of production, energy costs rose 13%. From my experi-ence, similar percentage increases in materials, healthcare, or labor costs would have people scrambling. For some reason this rarely happens with energy. When examined in terms of the market value of the product, the energy costs per million dol-lars of sales also rose, but by a much more modest 6%.

So, even in this very modest and simple example, we can variously define energy productivity over this snapshot of 36 months in a range of a 3% improvement to a 13% decline. The energy professionals among us understand the reasons and the interplays, but all too often lack the measurements and expertise to communicate them in ways that elicit ra-tional long-term decisions, supported by clear priorities and decision-making criteria. Until this happens, the numbers that should be tracked and managed might be somewhat of a lottery and differ from site to site.

In the coming months and years, life for the energy man-ager will get even more challenging as managing greenhouse gas becomes the next measurement challenge.

Back in our plant, unlike the total energy use, which decreased by 3%, the associated greenhouse gas emissions increased by 2%. This highlights the error of the commonly held view that energy efficiency and greenhouse reductions are in lockstep. The emissions index in kilograms of CO2 equivalent for each unit of production rose by a similar 2%, whereas the emission index in tons of CO2 equivalent per million dollars of sales fell by 4%. So, depending on how it’s presented, the greenhouse gas performance ranged from a 4% reduction to a 2% increase. This is before we start factor-ing in the financial losses and gains from emissions trading.

Even after decades looking at this question, I don’t have a simple answer. Regardless of which efficiency index you choose, a case can be made why it’s not a good measure. At the same time, if you try to communicate the holistic com-plexity of energy productivity, and increasingly, greenhouse gas emissions, the very audience that needs to be at the table becomes disengaged. Then we default to management by cri-sis – not the best way to build long-term energy productivity.

This is definitely an area where I would appreciate your view on the apparently simple question: “What is industrial energy efficiency and how do we measure it?”

Peter Garforth is principal of Garforth international LLc, Toledo, Ohio. He can be reached at [email protected].

enerGy exPerT

THe cfO aLsO TenDs TO WanT TO see THe “reaL numbers,” aLsO knOWn as casH.

peter garforth

PS0912_38_Energy.indd 38 12/2/09 4:41 PM

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performance reliability efficiency asset management … · 2013. 8. 21. · john m. cappelletti...

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