2015 - 01-02 - Plant Engineering

2014 SALARY SURVEY: A confident industry is ready to grow 25

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www.plantengineering.com PLANT ENGINEERING January/February 2015 • 3

January/February 2015Volume 69, No. 1

PLANT ENGINEERING (ISSN 0032-082X, Vol. 69, No. 1, GST #123397457) is published 10x per year, monthly except in January and July, by CFE Media, LLC, 1111 W. 22nd Street, Suite #250, Oak Brook, IL 60523. Jim Langhenry, Group Publisher /Co-Founder; Steve Rourke CEO/COO/Co-Founder. PLANT ENGINEERING copyright 2015 by CFE Media, LLC. All rights reserved. PLANT ENGINEERING is a registered trademark of CFE Media, LLC used under license. Periodicals postage paid at Oak Brook, IL 60523 and additional mailing offices. Circulation records are maintained at CFE Media, LLC, 1111 W. 22nd Street, Suite #250, Oak Brook, IL 60523. E-mail: [email protected]. Postmaster: send address changes to PLANT ENGINEERING, 1111 W. 22nd Street, Suite #250, Oak Brook, IL 60523. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40685520. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: 1111 W. 22nd Street, Suite #250, Oak Brook, IL 60523. Email: [email protected]. Rates for nonqualified subscriptions, including all issues: USA, $145/yr; Canada, $180/yr (includes 7% GST, GST#123397457); Mexico, $172/yr; International air delivery $318/yr. Except for special issues where price changes are indicated, single copies are available for $20.00 US and $25.00 foreign. Please address all subscription mail to PLANT ENGINEERING, 1111 W. 22nd Street, Suite #250, Oak Brook, IL 60523. Printed in the USA. CFE Media, LLC does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in the material contained herein, regardless of whether such errors result from negligence, accident or any other cause whatsoever.

26 What We Earn28 What We Think30 Who We Are

The respondents to the 2014 Plant Engineering Salary Survey come from throughout the U.S. and serve a variety of industries, but they are uniform in their optimism about manufacturing. This year’s survey found 79% consider manufacturing a secure career. That’s up from 75% in 2013 and significantly higher than the 63% figure when Plant Engineering first started asking that question a decade ago. Manufacturing enters 2015 with a full head of steam and confidence that manufacturing will build from its current position of strength.

25 2014 Salary Survey

Special Report: Training21 Maintaining the human machine

In the same way as you maintain your equipment, workers need updates on new strategies and tech-nology. They need to operate efficiently. Yet in all of that, not every manufacturer puts the same pre-mium on training as they do on maintenance.

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Cover Story 35 3D: Adding to additive’s

capabilitiesManufacturers on the leading edge of 3D printing find new ways to save time and money in design and prototyping.

Material Handling Solutions 41 Planning is crucial for

relocation, partsmanagement upgradesMoving from an open-bin warehousing system to a drawer system requires pre-planning and a look at existing organizational structures to see if improvements are possible. The result can be a more efficient operation on a smaller footprint.

Electrical Solutions 49 Deploying GFCIs in

the real worldGround fault circuit interrupters can protect workers from the risk of electrical shock and injury in wet and hazardous settings.

Maintenance Solutions 55 Removing obstructions

to your plant’sworkflow streamsA process plant represents a highly complex set of physical components, activities, and interdependent information. Defining works streams is important as it allows identification and mapping to make navigating the complexity much easier.

Automation Solutions 59 The three pillars of OEE

Build technical, process, and supervisory skills to gain operational knowledge.

62 The five-year planthat workedSmiths Machine changed its manufacturing strategy to meet the challenges of economic downturn and foreign competition.

www.plantengineering.com PLANT ENGINEERING January/February 2015 • 5www.plantengineering.com

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6 • January/February 2015 PLANT ENGINEERING www.plantengineering.com

Trending New Products Maintenance Electrical Mechanical Energy Management Plant Automation Safety People and Training

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• March 5: Maintenance issues with 2015 Maintenance Report key insights

Engineering eNewslettersThe experience of the plant engineerAs part of the 2014 Plant Engineering Salary Survey, we asked readers, “How many years have you worked in the plant or engineering related position?” The responses:

For the full survey results, go to www.plantengineering.com/2014Salary

Top 10 articles at plantengineering.comThe 10 most popular stories at www.plantengineering.com for the month of January are: 1. Four differences between managers and leaders 2. Learning PID loop tuning from an expert 3. Ten tips to immediately improve your key performance indicators 4. Deploying GFCIs in the real world 5. To save energy, first find where it’s used 6. Six predictions for manufacturing in 2015 7. Choose the right PM task frequency 8. Key steps to workflow improvement in maintenance 9. EASA launches motor repair accreditation 10. Three things all shutdown managers need to know about their critical path.

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Even though manufacturing in America has undergone some woe-ful changes, there’s good news to share. The lower costs associated with reshoring are driving more local manufacturing activity; technological developments are drastically chang-ing the way plants operate; and capital investments are on the rise. Six trends about manufacturing in 2015 follow.

As the director of the Georgia Cen-ter of Innovation for Manufacturing, I consult with manufacturing companies of all shapes and sizes on a wide range of projects. Over the past year, I’ve seen a convergence of activities that suggest to me 2015 will be a landmark year for American manufacturing. Among my predictions:

1. Reshoring will continue, but at a slower paceManufacturers typically evaluate

seven critical areas when it comes to operational decision making: transpor-tation and energy costs; market demand for their products; rising labor costs in China and other developing nations; access to talent, tax, and regulatory

policies; availability of capital; and currency trends.

In 2015 we will see jobs continuing to come back to America as trends around these divergent areas continue to work favorably for bottom lines. But this reshoring will happen in a more targeted way, with natural gas use serving as a driving factor in some cases.

The growing abundance of natural gas in the U.S. provides more afford-able energy for factories as well as new opportunities for products and services. PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that high shale gas recovery and low prices could add 1 million manufacturing jobs in the U.S. and reduce natural gas costs by up to $11.6 billion annually through 2025. In fact, one particular U.S. steel manufacturer has already invested more than $100 million in a Midwest plant to help meet demand for tubes and pipes used in shale gas extraction activities.

The U.S. shale gas boom has prompt-ed some chemical producers — such as Dow Chemical, which began construc-tion on a Freeport, Texas plant in 2014

—to construct ethylene production plants in the southeast to take advan-tage of more affordable feedstock.

Then there are the manufactured goods themselves. Generally, heavier goods equal higher shipping costs, a value-to-weight ratio that expands in concert with the distance between where they’re made and their market destinations. Higher transportation costs, combined with increasingly expensive labor rates in distant regions such as China, are leading manufactur-ers of heavy equipment and steel prod-ucts to move production from overseas back to the U.S., where these products are also sold. Shortening the supply chain has become a significant value proposition.

On the other hand, parts of the industry where very low-cost labor is employed will not seek to reshore jobs. The same holds true for companies with heavy foreign demand because it’s cheaper to manufacture in the loca-tion where the products will be sold in some cases.

‘A landmark year for American manufacturing’

Manufacturing is poised for a big year because of fundamental strengths in the U.S. sector and expected increases in investments driven by a stronger economy. Cour-tesy: Georgia Center of Innovation in Manufacturing

INFOCUSIndustry expert offers 6 predictions for growth in U.S. plants.By John Zegers

Georgia Center of Innovation for Manufacturing

“ In 2015 we willsee jobs continuingto come back toAmerica as trends around these diver-gent areas continue to work favorably for bottom lines.”

10 • January/February 2015 plant engineering www.plantengineering.com

2. A manufacturing boom will hit the United StatesManufacturing growth over the

past several years has been minimal. This year will launch a new wave of domestic manufacturing, as the indus-try sees broader growth. One reliably strong trend has been the national Pur-chasing Managers Index, which stood at 58.7 in November 2014. Rooted in a solid expansion of manufactur-ing activity, this index allows us to look forward and reasonably expect between 4% and 5% growth in domes-tic manufacturing.

However, manufacturing employ-ment won’t grow at that same rate because facil i t ies and operations have become far more productive and efficient.

3. Big data will drive big efficiencySoftware has helped manufacturing

achieve terrific efficiencies. According to the CSC Global CIO Survey: 2014-2015, 81% of manufacturers feel big data has a positive effect on production and efficiency, and 65% believe big data will be a strategic business driver moving forward.

That trend will continue, but the lynchpin in 2015 will be the wide-spread introduction of the Internet of Things (IoT). The Advanced Technol-ogy Development Center at Georgia Tech, one of the world’s top technol-ogy incubators, hosts a wide range of IoT companies, and a recent Verizon Enterprise Solutions report stated, “The IoT market reared its head in Verizon’s predictions last year, and we have seen an increase in interest from companies worldwide over 2014.” In

addition, a November 2014 Forbes.com article entitled, Two High-Tech Stories To Watch In 2015: Digital and Industrial Internet of Things said, “The IIoT will take a major step forward next year. IIoT will no longer be an intriguing, over-the-horizon concept. It is evolving rapidly into new and tan-gible ways to connect disparate types of electronics equipment, devices, services and software than have ever been connected before, delivering unprecedented benefits, opening new markets, changing how people live and work.”

Sensor technologies will drive the concept of connected factories, and will fuel the introduction of mobility-based manufacturing. Web browsers will be used as dashboards to control

equipment, identify snags, and make quick decisions that would have pre-viously taken entire teams of people to handle.

As connected factories go online, myriad amounts of data will be col-lected and that data will be used in smarter ways that makes things operate more efficiently in 2015. Even smaller companies in the industry will invest more to improve their software opera-tions.

4. Increased investments in predic-tive maintenance technologiesU.S. manufacturers wi l l a l so

increase investments for predictive maintenance technologies in 2015. The proliferation of better and cheaper sensor technologies—combined with the trend of connected factories—will allow for greater opportunities

to implement predictive maintenance technologies to reduce downtime and boost bottom lines.

5. Increased investment in capital equipmentWith the convergence of several

predictions outlined above, such as the increase in applications of sen-sor technologies and general indus-try growth, 2015 will be the year in which we will see a true renaissance in domestic manufacturing.

Improved bottom lines will drive replacement of aging legacy equip-ment and investment in new capital equipment that performs better, more efficiently and more reliably. Soft-ware also will assist in making current equipment more efficient.

6. Manufacturing will grow at a higher rate than the GDPThe GDP historical ly

has been a marker against which industries peg their overall performance.

A report issued in Decem-ber 2014 by the Institute of Supply Management stated that manufacturing revenues are expected to increase in 15 manufactur-

ing industries in 2015. It also asserted that capital expenditures, a major driv-er in the U.S. economy, are expected to increase by 3.7% in the manufac-turing sector.

Additionally, 67% of respondents to the ISM survey expect revenues to be greater in 2015 than in 2014. The panel of respondents—all purchas-ing and supply executives—expect a 5.6% net increase in overall revenues for 2015 compared to a 3.6% increase reported for 2014 over 2013 revenues.

This momentum, combined with the factors outlined above, will contribute to a boom in manufacturing in 2015, helping the industry outpace the GDP for the first time in a long time. PE

John Zegers is the director for the Georgia Center of Innovation for Manufacturing.

INfOCUS

“ The lower costs associated with reshoring are driving

more local manufacturing activity; technological

developments are drastically changing the way plants

operate; and capital investments are on the rise. ”


Plants are replacing proprietary pro-tocols with integrated communication protocols using Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and Ethernet network structures to link plant floor productivity to business intelligence. Device-level networks utilize controllers to communicate machine-to-machine using popular open and proprietary protocols.

Implementing Ethernet as a link-layer protocol to legacy applications can future-proof the network and boost return on investment (ROI) by improving uptime and optimizing workflow and production. Ethernet/IP provides the scalability needed to economically integrate the plant floor with offices enterprise-wide—and beyond for secure remote access.

A networked Ethernet/IP architecture deploying industrial-grade components can enable total integrated connectivity with sophisticated control automation at the machine level, while mining mul-

tiple data streams from the plant floor to inform enterprise-wide business strategies.Ethernet/IP has become a gold standard in commercial industrial environments. Facilitating rapid, accurate dataflow, Eth-ernet/IP provides shared communication on a single local area network, with access to the Internet, and the ability to integrate plant machinery and process data via Eth-ernet or other compatible protocols.

Plant floor challengesThe physical infrastructure of a networked plant floor is substantially different from office environments. Building an enter-prise-wide network requires integration of cabling, connectivity, controllers, switch-es and other components, and software interfaces for data transmission and min-ing. Plant level connections frequently span longer distances, necessitating more stringent, higher speed real-time data transmission rates. Ethernet/IP excels in the need for speed and longer runs without performance degradation.

Rapid technology enhancements have made Ethernet the mainstream enterprise-wide communication technology. Enter-prise-wide integration offers business intelligence while providing advanced diagnostics and tools for quality control.

Ethernet/IP indeed delivers on the promise of near real-time machine-to-machine and machine-to-enterprise communication. Ethernet has the power and potential for creating vast raw data requiring filtering controls, segmentation, and analyses, in addition to efficient man-agement to meet storage, redundancy, and security needs.

Ethernet/IP requires strategic planning to ensure current and future data manage-ment requirements can be met with mini-mal integration cost and effort as a com-pany’s network expands. Leading machine manufacturers provide nonproprietary, cost-effective Ethernet I/O plant controls and equipment, which makes for greater interoperability. Close evaluation of plant floor equipment, PLCs and other control-

INfOCUSEthernet/IP links plant productivity to business intelligenceBy George Kairys, Molex Incorporated


lers, as well as protocol implementation and software, are essential to a smooth network transition.

The benefits of an enterprise-wide convergence vary depending on com-pany goals—and network configuration. Unlike networks in environmentally con-trolled finished office spaces, industrial-grade components are designed for harsh environments with extreme temperatures, moisture, and vibration.

Improved reliability and longer service life offset the higher initial cost of indus-trial-grade components. Industrial-grade RJ-45 connectors or newer M12 circular connectors are commonly found in lengthy Ethernet/IP, ProfiNet and EtherCat net-work runs in plants.

Right time for enterprise-wide EthernetSome manufacturers and processors are taking an overly cautious approach to enterprise-wide network convergence. Many have used the same machine-level or network architecture for decades and hesitate to upgrade until outdated equip-

ment breaks down. But the need to employ more advanced plant floor networking technologies is becoming clear as manu-facturers look to increase operational effi-ciencies and bottom line profits.

As evidenced by the steady prolifera-tion of automation and machine control over industrial networks, the right tech-nologies—at the right time—can provide significant competitive advantages to process and manufacturing industries. Large manufacturers and process control operations are trending toward operating on enterprise-wide Ethernet platforms.

Plant equipment performance and pro-duction metrics are widely recognized as important strategic business tools to help reduce expenses and optimize uptime. Eth-ernet/IP and industrial-grade connectivity is at the right stage in evolution to deliver proven reliability and accessibility at an attractive price point. At the plant level, Ethernet/IP delivers improved:

• Equipment performance• Workflow speed• Energy efficiency

• Quality control• Data transmission speeds over legacy

platforms• Flexibility to add remove network

nodes.The right architecture can incorporate

wired and wireless connectivity to provide enterprise-wide access for improved busi-ness intelligence, closer monitoring and control over production, resource manage-ment, and streamlined operations. PE

George Kairys has more than 20 years of experience in the industrial automation industry in various areas of sales, train-ing, and product management. Kairys has a B.A.Sc. in mechanical engineering from Queen’s University.

“ Ethernet/IP has become a

gold standard in commercial

industrial environments. ”

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14 • January/February 2015 plant engineering

A West Texas util i ty company received an alarm on one of its load tap changers. Field technicians found that one of the vacuum interrupters failed an ac high potential test. The tap changer was disassembled and the vacuum inter-rupter in question was tested again. Once removed, the vacuum interrupter passed an ac high potential test.

The vacuum interrupter was rein-stalled and placed back into service where it again passed an ac high poten-tial test. The following explains why this utility company may have placed a failed vacuum interrupter back into service.

To interrupt high voltages, vacuum interrupters are manufactured with a very

low pressure (vacuum) inside. At con-stant temperature, the internal pressure of the vacuum interrupter is directly pro-portional to the number of gas molecules inside. Therefore, more molecules inside corresponds to a higher pressure, and fewer molecules correspond to a lower pressure.

When the internal pressure of a vac-uum interrupter increases to a certain point, the interrupter will no longer be able to insulate these high voltages. This means that the vacuum interrupter will not pass a high potential test.

If the internal pressure of a vacuum interrupter is just past the point of failing a high potential test, a phenomenon can occur that can temporarily reduce the pressure inside enough to pass the test.

