Preventive Maintenance Program Research Articles

APLICACIÓN DE UN SISTEMA DE GESTIÓN DEL MANTENIMIENTO BASADO EN UN RCM ADAPTADO

RESUMEN: En este articulo se presenta el resultado de la aplicacion de una version adaptada de la metodologia RCM (Reliability Centered Maintenance), mediante la cual tres empresas de distintos sectores han podido establecer un programa de mantenimiento preventivo a medida de cada caso, realizando aportaciones al mantenimiento autonomo. De esta manera han conseguido reducir la carga de trabajo de mantenimiento sin reducir la disponibilidad de las instalaciones. El trabajo realizado ha servido a dichas empresas para poder establecer las bases de la implementacion o mejora de un programa de gestion del mantenimiento asistido por ordenador. PALABRAS CLAVE: Mantenimiento, RCM.

Performance Analysis for Medical Devices

The objective of this study is to investigate the performance of the medical devices by analyzing the problems of the medical devices that do not meet the international standards. The data used in this study were obtained by interpreting of the performance test results of medical devices. The study includes high risk group medical devices used at the departments of operation room and intensive care in Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine in Istanbul University. The performance tests of total 542 medical devices were performed and the measurement results were interpreted according to the Inspection and Preventive Maintenance System (IPM) procedures which were developed by Emergency Care Research Institute (ECRI). The obtained data were analyzed and the results were given in graphics. This study showed that the controlling of the performance of the medical devices especially the high risk group medical devices in the hospital will be helpful in quality assurance studies. As a result of this, a preventive maintenance program was created. Thus, tracing the problems before they happen and stocking required spare parts were made possible. Additionally, the analysis of the medical devices according to the manufacturer helped us to decide the right during the purchasing of the new devices. KeywordsPerformance Test; Preventive Maintenance; Quality Management; Risk Analysis

A developed autonomous preventive maintenance programme using RCA and FMEA

Total productive maintenance (TPM) was developed in Japan in 1971 and has since been phased into many manufacturing firms to promote productivity and competitiveness. Autonomous preventive maintenance (APM) systems are very special. The fundamental pillar of TPM includes a series of important systematical first-line direct labour activities. The technical cost, human resources and management issues are all considered. Failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) and root-cause analysis (RCA) are the most popular failure analytical methods, widely adopted over different industries. They are often used to examine the potential problems in the design and manufacturing phase, discovering possible failure causes before product design and manufacturing finalisation. This study integrates the RCA and FMEA techniques to establish an APM system that meets a company’s goal of reducing manufacturing costs and promoting employee and equipment productivity. The major contribution of this study is constructing potential equipment failure modes and their risk priority number through RCA and FMEA integration transformed into a selection of items and their APM maintenance frequencies. A strategy for deploying employee technical capability upgrade through effective training is developed. This study uses the S Company – a key manufacturer of semiconductor material – as a case study to verify the model’s applicability and suitability.

Operation and maintenance recommendations for a tropical marine fish hatchery

The most important operational maintenance, cleaning and disinfection routines are described on daily, weekly, per cycle and annual frequencies, considering facilities and equipment. Basic aspects of control, vigilance, automatic alarm systems, and preventive maintenance programs are briefly discussed. The importance, characteristic and functions of the plant maintenance manager and his assistants are highlighted, and the difficulties that can arise in some farms due to mistakes or when ignoring these aspects are analyzed.

Application of infrared thermography for predictive/preventive maintenance of thermal defect in electrical equipment

Internal heat of electrical equipment rises due to various reasons such as contact problems, unbalance loading, cracks in insulation, defective relays or terminal blocks, etc until eventual failure which can cause unplanned outages and possible injuries. Therefore, early prevention of thermal abnormalities in electrical equipment is necessary to avoid failure. Nowadays a fast, reliable, non-contact and cost effective infrared thermographic inspection system is being utilized widely for detecting where and how internal and external defects occur in equipment. The system collects data for investigating thermal condition through the analysis of thermal image of equipment. The image is captured by infrared camera without interrupting the running operation of system. Both preventive and predictive maintenance programs are adopted for defect diagnosis. Actually, the frequency and sequence of thermographic inspection depend on various factors including thermal condition, expense of a failure, type of production and age of equipment, etc. The objectives of this article are to discuss about preventive and predictive maintenance, thermal defects in electrical equipment and also an intelligent thermal defect identification system for accelerating the predictive defect diagnosis technique. The intelligent system proposes the application of artificial neural network and statistical features to detect the existence of defect within equipment by monitoring its thermal condition. Using discriminant analysis, the optimum features were chosen as the inputs of the neural network. The performances of the neural network were compared with the performances of discriminant analysis classifier. The comparison results showed that discriminant analysis classifier produced better performance with accuracy 82.40%.

