|
MainTrain St. John's kicks off with predictive maintenance seminars |
|
|
|
|
|
Written by REM Staff
|
 The first day of MainTrain
St. John's (Apirl 7 and 8) kicked off as a resounding success, filling
the conference hall at the local Delta St. John’s Hotel and Conference
Centre April 7 and bringing to the Martimes the first event of its kind.
As Canada's largest physical asset and maintenance management industry
association, the Plant Engineering and Maintenance Association of
Canada's (PEMAC)
Newfoundland chapter had an active hand in selecting and shaping the
content for this year's event to ensure it met the needs of local
industry.
Following opening remarks by PEMAC president Brian Malloch and
moderator John Lambert, from Benchmark Maintenance Services Inc.,
conference attendees were treated to a full day of technical training
seminars, which focused primarily on predictive maintenance tools like
thermography, oil analysis programs, ultrasound and laser alignment
systems. The theme of achieving a return on investment (ROI) was
prevalent throughout.
First up, Fluke Electronics Canada
industrial product manager Colin Plastow delivered a session on
thermography. For a complete rundown on the information covered in his
talk, check out our coverage and video of his talk last week in Toronto.
Plastow delved into the theory of infrared light and, most importantly,
material “emissivity” - the relative ability of its surface to emit
infrared radiation. Different materials emit different levels of
infrared waves even if they are the same temperature, an important
distinction for a beginner, so they reviewed ways to work with those
limitations.
Darren German, Bosch Rexroth Canada hydraulics
business unit service manager, brought to everyone's attention the
important of a well-run oil analysis program - which is more than
filling a sample bottle with oil and sending it to a laboratory.
Considering the cost versus benefit, he says, oil analysis is one of
the best return on investment PdM practices available when executed in
a accurate, timely and consistent manner.
After lunch, the energetic Sean Miller, a certified Level I ultrasound inspector with UE Systems Inc.,
taught the audience about the latest in ultrasonic testing and tools.
To help highlight the technology's benefits, he presented "good" and
"bad" sounds measured from bearings, steam traps, pumps and other
common plant resources. Through various case studies, he presented ways
it can help save energy and, possibly more importantly, costs.
To cap off the full day of talks, Lambert discussed the importance of
proper up-front machinery installation, which is critical for all
maintenance departments. Unfortunately, he says, it isn't always done,
and the result is that machinery tends to fail prematurely. He reviewed
the ways to avoid incorrect alignment and the importance of employees
to be provided the correct tools and training to do their jobs right.
|