Figure 1 shows a vacuum interrupter with a finite amount of gas molecules

inside. Figure 2 shows a high voltage being applied across the open con-tacts, as in a high potential test. This high voltage breaks down, or ionizes, the gas molecules inside the vacuum interrupter into charged particles, ions, and electrons, seen in Figure 3.

After the high voltage is removed, these charged particles immediately begin recombining into gas molecules. Under certain conditions some of these charged particles may “stick” to the inner surfaces of the vacuum interrupter, which in turn reduces the number of gas molecules inside, shown in Figure 4.

When the number of gas mole-cules is reduced, the pressure is also reduced. This reduction in pressure is temporary and dependent on a number of factors; however, it can result in a vacuum interrupter’s internal pres-sure being reduced enough to pass a high potential test. These remain-ing charged particles will eventually recombine and return the pressure to an unsatisfactory level.

The amount of time it takes for com-plete recombination varies widely. After this recombination occurs, the vacuum interrupter will, again, not pass a high potential test. PE

Julia Neves is president of Vacuum Interrupters, Inc.

INfOCUSRecognize a false negative in HiPot testingIn ac high-potential testing, watch your internal pressure

By Julia Neves

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“ If the internal pressure of a vacuum interrupter is

just past the point of failing a high potential

test, a phenomenon can occur that can

temporarily reduce the pressure inside enough

to pass the test. ”

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Figures 1-4: Illustrations of how certain conditions can contribute to a false negative test in AC high potential testing. Cour-tesy of Vacuum Interrupters


As I interact with people who par-ticipate in and manage shutdowns, I sometimes wonder if we really appreci-ate the true meaning of the term “criti-cal path”. Yes, it is represented by the most important jobs on the shutdown, and you might be able to look at a list of tasks to be performed during the shutdown and guess at those that will be on the critical path with a medium level of accuracy. But can you identify it with any high degree of certainty? If you can identify it, what do you do with this knowledge?

I would characterize this knowl-edge as awareness but not expertise. I believe that there is much opportu-nity to be gained by using some simple tools to calculate and manage to the critical path of the shutdown. Not the

“gut-feel critical path” but rather the “mathematically calculated critical path”.

The definition of the critical path is, the shortest possible duration by which a set of tasks can be completed. It is represented by the longest summation of task durations given the required predecessor and successor relation-ships.

Here are three ideas that I feel every shutdown manager absolutely must know about their critical path.

Idea 1: It is not a guess. It is a calcu-lated value.Yes, as the name implies, the critical path of the shutdown is represented by the most important jobs. It defines the duration of the shutdown.

This duration, however, is the sum of the durations of the individual tasks based on the predecessor/suc-cessor relationships. It is not a guess. It is not a gut-feel. It is science.

The diagram below shows a series of tasks labeled A through K (we tend to skip “I” when building such a dia-gram to avoid the confusion with the number 1). The bottom half of each block contains the duration for each individual task.

We can easily see the predecessor and successor relationships in such a diagram. Note that the node after tasks C and D represents a situation where both of these tasks must be complete before we can move on.

In this second diagram, I have illustrated the critical path for this set of tasks. It just happens to be 22 W (weeks).

INfOCUS


Three ideas along the critical path to shutdownIt takes more than a ‘gut feeling’ to get ready to bring a plant down. It takes a calculated path.

By Mike Gehloff

Allied Reliability Group

Figure 1: Image of a network diagram. All graphs courtesy: Allied Reliability Group.

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Unless we do something differently, the critical path for this set of tasks is 22 weeks. There are, of course, meth-ods we can apply to change this, but at the moment no shorter than 22 weeks—that is, if everything goes perfectly.

Idea 2: It is the best method of priori-tizing work for a shutdown.Now that we know that the duration of this shutdown is 22 weeks, we can start working on either shortening that or, at the very least, shoring up our ability to reach this target. Where should we begin with these efforts? With those tasks that are on the critical path, of course.

It is likely that I will not be able to plan as thoroughly for every job on the shutdown as I would like, so let’s make sure that I put my best effort on those tasks that are on the critical path.

I probably have limitations on the amount of labor I can bring in to sup-port the shutdown, so let’s give priority to the critical path jobs.

When preparing the materials I need for the shutdown, let’s put extra effort in the ordering, tracking, receipt inspec-tion, and staging of those items needed for critical path jobs.

Idea 3: The Critical Path is the clos-ing bid on a negotiation for duration. Never take the first bid.This one is important. So often I see people prepare for shutdowns that fit into a nice and neat window of time—a week, five days, three days, etc.

When I see such a stated duration, I generally find that we perform a shutdown of this very same duration year in and year out. When I ask how we arrived at this duration, I generally receive an answer like, “That is what we always do.” This is

one of the biggest flags you can look for in an improvement opportunity.

When we as leaders decide that we can afford a business interruption of seven days for a maintenance shutdown, this must be considered the opening bid in a negotiation. What we really mean to say is, “We can afford up to seven days, but would like to start up sooner if it is pos-sible.”

Once we make this opening offer, we then task those people in charge of the shutdown to fill in the details. Develop a list of jobs to be done during the shutdown, estimate a time for each task, arrange these tasks into a schedule, and calculate the critical path.

We must expect that these people come back to us with another offer. If you offer a week, which is 168 hours, then I would expect a counter offer such as, “We can complete the needed scope in 143 hours.”

We really need 181 hours or we will have to start dropping some tasks out of our scope, which we really do not want to do.

Both are acceptable answers to me as it illustrates some real thought and prepara-tion being put into the plan. Not a gut feel, but real thinking.

Building a critical path is not difficult. If you use only the base functionality of Microsoft Project (Task Description, Dura-tion, Predecessor), you can easily see a critical path when you view the network diagram. Take five minutes to recreate the plan I have shown you above in Microsoft Project and you will see what I mean.

If you are not determining your critical path as a calculated value, and then man-aging to this critical path, you are leaving time and money on the table. Simple as that. PE

Mike Gehloff is a principal with the Allied Reliability Group/

www.plantengineering.com plant engineering January/February 2015 • 17

Figure 2: The critical path is highlighted in this network diagram.

FREEHAND TOOL

SAFETYSEMINARS


It’s that time of year when senior man-agement gives the perennial nudge to their direct reports to conserve on costs and motivate employees to take heroic mea-sures. But for maintenance professionals that notion can sound like “do more with not enough.”

How do maintenance managers negoti-ate between cost savings and quality and keep their balance on this double-edged sword? What can they do to protect their teams from snapping when they are stretched to the limit—and, at the same time, find creative ways to operate in an economic climate where the demand to “do more with less” never seems to go away?

Start with the basics. For maintenance professionals, that means examining two fundamentals: priorities and preventive maintenance.

Technological alliesTo assess those fundamentals, a CMMS (computerized maintenance management system) is a proven technological ally for managers who must analyze their depart-ment’s priorities and maintenance practic-es—whether to justify capital investments to senior executives or to prevent budget cuts from going too deep. And a robust CMMS lowers costs by automating pre-ventive maintenance, provides tracking and documentation management capa-bilities and helps managers save countless hours when it comes to responding to questions from internal company accoun-tants or external government auditors.

The emerging field of “smart” devices offers additional technological assistance for maintenance teams looking to lower expenses. For instance, one manufacturer saved millions of dollars and significantly reduced corrective maintenance in one of its facilities by fitting intelligent diagnos-tics to control valves.

Versatility in training programsBeyond using technology effectively, short-staffed managers are also lowering costs by improving training programs for the human team members who must oper-ate that technology.

One idea gaining traction in the current competitive climate is the use of manu-facturing equipment vendors to train the maintenance team. At one public facil-ity in the Midwest, the operations man-ager had to adhere to tight budget limits imposed by the state government. To stay within those limits, he asked a local ven-dor to teach his staff how to make basic repairs. Not all vendors will be open to such arrangements. But when contracts are negotiated fairly, vendor-led training may be an option for some maintenance teams looking for savings.

Testing the capabilities of new hires and then training them through an appren-ticeship program helps to improve skills and build teamwork—both of which improve efficiency.

Some managers also stretch their budgets by recognizing the importance of versatility for today’s maintenance professionals. These managers promote training programs where staff members learn multiple skills or choose from a multi-trades curriculum. This type of staff development makes it easier for the main-tenance team to adapt to rapid changes in the workplace and for managers to stretch their resources.

Valuing what matters mostBesides developing hands-on techni-cal skills, managers who get the most from their teams pay attention to the intangibles as well. Giving maintenance staffers respect and responsibility moti-vates them to strive for higher levels of performance. A case in point: a depart-ment head at a manufacturing plant assigned each technician on the team to be in charge of a particular section of the facility and to manage his own budget for that area. The result? Plant downtime practically dropped to zero.

Keeping costs low when demands are high is not always easy. PE

Paul Lachance is president and chief technology officer for Smartware Group, Inc. Contact Paul directly at [email protected] or visit bigfootcmms.com.

INfOCUS


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9. Understand the components that make up the metric: Create or use an existing KPI standard and document the data sources.

10. KPI’s are not forever: Change the metrics you focus on as your business goals

change or as you notice that the change in behavior that you are measuring has been completed and has become the new way the organizations works. PE

Shon Isenhour is a principal with Eruditio LLC.

plant engineering January/February 2015 • 19

Improving your key performance indica-tors (KPIs) requires more than just estab-lishing metrics. Here are 10 tips to give your KPIs a jump start in the new year.

1. Spend time planning for KPI implementation: Decide who needs to know about the metric or indicator and what they need to know. Who is affected, and who can affect the KPI? Communicate the intent of the metric in a way that can be easily understood.

2. Think about unintentional conse-quences: Understand what your metric drives. Does it require a second metric to ensure that it does not drive a bad behav-ior?

3. Limit your focus to 10 indicators or metrics or less at each level of the organi-zation: Even if you track many indicators in your EAM/CMMS the focus needs to be on a short list. It is OK to have a list of focus KPIs and monitor KPIs. Focus on your key performance indicators and ensure organizational understanding. Monitor your results with the common indicators.

4. Manage behaviors, measure results: You must identify the behaviors that you want to change and address them directly with that portion of the organiza-tion.

5. Cascade indicators down from corporate goals: If your primary indica-tors do not align and support the corporate objective then you will have organizational confusion. The process works best if indi-cators are developed from the top down.

6. Leading versus lagging indicators: Use indicators that tell you more than just what you have done. They should help you understand what you can expect in the future.

7. Use your metrics to ensure the truth: This allows you to use one indica-tor and then if there is a question about the validity of the number you can check with the other indicators.

8. Have metrics for which both opera-tions and maintenance share account-ability: Consider not building or reinforce organizational silos. Try to select indicators that both operations and maintenance and others affect and share them as part of their performance reviews.

By Shon Isenhour, Eruditio

Ten tips to immediately improve your key performance indictators


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Training programs crucial to improving productivity, safety

By Bob Vavra

Content Manager, Plant Engineering Maintenance is critical to a productive manufacturing operation. You have to repair what’s broken, upgrade what’s new, and keep an eye on your operation for signs of wear and

fatigue and lost productivity. Every manufactur-ing operation puts an emphasis on maintenance.

Training is maintenance for the human machine. In the same way as you maintain your equipment, workers need updates on new strategies and technology. They need to operate efficiently. Above all, they must be part of a safe operation, and that safety must be ingrained in the production process.

Yet in all of that, not every manufacturer puts the same premium on training as they do on maintenance. Whether driven by time, cost, or economic downturns, training hasn’t gotten as much attention in recent years. That trend, industry experts suggest, may be turn-ing around.

“From what I’ve seen, we’re getting back on track,” said Brett Gallagher of National

Training programs crucial to improving productivity, safetyMaintaining the human machine

Technology Transfer (NTT), a Denver-based industrial training company. “A lot of busi-nesses are seeing the value of training.”

“Business has been on the rebound for about the last 18 months, and our 2015 business is looking strong over the first three months,” said John Busselmeier of Denver-based American Trainco, which provides plant and mainte-nance training with a focus on boiler repair, HVAC, and electrical safety, including NFPA 70E. “We’re at an interesting point, because October is the start of the federal fiscal year and the federal government is our number-one aggregate customer. Now at the start of calen-dar year we’ve seen growth in private sector.”

While all aspects of training are important for manufacturers, there is one overriding area of emphasis. “From small mom-and-pop facilities to larger organizations, the biggest thing we see is an emphasis on the safety of workers,” Gal-lagher said. “If they are safer, they work more efficiently and they’re staying up to speed on codes and standards, making their work more efficient.”

SPECIALREPORT: TRAININGThe combination of experi-enced instructors and a need to improve and reinforce skills makes training a valu-able investment for manufac-turers. Training companies say they have seen an uptick in training in the past 18 months. Courtesy: American Trainco


“The value proposition is to increase safety performance and increase efficiency,” said Bus-selmeier. “A smarter workforce works safer and is more efficient. That allows the plant to work more efficiently. The death knell for a plant is downtime, so they’re looking at fix-ing problems, troubleshooting problems, and preventing problems.”

While many of the codes are updated and the technology improves, some of the training is simply to keep legacy technology up and run-ning efficiently. “We see that most commonly in boiler world,” Busselmeier said. “People take it for granted; it’s 1920s technology that hasn’t changed much. But they are machines just like anything else, and with proper care, they can live for decades more to come. When you do training on proper boiler care, people can see the value.”

The training processWhile manufacturers re-evaluated the need for full-time, in-house training, the need for training didn’t go away. Third-party compa-nies have both the native expertise in a wider variety of areas as well as the flexibility to shape training programs to the needs of indi-vidual manufacturers.

There generally are two types of programs offered by training companies: classroom edu-cation at the company headquarters, or remote training at the manufacturing site. Each has its advantages, but both have one advantage over e-learning programs: the ability to put the worker in front of a piece of equipment.

“They are hands-on with the trainer. They have the custom equipment and qualified instructors right there,” Gallagher said. “Digi-tal and e-learning is going to be a trend. It’s going to grow, and we’re going to use it, but what we pride ourselves on is hands-on.”

“Instructor-led training is tremendously important,” Busselmeier said. “If you can supplement that with computer-based training, it makes student retention just that much bet-ter. To be able to use online training as ongoing refresher to something they may have learned something in January, that helps retention.”

Busselmeier said the real decision on train-ing is getting the right number of people in front of the instructor for the training that’s needed. “It’s more about how the training is held,” he said. “Our number-one business is public seminars, where you have a confer-ence space and anybody can sign up. That’s great for companies that only have one or two employees to train.

“If you have 10 people to be trained, it may be more economical to bring someone out to do the training on-site,” he said. “What doesn’t change is the delivery of the content.”

The trainer is the keyAs in any educational process, the knowledge is the static part. Programming a program-mable logic control (PLC) or maintaining a switchgear or developing a lubrication pro-cess has specific parameters, guidelines, and codes. The way that knowledge gets delivered is the key to the success of the training.

“It starts and ends with the instructor,” said Busselmeier. “From a student perspective, it’s important that the instructor is highly knowl-edgeable. None of our instructors come with theory only. We want folks who have been on front line. We know they have experience, but can they teach?”

Busselmeier said they also need to stay cur-rent. “They’re constantly hearing things from the students, and their breadth of knowledge is expanding,” he said.

The interaction between skilled instructors and skilled workers is another crucial aspect to the success of any training program, said Busselmeier. “When you’re in a classroom with a person who had been in the field for 30 years, a student is able to bounce ideas off them, and apply those to what they are seeing in the field.

“The ability to have a live interaction allows for more practical training,” he said. “It’s less important to teach the theory of why a substa-tion works. It works; now here are some of things you need to be aware of. Here’s how to be safe.”

The continuing evolution of the National Electrical Code (NEC) and the specifics of NFPA 70E training around electrical safety and arc flash are two of the more visible training programs that combine both operational and safety issues. But all training programs are designed to keep the workers up to date and deliver greater productivity as a result.

“For the most part, when students come into these classes, they are there to learn,” said Gallagher. “They see the value.”

“We don’t have an issue of students buying into training,” Busselmeier said. “Usually stu-dents know they need it before company does. Customer expectations can vary. Some want some sort of certification test and some want continuing education. What they are looking for from us is to get hands-on training to learn new codes or even new techniques.” PE

Specialreport: training


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2014

Salary SurveyConfidence rises amid the challenges

2014 SALARY SURVEY

After almost a decade of uncertainty, the confidence of plant floor manag-ers is soaring. Even with a number of challenges and implementing new technologies, there is a renewed sense of optimism among plant managers

about their business and their future.The respondents to the 2014 Plant Engineer-

ing Salary Survey come from through-out the U.S. and serve a variety of industries, but they are uniform in their optimism about manufac-turing. This year’s survey found 79% consider manufacturing a secure career. That’s up from 75% in 2013 and significant-ly higher than the 63% figure when Plant Engineering first started asking that question a decade ago.