WE‐A‐103‐01: Ultrasound

Ultrasound quality control (QC) testing is often over‐looked in ultrasound imaging practice because there are few regulations requiring regular QC of these systems. Many sites rely on the manufacturer's preventive maintenance program to ensure these systems are functioning optimally. However, the regulatory climate is changing, placing emphasis on safe and effective imaging practice. Regular QC testing of ultrasound equipment is a valuable tool that helps ensure proper function and good image quality in ultrasound imaging. This two‐hour session is organized in two parts. The first hour will cover the basic concepts of ultrasound performance measurement, including the tests that are recommended for acceptance and annual testing as well as routine QC, the rationale for these tests, and specific testing methods. It will also include what the physicist needs to know about ultrasound accreditation. The next hour includes two presentations related to quantitative assessment of ultrasound QC. First presented is the work of the AAPM working group on Quantitative B‐mode Ultrasound QC Test Development. This group has designed software intended to aid in the evaluation of transducer element condition. The second presentation will demonstrate use of a user‐friendly automation software, developed at the University of Wisconsin, for periodic rapid quality assurance (QA or QC) using the tissue‐mimicking conical window phantom described last year. The phantom has been designed specifically for determination of three basic parameters. A method for organizing an electronic filing system for paperless recording of results will also be described.Learning Objectives:1. Understand what constitutes an effective ultrasound QC program.2. Achieve familiarity with common ultrasound QC test methods and phantoms.3. Understand what the physicist needs to know about ultrasound program accreditation.4. Learn about a public software tool being developed by the AAPM Ultrasound Subcommittee to detect and assess transducer uniformity artifacts.5. Learn about a user‐friendly automation software tool to address the most‐recommended ultrasound QC tests.

Inventory Management and Maintenance in Offshore Vessel Industry

An evaluation of the inventory policy at an offshore vessel company was conducted. Currently the items in inventory are used at random intervals as they are used only when parts fail. To solve the problem of reducing a very large inventory but keep enough to allow an uninterrupted service to the customer, we propose a real and economically efficient multicriteria inventory policy using inventory classification method integrated with a preventive maintenance program. The proposed method can be summarized in the following three steps: first, rank the parts according to both the lead time from supplier and the cost of downtime failure and use a matrix display to show the most critical items. In the second step develop a preventive maintenance program for the most critical parts to minimize downtime due to failure. Finally in the third step standardize most critical parts to reduce the inventory which saves the company money while maintaining the same level of service to its customers. Our study showed that the company with a very large inventory could effectively reduce its size by focusing on key parts.

Temperature profile of progressive damaged overhead electrical conductors

The Brazilian transmission system is characterized by installations that average 20years of operation. Competitiveness of the energy sector, lack of resources for new investments and the aging of the system lead to the necessity of not only to reform but also to optimize it in order to face the increasing demand of the Brazilian energy market. The overhead electrical conductor is naturally the most important element on the transport of electrical energy and requires careful predictive and preventive maintenance programs. Therefore, it is of fundamental importance to predict the operational life of overhead electrical conductors using mathematical models so that their energy transport capacity can be optimized. However, it is necessary to validate such models by means of test programs so that their predictions can be trusted. One of the most important factors on the structural decay of overhead electrical conductors is the variation of the temperature profile in the event of the rupture of one or more of its Aluminum wires by fatigue or fretting. Therefore, models that include this temperature variation must be validated through test programs that can experimentally establish a mathematical relationship which considers effects such as contact resistance, material thermo-mechanical properties modification, annealing of the material and the presence of defects. The objective of this work is to evaluate the effect of progressive Aluminum wire rupture on the temperature profile of an ACSR (Aluminum Conductor Steel Reinforced) overhead electrical conductor, not only on the section of the damage but also along the length of the conductor. A test procedure was developed and performed to establish this effect. Results were compared to a mathematical model and showed that the temperature profile dependency of the increasing rupture of Aluminum wires is not linear and includes effects other than the cross section loss.

