Do your Walk-around Inspections Actually Contribute to Equipment Reliability? By Forrest Pardue – President, 24/7 Systems, Inc. & Dick Hancock, Reliability Consultant, 24/7 Systems, Inc.

Walk-around Inspections - Your Hidden Resource for Condition Monitoring Operators doing Basic Operator Care Lube Techs running Lube Routes Mechanics or Electricians performing Craft Inspections Even Safety & Environmental inspectors

Walk-around Inspections - Your Hidden Resource for Condition Monitoring Operators doing Basic Operator Care Lube Techs running Lube Routes Mechanics or Electricians performing Craft Inspections Even Safety & Environmental inspectors They spend more time around your operating equipment than just about anyone else

Walk-around Inspections - Your Hidden Resource for Condition Monitoring Operators doing Basic Operator Care Lube Techs running Lube Routes Mechanics or Electricians performing Craft Inspections Even Safety & Environmental inspectors They spend more time around your operating equipment than just about anyone else Shouldn’t you know what they know about developing equipment condition problems?

Typical Current Practice: Many plants rely on their work order system to schedule inspections

Typical Current Practice: Many plants rely on their work order system to schedule inspections Good for scheduling, not so good for content “…they were scheduled to be greased every 3 months, but you never knew if they got greased or not because it was just a work order…a WO that you get in a normal CMMS that just says “completed” or “done”, but has 50 machines on a WO – no details on each individual asset and point.” – Reliability Engineer, Plastics Plant

Typical Current Practice: Actual inspection details are usually kept in a separate system such as spreadsheet-based forms

Typical Current Practice: Actual inspection details are usually kept in a separate system such as spreadsheet-based forms Information is now trapped on the paper form (desk stack, file cabinet, etc.) Not easily communicated to those in a position to make maintenance execution decisions. “The paper reports seem to go into a stack of papers on a supervisor’s desk and they are not reviewed the way they should be.” - Reliability Engineer, Paper Mill

Current Best Practice: Inspection route information collected with Smart Tablets (IOS, Android, Windows) Have replaced obsolete MS-CE™ PDA devices More flexibility for functions such as taking photos or downloading web documents

Current Best Practice: Cloud database storage Single depository for Lube Route & other CBM results Information is shareable via web browser and interactive with a broad audience of Maintenance, Reliability, & Operations users Inspection route info helps drive Reliability

Measurement Point Setups Vary: Due to plant processes & equipment types Due to different program objectives Some are strictly lubrication based

Measurement Point Setups Vary: Due to plant processes & equipment types Due to different program objectives Some are strictly lubrication based Some mix condition, safety, & environmental observations

Measurement Point Setups Vary: Due to plant processes & equipment types Due to different program objectives Some are strictly lubrication based Some mix condition, safety, & environmental observations Some are for a specific practice such as Ultrasonic Greasing

Some Point Definitions Move from Paper to Tablet Easily - Some are more Complex: Numeric trend points are straightforward The inspector inputs a number

Some Point Definitions Move from Paper to Tablet Easily - Some are more Complex: Numeric trend points are straightforward The inspector inputs a number Text-based observations present choices: Paper forms have limited space & favor short ‘Yes/NO’ or ‘OK/Not OK’ responses Tablets handle short responses fine, but can also use longer pull down menus for more detailed options

Smart Tablets Automate Alarms: In Bounds Out of Bounds Paper forms depend on the technician to recognize an alarm state

Smart Tablets Automate Alarms: In Bounds Out of Bounds Paper forms depend on the technician to recognize an alarm state Tablets notify the tech when an alarm value is saved: Numeric trend values can have both low & high alarm sets Text-based observations can have predefined ‘in- bounds’ & ‘out-of-bounds’ items in the pick list

Alarms & Out of Bounds Measurements Prompt the Tech for More Information: 65 This is where the tech can document what he/she sees about a problem

Alarms & Out of Bounds Measurements Prompt the Tech for More Information: 65 This is where the tech can document what he/she sees about a problem Can also add photos of the problem(s)

Tablets Communicate with the Cloud Database via WiFi or Cell Data Plan: There are two times the Tablet must be connected to the Internet for Lube Routes: When opening a route When closing out a route

Tablets Communicate with the Cloud Database via WiFi or Cell Data Plan: There are two times the Tablet must be connected to the Internet for Lube Routes: When opening a route When closing out a route Once the route is opened & all route points are in the tablet cache, then data collection can proceed without Internet connection

So, Tablets have Advantages – but it’s Cloud Databasing that Connects to Reliability: Makes it practical to retrieve & use Inspection Route findings alongside other CBM results The plastics plant Reliability Engineer tried to move perishable paper data to Excel™ - his ‘Excel Hell’ period

So, Tablets have Advantages – but it’s Cloud Databasing that Connects to Reliability: Makes it practical to retrieve & use Inspection Route findings alongside other CBM results The plastics plant Reliability Engineer tried to move perishable paper data to Excel™ - his ‘Excel Hell’ period Found that process was neither efficient or sustainable: “With paper sheet and clipboard and you would have to come back and fill everything out in excel. So you are really doing twice the amount of work before we had the tablets... Still, it was an excel spreadsheet, you can only do so much with it.” – Reliability Engineer, Plastics Plant

Two Things Happen when an Inspector Completes & Closes a Route: Email goes to preselected users who need to know about problems found during route collection Shows how many points were in Alarm or Out of Bounds Has a clickable link to open the Lube Route Summary: “To be able to get the issues in front of the right people by automatic email system is a big benefit…” - Reliability Engineer, Paper Mill

Two Things Happen when an Inspector Completes & Closes a Route: A Lube Route Summary is available in the Cloud Database system Sorts Alarm & Out of Bounds points to top of the list Displays the problem description & any linked photographs Has a clickable link to escalate the issue to the Condition Status Dashboard alongside other CBM results

Decision Time – Escalate the Issue to a Condition Status Dashboard? Opens a simple form for adding problem severity, fault code, & action recommendations Comments & photographs from the Tablet automatically populate appropriate fields Once saved, email goes to preselected maintenance, reliability, & operations users notifying them of the problem

And the new Condition Problem is now on a Web Accessible Dashboard: Interactive dashboard integrates results from all active CBM sources The ‘milky oil’ problem found by a Lube Tech and posted July 19th started a chain of action on this gearbox: The recommended oil sample analysis confirmed water contamination - August 12th August 27th vibration analysis found a developing output shaft bearing defect – even though oil had been changed

At the Plastics Plant the Reliability Cloud Database is Linked to SAP™ Notifications Decisions on Condition-based calls in the Dashboard can trigger work order creation in SAP Work Order closures then send TECO summary to update the Condition Status Dashboard “You were looking for leaks from lubrication, leaks from process, seals, packing, high temperature, something making a lot of noise… they can document all those things. Having the tablet is almost real-time. You put it into the tablet and that day, the WO is put out.” – Reliability Engineer, Plastics Plant

A Planned Solution for the Gearbox: For this Gearbox, bearing replacement was done during a planned October outage: The Gearbox case was then closed and removed from the active problem dashboard History of the Gearbox case is now stored in the history section of the Reliability Cloud database …and it all started with a problem report by a Lube Tech!

In Summary: Go beyond tracking your Walk-around Inspection information in a perishable paper format – Take advantage of smart tablet & cloud database technology to bring it into the daylight where it can work with your other condition monitoring technologies to improve equipment reliability.

In Summary: Go beyond tracking your Walk-around Inspection information in a perishable paper format – Take advantage of smart tablet & cloud database technology to bring it into the daylight where it can work with your other condition monitoring technologies to improve equipment reliability. Questions?