Since 2005, there’s been a devastating recession and now a robust recovery led by the manufacturing sector. The fundamental issues of workforce development, staff management, technology upgrades, and challenges from global competitors and governmental policies remain to be dealt with. Yet manufacturing enters 2015 with a full head of steam and confidence that manufacturing will build from its current posi-tion of strength.

The skilled worker shortage is, for the tenth straight year, the top issue facing manufacturing, according to respondents. The top five concerns were:

• Lack of skilled workers: 24%, down from 35% in 2013

• Regulation and codes: 13%, down from 16% in 2013

• Government/political interference: 12%• Outsourcing and offshoring: 10%, up from

9% in 2013• Inadequate management: 8%, down from

15% in 2013.On the issue of outsourcing, more than 60% of

plant managers say they outsource at least one plant function, with maintenance at 26% being the top

outsourced function within the plant. Other areas being outsourced include system

integration (21%), logistics and pro-curement (11%), human resources (10%), and system management (9%).

There are three primary reasons cited for outsourcing job func-tions: cost management (43%), a better focus on staff core com-petencies (39%), and a lack of

skilled staff to handle those functions (37%).

A new question for respondents in 2014 was to assess the state of their programs for maintenance, management, and safety. By a wide margin, safety is the most visible program in the plant, as 58% of respondents described their safety program on the plant floor as “mature” and another 27% described it as “developing,” while just 4% called their program “non-existent.”

By comparison, 43% of respondents described their plant maintenance program as “mature” and just 40% described their plant management program in the same way.

See the full results of the 2014 Plant Engi-neering Salary Survey at www.plantengineering.com/2014Salary.

—Bob VavraContent Manager, Plant Engineering


What We EarnWhat We EarnWhat We Earn2014 SALARY SURVEY

As confidence in manufacturing grows, so does the expectation of workers that their

compensation will reflect the growth in the industry. More than three-quarters of all respondents to the 2014 Plant Engineering Salary Survey expect a raise in 2015, and 13% expect that raise to be 4% or more. Another 63% see a more modest raise of between 1% and 3%.

Another key area is bonus compensation. Bonuses in manufacturing rose sharply after the 2008 recession as plant management created incentives for increased productivity and lower costs during the downturn. While bonuses aren’t dropping to pre-recession levels, they have fallen from the 2012 high of more than $15,000. The average bonus in 2014 was $11,705, up $27 from 2013 and down from $15,162 in 2012.

Survey respondents also are not as optimistic about bonus compensation increases as they are about base salary. While just 1% of respondents expected a drop in salary, 12% see their bonus compensation falling in the new year. On the other hand, 17% expect a bonus increase of between 1% and

3%, and 12% see a bonus of 4% or more, and both of those totals are higher than either of the last two years.

Safety continues to be a significant metric in respondents’ bonuses; in 2014, safety was the criterion for a bonus for one-third of respondents. Company profitability, productivity, quality, and uptime remain significant criteria for bonuses, while energy management, which took a big jump in signifi-cance in 2013, remains at the same level for 2014 at 15%.

Overall compensation for all survey respondents slipped slightly from $107,104 in 2013 to $104,835 in 2014. Taken with the average age of the plant manager falling to 52 from 57 a year ago, it could indicate a small change between the retiring plant manager and a newer hire within the organi-zation.

One area where salaries continue to surge is the oil and gas market. Both in terms of base salary and bonus, oil and gas plant workers earn the highest wages in the industry: an average of $141,653. Pharmaceuticals and mineral produc-tion managers were next, and utility plant workers earned more than $100,000 in base salary.


$0

$20,000

$40,000

$60,000

$80,000

$100,000

$120,000

2010 2011

Average base annual salaryAverage non-salary compensation

Year-over-year average compensation

2012 2013 20142010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Source: PLANT ENGINEERING





It’s been 10 years since Plant Engineering began asking plant managers a simple question:

Do you consider manufacturing a secure career?In those 10 years, the answer to that question has closely

paralleled the rise and fall and rise again of American manu-facturing. In 2005, 63% of plant managers considered manu-facturing a secure career. That number fell to 61% in 2008 and hovered in the low 60s for much of the next three years. By 2010, as the manufacturing resurgence hit, that confidence topped 70%. Even so, the rise in confidence in 2014 is the most encouraging sign to date of the value of the manufacturing sector to the economy.

Among this year’s respondents, 79% said they considered manufacturing a secure career, which is the highest confidence rating in the 10 years since we started asking the question.

That optimism overshadowed the continuing skills gap fac-ing plant managers. For the 10th straight year, the lack of a skilled workforce is the biggest issue plant managers say they face—ahead of regulatory interference, government uncertainty, or global competition. Again this year, it’s the top issue by a 2:1 margin, although governmental issues—regulation and political—are a combined 25%. Still, the overwhelming con-sistency of workforce shortage continues to be the one thorn in an otherwise rosy picture.

We did ask a few new questions in 2014. One was about outsourcing job functions. Maintenance and systems integra-tion are by far the two leading areas where functions are out-sourced, but 36% of plant managers say they don’t outsource at all. For those who do outsource functions, cost management, the ability to better focus on staff core competencies, and the lack of skilled staff to perform the functions were the three reasons most often cited.

We also asked about asset management programs, one of the emerging topics in 2014, and something certainly on the radar for our readers. A total of 47% already have an asset management system in place; 9% said they will implement such a program in 2015; and another 9% said they would be studying such an asset management program this coming year. Only 4% said they didn’t know how an asset management program could help their operation.

Programs for maintenance, management, and safety are well along in development in most plants. Safety was par-ticularly far along, as 85% of respondents described their safety program as either “mature” or “developing.” In man-agement programs, 40% are mature and 35% are developing, while maintenance programs were called “mature” by 43% of respondents.

What We ThinkIt’s been 10 years since

began asking plant managers a simple question:

What We ThinkWhat We Think2014 SALARY SURVEY

0

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

2010 2011 2012 2013 20142010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Consider manufacturing as a secure career




0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Biggest threat to manufacturing industry2014 2013

Lack of available skilled workers

Regulations, codes, standards, etc.

Government / political interference*

Inadequate management

Outsourcing, offshoring

Downsizing

Union pressures, restrictions

Taxes and tariffs on products

Lack of necessary materials*

Other

*Not included in 2013 studySource: PLANT ENGINEERING




0% 5%

Maintenance

Cost management

Focus on core experience

Lack of skilled staff

Competitive climate

Quality control

Other

System integration

Logisitics / procurement

Recruitment / hiring

System management

Asset management

Other

None

10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Source: PLANTPLANTP ENGINEERIENGINEERIE NNGINEERINNGINEERI

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Plant functions outsourced Reasons for outsourcing


Manufacturing plant leaders have a variety of titles, but their underlying skill as engineers is

common to almost all of those titles, and to their job function. While the titles vary, 39% of Salary Survey respondents said their primary job is to engineer, maintain, or supervise plant operations, while another 22% are responsible for process or production engineering. About 13% of respondents have super-visory responsibilities over more than one plant.

Another common threat is the education background of the plant manager. More than 70% of all respondents have at least a bachelor’s degree, and nearly 20% have either a master’s degree or a doctorate.

And while the average age of the Salary Survey respondents dropped from a year ago, it’s still safe to say we’re not really getting any younger. More than 40% of all respondents are between the ages of 50 and 59, and another 18% are between

60 and 64. Overall, two-thirds of all plant managers are over the age of 50, bringing again into clear focus the dual issues of a lack of skilled workers ready to follow this generation of manufacturing professionals as they begin to retire, and the native plant floor knowledge that will follow those retirees out the door.

These issues are significant because while 35% of respon-dents have been working in manufacturing for at least 30 years, just 8% have worked in manufacturing for five years or less.

Perhaps it is a sign of the overall improvement in the economy and the strength of the manufacturing sector, but there is just as much job mobility in the market as in 2013. More than one-quarter of all plant managers have been with their operations less than five years, which is about the same as last year. On the other hand, more than a quarter of respondents have been with their current employer for at least 25 years.

Who We AreManufacturing plant leaders have a variety

of titles, but their underlying skill as engineers is

Who We AreWho We Are2014 SALARY SURVEY



Less than 526%

5 to 921% 10 to 14

12%

15 to 1912%

20 to 247%

25 to 299%

30 to 346%

35 to 395%

40 or more2%

Years with current employer

High School Diploma4%

Dual Bachelor’s Degree4%

Master’s Degree16%Doctoral Degree

3%

Trade / TechnicalSchool Diploma

6%

College Attendance10%

Associate’s Degree9%

Bachelor’s Degree48%

Highest level of education

Electrical

Under 251%

25 to 294%

30 to 346%

35 to 394%

40 to 447%

45 to 4912%

50 to 5420%

55 to 5921%

60 to 6418%

65 to 694%

70 or over3%

Prefer not to say1%

Current age

Less than 302%

30 to 342%

35 to 392%

40 to 4431%

45 to 4934%

50 to 5419%

55 to 596%

60 or more4%

Average hours worked per week






WHAT WE THINK: The Future2014 SALARY SURVEY

0% 10%

Project management

Engineering

Communication / presentation

Team-building

Computer

20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Top �ve skills needed within area of responsibility


0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Dual Bachelor’s Degree4%

Master’s Degree16% Degree

Bachelor’s Degree48%

of Education Engineering disciplines

Mechanical (ME)

Electrical (EE) or electronic

Chemical

Industrial

Controls

Instrumentation

Other

Civil



Respondents to Plant Engineering’s annual Salary Survey are experienced manufacturing professionals. On average, they’ve been in the business more than 25 years. They not only know their stuff today, but they also have seen the vast changes in manufacturing in that quarter of a century.

So it wasn’t surprising that when we asked those experienced engineers what career advice they’d have for their peers, they suggested continuing to learn about the various aspects of the manufacturing business—and that includes about the business itself.

“Never stop learning new skills. Change never stops.”

“ Work hard at what you are good at, learn more about those things that you need to get better at, and be open-minded to getting assistance on those things outside of your specialty.”


WHAT WE THINK: The Challenges

Will implement this year9%

Yes47%

No27%

Don’t know17%

No plans to study14%

Plans to study9%

Don’t know how it would help operation4%

Asset management program presence

0% 20% 30%10%

Maintenace program

Management program

Safety program

40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Mature Developing Under way Non-existent

Program development


$0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $120,000 $140,000$100,000 $160,000

Oil, gas or re�ning

Chemicals, pharma or biotech

Metals and mining

Utilities

Transportation

Food, beverage, or tobacco

Commercial / agricultural machinery

Computers / electronics

Aerospace / defense

Fabricated metals

Plastics / rubber

Controls / instrumentation

Wood, pulp and paper

Appliances / electrical

Miscellaneous manufacturing

Average compensation by maunfacturing sector

Average base annual salary Average non-salary compensation




The respondents to the 2015 Plant Engineering Salary Survey are more optimistic about the future of manufacturing than ever before, but they also see some of the perils which lie ahead. We asked them to tell us what some of those key challenges will be in the near-term, and the responses ranged from the ones you’d expect (workforce shortages) to some you might not.

“ Aging workforce and retirements: (The) need of finding young workers with skills and/or the desire to learn.”

“ Experiencedcontrols engineers are not being replacedby middle-experiencedcontrols engineers because there is a severe shortage.”

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COVERSTORY

Technology makes new materials, new designs possible.

By Bob Vavra

Content Manager, Plant Engineering The age of 3D printing has gone main-stream. You can buy personal 3D printers at the end caps at Wal-Mart and Home Depot. In the two years since Plant Engineering reported on the coming proliferation of 3D

printing—or additive manufacturing, as it is more properly called—the technology is becoming more visible to a wider audience.

We’re not quite at a 3D printer on every engineer’s desk. Yet. But Lynn Gambill and her team are working on it.

“We are buying various desktop or tabletop versions to bring to the designers here,” said Gambill, the chief engineer for manufacturing engineering and global services at aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney. “They are in a lot of places. The cost of printers has gone down, making them available to so many different people. It’s a great visual aid in designing parts.”

Aerospace in general and Pratt & Whitney in particular have been on the cutting edge of additive manufacturing. The technology acceler-ated the transition from computer-aided design (CAD) drawings to manufacturing parts and gives designers a faster, cheaper way to puts new parts into production.

Gambill said the development of 3D CAD drawings already was a huge step forward. Additive manufacturing is one more giant leap. “Now a designer can create a 3D file and make a prototype part in short period of time,” she said. “You can do simple fit checks, and when you’re ready to interface with tooling, you also can make your tool.

“Parts can be made quickly, but they also can be made in a way that is very cost-effective for us,” said Gambill. “With additive, you can make parts and combine multiple details into the design. It’s certainly a benefit in terms of costs.”

On the leading edgeLocal Motors is a collaborative auto design shop on the cutting edge of the 3D revolution. The company, with operations in Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Knoxville, Tenn., brought its 3D expertise to IMTS 2014 in Chicago to print an entire car from front to back during the six days of the show. On the final day of the show, Local Motors CEO Jay Rogers and Association for Manufacturing Technology CEO Doug Woods drove the finished car out of McCormick Place.

3D:Adding to additive’s capabilities

Figure 1: The process of printing a complete car chassis at IMTS 2014 was accomplished in 44 hours. Courtesy: IMTS


The work leading up to that event highlights the leaps additive manufacturing is making. “There are a lot of kinks that have to be figured out,” said Justin Fishkin, chief strategy officer for Local Motors. “We didn’t even know we wanted to 3D print a car at the show. When we first started to print a large-scale unibody for the car, it took 180 hours. When we got to Chicago, it was down to 44 hours. That’s a huge efficiency.”

Additive manufacturing is one part of the way Local Motors is looking to expand its business as a custom car manufacturer. “We are on sort of the leading edge of the maturity of 3D. It’s at the beginning, but it has a long way to do. 3D is one tool one of tool set digital manufacturing.

We’re just scratching the surface. The tradi-tional manufacturing capabilities always will have their place. They always will need each

other. Things always will need to be welded. We’re just widening the tool set.”

While this is a time of great change in manu-facturing, that change is happening in steps. Just as 3D printing takes place layer by layer, so is the growth of the industry. For Local Motors, that means continuing to prove out the capabilities.

“Right now, our business is about economies of scope as opposed to economies of scale,” Fishkin said.

That’s the same strategy they’re using at Pratt & Whitney. The company is moving addi-tive manufacturing from the prototype stage to creating finished parts for its engines. On the journey to this next phase, the company has changed not only its manufacturing process, but also the parts themselves.

“We’ve been spending a lot of time training on design for additive manufacturing so we can try to learn what additive can and can’t do,” Gambill said. “It’s allowing designers to think about production without any of the prior manufacturing restrictions. You can make thin walls without having to worry about shape complexity. It gives designers a chance to imagine what the part might look like instead of what it historically has looked like. What you’ll start to see more and more—and not just in aerospace—is that the shapes of parts could look very different.”

Collaborative testingThe use of additive manufacturing at Pratt & Whitney extends beyond the part design to the material properties of the part itself. By combining various metal powders and new designs, the design team can fundamentally change the size, shape, and weight of engine parts. That can reduce cost, improve perfor-mance, and create lighter, stronger parts that will reduce fuel consumption.

“We’re now launching design teams for additive,” Gambill said. “When you design for additive manufacturing, you have the opportunity to take weight out of the part. It can drive the weight down rather substantially. If the engine weighs less, it uses less fuel. It all factors into the total cost of ownership.”

At Local Motors, the 3D printer has become integral to the design process. “One of the critical bottlenecks is that for a while, it’s

CoverStoryFigure 2: The use of rapid prototyping to help improve the manufacturing process is one of the ways Pratt & Whitney utilizes 3D printing. Courtesy: Pratt & Whitney


been designers and engineers working on same CAD model. Now they can communicate directly to the machine,” Fishkin said. “ It’s almost in real time, and we all can be work-ing on the same model. If we don’t like way something performs, we print and try again. We don’t have to retool.”

That system allows not just for ongoing tweaking of part design, but also to test sev-eral variations of plastics, alloys, and metals in different combinations in the same part design with just one pass of the 3D printer. The parts may all look the same, but their physical makeup can be different.

Strategic expansionThroughout the development of additive man-ufacturing, the technology has been seen as complementary to the traditional machine tool and computer numeric control (CNC) industry, and Gambill doesn’t see that changing. In fact, she said additive actually enhances the tooling process. “It’s not just about the parts them-selves. There’s the tooling aspect, and they go hand-in-hand,” she said. “It starts really with powders, the controls, everything working to produce a part in semi-finished shape. Then it goes to downstream processing. In an opera-tional environment, the goal is to have every-thing co-located and to create an operational value stream that is very effective.”

