Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1032074
4 | September - October 2018 | www . machinerylubrication.com AS I SEE IT e effectiveness of ODI is heavily influenced by the maintenance culture and the skills of the operator to take full responsibility for each element of the inspec- tion plan. Other issues are also at play here, including machine readiness and the availability of needed inspec- tion tools or aids. Asking operators to see what they don't want to see can be unpleasant, tedious and at times thankless. is is where an unrelenting, inspec- tion-intensive culture comes into play. When issues are discovered, there is the need for these operators to make the case for maintenance to troubleshoot, repair or perform other adjustments to realign the machine to a healthy state. Operator-driven maintenance is like the car owner who is also the operator/driver. is is the same person who checks the oil level and tire pressure, looks for oil on the driveway, and notices strange sounds and smells. On occasion, he or she might look under the hood and check the service manual. Not all car owners are good at these inspections, but many are and accept these tasks eagerly. e industrial and commercial assets of large orga- nizations are increasingly running a lean staff. is can stretch operators beyond practical limits in performing all the inspections needed to ensure the required level of reliability and safety. In such cases, the responsibility must be shared or completely delegated to skilled full- time inspectors. Inspector Generalists Some inspectors may be specialists who work full-time in all or certain disciplines of condition monitoring. e inspector might also be the resident expert who only does inspection routes. e advantage here is the ability to have more rigorous training and continuous practice. Combine broad and deep inspec- tion knowledge with a linguistic understanding of other condition monitoring technologies (e.g., oil analysis, vibration, thermography, etc.) and the value of the expert inspector can be enormous. Inspection expertise can be both horizontally and vertically integrated. Horizontal integration is another way of saying cross-disciplinary inspection. Inspector knowledge would include skills involving many tech- nical disciplines relating to lubrication, tribolog y, oil analysis, mechanical machine design, electrical, instrumentation, safety and operational inspections. is is the inspector jack-of-all-trades, also known as a generalist. Frequently, it makes little sense to conduct one survey for lubrication followed by a similar inspection for electrical systems on the same machine. If your plant has different maintenance planners for different main- tenance functions (mechanical, electrical, production, etc.), inspections can easily be divided once the infor- mation has been gathered. e critical path is obtaining good data and all the data. However, be wary of the weakest link. Some inspec- tors may be proficient with mechanical assessments but guess at other disciplines like electrical systems and instrumentation. Ultimately, you seek skillful and dependable completion of the entire inspection plan by one or more inspectors with the time, skills and resources to perform their tasks. Cutting corners usually proves hazardous. Inspection Technicians and Inspection Analysts Vertically integrated inspection deploys deeper subject-matter expertise in the field of inspection. Even this is difficult to achieve considering all the possible inspection disciplines across the various types of machines found in large industrial plants. Vibration analysis, oil analysis, acoustics analysis and infrared thermography each have an extensive education curriculum with corresponding certification testing requirements. These are professional career paths that are recognized by ISO 18436 with three levels of competency (Category I, II and III). Sadly, as of this writing, no equivalent curriculum or competency testing is available for inspection tech- nicians and inspection analysts. at is soon to change as Inspection 2.0 gains traction in the world of condi- tion monitoring. When defining the inspection technician, think of these individuals as specialists with Category I or II credentials in the field of inspection. ey have the skills to perform numerous inspection tasks on many machine 45% of lubrication profes- sionals say machine operators inspect the lubricated machines at their plant, according to a recent survey at MachineryLubrication.com START YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION www.machinerylubrication.com