With advancements in instrumentation and software, structure-borne ultrasound has become a major player in condition monitoring of rotating equipment. Adrian Messer of UE Systems, Elmsford, NY (uesystems.com), noted that increasing numbers of reliability professionals are adding structure-borne ultrasound to their condition-based maintenance programs. Its value-added capabilities and benefits are substantial (see sidebar below), as is […]

In the third podcast in our series with UL’s Ken Modeste, we talk about the first steps that any enterprise can and should take to establish a baseline for cybersecurity status. Modeste suggests that your first step be a walking tour of the facility aimed at developing a list of all items that can be […]

By Drew D. Troyer, CRE, Contributing Editor One of the toughest issues in managing reliability is that of critical—or insurance—spares. Unlike consumables and ordinary repair items, where bin-level and economic-order-quality (EOQ) processes are effective, critical spares present a challenge in that the assets they support aren’t expected to fail. This means critical-spare decisions are basically risk […]

By Dr. Klaus M. Blache, Univ. of Tennessee Reliability & Maintainability Center (RMC) Getting to 1st, or top, quartile is a quest for many companies. The gains can be tremendous. Our studies show that going from 4th quartile to 1st quartile reduces maintenance cost/replacement asset value from an average of 13.3% to an average of […]

Depending on space and needs, there are four recirculating-oil-decontamination system variations that will keep an asset’s moving parts lubricated with fresh oil.

Your application, operating conditions, and lubricant quality determine which seal design will best keep contaminants from damaging rotating equipment.