If the technology behind additive manufac-turing is just now reaching store shelves, the strategic use of additive to advance manufac-turing goals continues. “It’s not just a conver-sation about buying a piece of equipment,” Gambill said. “It’s about understanding what you’re able to achieve with material proper-ties, and to achieve the design properties you need for a gas turbine engine.”

The collaborative nature of what digital manufacturing can do is important to Local Motors. The company is working with educa-tional and government entities top help stay on the leading edge of research and technology around additive manufacturing. Fishkin sees a network of 100 microfactories all over the world, capable of producing 3D cars ready for the road, all printed off the same CAD drawing but deliverable anywhere there is a printer.

He also knows that network, and that world, is still some time away. It is coming, but layer by layer. “It’s going to be a long time before we’re printing critical parts for a car at home,” he said. “You’ll see people using it for fun stuff at home, and eventually we’ll be able to do more serious things.” PE

The Association for Manufacturing Technology has been on the leading edge of the additive manufacturing discussion. At its annual MFG Meeting on March 4-7, 2015, in Orlando, a panel of experts will continue the discussion about the near-term opportu-nities for additive manufacturing—focusing on emerging technolo-gies and new business models.

Among the speAkers Are: • Dr. Lonnie Love, Group Leader Automation, Robotics, and

Manufacturing, Oak Ridge National Laboratory: Dr. Love is the project lead for the Big Area Additive Manufacturing program at ORNL that is focusing on large-scale, high-speed polymer and metal additive manufacturing.

• Michael Siemer, founder, Mydea Technologies: A champion for rapid prototyping and tooling technologies while working in design and production at Walt Disney World Co., Siemer went on to found Mydea Technologies in 2004 to provide a 3D, Kinkos-like product development service with an emphasis on rapid prototyping, rapid tooling, and manufacturing.

• Rob Mudge, CEO of RPM: Mudge has co-founded three com-panies, including RPM & Associates, Inc., which is now recog-nized internationally as a leader in solving wear problems for heavy industry.

To register for the 2015 MFG Meeting, sponsored by AMT, the National Tooling and Machining Association (NMTA), and the Pre-cision Metalforming Association (PMA), go to www.themfgmeeting.com.

MFG Meeting to continueadditive manufacturing discussion

Figure 3: the next step in the use of additive manufacturing is to begin by designing products to take advantage of the unique manufacturing capabili-ties of 3D printing. Courtesy: pratt & Whitney

According to Gartner, the IT research and advisory company, the 3D printing market will reach $13.4 billion by 2018. Hershey’s recently unveiled a 3D chocolate candy printing exhibit at its Hershey, Pa., headquarters that allows visitors to print and purchase their own chocolate.

Two British teenagers created a wristband with a 3D printer that pauses and records live TV.

The 3D printing motto seems to be: “If you can dream it, you can build it.”

Yet, as big as the potential is for 3D printing in the consumer world, it’s also opened a whole new realm of design and manufacturing possibilities for commer-cial businesses. Literally, 3D printing has the ability to revolutionize manufacturing, as companies can use this innovative technology to quickly build full-size parts from a variety of materials without expensive machining processes.

Rather than being a costly, time-intensive process, product development can become a core strength and give manufacturers the ability to compete with others by more easily creating new things.

One of the most popular types of 3D printing is fuse deposit modeling (FDM). The FDM process uses a machine to put down droplet-sized beads of a resin material onto a support material that acts like a place-holder. The resin deposits are made from the bottom up, layer after layer, and they fuse together to slowly build the form of a cohesive 3D end product. Manufac-turers can digitally design intricate or complex products and produce them using 3D printing, eliminating the need for assembly.

Once the assembly is built, the mold support must be removed without damaging the actual designed part. The molds are water soluble, so dissolving one requires the proper detergent, time, and preferably some agitation to penetrate the solute as well as speed up the process. Ultrasonic cleaning naturally lends itself to effi-ciently and easily removing the support structure from 3D printed parts.

Ultrasonic cleaners use environmentally friendly, nontoxic and nonflammable, water-based cleaning soaps and ultrasound waves to produce millions of microscopic bubbles per sec-ond. Energy is released by the creation and col-lapse of these bubbles, called cavitation, and the resultant shock waves break up and methodi-

cally remove support material from 3D prototyped parts, one layer at a time. The more complicated the part, the more effective the ultrasound is at removing the support material from blind and threaded holes.

Technicians can remove support material in other ways, including by manually breaking or cutting away the structure by hand, hand scrubbing, or using a recirculating tank style washer. However, cutting the structure by hand is labor intensive and can take many hours. Jet washing complicated parts can take as long as 24 hours to clean and has the potential to cause damage to the parts.

The engineering capabilities of FDM combined with the speed and precision of ultrasonic cleaners makes rapid prototyping cost-effective and allows manufactur-ers to get their ideas to the marketplace faster than ever. PE

Frank Pedeflous is president of Omegasonics.


COVERSTORY

Ultrasonic cleaning facilitatesrapid prototyping

By Frank Pede� ous, Omegasonics

Figure 1: Ultrasonic cleaners use environmentally friendly, nontoxic and nonflammable, water-based cleaning soaps and ultrasound waves to break up and methodically remove support material from 3D prototyped parts, one layer at a time. Courtesy: Omegasonics

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MATERIALHANDLINGSOLUTIONS

As Premier Equipment Ltd. prepared to move into its new 55,000-sq-ft warehouse in Elmira, Ont., last year, it gave everyone a chance to take a

fresh look at how to improve operations.That included the parts crib, which man-

aged everything from a small O-ring to a large combine for the John Deere agricul-tural and landscaping distributor. “It gave us the chance to start fresh and do things the way we wanted to,” said Leon Brubacher, the parts lead at Premier. The Elmira loca-tion is the hub for 10 centers throughout the area, which serves an agricultural commu-nity growing corn, wheat, and soybeans as well as a thriving landscaping region about 75 miles west of Toronto.

One of the first decisions was to scrap the legacy bin system and replace the bins with drawers and cabinets to store all of the smaller parts. That allowed Premier not

just to better organize the space, but to do it in about two-thirds of the footprint of the previous location.

“We didn’t want to spend more on square footage than we needed,” said Brubacher. “We found the cabinet route was benefi-cial as we were consolidating into a smaller space.”

By going from smaller bins to deeper drawers and cabinets, they were able to reconfigure not just the space the parts were in, but also the aisles around the parts. “The main change was really that we had a lot more cabinets,” Brubacher said. “We pur-chased 56 cabinets and had the shelving on top of cabinets. The big gain was less aisles. All of our little parts had been in 12-in.-deep bins, and now they were in drawers that were about 30 in. deep. That meant a lot fewer aisles with deeper cabinets. It’s very neat and tidy, less walking.”

Planning is crucial for relocation, parts management upgradesReview inventory, assess space and customer needs before making changes.

By Bob Vavra

Content Manager, Plant Engineering

Figure 1: Moving from an open-bin warehous-ing system to a drawer system requires pre-planning and a look at existing organizational structures to see if improvements are pos-sible. All images cour-tesy: Vidmar


The logistics of the process is impor-tant, because Premier is both a parts dis-tribution and repair center. That means it has both internal and external customers looking for parts. “We have quite a bit of walk-in traffic as well as shipping out to customers,” said “Brubacher. “We also have various people picking for own ser-vice department. We just get a printout from our business system with the bin number and fill orders.”

The company had implemented a new back-end management system in January 2014, so workers had to learn both the new bin system and the new order system at the same time. “I’m glad it’s all behind us,” Brubacher said with a small laugh.

Planning is crucialOne key reason the process went relatively smoothly, Brubacher noted, was the emphasis on pre-planning. “We don’t have too many regrets after the move, but it took of plan-ning,” he said. “You’ve got to plan aisle widths, bin labeling. It’s easy to just push that out and worry about it later.”

And rather than wait for the move to switch from the bin system to the cabinets, Premier decided to start the moving process well before

the actual moving day. “A huge things for us, and we’re glad we did it this way, is that we set up all cabinets at the old location and then filled them before the move,” he said. “We actually filled all the bins with the parts at the old location. It was a tight squeeze for a while.

Figure 2: Another key to success is including barcoding and labeling on all drawers to ensure delivery of the proper parts, but also to assist in replenishing inventory.

“Tying the cabinet system into a back-end inventory management

and ordering system is part of that planning process as well.”

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We had to find room for our existing bins and then fill 56 cabinets. We worked three-quarters of the year having one to two people gradually fill cabinets. Then when moving day came, we just moved all the cabinets in an evening and we were ready to go the next day.

“We were filling orders in the old space, but we had all the new aisles laid out,” Brubacher said. “We had the new bin locations even in the old building. The guys learned the bin system and when we got into the new location, it was just in different physical spot.”

Know your inventoryAn emphasis on planning and understand-ing inventory levels is critical to the suc-cess of a project like Premier’s, said Brent Mitchell, the territory sales manager for Vidmar, which provided the drawers and organization for the Premier project.

“Before you begin, ideally you should have your inventory up to date,” said Mitch-ell. “If 30% to 40% of your inventory is obsolete, you’ve got to clear out the obsolete inventory prior to doing a survey to under-stand your inventory levels. You need to have a good handle on current inventory.” He noted that includes making sure which parts are obsolete. If 30% of motors are obsolete, for example, that’s a much dif-ferent inventory issue than 30% of screws being obsolete, and calls for a much differ-ent inventory system.

It also includes knowing what time of the year or what part of your manufacturing

KEY WORDS:At plantengineering.com, KEYWORD: INVENTORY MANAGEMENT you’ll find more

articles on this topic:IMPLEMENTING INVENTORY MANAGEMENT POLICY, PROCEDURES• Inventory management requires much more than just knowing the numbers.

Knowing the relevant formulae is the easy part. Successful inventory manage-ment, and the achievement of true inventory optimization, requires a focus on people, policies, procedures, and with that, behaviors. The requirement for improving the management of this interaction is even stronger in a maintenance environment where operations rely on the timely supply of spare parts to minimize the impact of equipment failure and provide efficient maintenance activities.

By Philip Slater

THE LONG ROAD TO MAINTENANCE PARTS, MANAGEMENT SUCCESS• When Dennis Marcucci arrived at Gonnella Frozen Products in 1997 to head the

company’s information system department, he already knew the company and its mission. He also knew that the breadmaker needed a fresh approach to its main-tenance inventory management system.

By Bob Vavra, CFE Media

A WELL-RUN STOREROOM PRESERVES CAPITAL, SAVES TIME AND MONEY• An inventory that doesn’t have the parts when needed is an indication that the

stocking levels are not adequate to support the maintenance requirements to per-form the needed repairs. Conducting an annual review of the item stocking level to evaluate the reorder point, minimum and maximum stocking levels, safety stock requirements, and annual item usage provides insight into future stocking require-ments to prevent item stock outs. Reviewing stocking levels and monitoring inven-tory usage reports also identifies obsolete and excess inventory that consumes inventory dollars and robs valuable space in the storeroom.

By Wally Wilson, Life Cycle Engineering

Figure 3: The resulting organizational improvements at Premier Equipment Ltd. included a smaller physical footprint for parts and easier access to materials.

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cycle you are measuring. “In the first part of survey, you really need to be to have a good handle on whether these are good inventory levels. If you look at an agricultural dealer like Premier, their inventory level in January is different than May or June.”

Tying the cabinet system into a back-end inventory management and ordering system is part of that planning process as well. “The beauty of what Premier Equipment

“ The first indication that a maintenance

repair and operations storeroom isn’t

run well is the response you get from the

maintenance technicians when you ask

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to make the needed repairs.’”Wally Wilson, Life Cycle Engineering

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plant engineering January/February 2015 • 47

did is to barcode cabinets prior to moving,” Mitchell said. “This way you have lots of time well in advance to sort out, organize, and assign bin locations. If you have proper pre-planning like Leon did, there’s no loss of productivity or any inconvenience to the service depart-ment or to customers requiring parts. You always know where everything is.”

Companies such as Vidmar are consultants as much as equipment providers in the inventory management space. “When I first meet a customer, before I even look at a storage solution, I want to understand his business,” Mitchell said. “Does he have a lot of walk-in trade? It’s important when you set up the storage cabinets that the high-volume parts are close to where the customers are.”

Mitchell noted that in manufacturing shops, the cus-tomer is the maintenance staff and manufacturing line worker. “With the tool crib, you want to have high-volume parts close to the issue area,” Mitchell said. “If fasten-ers are some of the main things maintenance needs, you want to have fastener cabinets as close to the issue area as possible.

“We do a lot of CNC machine shops with a lot of bench-ing and cabinet storage,” he added. “We specifically lay out the drawers for machines at the point of use. This system also helps with the 5S programs.” PE

The BoTTom Line:• Whether moving your parts crib from building to

building or from place to place, it’s important to plan your move and understand your inventory.

• Such a move is a good time to examine how parts are distributed to internal and external customers, and where new cabinets, drawers, and shelves should be located to ensure efficient distribution.

• A further efficiency is tying any back-end inven-tory management system into the new parts man-agement process.

“By going from smaller bins to deeper drawers and cabinets,

they were able to reconfigure not just the space the parts were in, but also the aisles

around the parts.”



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ELECTRICALSOLUTIONS

Workplace safety is everyone’s busi-ness, and most industrial compa-nies in North America have made safety a top priority over the past

few decades. Yet today accidents, injuries, and even death on the job do occur. In 2012, for example, more than 4,300 workplace fatali-ties were reported. Of these, 156 were caused by electrocution. From 1992 through 2010, an average of 268 workers died from electrocu-tion each year, and in 2009 there were 2,620 non-fatal injuries due to contact with electrical current.

It’s certainly good news that workplace inju-ries and fatalities are trending downward, but their numbers are still far too high. In addition to causing pain, suffering, and loss to victims and their families, as well as having a negative impact on other workers, accidents due to elec-trical safety code violations can have a nega-tive economic impact on employers, including significant financial penalties and high costs related to medical and disability expenses.

Industries with greatest riskAccording to the Electrical Safety Founda-tion International (ESFI), a high percent-age of accidental workplace fatalities from 2003 through 2010 occurred in the construc-tion, manufacturing, utility, transportation, agriculture, mining, and natural resources industries. What do all of these fields have in common? In most cases, workers perform

jobs in harsh and often wet or hazardous environments, both indoors and outdoors, and typically are involved in using high-powered electrical equipment.

Examples of some high-risk work environ-ments include:

• Oil and gas refineries, mines, and quarries• Water treatment plants• Power distribution plants and public and

private utility service and repair opera-tions

• Commercial construction and large trans-portation sites (roads, bridges, airports, etc.)

• Large, automated agricultural plants • Food, beverage, and chemical processing

facilities involving heavy machinery and frequent equipment washdowns

• Indoor and outdoor event sites such as sports stadiums, concert venues, conven-tion centers, and golf tournament and temporary festival setup areas.

In these settings, whether indoors or out, unprotected electrical connections exposed to moisture, metals, and harsh conditions can cause interruptions in power flow. Improper use of equipment can cause problems, rang-ing from nuisance tripping or short circuits to major malfunctions that pose significant risk of injury and death, such as fires and electrocution.

Deploying GFCIs in the real world

By Tony Quebbemann

Molex Inc.

Ground fault circuit interrupters can protect workers from the risk of electrical shock and injury in wet and hazardous settings.

“While arc flash awareness has been growing—as well it

should—the dangers of shock and electrocution should not

be overlooked. In fact, electrocution is the second-leading

cause of construction site fatalities in the U.S. In an average

eight-hour day, 16 workers require time off the job to

recover due to electrically induced injuries.”Reza Tajali, Schneider Electric


eLeCTRICALSOLUTIONSWhile large industrial operations face the

greatest level of risk, even smaller operations are not risk-free. Frequent incidents of elec-trical shocks and nuisance tripping are cause for concern even for smaller contractors who maintain teams of individual tradespeople, such as electricians, plumbers, and construc-tion workers, to build homes, small office buildings, and stores.

In addition to wet environments and improp-erly done electrical connections, another potential cause of electrical mishaps on the job is the workers themselves. It’s not uncom-mon for workers to decide to take dangerous shortcuts instead of following their employer’s mandated safety regulations.

Under time pressure, workers may justify overriding the rules (and their own better judg-ment) just to get the job done, or to get it done faster to avoid production downtime or delay-ing completion of the assigned task. This need for speed coupled with false confidence in one’s own expertise poses a potentially lethal risk—definitely not a risk worth taking.

