What are the 6 steps to optimize your compressed air system?

Posted on February 29, 2016 by rusty

Compressed air leaks, and inefficient blow offs can waste thousands of dollars of electricity each year. This affects your companies production costs and bottom line.

What are the 6 steps to optimize your compressed air system?

Determine the main compressed air users in your facility
Find and fix the air leaks with Ultrasonic Leak Detection
Upgrade your blow off and cooling operations with engineered products for less air use and lower decibel levels.

High efficiency nozzles High efficiency air knives High efficiency blow offs

Turn off compressed air when not in use, or put it on a timer to only run when required
Use intermediate storage next to the point of use
Control the air pressure near the point of use.

The Maintenance Geek LLC is proud to be a stocking distributor for Exair the home of intelligent compressed air products

E Mail me for a catalog and to get 10% off of current pricing. robert@maintenancegeek.com

Click in the upper right hand corner to get this blog sent to you as soon as it is published.→

Robert Kravontka “The Maintenance Geek ”

Step “One” in Developing a World Class Maintenance Organization

Posted on February 22, 2016 by rusty

Step One:

It’s the same for big companies or smaller ones, you need to figure out where you are and what your up against. If you have only one maintenance professional that does the facility and all the equipment but only when it breaks down the issues are the same.

You must start with some data.

Think of it as a doctor’s visit. Your doctor will not prescribe a medication or solution before he examines you and collects some data. At a minimum, blood pressure, weight, temperature, and what “you” think is wrong?

Should it be any different trying to diagnose your maintenance process, before you prescribe some remedies?

Collect Data. Simple Stuff.

What are your critical pieces of equipment? Look for the top 3-5 and learn about them.

Rate them in order of criticality. How much trouble will you be in when they go down, and how expensive will they be to get back up. It is a lot cheaper to keep them running than to fix them after they go down.

What skills are at your disposal? You may be surprised at some of the hidden talent.

What do you need to do to keep the equipment running vs. trouble shooting it and fixing it? Get out of the breakdown mode.

OEE is more important as you start to flow your products. If one component of the cell stops, the entire cell stops. OEE multiplies as more equipment is added to a cell.

Evaluate your maintenance department. Are they doing the right things, can they be doing better PM’s and less “time” based preventive maintenance? How about some predictive maintenance to catch the issues before they bite you.

Consider training your operators to be the eyes and ears for maintenance, put in some visuals to make it easier for them.

Its not easy when you have a small maintenance group, but neither are the bigger ones, that’s why “they” make the medium bucks. The principles are the same. Breakdowns are 5 – 10 times more expensive than preventing a breakdown.

Want to know more, go to the upper right and sign up for the next exciting episode of the Maintenance Geek Blog.

Robert Kravontka

The Maintenance Geek

robert@maintenancegeek.com

Introducing 5 Steps to a World Class Maintenance Organization

Posted on February 8, 2016 by rusty

Planning a June 2016 release of my new E Book called “5 Steps to a World Class Maintenance Organization” This is designed for the smaller manufacturer with a maintenance group of one or a few who do it all, including building and equipment maintenance.

Are your best Maintenance People getting ready to retire?

Do your younger newer maintenance professionals need to work smarter not harder?

How would an increase in productivity benefit your company?

Would reducing your maintenance Costs Help?

Are you getting tired of putting out fires all the time?

Does your equipment go down when you need it most?

Take a look at the 5 steps to help you get out of that breakdown mode.

We are going to have some fun with a method to help yourself and your company.

Step 1: Look at the building blocks of Maintenance

Step 2: Control your spare parts

Step 3: Stop Wasted PM’s

Step 4: Focused Improvements

Step 5: Formal Training

Then we will put it all together.

Click in the upper right to follow my blog…

Thanks,

Robert Kravontka The Maintenance Geek

The Energize CT Center. How to save energy.

Posted on February 1, 2016 by rusty

Greetings,

Attended a terrific meeting in North Haven at the Energize CT Center finding out how to better save energy in 2016. Kevin Vidmar from Loureiro Engineer Associates spoke. Terrific presentation on energy systems, including; Lighting, Motors, Compressed Air, Dust Collection, HVAC, and Office Equipment.

We started by understanding conservation vs efficiency. Basically shut it off whenever possible and then use the most efficient models when you must use a load.

Lighting, understand where you need light, and how much, then shut it off when you do not need it.LED’s have come down in price and are well subsidized by the utilities.

Motors typically cost around $0.10 per HP/ Hour to operate and save you that much when you can shut them off. Motors consume 50-70% of all electricity in the country. When you must run your motors reduce the load by insuring good alignment, proper belt tension , good lubrication practices and proper pipe sizing. Try to eliminate Air motors in your operation, they are cheaper to purchase but are huge wasters of energy.

Compressed Air often called the 4th Utility, can consume up to 25% of a typical manufacturers electric bill. Extra air storage can help, you should have approximately 4 gallon per HP. It generally costs $5 per gallon to install more but may be well worth it. Make sure your compressor air inlets are drawing cool well filtered air. If you use air to blow parts out of a process use low vortec nozzles, and cut your house pressure. A 2 PSI drop in pressure can save 1% of your electric bill.