Interactive Model Used in Maintenance Planning of Facades Based on Virtual Reality Technology

A virtual reality model was created in order to help in the maintenance of exterior closures and interior finishes of walls in a building. It allows the visual and interactive transmission of information related to the physical behavior of the elements, defined as a function of the time variable. To this end, the basic knowledge of material most often used in walls, anomaly surveillance, techniques of rehabilitation, and inspection planning were studied. This information was included in a database that supports the periodic inspection needed in a program of preventive maintenance. The results are obtained interactively and visualized in the virtual environment itself. This work brings an innovative contribution to the field of maintenance supported by emergent technology.

Microsurfacing as a preventative maintenance program in Texas

Microsurfacing has been shown as an effective pavement preservation tool when applied to the right road, at the right time, for the right distress. This study looks at the current state of practice of microsurfacing in Texas and compares it to best practices extracted from existing literature. A survey of Department of Transportation (DOT) personnel, contractors, and emulsion suppliers in Texas provides insight into the most crucial factors contributing to the success or failure of microsurfacing. From the results of the survey, literature reviews, case studies, and site visits, the research team analyzed material selection and mix design methods, construction practices, equipment practices, and performance measures for microsurfacings. It was concluded that project selection is the most important contributor to a successful microsurfacing; this factor falls under DOT control. However, reliance on contractors for input into proper project selection places the agency in a vulnerable position. A certification course to educate personnel is recommended.

Rate of occurrence of failures based on a nonhomogeneous Poisson process: an ozone analyzer case study

Atmospheric pollutant monitoring constitutes a primordial activity in public policies concerning air quality. In São Paulo State, Brazil, the São Paulo State Environment Company (CETESB) maintains an automatic network which continuously monitors CO, SO(2), NO(x), O(3), and particulate matter concentrations in the air. The monitoring process accuracy is a fundamental condition for the actions to be taken by CETESB. As one of the support systems, a preventive maintenance program for the different analyzers used is part of the data quality strategy. Knowledge of the behavior of analyzer failure times could help optimize the program. To achieve this goal, the failure times of an ozone analyzer-considered a repairable system-were modeled by means of the nonhomogeneous Poisson process. The rate of occurrence of failures (ROCOF) was estimated for the intervals 0-70,800 h and 0-88,320 h, in which six and seven failures were observed, respectively. The results showed that the ROCOF estimate is influenced by the choice of the observation period, t(0) = 70,800 h and t(7) = 88,320 h in the cases analyzed. Identification of preventive maintenance actions, mainly when parts replacement occurs in the last interval of observation, is highlighted, justifying the alteration in the behavior of the inter-arrival times. The performance of a follow-up on each analyzer is recommended in order to record the impact of the performed preventive maintenance program on the enhancement of its useful life.

30 Years of Microsurfacing: A Review

Microsurfacing has been utilized in the United States since 1980 as a maintenance treatment for pavement. This paper reviews the benefits, limitations, and factors that contribute to successful applications of microsurfacing. The history of microsurfacing, as well as a definition and process description of the treatment, is included. The body of scientific work on microsurfacing is shown to promote its use in preventative maintenance programs, and the potential for microsurfacing to meet tightening environmental and budgetary restrictions is discussed. Suggestions are given for future research to expand microsurfacing’s applications and efficacy stemming from the ability of microsurfacing to be cold-applied and utilize polymers in the bitumen.

RAM investigation of coal-fired thermal power plants: A case study

: Received 28 October 2011 Accepted December, 5 2011 Available online 8 December 2011 Continuous generation of electricity of a power plant depends on the higher availability of its components/equipments. Higher availability of the components/equipments is inherently associated with their higher reliability and maintainability. This paper investigates the reliability, availability and maintainability (RAM) characteristics of a 210 MW coal-fired thermal power plant (Unit-2) from a thermal power station in eastern region of India. Critical mechanical subsystems with respect to failure frequency, reliability and maintainability are identified for taking necessary measures for enhancing availability of the power plant and the results are compared with Unit-1 of the same Power Station. Reliability-based preventive maintenance intervals (PMIs) at various reliability levels of the subsystems are estimated also for performing their preventive maintenance (PM). The present paper highlights that in the Unit-2, Economizer (ECO) & Furnace Wall Tube (FWT) exhibits lower reliability as compared to the other subsystems and Economizer (ECO) & Baffle Wall Tube (BWT) demands more improvement in maintainability. Further, it has been observed that FSH followed Decreasing Failure Rate (DFR) and Economizer (ECO) is the most critical subsystem for both the plants. RAM analysis is very much effective in finding critical subsystems and deciding their preventive maintenance program for improving availability of the power plant as well as the power supply.