Following the codes reduces riskAn important step toward creating safer work-places is to study and follow electrical safety codes such as those set forth in the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) National

Electrical Code. The NEC is an advisory set of guidelines published specifically to safeguard persons and property from electrical hazards.

Another key agency is OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). Many local authorities having jurisdiction have adopted NEC standards for safety and best practices, and industrial companies are bound by law to follow OSHA regulations.

Both NEC and OSHA concur that:• Electrical equipment must be free from haz-

ards likely to result in dangerous conditions, injuries, or fatalities.

• Worker protection must be provided in wet locations, and workers must be protected from live equipment.

• Workers must be protected from ground faults through the use of ground fault pro-tection.

A ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) is an electrical wiring device that disconnects a circuit whenever it detects that the electrical current is not balanced between the energized conductor and the return neutral conductor. Such an imbal-ance may indicate current leakage through the body of a person who is grounded and acciden-tally touching the energized part of the circuit, resulting in an electrical shock. GFCI devices are designed to disconnect quickly enough to prevent injury caused by such shocks.

GFCI devices can be placed on individual electrical power cords (in-line GFCI), or can be deployed systemically to protect an entire system from ground faults, nuisance tripping, and other hazards. For employers and workers alike, the advantage of adopting the systemic approach within a fixed plant or operation is the assurance of having “always on” worker protection in place.

To help them achieve this goal, both NEC and OSHA define proper electrical safety practices in detail, right down to the individual component level. The codes also spell out how employers can provide safety for their teams and assets when working at more temporary sites—such as building construction, tunnel repairs, or enter-tainment event setup.

Code-compliant GFCI componentsWhile it’s not practical to include all of NFPA’s NEC guidelines and OSHA regulations here, following is a snapshot of some key GFCI components and requirements as stated in the industrial standards.

CordsetsExtension cords used with portable electric

tools need to be 3-wire and rated hard or extra-

Harsh environments and plants requiring frequent wash-downs, such as the poultry processing operation shown here, can pose a high risk of electrical injury to workers. Adhering to NEC standards by installing in-line or system-wide GFCI protection can help ensure code compliance and worker safety. Courtesy: Molex Inc.

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ELECTRICALSOLUTIONS

hard usage cable. (The same standard applies to temporary and portable lights.) Recommended types include: Type S, SE, SEO, SEOO, SJ, SJE, SJEO, SJEOO, SJO, SJT, SJTOO, SO, SOO, ST, STO, STOO, EV, and EVJ.

These rugged cords are made with heavier gauge wire and are thicker and better insu-lated than light-duty cords designed for use in residential and office settings. Flimsy cords lying on a plant floor or in any damp or harsh environment can be crimped, bent, broken, or cut by heavy foot traffic or heavy rolling equipment.

To protect workers from accidental contact with live conductors, both NEC and OSHA require adequate strain relief for cables enter-ing junction boxes, cabinets, or fittings, and openings through which conductors enter must be effectively closed.

Finally, when choosing extension cords, remember that cord lengths should not exceed 100 ft. Excessive distance can trigger nui-sance tripping, and a worker may not even realize that the long cord is the source of the problem.

Outlet boxes/receptacles For wet or damp areas, it’s essential that

all equipment and wiring devices, including

single and duplex receptacles, be designated for use in wet locations, so that water can-not enter or accumulate inside. NEMA 4, 4X, 6, 6P, IP65, IP66, and IP67 are con-sidered to be “watertight.” Similar NEMA and IP standards also apply specifically to locations that are exposed to gases, fumes, vapors, liquids, or other agents which can have a deteriorating effect on conductors and equipment.

In duplex receptacles, outlets should be flip-lid protected, with an individual flip lid for each outlet. If both outlets are not pro-tected, moisture would be able to penetrate the unused (empty) outlet when the other one is being used.

Unless listed as portable, boxes must be rigidly supported from a structural member of the building and all box openings must be adequately closed to guard against accidental contact with live equipment.

In selecting code-compliant GFCI com-ponents for workplace safety, it’s important to choose products from a reliable source. Taking a “total GFCI system” approach and sourcing the components from a highly rated supplier can eliminate the complexity and ensure that all parts will be compatible. As you evaluate marketplace offerings, you will find that leading vendors now offer innova-tive components that not only meet OSHA and NEC standards, but also provide superior construction, performance, and reliability. PE

Tony Quebbemann is global product mar-keting manager for Molex Inc.’s line of wiring devices, grips, GFCI, and portable power.

KEY WORDS:At plantengineering.com, KEYWORD: ELECTRICAL SAFETY, you’ll find more

information on this topic:ELECTRICAL SAFETY FROM THE GROUND UP• The goal of any company’s workplace safety program is to enable workers to

be able to go home safely at the end of their day. Likewise, being mindful of electrical safety at home will help enable us to return to work the next day. Don’t overlook the importance of grounding; safeguard against electric shock at work and home.

By Reza Tajali, Schneider Electric Engineering Services

INTEGRATING ELECTRICAL SAFETY WITH DESIGN• Integrating maintenance requirements into the design of an electrical system

is an important first step to provide workplace safety. There are two elements that comprise maintenance tasks at a facility: technical expertise and safety considerations.

By Kenneth Mastrullo, MES Consulting Services Inc.

HOW SAFE ARE YOUR ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WORK PRACTICES?• Although it probably won’t come as a surprise to some, a lot of plant and con-

trols engineers are taking what appear to be risks in the workplace today. Many simply aren’t following workplace standards and regulations—in particular NFPA 70E (Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace; www.nfpa.org)—when it comes to working on energized electrical equipment. Everyone agrees the ramifications of ignoring safety practices when handling electricity can be lethal, but are the risks being taken really what they seem?

By Jeanine Katzel

THE BOTTOM LINE:• Unprotected electrical connections

exposed to moisture, metals, and harsh conditions can cause interruptions in power flow. Improper use of equipment can cause significant safety issues.

• A ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) disconnects a circuit whenever it detects that the electrical current is not balanced between the energized conductor and the return neutral conductor.

• In selecting code-compliant GFCI compo-nents for workplace safety, it’s important to choose products from a reliable source.


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MAINTENANCESOLUTIONS

Process manufacturers, power gen-erators, and other plants have many streams product moving through the production cycle. They can be chemi-

cals, oil, fuel, or something else. In any case, these products come in the plant in one form and leave in another with a higher value. But along with these product streams, certain information flows are just as important.

A process plant represents a highly com-plex set of physical components, activities, and interdependent information. Among these items of information, there are three funda-mental work streams. Defining these works streams is important as it allows identifica-

tion and mapping of the information feeding each one, thus allowing effective navigation of each stream. Two work streams are well known, with major systems available to address them:

1. Maintenance management and work order processing: Fueled by information that helps plan and execute preventive and reactive maintenance activities, this information includes equipment details, tag information, and repair procedures. Information is typically maintained in a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS).

Removing obstructions to your plant’s workflow streamsTackle moving plant information strategically acrossdepartments and locations.

By Joe Morray

EMC

Courtesy: Phoenix Contact


2. Plant operations and process control: These real-time control activities require a vast sea of data delivered by field devic-es to a plant’s digital control system. Once delivered, the control system uses this information along with plant opera-tor input to command other field devices to support efficient and safe operation.

But there is a third stream that plant person-nel use every day, called the plant information asset stream, which is often not recognized, yet it is as important as the other two steams. In many plants, it’s not considered separate from the first two, when it reality is should be to create the most effective plant operating environment.

3. Plant information asset: This third work stream depends on a great deal of sup-porting information as each activity needs operating information (specifications, drawings, schematics, etc.), management of change documentation, procedures, training materials, and regulatory/licens-ing documentation. The list could go on, but the common element is information, and it has to be accessibleand indexed so someone needing it can find it quickly.

Often, information for this third work stream ends up spread across numerous reposi-tories including servers, shared drives, USB sticks, CDs, paper, and all forms of personal computers. In many plants, there is no con-sistent or current view of data, and thus there are significant hindrances to plant efficiency, safety, and compliance.

This supporting information is not housed in a CMMS or a process control system, but instead needs its own repository, namely a plant document management system.

It’s got to be here somewhereThere are times when plant personnel have to hunt for information such as an old email, a website link, or a product manual. It’s frus-trating when this information is needed to execute a task and can’t be found. In the worst case, information needs to be located quickly to deal with an emergency, and its whereabouts are unknown.

Imagine you’ve had a chemical spill in your plant because a worker used an outdated pro-cedure that had not moved through the normal management-of-change (MOC) process. This happened because there was an obstruction in the third stream, causing a failure in your plant’s information asset management sys-tems.

What is the lesson learned over and over again from such situations? Having a con-solidated set of easily and quickly accessible electronic information flowing through the third work stream is critical. And this infor-mation does not come from the CMMS or process control system, but rather through a document management system.

Death, taxes, and regulationsLet’s look at a routine activity among ener-gy and engineering customers common to many industries governed by regulations. The Occupational Safety and Health Administra-tion (OSHA) MOC process instigates action regarding many sets of information and tasks. For virtually every activity performed in a plant dealing with safety related systems, one needs to propose, document, implement, verify, and update documentation—and then advise personnel in order to adhere to OSHA regulations and maintain a safe work environ-ment.

The requisite information to support the third work stream includes all those different kinds of data and documentation mentioned earlier, but it is often scattered across many

MAINTENANCESOLUTIONS

KEY WORDS:At plantengineering.com, KEYWORD: PROCESS ASSET, you’ll find more

information on this topic:USING HART WITH ASSET MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS• Implementing an asset management system that covers field instrumenta-

tion in a process plant environment requires some type of smart device platform. Since most modern field devices provide HART communication capability in addition to the analog process variable, plants may have to weigh approaches employing either traditional or integrated HART I/O as part of the decision to move to an instrument asset management system.

By John Yingst, Honeywell Process Solutions

RECOGNIZE THE TRUE VALUE OF ASSET MANAGEMENT• The measurement of overall asset value should be determined according

to the plant’s business strategy. If a plant operates within a production-focused mode, the asset-value metric should represent a production focus. Conversely, if the plant strategy is cost-focused, the asset value should be cost-based.

By Kevin F. Fitzgerald, P.E., Invensys Process Systems

FINDING THE HIDDEN VALUE IN ASSET HIERARCHY VALIDATION• No matter which CMMS system is used to capture the information, an accu-

rate system asset hierarchy is of paramount importance in today’s plant environment. As we examine the importance and significance of an asset hierarchy and the pitfalls of an asset hierarchy that is not current, it will become apparent that we are wasting both time and money if the hierarchy is not up to date.

By Paul Langan, Life Cycle Engineering


places and platforms, paper and digital. Find-ing something when it is needed most can be a challenge.

A real-life exampleHere’s a typical task process plants deal with on a regular basis: a valve is leaking and needs to be replaced. The CMMS alerts the maintenance supervisor to allocate repair time, and a contractor technician is called on-site to implement the repair. It all sounds routine, right?

Unfortunately, the technician has no access to electronic documents detailing the current valve configuration schematic and specifica-tion. all he has is an old hard copy of a repair manual. Current schematics for the plant are at a different location, too far away to transport to the work site on time.

Nonetheless, the work gets completed, and the CMMS documents an update was made. The job is done, right? Well, no. These use-ful and critical bits of procedural information never made it to the other work streams:

• The newer valve model has a slightly dif-ferent threshold pressure point than the former valve used in this service.

• The contractor technician learned, through trial and error, that two undocumented steps are required before the valve can be installed; otherwise, it won’t function properly.

• The change was never communicated to plant operators for review and sign-off, and no advisement or training was completed regarding the changed oper-ating procedure, all of which is typically required by OSHa.

Imagine the safety hazard of running an oil refinery with the wrong valve pressure point information, not to mention the potential regulatory fines and subsequent maintenance issues lurking in this scenario.

Plant operators thought they were main-taining the plant. They thought the CMMS was enough to guide their efforts. But it takes knowing what information is flowing through your organization and how it interacts with your critical work streams before safety can be improved.

and to re-emphasize an important point, it is critical to have a consolidated set of electronic information flowing through the third work stream to manage the plant information asset, and this is not the CMMS or process control system, but rather a document management system.

Managing the third work streamHow does a plant implement a document management system to create and control the third work stream?

It’s helpful to understand your plant’s posi-tion in the information maturity spectrum, and a good starting point is to evaluate your situation on four points:

1. Get your content under control2. Ensure optimal access to content3. Manage change with a structured

approach, and4. Coordinate information with other busi-

ness applications.

Regardless of your stage, make sure no category of information is hidden from those who need it for safe and successful plant operations. Most importantly, align your applications and systems to span all three work streams and their related information sets. This will happen naturally as your plant progresses from one stage to another, finally reaching a point where all needed information is quickly and easily accessible.

The main tool used to progress from one stage to another is a document management system, as this is where all content is stored, accessed, managed, and shared with other applications in the first two work streams, the CMMS and the plant’s control system. PE

Joe Morray is senior director of the world-wide energy and engineering practice at EMC Information Intelligence Group.

The BoTTom Line:• It’s important to identify the three funda-

mental work streams in a process plant environment—maintenance manage-ment and work order processing; plant operations and process control; and plant information asset.

• The plant operation’s asset stream often gets overlooked, but is of considerable importance because it consists almost entirely of disconnected pieces of infor-mation that need to be connected.

• The keys to managing this third work stream is content management and access for all people who need it, when they need it.

Global System Integrator Database Featured Integrators

Ken Hackler, VP of Operations11824 Market Place Ave.Baton Rouge, LA 70816Telephone: (225) 291-5548Fax: (225) 291-2052Email: [email protected]: www.champtechnology.comFounded: 2000Annual Revenue: $10-49 M

Steve Malyszko, President and CEO707 North Second Street Suite 650St. Louis, MO 63102Telephone: (314) 881-5410Fax: (314) 621-4774Email: [email protected]: www.malisko.comFounded: 1994Annual Revenue: $1–9 M

Champion Technology Services, Inc.

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Primary IndustriesChampion Technology Services, Inc. was founded in 2000 with a main focus in industrial automation and control systems integration, and has since expanded that focus to include wire-less communications and data management. Most automation projects include the design, fabrication, integration, installation, commissioning, and follow-up maintenance of control systems using the latest DCSs, PLCs, HMIs, and hybrid systems. Our telecommunication services include tower maintenance and path surveys. Champion has seven offices spread throughout Louisiana, Texas, Utah and Colorado and serves customers in the surrounding states and throughout the country. When it comes to technology, we’ve got it under control. For more info, please visit www.champtechnology.com Malisko Engineering specializes in manufacturing automation,

data, communications and security as well as Computer System Validation to meet regulatory compliance. Applications include batch and continuous; mixing/blending; recipe management; histo-rians; data analysis; downtime tracking, OEE; reporting; validation, 21 CFR Part 11. Malisko focuses on food and beverage, brewing, specialty chemicals, dairy, adult/infant nutritionals, pharmaceuti-cal and life sciences. Offices in St Louis MO, Denver CO and Eau Claire WI USA.

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AUTOMATIONSOLUTIONS

Most of us are already aware that over-all equipment effectiveness (OEE) measures the technical performance and capacity utilization of a manu-

facturing asset and hence allows us to judge the effectiveness with which an asset is being used, in order to add value to the business. It allows the analysis of all the sources of capacity losses, whatever their origin may be.

However, actually bringing about improve-ments can seem complicated. What are the real OEE drivers and levers, and how should they be implemented? This article outlines how, by taking an integrated approach to OEE and keeping things straightforward, you can use OEE to increase productivity and savings.

The Three-Pillar approachWhen discussing OEE improvements, most concentrate on the technical aspect, preferring to invest in plants and machines to create addi-tional value and minimize losses. Naturally, that can have a direct impact on OEE, but it is a very cost-driven approach and the necessary budget may not always be available. What most forget

is that there are two other key pillars of OEE that can and should be used to achieve shared goals, which include the proper management of structures, processes, and people.

Pillar One: The Techni-cal Aspect

Starting with the techni-cal aspect of OEE, having identified the levers that can improve the process flow/bottleneck to increase output—for example, machine configuration, metering, formulation, or correct batch size—it is

important to transfer them into a detailed over-all structured activity plan (OSAP).

The OSAP should include a breakdown struc-ture for the work packs and their activities, as well as cost, start and end dates, impact, imple-mentation progress, and responsibilities. Secure routines must be in place to update the plan and conduct continuous tracking of improvements. Start with the quick wins in terms of motivation.

The three pillars of OEE

By Jerry Wanichko

T.A. Cook Consultants Inc.



