Maintenance

Work Orders, Part 2

The typical manufacturing concern uses some form of statistical process control (SPC) to manage production, while operators who perform quality assurance (QA) measurements on samples of completed work can correct for quality deviations to improve the next run. Management uses information derived from SPC and QA reports to justify expenditures on wages, hiring, training, and technology.

What information do you provide management so they can justify similar expenditures for maintenance? It's not convincing to simply say you need to hire or that you need that great piece of test equipment. You have to show them the money. They want information based on real data.

To provide that information, you must:

• Use your work order system to provide relevant data to your computerized maintenance management system (CMMS).
• Use the CMMS to generate reports that properly inform management.

Advertisement Get a grip on accuracy. The Fluke 62 Mini non-contact thermometer is the perfect introduction to infrared (IR) thermometers for the professional. With the best accuracy in its class, the Fluke 62 Mini offers quick and reliable surface temperature readings. Rugged enough for industrial environments with its protective rubber "boot, the 62 Mini also comes with a handy nylon holster.

Repair

Ballast Replacement Work

If a lighting ballast fails, do you change it out hot? That's a fairly common practice, but you can get electrocuted by 277V just as surely as from a higher voltage. If you're on a ladder, the fall might kill you even if you survive the shock. When you lockout and tagout the breaker supplying that ballast, you inconvenience people who work in that area. Nevertheless, unwiring the ballast while hot puts you at risk.

If you really must change ballasts while others are working in the area (instead of between shifts), you can shrink the time window if you first wire the ballasts with listed quick disconnects. In fact, you can find quick disconnects made specifically for luminaires. These special connectors prevent reverse wiring and are finger-safe. Consequently, you can unplug the ballast just as safely as if you were unplugging a floor fan. You could convert to the quick disconnect configuration case by case as ballasts need replacement. However, consider scheduling a mass conversion during a normal plant (or office) shutdown, in a manner similar to mass re-lamping.

Caution: This quick disconnects don't eliminate ladder safety requirements. Rope off the area around the ladder. You don't want to drop a heavy tool onto someone's unprotected head. Nor do you don't want someone knocking your ladder over while you're on it.

Electrical Troubleshooting Quiz

On a critical production line, a motor stopped working and would not restart. You and another electrician responded to the trouble call. It didn't take you long to see that the insulation was cooked. Fortunately, a replacement was in the stockroom. While you were aligning the motor, the operator commented that the motor had been replaced three times this year and he'd never seen anyone using a laser before. Your boss came by to check progress, and when you asked him for the emergency work order, he said he already filled it out.

What are some problems that contribute to the recurring failure? What steps can you take to reduce the likelihood of a fourth failure?

Visit EC&M's website to see the answer.

Advertisement Baldor Electric Company For decades, ABB industrial drives and Baldor industrial motors have set the standard for quality, reliability and energy savings. Now, industrial customers in the U.S. can specify and order these products and receive expert support from a single source in your area. Call 479-646-4711 to locate the sales and support office nearest you. Click Here

Operation

NEC in the Facility

Commonly misunderstood/misapplied terms, part 11.

Article 100 defines six kinds of switches, but it doesn't define the word "switch." Several major dictionaries define a switch as a device that opens or closes a circuit, or changes the connections from one circuit to another. That makes a circuit breaker a special kind of switch.

Here's a list of six different types of switches:

1. General use. It's for distribution and branch circuits, except where you need a special switch.
2. General use snap. The "snap" part means you can install it in device boxes or covers.
3. Motor circuit. It's rated in horsepower; you use it with a motor of the same rating.
4. Isolating. It isolates a circuit from the power source but not by interrupting the power. It has no interrupt rating. You first open the circuit (via breakers, for example) and then open the isolating switch. Lock it out, and the circuit can't be accidentally energized.
5. Transfer. It "moves" the load conductors from one supply to another supply. It may be automatic or manual. If you have sources A and B, the switch allows you to connect to B and disconnect from A, or vice-versa.
6. Bypass isolation. Manually operated, it allows you to cut the transfer switch out of the circuit and connect the load to the source.

Safety

One rule of working safely is this: don't assume. Make sure you know. See if you can identify the steps required to verify the facts rather than trust the following assumptions:

• Your insulating gloves don't have holes.
• The switchgear you've tagged out is actually isolated.
• Your test leads are safe to use.
• Your DMM is set correctly for the measurement you're taking.
• You can safely enter the vessel that your coworkers just exited.
• You can safely stay in the vessel based on data taken when you entered.
• The person you've asked to be your attendant is qualified, has the correct PPE, has reliable communication with first responders, and is capable of safely performing an extraction.
• The new batch of the epoxy you've been using has the same ventilation and PPE requirements as the previous batch. Are you sure this one isn't a new formulation that perhaps dries faster but also is more toxic?

Advertisement UL Listed Stainless Steel Conduit Calbrite's stainless steel conduit, manufactured in type 304 and 316 stainless, is the perfect solution for harsh and corrosive environments. Designed to meet the most stringent sanitary requirements, our stainless steel conduit is easy to cut, form and join, and can be worked with standard installation tools. Learn more