Reliable Plant November 2007

The old saw goes that there's no such thing as bad publicity. Any publicity, even the unflattering kind, is better than none at all. The folks at Alcoa's Warrick Power Plant in Newburgh, Ind.,...

I wrote this column for those who want to improve equipment reliability but feel as if they are stuck in "budget jail". Assuming your fiscal year starts January 1, November and December is the time to...

The key period for advance scheduling of routine maintenance is only a single week. This does not mean that the plant engineers and managers do not have longer-term projects under way and are not...

EIGHT-CYLINDER DIESEL ENGINE, 2000-2007: Maintained with loving care by one owner. Died suddenly at work due to liner failure. Will be sadly missed by all colleagues who respected and admired an...

My focus this issue will be on airborne and structure-borne ultrasonic analysis. We refer to it as such because we need to distinguish this type of ultrasonic analysis from pulse-echo ultrasound....

When you look at the overall talent management process, employee performance management is often an elusive target. While leaders conceptually agree that it is a good thing, it is generally viewed...

Several years ago, someone told me that he was planning to tattoo the letter "P" over a scar on his ankle. I was intrigued by this and asked some questions. The person stated that "P" was his favorite...

Pay to maintenance employees at American manufacturing facilities increased an average of 1.31 percent this year, a substantial drop from the 2.90 percent average increase received in 2006 and the...

Roller chain drives are one of the primary systems used in industry to transmit power and convey products. Since roller chain drives are widely used, productivity is highly dependent on the...

No matter where you are, you can't escape the problem. Small towns, large cities, urban centers, rural areas - by now, most all have seen their share of graffiti. With your painting skills and the...

This case study takes place in a packaging facility. The packer on Module 8J0 was checked for vibration integrity during a pre-machine care evaluation. A problem was detected in the folding arm...

In the Reliability Forum department of Reliable Plant magazine, companies provide their insights to a question posed by editor Paul V. Arnold. This issue, the call went out to manufacturers of...