The OSAP must be treated as a living docu-ment and used to implement a problem-solving meeting routine where employees at all levels work together proactively to achieve regular, incremental improvements to the manufactur-ing process.

New, confirmed improvement measurements should be transferred into the overall techni-cal activity plan, while workshops should be set up to consider different functions (such as production manager, engineer, shift leader). These workshops must be highlighted by a preparation, execution, and follow-up phase.

For handling very specific problems, for example concerning Ishikawa, brainstorm-ing, or 5W, an initial training session on the necessary functions must be carried out.

Pillar Two: ProcessesOne of the major goals

of OEE programs is to reduce and/or eliminate what are known as the Six Big Losses: breakdowns, setup and adjustments, small stops, reduced speed, startup rejects, and production rejects. The most common causes of

efficiency loss in manufacturing. However, honest analysis is often lacking when it comes to OEE, meaning that results don’t always give a true picture of reality, and improve-ments are either disappointing or simply not implemented. If the full benefits of OEE are to be realized, it is absolutely essential that all processes are analyzed to identify areas for improvement and to put the necessary tools in place to achieve it.

Single Minute Exchange of Die (SMED)SMED is a system for reducing the time for

cleaning and changeovers, both of which must be analyzed to see whether they can be sim-plified or streamlined. Before optimizing the changeover routine, all possible improvements

must have been investigated by the people doing them. Standard times for cleanings and changeovers should then be defined by the shift leaders and be confirmed by the operator.

Employees need to have understood the influence of the cleaning and campaign changes on OEE in order for them to work in practice, so workflows need to be visualized in the form of an operating procedure and a standard provided to all stakeholders.

MaintenanceMaintenance can impact many of the value

drivers, such as the losses for breakdowns, and forms a key element of successful opera-tions needed to sustain asset performance. As a result, both the maintenance effectiveness and efficiency need to be challenged as they also influence reliability improvement. Without full maintenance integration the optimum OEE improvements will not be realized. Improving maintenance practices involves operations.

Operators need to know what to look for during their daily routines that will impact reliability. They need to submit these via the work order management (WOM) system to drive preventive maintenance that can be con-ducted during changeovers or breakdowns. A robust set of maintenance KPIs (7 to 12) will identify those areas within actual maintenance execution that require attention.

Visual Management and KPIsFor changes to be taken on board, people

need to understand exactly what is expected of them and what the changes are. Using white-boards as a communication tool to describe changes will help to prevent confusion and drive empowerment and accountability. The whiteboard should display the current state of all the production zones, equipment, and changeovers and what issues or work is ongo-ing in those zones.

The performance dialogue between employ-ees should then be supported by KPIs, which help them to assess goal attainment via plan/

AUTOMATIONSOLUTIONS

“ In the next few years, I predict that more and more manufacturers will come to fully realize the potential of OEE by closing the gap between OEE and other enterprise systems like ERP. The technology is already available to do this, but more manufacturing professionals need to be made aware of the importance and underlying potential presented by this fusion of depart-mental information.”

Ulf Stern, IFS AB


actual comparisons and the analysis of devia-tions to focus on doing the right things. By put-ting a strong focus on management by objec-tives, the whiteboard approach will improve shift performance and ensure team alignment with site and business strategy.

Effective MeetingsOptimize the existing meeting structure—

including shift meetings and shift hand over—as a steering tool. Meetings must be results driven and should always include capturing action items by accountable person and due date. The agenda for all existing meetings should be split, timed, and action-driven with dated deadlines. Meetings should demonstrate the right discipline, such as preparation and accuracy.

5 S 5 S focuses on effective workplace organi-

zation and standardized work procedures, by simplifying the work environment and reducing waste. Make sure all tools and supplies necessary for the changeover are in one place, with pinned or marked settings so that coarse adjustments are no longer necessary. If 5 S is not carried out properly, all other work will be restricted.

Pillar Three: Active Supervision

The integration of shop floor employees is essen-tial to installing OEE suc-cessfully and to making it sustainable. Workers must understand the philosophy behind OEE so that they can use the tools effec-tively.

Shift leaders should train and coach their teams systematically on how to reach the best line performance, while they themselves should be part of a program of behavioral change aimed at ensuring a standardized approach to shift man-agement and follow-up. Both managers and their teams should be completely clear as to what is expected of them and when, as well as how their performance will be measured.

The real benefit provided by OEE is the opportunity to create future growth without having to commit to huge capital investment. It is not just focused on technical issues though and requires full integration of systems and behaviors to be successful. Only when all staff—from management to the shop floor—commit to improvement across all levels of

the organization—from maintenance, opera-tions, and engineering to quality—can the real potential of OEE be unlocked. PE

Jerry Wanichko is director of U.S. consult-ing operations for T.A. Cook Consultants, Inc.

AUTOMATIONSOLUTIONS

KEY WORDS:Among the articles at plantengineering.com that discuss original equipment

effectiveness (OEE). KEYWORD: OEE

THREE TIPS FOR ACHIEVING OEE SUCCESS• OEE is built on the premise that total efficiency cannot be maximized by

running equipment at its top speed. There is a balance to be struck between speed and the conflicting need to control quality and limit downtime. Basi-cally, your plant or production line is built to produce at a certain theoretical maximum output. This output is reached only if you run the facility 24x7 at maximum speed, with no stops and no waste due to poor quality.

By Ulf Stern, IFS AB

THE OEE METRIC—THE RIGHT WAY TO USE IT• As the industry-by-industry numbers show, there is wide variation in OEE.

Much of this stems from the fact that very different equipment is used to manufacture a cell phone versus an aircraft or to make pharmaceuticals. Even within an industry the processes and equipment to make one product may vary significantly from those to make another.

By Dan Miklovic, LNS Research

DRIVING OEE: A STRATEGY FOR BUSINESS RESULTS• Central to efficient operation is achieving a high level of capacity utilization,

and plants must strive to make the best use of their existing capacity. Uti-lization levels, though, vary from plant to plant, and measuring the capac-ity utilization of a facility’s assets is a key performance indicator for plant managers.

By Stanley T. Grabill, CMRP, Honeywell Process Solutions

THE BOTTOM LINE:• While the value of OEE as an operational

metric is well understood, it can be com-plicated to actually implement changes that will improve OEE.

• Look beyond just the technical aspects of OEE to include processes and active supervision to create a three-pillar approach to OPEE improvement.

• All employees, from the corner office to the plant floor, must understand how OEE is measured, why it is an important met-ric, and why their commitment to improv-ing OEE is so important.


Being different is in the DNA of Smiths Machine, including the omission of the apostrophe from the company’s name. This second-generation, fam-

ily-owned business found a way to grow its workforce by 70 people during the last five years. That’s a 300% employment surge that mostly happened during the recession, a time when many machine shops (and for that mat-ter, many businesses), were struggling just to hang on.

Ahead of the recession, Smiths Machine did what many machine shops were doing at the time—it rode the wave of automo-tive parts production. Everything seemed to be fine until the bankruptcies of the Tier 1 automotive companies suddenly left many machine shops vulnerable to volume-based supply from overseas competition. What was once a well-oiled machine tool business model now seemed unstable and uncertain. Equally uncertain was the idea of moving the business in an entirely different direction.

A different approachDefense and aerospace part manufacturing require a different business approach alto-gether, said Tim Smith, vice president of Smiths Machine.

“It is specialized work that requires special approvals, log-down processes, and complicat-ed procedures,” Smith said. “The complexity is challenging. And it all starts with a differ-ent way of thinking, more of an engineering approach than a production approach.”

Smith says his company needed to build a new business model and the operations to sup-port it. The defense and aerospace machining market is characterized by small lot counts, generally lower margins, and a very low tol-erance for errors. Scrap rates thought to be nominal in the past would now be out of the question.

“You can’t make a $6,000 part and have a 30% scrap rate or even a 10% scrap rate,” said Smith. “The emphasis is not on throughput, but on the high-quality, highly precise manu-facturing of very complex parts.”

Based on these three inseparable machining requirements—quality, precision, and com-plexity—Smiths Machine set out to reach its greater potential in the machine tool market, not as a production machine shop, but as com-pany focused on complex part manufacturing. Having achieved some early success in this new direction, the way forward for the com-pany soon could be summed up more simply:

“The more complex the part, the more com-petitive we are,” said Smith.

To protect and grow this competi-tive advantage, the company’s leader-ship knew that their internal processes and technology needed to match up with the unique requirements of the defense and aerospace industries. Major investments in large, com-plex, five-axis machines would need to be enhanced by equally complex control capabilities. Smith recounts how a decision made previously by the company would now come into play in a profound way.

aUTOMaTIONSOLUTIONS

The five-year plan that worked

By Randy Pearson

Siemens Machine Tool Systems


Figure 1: Manufacturing complex parts for the aerospace and defense industry demands consistency, high-quality, and precision—achieved only with Siemens CNC. All images cour-tesy: Siemens Machine Tool Systems.


A backbone for changeTraditionally a milling and turning company, Smiths Machine first teamed up with DMG and Siemens in 2000 to establish a singular machine tool platform. This brought about a synergistic approach to complex milling and turning; an advantage that took on greater sig-nificance when the company decided to focus on the defense and aerospace markets later in the decade. The central advantage here, Smith said, has been the ability to invest, train, and keep his people moving forward based on a stable technology platform.

“The technology and the people using it are the backbone of our organization,” Smith said. “Even with 25 machines, we can share knowledge between the milling and the turn-ing machines. Our technology purchases are based on where we want to be in 10 years, not on a workforce that is fractionally trained and a platform that can rapidly deteriorate due to a change in market condition or a change in employment condition.”

Smith said an example of this kind of singular platform—in this case, a Siemens Sinumerik 840D sl—takes advantage of the control’s similarity across milling and turning operations. “All controls are customized to a certain extent,” Smith said. “When you train your operators, you can say, ‘Here’s the jog button, here’s the axes button, here’s your alarm button and your offset button.’ And this level of consistency extends to a graphical interface that really complements how we teach and learn.”

Smith said visually guided information flow is characteristic of today’s complex range of next-genera-tion electronic communications, because this speeds understand-ing and information sharing. Whether for a smartphone or a CNC, graphically guided inter-faces enable rapid learning and proficiency.

New angles on programming Gerhard Hetzler, engineering manager at Smiths Machine, has experienced first-hand how the company’s singular platform approach has brought continuity to such man-ufacturing functions as post, machine simu-lation, NC code, and control functionality. The control platform has also given Smiths Machine the freedom to create custom cycles that can be copied and shared from control-to-control, and so machine-to-machine.

“I’ll give you an example,” said Hetzler. “To catch occasional entry errors on the tool man-agement side, we created a cycle that checks

KEY WORDS:Among the articles at plantengineering.com that discuss CNC and machine

tooling. KEYWORD: MACHINE TOOLING

VIRTUAL REALITY APPLIED FOR PROGRAMMING CNC MACHINE TOOLS• There is an expanding trend toward more intuitive and easy-to-use control

systems for machine tools. Programming basic technological operations should be easy and intuitive enough not to cause difficulties for the average operator.

By Mirosław Pajor, Kamil Stateczny, Krzysztof Pietrusewicz, West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin, Poland

U.S. MANUFACTURERS CAN BENEFIT FROM GLOBAL MACHINETOOL MARKET GROWTH• There is an expanding trend toward more intuitive and easy-to-use control

systems for machine tools. Programming basic technological operations should be easy and intuitive enough not to cause difficulties for the average operator.

By Bob Vavra, Plant Engineering

Figure 2: Smiths Machine’s plan for stable growth started with its investment in a stable CNC platform: The steady progres-sion of a stable machine / con-trol platform has enabled the company’s similarly growing workforce to build on existing knowledge, rather than learn new and different versions every few years.

the length of the tool and within a specific tolerance. So within a matter of milliseconds, the control compares that value to what was entered in the tool management side, and if the tol-erance is exceeded by 2mm, the con-trol immediately stops the machine.”

S m i t h s a l s o uses the Siemens

NX software to integrate CAD, CAE, and CAM for faster part manufactur-ing, encompassing all areas of tooling, machining, and quality inspection. When the company found that it needed to write code to produce an especially challenging aerospace landing gear, it used the program to write the code in nine days rather than the customary six weeks, and with more accuracy.

“We would normally round off after the third or fourth decimal,” he recalled. “Now the control calculates to nine deci-mals. When you start talking microns, especially in the aerospace industry, it makes a huge difference.” PE

Randy Pearson is business manager for Siemens Machine Tool Systems.

aUTOMaTIONSOLUTIONS

The BOTTOM LINe:• In the midst of the economic down-

turn, Smiths Machines changed its business model from high-volume to high-quality machining.

• The company invested in not just five-axis machines, but a singular control platform for its operation.

• The single platform approach improved not just productivity, but also training and the ability to share information.

Figure 3: The Cycle 800 function within Siemens NX supports the pro-gramming of 2-1/2 axis and 3D milling throughout the rotation of all X-Y-Z planes, while maintaining a zero offset. Functions include automatic shifting of zero offset, tool length and radius compensation in rotated planes, compensation of machine geometry, and all machining cycles can be used.

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CFE Media’s Global System Integrator Database is an interactive community of global end-users and system integrators hosted by

Control Engineering, Plant Engineering, and our global partners in Asia and Europe. Through this database you will be able to connect with System Integrators

by searching their corporate profiles which highlight: industries served, engineering specialties, product experience, geography, and other pertinent data.

Find and connect with the most suitable service provider for your unique application.

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The voice of the engineering community speaks loud and clear in the following pages

featuring corporate profiles of those companies participating in this

innaugural Executive Voice program presented by Plant Engineering magazine.

Our thanks to the following participants:

Camfil APC

CBS ArcSafe

Fluke Corp.

Hochiki America Corp.

Parker Hannifin Transair

ProSoft Technology Inc.

Camfil APC offers the most technologically advanced dust,

fume and mist collectors available – backed by dependable service support and decades of experience. Our mission is to ship collectors fast while still giving the customer what they want; to be the most customer friendly company in the business; and to make the best collector in the business from an end-user and maintenance viewpoint.

We guarantee our collectors to meet EPA particle emission requirements. We are also a leader in explosion prevention, with a full range of technical services to analyze combustible dust problems and exclusive products to protect against dust collector explosions.

We are a subsidiary of Camfil, the largest air filter manufacturer in the world. All our components, including filter cartridges, are manufactured in ISO 9001 certified facilities. Last year we expanded our corporate headquarters facility in Jonesboro,

Arkansas as part of a global development program. In addition to manufacturing, sales and administrative functions, the Jonesboro plant houses a state-of- the-art test lab equipped to conduct a battery of bench tests on dust samples, as well as simulated full-scale testing. These scientific tests take the guesswork out of equipment selection to help identify the best dust collection equipment for the job.

In 2015, Camfil APC will support plant engineers in North America with new product lines and an expanded management team. We recently acquired Handte, a well- known German

manufacturer of dust collectors, oil and emulsion mist collectors, wet scrubbers and ancillary items that strategically complement our flagship line of Farr Gold Series® cartridge dust and fume collectors. This acquisition has greatly expanded the size of the company as well as the depth and breadth of product offerings to ensure a clean workplace.

In 2015, Camfil APC will support plant engineers

in North America with new product lines

and an expanded management team.

To handle this growth, we have assembled a new management team made up of the following individuals: • Tomm Frungillo, vice president, Camfil APC Americas; • John Dauber, Handte product manager for the Americas; • Matt Caulfield, director of sales – USA/Canada; • Rick Kreczmer, director – aftermarket sales and corporate training; and • Greg Schreier, director – OEM accounts/metal and thermal spray market manager. With several decades of combined industry experience, this team is well poised to provide plant engineers with dust collection and explosion prevention solutions.

Tomm Frungillo

Vice president, Camfil APC

Americas

Camfil APC corporate headquartersJonesboro, Arkansas

[email protected] • 1-800-479-6801www.camfilapc.com

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In the last few decades, industrial troubleshooting and maintenance

technologies and practices have evolved from mostly reactive, to more preventive and predictive. In some cases Fluke tools helped to shape that evolution; in others our tools were shaped by it.

The fundamental business goals continue to be increasing operational efficiency and reducing costs. However, downsizing and an approaching retirement bubble of experienced workers have introduced a new challenge: a shortage of skilled workers.

Fluke understands these challenges because we face them ourselves. That’s why we engineer our tools to be easy to use so that they can increase the efficiency of expert technicians, and reduce the cost of training junior workers. Our 1730 Three-phase Energy Logger is a prime example. It’s easy to set up and easy to read so you don’t have to be a power quality expert to use it.

The 1730 tracks energy the same way the utility does, so you can see how and when you’re using energy and map the results to plant operations. That allows you to determine how to schedule certain operations to get lower utility rates.