Visual Monitoring System of Steel-Cord Conveyor Belt

Safe operation of transport system depends on right examination of their technical conditions and right operating measures thereof. The conventional methods based on magnetic test for steel-cord conveyor belt inspection have many limitations. So a new detection method which is based on both magnetic method and X-ray digital imaging technology is used. This paper introduces the key techniques and control scheme of the detection system. Five main steps, including self-diagnosis, hardware test, magnetic inspection, radiographic inspection and diagnosis, are discussed in detail. The system provides a preventive maintenance program which can achieve high precision for it uses image analysis techniques to process digital radiography images to identify gravity of defects.

Virtual Environment in Construction and Maintenance of Buildings

This paper describes two prototype applications based on Virtual Reality (VR) technology for use in construction and maintenance planning of buildings. The first, applied to construction, is an interactive virtual model designed to present plans three-dimensionally (3D), connecting them to construction planning schedules, resulting in a valuable asset to the monitoring of the development of construction activity. The 4D application considers the time factor showing the 3D geometry of the different steps of the construction activity, according to the plan established for the construction. A second VR model was created in order to help in the maintenance of exterior closures of walls in a building. It allows the visual and interactive transmission of information related to the physical behavior of the elements. To this end, the basic knowledge of material most often used in facades, anomaly surveillance, techniques of rehabilitation, and inspection planning were studied. This information was included in a database that supports the periodic inspection needed in a program of preventive maintenance. This work brings an innovative contribution to the field of construction and maintenance supported by emergenttechnology

Putting Patient Safety First: The Sterile Processing Department and Healthcare Technology Management

<i>Putting Patient Safety First:</i> The Sterile Processing Department and Healthcare Technology Management

Development of an innovative criticality index for turnaround management in an oil refinery

This research work presents the development and application of a preventive maintenance programme in an oil refinery plant. This study was carried out in a period of three years in one of the main Italian refinery. The research has been focused on the turnaround process that has been analysed by two different approaches: a risk-based method and an innovative criticality index. Both have been used as decision tools for clearly assessing the maintenance tasks and equipment to include in the process. The results have highlighted a clear improvement in terms of resources usage optimisation, outage duration, production loss and total costs reduction and increase of the interval between two shutdowns.

Evaluation of the use of Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIR) in on-line Monitoring of Power Transformer Insulation Oil

To maximize the lifetime expectance of power transformers, it is important to develop tools to monitor and to give diagnose information, allowing for real-time detection of incoming failures. Information from analysis of gases dissolved or free in insulating oil is one of the most valuable tools in evaluating the health of a transformer and has become an important part of preventive maintenance programs. The condition of the oil greatly affects the performance and the service life of transformers, and on-line monitoring has become a reliable method to ensure the safe operation of transformers. An on-line monitoring of dissolved gases generated by electrical transformers in operation was developed, which can be used as an important parameter for the detection of faults and monitoring the chemical degradation of mineral insulation oil. This paper proposes a method to analyze the generated gases, based on Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIR) through a developed prototype that can be adapt on the Buchholz transformer relay. The combination used of NIR spectroscopy and chemometric tools has allowed for obtaining information over the samples. Recent developments of chemometrics software and computer technology have made NIR analysis the practical choice for process analysis applications.

Rethinking Collection System Cleaning Using Acoustic Inspection

Setting up a utility’s preventative maintenance program for their gravity-fed collection system’s cleaning involves recognizing that many pipe segments scheduled for cleaning will not need it. But, this cost of over cleaning must be balanced against insufficient maintenance resulting in excessive overflows. We present herein a new diagnostic tool, the Sewer Line – Rapid Assessment Tool or SL-RAT™. The SL-RAT is an onsite inspection device developed by InfoSense with the support of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities (CMU). The SL-RAT diagnostic capability allows cleaning requirements for pipe segments to be economically prioritized prior to conducting cleaning operations. We show that significant cost savings can be achieved through: reduced asset condition assessment costs, reduced cleaning-related overflows, and reduced nonvalue added cleaning effort. In this paper, CMU Case Studies are reviewed and used to show how the SL-RAT acoustic inspection system can be used to establish a Sewer Line Condition Based Maintenance (SL-CBM™) program.

Key Steps to Planning a Sustainable Preventative Maintenance Program for Local Governments' Public and Private Stormwater Management Facilities

Key Steps to Planning a Sustainable Preventative Maintenance Program for Local Governments' Public and Private Stormwater Management Facilities