Have a pro look at your system and enjoy some huge saving.

Next month we will talk about the 5 steps to get out of the breakdown mode, and save some energy to boot.

Click on the upper right to sign up for the series of training’s to get out of the breakdown mode. Talk with you next week.

Robert The Maintenance Geek

What is on tap for the Maintenance Geek?

Posted on January 18, 2016 by rusty

Are your Best Maintenance People retiring this year?

Do your younger maintenance professionals need to work smarter not harder?

The issue most companies with manufacturing equipment face is how to get out of the breakdown mode.

Over the next 6 months we will discuss the 5 steps to get out of the breakdown mode.

Over the next 6 months we will discuss the steps and what will work for you.

Expect a June 2016 release of my new E – Book “5 Steps to get out of the Breakdown Mode”.

We will talk about what the Utilities and Government can do to help fund our efforts to get out of the breakdown mode.

There are also steps you can take right away, to generate income to pay for your journey and get buy in from senior management.

Stay tuned.

Let me know what you think!

Did You Know, by The Maintenance Geek

Posted on August 5, 2015 by rusty

Here is a new video from Robert Kravontka The Maintenance Geek

A look at some predictive tools, like Infrared, Ultrasound and Lumen Meters

Maintenance Geek Video Book Report “Seeing the Invisible” Episode #5

Posted on June 10, 2014 by rusty

Here is the latest installment of our video book report series “Seeing the Invisible” by John Kravontka and published by the Greater Boston Manufacturing Partnership.

Remember: We Read them, so you don’t have to.

What is the cost of compressed air leaks?

Posted on June 5, 2014 by rusty

I Found a good article from C.E.D. Compressed Air Inc.

For many organizations, compressed air comprises a large part of an ever-growing utility bill, so now companies are beginning to analyze the true cost of compressed air leaks within their facility. The results show that compressed air leaks affect expenditures in a range of areas.

Compressor Sizing

Industrial firms purchase their compressors based on the demand in terms of air in the system. Air leaks can cause higher than necessary equipment expenditure and can also mean that equipment must be maintained on a more regular basis to ensure optimal performance in meeting demand.

Water Intrusion

In addition to allowing air out of the system, leaks tend to let moisture in. Water migrates from the high humidity outside air to the compressed air. This water migration can potentially cause cracks in valves as large amounts of water enter the system and overload components. Companies must then dip into their budget to replace any damaged components and conduct moisture removal maintenance on their systems.

Reduced Accuracy in Air Profiling

When leaks occur, they can prevent plant managers from achieving an accurate read in terms of their air profile. In leaks where the total leak load exceeds 10% of the overall load capacity, the artificial demand caused by the leaks can prevent companies from seeing the full picture of their plant efficiency. Such leaks can lead to wasted money on air audits and other efficiency improvement measures.

What do we need to do?

By taking a proactive strategy in managing and repairing air leaks within our compressed air equipment, companies can not only improve the performance of their equipment, but save thousands of dollars annually in terms of repair and maintenance expenditures.

Try this.

A one bar (14.5 psi) decrease in pressure reduces energy consumption by seven percent. And, if there are leaks in the compressed air system, the same pressure decrease reduces the impact of the leaks by 13 percent.

Also consider that, off hours can account for 25% of your compressed air energy use. Look at minimizing this usage, segment your system and turn off areas not in use during off hours..

Access to the latest leak detection systems is now required for the proactive industrial firm.

Investing in an Ultrasound System should be high on your list.

A major advantage to ultrasound leak inspection is that as a high frequency, short wave signal, ultrasound emissions tend to be localized around the leak site. By scanning an area with an ultrasound instrument, a user will follow the sound of the leak to the loudest point. Once identified, the leak amplitude can be noted and used in a compressed gas reporting tool, this cost analysis can tie dollars, for the use of maintenance time to fix leaks.

I have used UE Systems units, but you need to use something. The leaks are eating into your companies profits.

Leave me a comment if you have found a good way to get rid of your leaks.

Rusty

Here is a link to the CED article: http://cedcompressedair.ca/blog/what-is-the-cost-of-compressed-air-leaks/

Maintenance Geek Video Book Report “Seeing the Invisible” Episode #4

Posted on May 1, 2014 by rusty

Check out Episode #4 of the Maintenance Geek Video Book Report Series “Seeing the Invisible” by John Kravontka and published by the Greater Boston Manufacturing Partnership. This episode continues with the industrial safety theme, covering means of egress, wiring 5S, Pipe Insulation ,preventing slips and falls,open floor holes, lifting heavy components, ergonomics, simple green washers, and proper transport of loads.

Enjoy the Episode #4 of the video series.

Rusty Fixxer

The Maintenance Geek’s video book report on “Seeing the Invisible” Episode #3

Posted on April 17, 2014 by rusty

Welcome to the third installment of the Maintenance Geek’s video book report series on “Seeing the Invisible” by John Kravontka and Published by the Greater Boston Manufacturing Partnership. This Episode looks at more industrial safety issues.