As infrared cameras become easier and easier to use and to afford, they are becoming standard testing equipment for preventive and predictive maintenance, electromechanical troubleshooting, and process monitoring. Case in point, the Fluke Ti125 infrared camera. The 125 provides the thermal sensitivity and resolution to identify all kinds of problems along with time-saving features such as AutoBlend™ mode, automatic focus, and Fluke Connect compatibility to increase efficiency.

Speaking of Fluke Connect, frontline mechanics and technicians use the Fluke 805 FC Vibration Meter to detect excess vibration that can point to internal motor problems before they cause damage.

They can automatically save those readings wirelessly to Fluke Connect cloud storage, so that authorized team members can access them any time with the Fluke Connect app on their smart phone.

Fluke Connect is a huge advantage for lean maintenance teams. It provides all authorized team members with access to the same up-to-date information, which can shorten inspection time, help in skill building, and expedite work order approval.

With all of these tools, the proof is in the productivity, so that workers at all experience levels can work smarter and faster.

Salvatore Parlatore

Global VP/GM, Software &

WW Marketing,Fluke

Corporation

Fluke Corporation is headquartered in Everett, Washington.

[email protected] • 1-800-443-5853www.fluke.com

“Fluke Connect is a huge advantage for lean maintenance teams.”

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For high-quality, cost-effective, innovative fire alarm systems and

equipment, Hochiki America is your complete solution. Hochiki is a world-leader in the fire alarm industry, with unparalleled quality, service, and support.

Large-scale projects? FireNET™ analog-addressable system provides up to 4 SLC loops and up to 64 panels which may be networked together, with a potential of more than 65,000 devices! Voice Evacuation is easily integrated using Hochiki’s 6-channel distributed VoiceNET™ system. A full line of accessories includes initiating devices, notification appliances and annunciators.

Medium to smaller projects? FireNET™ Plus analog-addressable system is expandable to 2 SLC loops, with the same powerful networking capability as FireNET™. Powerful, flexible features include integrated DACT, built-in NAC synchronization, auto-learn feature, and 500 zones.

The FireNET™ and FireNET™ Plus control panels are complemented by a full array of Hochiki analog sensors and modules, including smoke and heat sensors, duct sensors, multi-criteria sensors, input and output modules. Stable, reliable performance is guaranteed by Hochiki’s patented, noise-immune Digital Communication Protocol (DCP).

Conventional fire alarm solution? The HCA-series conventional system is available in 2, 4, and 8 zone versions. A complete line of conventional detectors is available, along with notification appliances and other accessories.

Heard about FireNET Xtinguish™? This UL Listed, environmentally-friendly aerosol extinguishes fire by breaking the chemical chain reaction of the fire. Quick design,

easy installation, and minimal main-tenance are ideal for total-flooding extinguishing applications.

Early warning? FireNet Vapor® provides highly reliable, very early warning smoke detection at the earliest presence of fire, while reducing the recurrence of nuisance alarms. FireNet Vapor® actively samples the air for the smallest particles of smoke to detect fire at the earliest stage. FireNet Vapor® can also provide reliable detection in a wide range of environments – coal mines, clean rooms, data centers, airports, prison cells, etc.

Corporate Headquarters, Buena Park, CA

(714) 522-2246 • [email protected]

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President and CEO Hisham Harake is a driving force behind Hochiki’s dedication to quality and innovation.

Hochiki is a world-leader in the fire alarm industry, with unparalleled quality, service, and support.

For years, Parker Hannifin has provided end users with

innovative solutions across multiple industries. Being the world’s leading diversified manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems, Parker has provided precision-engineered solutions for a wide variety of mobile, industrial and aerospace markets.

Now, Parker’s Fluid System Connectors Division is bringing customers the next evolution in compressed air piping with our new SCOUT™ Technology, which allows end users to monitor their compressed air piping systems and keep productivity flowing. SCOUT utilizes sophisticated wireless sensor technology to monitor a compressed air piping system, alert the end user to system changes, and provide critical data that helps to reduce downtime and increase productivity. With its user-friendly interface, users can easily view and analyze data to ensure the system is running at optimum levels for pressure, power, temperature, humidity, and flow.

Monitoring this information allows users to identify and address perfor-mance issues before they potentially damage expensive equipment.

SCOUT can also help to keep overall costs down by avoiding unnecessary downtime and prolong-ing the life of job-critical equipment. Being able to accurately monitor this

data is critical because compressed air systems are very complex and tend to grow over time. Our state-of-the-art wireless solution enables end users to monitor their compressed air system 24 hours a day through a Web-based

dashboard. By providing an in-depth analysis of that data, users can keep up with energy costs, which usually make up 85% of a compressed air system’s total costs.

The new SCOUT technology augments Parker’s already widely popular Transair aluminum piping system. Known for its high performance and effective use in a wide range of industries, Transair’s guaranteed leak-free components and ‘full bore’ design make it ideal for use with compressed air, vacuum and

inert gas systems. Designed to be resistant to corrosion, Transair ensures a long life of providing consistently clean, quality air.

With Transair’s lightweight components and quick-connect interlocking design, labor accounts for just 20% of overall installation costs, saving end users money right out of the gate. Pairing a Transair system with SCOUT will further a company’s savings by helping to increase efficiency, reduce pressure drops and eliminate leaks, thus reducing a plant’s overall energy costs.

Kyri McDonough

Transair Marketing Services Manager,

Parker Hannifin

Parker Hannifin Corporate Headquarters located in Cleveland, Ohio

www.parker.com/transairTel: 480-830-7764www.parker.com

“Being the world’s leading diversified manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems, Parker has provided precision-engineered solutions for a wide variety of mobile, industrial and aerospace markets.”

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Ken Roslan Vice President of

Global Marketing at ProSoft Technology

http://psft.com/A0I661-716-5100www.prosoft-technology.com

When you can no longer purchase replacement

parts for your control system, you are faced with having to upgrade. That means not only having to buy new equipment but also scheduling downtime to install it. For many businesses, that can be VERY expensive. ProSoft can help. We have gateways that will allow you to migrate that legacy equipment to either ControlLogix® or CompactLogix™. And here’s the best part…you don’t have to worry about scheduling extended downtime because these migration gateways allow you to build and verify your new ControlLogix or CompactLogix system BEFORE switching over.

You can also upgrade Allen-Bradley® Remote I/O™ drives or PanelViews™ to EtherNet/IP™ PowerFlex® drives or PanelView Plus 6 terminals without modifying your PLC code.

With ProSoft Technology’s new innovative Industrial Media Converters, you can now run Remote I/O and EtherNet/IP simultaneously over your existing Belden® 9463 Blue Hose® cable.

Yes, you read that right… SIMULTANEOUSLY! This new patented technology allows you to upgrade your legacy Allen-Bradley Remote I/O in phases, eliminating the extended downtime required to upgrade your system because you can schedule your downtime to replace one or multiple nodes at a time. And, you’ll notice that when you upgrade one of your Remote I/O racks, you have just created spares. If that tight knot in your stomach has not eased yet at the thought of having to upgrade, call ProSoft. We’ll walk you through how to take the fear and pain out of upgrading.

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ProSoft Technology offers migration gateways.

Ashley McWhorterPresident, CBS ArcSafe

[email protected]

As the electrical industry’s leader for remote racking

and remote switching solutions, we at CBS ArcSafe® are proud to provide our customers with the highest-quality remote operation equipment available. Our extensive line of arc-flash mitigation equipment hasn’t just made arc-flash injuries avoidable in today’s workplace—it has made them unacceptable.

CBS ArcSafe’s entire offering of remote racking solutions reduces the need for a full-body arc-flash hazard suit by moving technicians outside of the arc-flash boundary while racking low- and medium-voltage circuit breakers without requiring any modification to the existing equipment. Additionally, all our universal remote racking

systems are fully customizable to fit within every budget based on customers’ individual needs or requirements. With 125-plus applications developed for use with our universal systems, along with many options including remote video feed, motorized height adjustment, and wireless operation from up to 300 feet away, our universal remote rack-ing systems provide a complete solution for all breakers at a customer’s facility to improve safety and increase productivity.

Our universal systems not only can rack the standard jack-screw rotary style breakers but also systems capable of racking any breaker or motor control center (MCC) bucket with a non-rotary racking operation. Our universal systems accommodate different types of circuit breakers or MCC buckets that otherwise would have to be manually racked in and out.

CBS ArcSafe also provides the industry’s largest selection of remote switching equipment. Our remote switch actuators (RSAs) remotely charge, close, and/or trip virtually any style or piece of electrical equipment without having to make any modifications. When used in conjunction with the applicable remote switch operator (RSO), these systems can replace all

manual contact with equipment. We’re committed to providing our customers with the latest technology and equipment to elimi-nate electrical hazards.

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CBS ArcSafe headquarters, Denton, TX

pe201501_cbcArc_execVhalf.indd 1 1/20/2015 1:49:12 PM

72 • January/February 2015 PLANT ENGINEERING72

MEDIA SHOWCASE FOR ENGINEERS

Input #100 at plantengineering.hotims.com Input #101 at plantengineering.hotims.com Input #102 at plantengineering.hotims.com

Input #103 at plantengineering.hotims.com Input #104 at plantengineering.hotims.com Input #105 at plantengineering.hotims.com

Your place for new products, literature, Apps, Videos, Case Studies and White Papers.

Protects from live partsSimplies NFPA 70E compliance

meltric.com 800.433.7642

SAFETY SHUTTER(on receptacle)

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www.us.kaeser.com • 866-516-6888

The US Department of Energy estimates that 25% of compressed air is lost to leaks—and it’s higher in many plants.

Kaeser’s compressed air leak detection and repair program is a smart solution for facilities ready to stop wasting air and start lowering energy costs.

Reducing leaks can:• Provide more stable system pressure

and better functioning equipment• Increase service life and decrease

maintenance requirements• Offer additional capacity for growth• Lower carbon footprints• Increased profi ts

All Plants Have Air Leaks

Want to receive your Plant Engineering

magazine as a

digital publication?

Update your subscription, and get our digital edition, on a more interactive and

user-friendly platform, in your email in-box.

Update now at:www.plantengineering.com

ple2014_digitlEditn_6th.indd 1 2/24/2014 11:52:49 AM


Send new product releases to: [email protected]

Energy efficient doorwaysThe energy efficient spiral door maximizes traf-fic flow, while minimizing energy loss through the doorway, particularly on exterior walls. If the doorway is used frequently as in many distribution or industrial operations, the high-speed doors can be more effective at saving energy than doors with heavily insulated panels. The door’s high-speed operation minimizes air exchange and the roll up aluminum slats have a durable rubber membrane covering their connecting hinges to contain heat-ing/cooling energy to prevent air infiltration. The intelligent processor and variable frequency drive of the door controller generate an energy-efficient speed curve for smooth motion, soft starting and soft stopping.Rytec

www.rytecdoors.comInput #202 at www.plantengineering.com/information

Photoelectric sensorThe DeltaPac MultiTask photoelectric sensor counts, detects, and differentiates between successive packaging items on conveyor belts. It is a preconfigured sensor with a sensing range from 30 to 40 mm to the front edge of the object. It is able to detect up to 200,000 packages per hour. It can be used for controlling packaging, triggering downstream processes, and ensuring package quality. The IP67-rated DeltaPac optimizes product flow and reduces the amount of hardware in packaging applications. This in turn reduces downtime and product damage caused by colli-sions. DeltaPac detects corners, folds, and grooves regardless of object color, size, surface, or background.

SICKwww.sickusa.com Input #200 at www.plantengineering.com/information

Temperature sensorsand thermocouples

TS500 resistance thermometers and thermocouples are designed for universal use in the process industries. They have a modular design with a wide range of sizes, materi-als, sensors, and transmitters. The TS500 thermometers and thermocouples are suitable for the chemical, oil and

gas, and power industries. The user can use a wide range of process con-nections, con-nection heads, sensor types, transmitters, and displays to configure indi-vidual solutions for a process. The TS500 family supports

Hart, Profibus PA, and Foundation Fieldbus communication standards, and can be integrated into the operating tools of process control systems.

Siemenswww.siemens.com Input #201 at www.plantengineering.com/information


Venturi cartridge seriesThe RTM venturi cartridge series is designed for the packaging industry. RTM cartridges replace failed or clogged multi-stage pumps to maximize productivity and minimize downtime. The single-stage cartridges allow dirt, dust, and debris to pass through the pump without clogging. RTM cartridges thread directly into existing multi-stage vacuum pumps and vacuum grippers, generating high internal velocities that carry dirt through and out of the pump. Multi-stage pumps operate using flap valves that clog from ingested debris. The RTM Series are manufactured in 11 different perfor-mance levels.

Vacconwww.vaccon.comInput #205 at www.plantengineering.com/information

INNOVATIONS

Spherical roller

bearingsThe spherical roller bear-ings feature two rows of patented self-guiding rollers with a com-mon sphered raceway in the outer ring and an optimized internal design. These features are designed to reduce friction, minimize heat generation, accommo-date shaft misalignments

and heavy loads, and contribute to longer bearing life. The CARB toroidal types are self-aligning radial bearings merging the benefits of standard locating/nonlocating bearing systems typically found in continuous caster applications. They are designed to accommodate mis-alignment and supplied as full complement bearings to take advantage of their increased load rating.

SKFwww.skf.com Input #204 at www.plantengineering.com/information

Rod-styleliner actuator series The FT45 model universal electric rod-style linear actuator series has continuous force rating to 40,000 lbf (178 kN), speed to 60 in/sec, and stroke lengths from 6 in. to 8 ft. The FT45 Series can be applied across a wide range of lin-ear motion applications and used alternatively for hydraulic cylinders. FT45 has a continuous force rating of 10,000 lbf, filling the gap between the FT35 and FT60 models. The

FT45 features meet the IP65 environmental protection standard on all mounting configurations. Its grease zerk fitting allows regreasing of the nut assembly without having to disassemble the unit.

Curtiss-Wright Corporationwww.curtisswright.comInput #203 at www.plantengineering.com/information


Free chlorine sensors Sensorex’s FCL series free chlorine sensors use amperometric measurement technology for monitoring free chlorine in process applications. FCL sensors can be used in drinking water disinfection and distribution applications. They are compliant with EPA method 334.0 for measuring drinking water or cool-ing tower water. Three models are available covering the 0 to 2, 0 to 5, and 0 to 10 ppm ranges. The integral 4 to 20mA isolated signal output eliminates ground loop errors, reduces noise, and blocks high voltage transient surges. FCL Series sensors interface directly with PLC, SCADA, and other process control systems via the standard 4 to 20mA output.

Sensorexwww.sensorex.comInput #207 at www.plantengineering.com/information

Biodegradable fuel additive The VpCI-705 is a biobased, biodegradable fuel additive to biofuels, produced using renewable and sustainable raw materials. This product serves as a corrosion inhibitor, fuel stabilizer, and water emulsifier for biodiesel, diesel, gasoline, gasohol mixtures, and other biofuels. It provides multiphase corrosion protection, lubricity, and elastomer protection for all of the common engineering metals used in automotive fuel systems, including tin-plated and galvanized steel, cast iron, aluminum, copper base alloys, solder, zinc, and die cast alloys. It does not contain trace metals, chlorides, chromates, nitrites, or phosphates. It absorbs water in tanks and fuel lines and can be fogged into fuel tanks. It provides stabil-ity and reduces the buildup of static charges that cause explosions.

Cortecwww.cortecvci.comInput #208 at www.plantengineering.com/information

Locking IEC power cordsL-com Global Connectivity’s locking IEC power cords can be used in power connectivity applications where vibration and other conditions may cause a power cord to become disconnected. Four different series of locking power cords are available: locking C13 to N5-15 power cords, locking hospital grade C13 to N5-15 power cords, C13 to C14 universal jumper/extension cords, and locking C13 to international plug power cords. These locking power cords are suitable for data center, medical, and other ac power applications where vibration or physical contact is present.

L-com Global Connectivitywww.l-com.comInput #206 at www.plantengineering.com/information



Mass flow meters Backlit color display is added to recharge-able portable gas mass flow meter options. The handheld meters offer laboratory-class +/-0.8% reading accuracy for field flow

verification and valida-tion. The backlit color display provides six hours of continuous operation for flow veri-fication in applications such as ambient air monitoring inside air station enclosures, and any other low-light set-ting in environmental, manufacturing, and metrology industries. These flow meters pro-vide fast flow validation with multi-parameter measurement, wide operating ranges, and multiple true gas cali-brations. The integrated

utility allows up to 20 personalized gas compositions to be quickly programmed and stored directly on the device.

Alicat Scientificwww.alicat.comInput #210 at www.plantengineering.com/information

Pipe wrap repair systemThe SuperWrap II wrapping system comprises a cold curing fluid-grade epoxy resin and a hybrid reinforcement sheet consisting of glass fiber and carbon fibers, which have been woven together to give an optimized balance of strength and

flexibility. It is available with two different resin grades. The main difference between these resin grades is the end service tem-perature and working life of the resin. One has been developed for cool ambient temperatures above 5 C and has a maximum service temperature of up to 60 C, while the other one has been designed for warm ambient temperatures above 20 C and has a maximum service temperature of up to 80 C.

Belzonawww.belzona.comInput #211 at www.plantengineering.com/information


Valve interlocks Eagle series valve interlocking products provide process safety control in hydrogen cooled generator purging operations. These trapped key valve interlocking systems ensure a predetermined sequence of operation for startup and maintenance on generators in power stations, refin-eries, chemical plants, and other industrial applications. Eagle series valve interlocks integrate with its mechani-cal and electromechanical trapped key interlock series to form a comprehensive process safety scheme. Purging generator rotating systems with hydrogen reduces drag and windage loss in the system. KIRKwww.kirkkey.comInput #209 at www.plantengineering.com/information

PRODUCTMART

PLANT ENGINEERING January/February 2015 • 77

Input #100 at plantengineering.hotims.com




2672 S . La C ienega B l vd . Lo s Ange le s , C A 90034 USA(800) 336 -1942 (310) 839 -2828 Fax : (310) 839 -6878

www. t ek leen . com i n f o@tek leen . com

Scale formation reduces the heat transfer rate and increases the water pressure drop through the heat exchanger and pipes. In fact, one study has shown that .002" fouling will increase pumping needs by 20%.

The Best Engineered Water Filtering Solution Always Costs Less

Why Should You Filter Your Water?

3.5" wide x 4.5" high

Pantone 382c

OIL MIST & SMOKEIN YOUR SHOP?

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On a quarterly basis, Plant Engineering conducts research studies on the various topics as they pertain to the manufacturing industries. Studies include—

• Energy Management

• Workforce Development

• Safety

• Maintenance

Download Plant Engineering Editorial Research Studies:www.plantengineering.com/media-library/research

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For more information on how to advertise in Plant EnginEEring’s Internet Connection, call Jim Langhenry at 630-571-4070 x2203

January/February 2015

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aitkenproducts.comAitken Products manufacturers and distributes high-qual-ity industrial heaters. Aitken’s products are for a variety of industrial applications and are available when needed.

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alltestpro.comALL-TEST Pro produces electric motor and winding test-ing equipment that can provide proactive offline and online motor tests.

ALL-TEST Pro LLC

automationdirect.comAutomationDirect offers 6,500+ industrial automation products through their free catalog and online store, including PLCs, operator interfaces, sensors, and more.

AutomationDirect

avotraining.comFor almost 50 years, AVO has been helping organizations create safe and reliable electrical systems.

AVO Training Institute

baldor.comBaldor Electric designs, manufacturers, and markets a broad line of industrial energy-efficient electric motors, mechanical power transmission products, and more.

Baldor Electric Co.

brushart.comA full-service integrated agency and custom publishing firm serving a broad range of B-to-B and B-to-C clientele.

Brush Art Corp.

camfilfarr.comCamfil Farr is the world’s largest and leading manufacturer of filters and clean air solutions.

Camfil Farr

distanceissafety.comCBS ArcSafe remote racking systems increase safety. Rack low- and medium-voltage draw-out circuit break-ers while standing outside the arc-flash hazard protection boundary.

CBS ArcSafe Inc.

donaldson.comCompressed air purifications solutions, compressed air filters, dryers and process water chillers.

Donaldson Company Inc.

erectastep.comModular work platforms and aluminum stairs pre-engi-neered for unlimited configurations. Platforms and metal steps bolts together with no fabrication required and are easily repurposeable.

ErectaStep

exair.comExair’s product line includes Vortex Tubes and products utilizing Vortex Tubes, Air Amplifiers, Air Knives, air-oper-ated vacuums and ionizing products for static elimination.

Exair Corp.

flexicon.comFlexicon designs and manufactures bulk handling equip-ment and custom-engineered and integrated plant-wide systems.

Flexicon Corp.

fluke.comFluke is the world leader in the manufacture, distribution, and service of electronic test tools and software.

Fluke Corp.

geindustrial.comIndustrial Solutions has the reliable parts and services you need. Visit our web site today. GE has thousands of quality electrical parts that you can count on.

GE Energy – Industrial Solutions

gtispindle.comGTI Spindle Technology provides the highest quality and most extensive range of machine tool spindle repair ser-vices.

GTI Spindle Technology

us.kaeser.comManufacturer of air system products, including rotary screw compressors, portable compressors, rotary lobe blowers, vacuum packages, refrigerated and desiccant dryers, filters, and condensate management systems.

Kaeser Compressors Inc.

keysight.comKeysight Technologies is an electronic measurement com-pany that offers wireless, modular, and software solutions.

Keysight Technologies Inc.

lubriplate.comLubriplate manufactures more than 200 high quality lubri-cants, including high performance synthetic lubricants and NSF-H1 lubricants for food processing and beverage.

Lubriplate Lubricants Co.

mhia.orgMHIA is the leading non-profit trade association represent-ing the U.S. material handling and logistics industry.

Material Handling Industry of America

oeo.comOEO’s mission is to deliver cost effective energy solutions to businesses and institutions.

OEO Energy Solutions

orival.comOrival is a leading manufacturer of self-cleaning water filters, automatic water filters and strainers, for use as industrial water filters, irrigation filters, cooling tower fil-ters, and more.

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parker.comParker Hannifin is the world’s leading diversified manu-facturer of motion and control technologies and systems, providing precision-engineered solutions for a wide variety of commercial, mobile, industrial and aerospace markets.

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ridgid.comEvery tool that bears the RIDGID brand is engineered to the same high standards of quality, strength, and endur-ance as was the first heavy-duty pipe wrench.

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rogers-machinery.comManufacturer of rotary screw and reciprocating air com-pressors, fixed and variable speed drives, rotary and cen-trifugal compressors, blowers, and vacuum systems.

Rogers Machinery

seweurodrive.comOne of the largest global suppliers of drive technology, SEW-EURODRIVE specializes in gear reducers, motors and electronic motor controls.

SEW-EURODRIVE USA

skf.comSKF is a leading global technology provider for bearings and units, seals, mechatronics, services, and lubrication industries.

SKF Conditioning Monitoring

stanleyproto.comStanley Proto offers high-quality hand tools developed according to strict ergonomic standards, with features that lets users work faster and easier, including enhanced shock absorption and reduced slip.

Stanley Proto

sullair.comSullair is a designer and manufacturer of stationary and portable rotary screw air compressors, air treatment equipment, and pneumatic tools.

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uesystems.comManufactures portable and continuous ultrasonic instru-ments for leak detection, mechanical analysis and electri-cal inspection.

UE Systems

vac-u-max.comVAC-U-MAX specializes in design and manufacture of pneumatic systems and support equipment for conveying, weighing and batching of dry materials.

VAC-U-MAX

yaskawa.comYaskawa is the world’s largest manufacturer of ac inverter drives, servo and motion control, and robotics automation systems.

Yaskawa America Inc.


PLANT ENGINEERING does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in the Advertiser contacts regardless of whether such errors result from negligence, accident, or any other cause whatsoever.

Need More Info? FAX this page to: 630-214-4504or mail to PLANT ENGINEERING magazine, 1111 West 22nd Street, Suite 250, Oakbrook, IL 60523

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CONTACTSAdvertiser Contacts for plant engineers

Request more information about products and advertisers in this issue by using the http://plantengineering.hotims.com link and reader service number located near each. If you’re reading the digital edition, the link will be live. When you contact a company directly, please let them know you read about them in Plant Engineering.

Aitken Products, Inc 12 8 � 800-569-9341 www.aitkenproducts.com

ALL-TEST Pro, LLC 14 10 � 860-399-4222 www.alltestpro.com

AutomationDirect C-2 1 � 800-633-0405 www.automationdirect.com

AVO Training Institute 18 14 � 877-594-3156 WWW.AVOTRAINING.COM

Baldor Electric Company C-4 33 � 800-828-4920 www.baldor.com

Camfil APC 4 4 � 800-479-6801 www.camfilapc.com

Caterpillar - Northeast 20 16 � www.NECatDealers.com/power

CBSArcSafe 13 9 � 877-4-SAFETY www.CBSArcSafe.com

CFE Media’s � Global System Integrator Database 65 630-571-4070 www.plantengineering.com/global-si-database

Donaldson Co., Inc 2, 45 3, 23 � 800-365-1331 www.DonaldsonTorit.com

ErectAStep C-1, 11 7 � 888-878-1839 www.ErectAStep.com

Exair Corp 7 5 � 800-903-9247 www.exair.com/79/470.htm

Flexicon Corp 8 6 � 888-353-9426 www.flexicon.com

Fluke Corp 24 18 � 888-443-5853 www.fluke.com

GE Bently Nevada 23 17 � www.productionassetreliability.com

Global System Integrator Database � Featured Integrators 58 630-571-4070 www.plantengineering.com/global-si-database

GTI Spindle Technology 46 24 � 603-669-5993 www.gtipredictive.com

Kaeser Compressors, Inc 1 2 � 866-516-6888 www.kaeser.com/PE

Keysight Technologies, Inc 39 20 � 800-829-4444 www.keysight.com/find/Pminsight

Lubriplate Lubricants Co 54 31 � 800-733-4755 www.lubriplate.com

OEO Energy Solutions 34 19 � 800-553-2112 www.oeo.com

Orival, Inc 46 25 � 800-567-9767 www.orival.com

Parker 43 22 � 480-830-7764 www.parkertransair.com

Plant Engineering’s Electronic Newsletters 64 � 630-571-4070 www.plantengineering.com/newsletters

PROMAT 2015 40 21 � 704-676-1190 www.ProMatShow.com

PROTO INDUSTRIAL TOOLS 17 13 � 800-800-8665 www.PROTOINDUSTRIAL.COM/SAFETY

RIDGID 51 29 � 800-769-7743 www.RIDGID.COM /BEVELLER

Rogers Machinery 47 26 � 800-394-6151 www.knw-series.com

SEW-EURODRIVE, Inc. 48 28 � 864-439-7537 www.seweurodrive.com

SKF 16 12 � 970-282-1200 www.skfusa.com/electricmotortesting

Sullair Industrial Products 47, 53 27, 30 � 219-879-5451 www.sullair.com

ue SYSTEMS INC 15 11 � 800-223-1325 www.uesystems.com

Vac-U-Max 19 15 � 973-759-4600 www.vac-u-max.com/vacuum

Yaskawa America, Inc C-3 32 � 800-927-5292 www.yaskawa.com


INCONCLUSIONBanning the ‘three Rs’ from our vocabulary

The Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year for 2014 is ‘vape.’ It turns the perfectly good noun ‘vapor’—or in this case ‘vapour’ because the Oxford folks are British—into a verb meaning

“to inhale and exhale the vapour produced by an electronic cigarette or similar device.”

In other words, we created a new word in the past couple of years—in this case, literally out of thin air—to add to the roughly 225,000 words in the English language, many of which may or may not contain an extra ‘u’ depending on which side of the Atlantic you’re using it.

There are a number of estimates as to how many words there are in the English language, ranging from the roughly 475,000 in Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, to research findings that peg the number at some-where higher than 1 million, with an estimated 8,500 words added each year.

Most of us don’t have a vocabulary that even tickles that number. We use the words we under-stand, words we are comfortable using. New words send us running to Google, which now is a verb unto itself, as in the sentence, “I Googled the new word Bob told me about.”

In short, we have a lot of words to deal with, and with more showing up every day, we’re suf-fering from a fair amount of language overload. I think it’s time to remove a few words from our current vocabulary, and I have three suggestions, all beginning with the letter ‘R’:

Recession: It’s over. The economists won.After being dragged toward the financial abyss

by Goldman Sachs and Enron and a few other risky bets with our money, we have fought our way back. It has taken aggressive fiscal policy, a few years of zero-interest rates, and a global economy built on an even weaker financial base than our own, but the U.S. economy again leads the world.

Manufacturing gets the lion’s share of the credit for that outcome. We combined world-leading productivity with a rapidly emerging energy market and found ourselves outpacing most of Europe and all of Asia. The manufac-turing sector should take a few quick bows and get back to work.

If we have learned anything in the past six years, it’s to take nothing for granted. We have to continue to improve processes and deliver high quality for the world market. But we don’t need to continue to use the word ‘recession.’ It is in our rearview mirror.

Reshoring: One of our most overused words, it is one without a clear definition. Is a com-pany that moved manufacturing operations to China and is now expanding operations in Texas reshoring? Is a U.S. manufacturer expanding operations in the U.S. while reducing operations in India reshoring?

It’s a word we’ve kept alive largely because it makes us feel really good that more Americans are getting manufacturing jobs. It has lost its value in a truly global manufacturing economy. When jobs and plants ran offshore a decade ago, manufacturing leaders chased lower wages and assumed the business model would remain the same. But when all the gains in U.S. pro-ductivity and a sharp rise in energy costs—and the impact of a global slowdown—changed the economic formula, those same leaders took a second look at manufacturing’s value propo-sition and understood the mistake they made.

Our desire to export American manufacturing to other regions while maintaining a domestic manufacturing base at home is called growth. Our desire to attract foreign-based manufactur-ers to set up plants here in the U.S. also is called growth. That’s the word we should focus on.

Recovery: Where does American manufac-turing grow from here? That will be the function of a number of factors—political, economic, and social. But it is growing from a place of strength.

The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) PMI data shows manufacturing averaging 10% higher than it’s base growth for the past year. That’s not a recovery. That’s our new baseline. ISM has been reporting 68 months (and count-ing) of economic growth, according to its for-mula, and more than 18 straight months in the manufacturing sector.

Over the past three years, there have been less than a handful of months where manufacturing failed to grow, and the current streak is starting to feel more like an expectation.

In December 2014, the PMI fell from 58.7 to 55.5, and the reaction in some circles was that manufacturing was slumping. In fact, it had simply gone from very, very good to just very good. It seemsis the way we have become a tad jaded about our manufacturing success story.

So for the new year, Plant Engineering is not going to talk about recession and reshoring and recovery. We’re never going to use the words. We’re going to talk about productivity, quality, safety, and growth—four old words with new meaning in 2015. PE

Bob VavraContent Manager

“Over the past

three years, there

have been less

than a handful

of months where

manufacturing

failed to grow,

and the current

streak is starting

to feel more like

an expectation.”

YA S K AWA A M E R I C A , I N C .D R I V E S & M O T I O N D I V I S I O N 1 - 8 0 0 -YA S K AWA | YA S K AWA . C O M

For more info:http://Ez.com/yai720©2015 Yaskawa America Inc.

Nobody enjoys a larger installed base of inverters, servos and robots around the world than Yaskawa. Our experienced engineers, proven technology and unsurpassed quality can all be combined to give proven solutions in which you can have total confi dence.

In a recent internal study of 100,000 servo motors shipped, Yaskawa found that only 7 were returned for warranty repair. To put that in perspective, a typical out-of-box failure rate goal for manufacturers of brushless servo motors is 0.5% (or 500 failures per 100,000 motors shipped).

No matter how you add it up, nobody equals Yaskawa. Call us today.

MILLION INVERTERSMILLION SERVOS ROBOTS

Yaskawa. Proven. Worldwide.

MILLION INVERTERS2010

ROBOTS300,000


Easy Call. Big Payoff.

Motor-driven equipment accounts for 63% of your plant’s electricity consumption every minute of every day. Your choices are to let your electricity bills continue to grow or call in Baldor’s Installed Base Evaluation Team to identify improvements you can start making today.

The Baldor IBE Team uses advanced data collection equipment and software to work with your plant maintenance personnel to take an accurate account of your motors, drives and mechanical power transmission products, both in operation and from spares inventory. The IBE Team will produce a comprehensive report and plan,

©2015 Baldor Electric Company

targeting inefficient motors and mechanical drives as well as identifying systems where adjustable speed drives could be added to save even more energy. This report will provide recommendations for immediate action along with long term strategies…all positively affecting your bottom line.

If you’re ready to do something about your growing electricity consumption, email the Baldor IBE specialists at [email protected] or call (864) 281-2100 to receive case studies with real-world savings. It’s an easy call with a big payoff.

baldor.com

Save Energy. Save Money.

See us at Automation & Power World March 2-5, 2015New.abb.com/apw


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2015 - 01-02 - Plant Engineering