engineering industrial machinery repair best maintenance practices pocket guide

Industrial Machinery
Repair: Best Maintenance
Practices Pocket Guide



Industrial Machinery
Repair: Best Maintenance
Practices Pocket Guide

Ricky Smith and
R. Keith Mobley

Amsterdam Boston London New York Oxford Paris San Diego
San Francisco Singapore Sydney Tokyo


Butterworth–Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier Science.
Copyright © 2003, Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Recognizing the importance of preserving what has been written, Elsevier-Science
prints its books on acid-free paper whenever possible.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Smith, Ricky.
Industrial machinery repair : best maintenance practices pocket guide /
Ricky Smith and Keith Mobley.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-7506-7621-3 (pbk : alk. paper)

1. Machinery–Maintenance and repair. 2. Industrial equipment–Maintenance
and repair.
I. Mobley, Keith. II. Title.
TJ153.S6355 2003
621.8 16–dc21
2003040435
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
The publisher offers special discounts on bulk orders of this book.
For information, please contact:
Elsevier Science
Manager of Special Sales
200 Wheeler Road, 6th Floor
Burlington, MA 01803
Tel: 781-313-4700
Fax: 781-313-4882
For information on all Butterworth–Heinemann publications available, contact our
World Wide Web home page at:
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America


Contents
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2

Introduction: Why Use Best Maintenance
Repair Practices?

vii
1

Fundamental Requirements of Effective
Preventive/Predictive Maintenance

10

Chapter 3

Maintenance Skills Assessment

26

Chapter 4

Safety First, Safety Always

50

Chapter 5

Rotor Balancing

57

Chapter 6

Bearings

71

Chapter 7

Chain Drives

120

Chapter 8

Compressors

133

Chapter 9

Control Valves

180

Chapter 10

Conveyors

203

Chapter 11

Couplings

215

Chapter 12

Dust Collectors

245

Chapter 13

Fans, Blowers, and Fluidizers

261

Chapter 14

Gears and Gearboxes

283

Chapter 15

Hydraulics

314

Chapter 16

Lubrication

327

Chapter 17

Machinery Installation

348

Chapter 18

Mixers and Agitators

353

Chapter 19

Packing and Seals

361


vi Contents

Chapter 20

Precision Measurement

386

Chapter 21

Pumps

395

Chapter 22

Steam Traps

432

Chapter 23

V-Belt Drives

441

Chapter 24

Maintenance Welding

460

Appendix A

539

Index

541

Acknowledgments
Ricky Smith wants to offer his thanks to the following individuals who
contributed to the writing of this book. Bruce Hawkins, Life Cycle Engineering; Darryl Meyers, former U.S. Army Warrant Officer; Steve Lindborg,
Chemical Lime Company; Robby Smith (his brother), International Paper
Corporation; and J.E. Hinkel, Lincoln Electric Company. Ricky also wants
to thank Life Cycle Engineering, where he is currently employed, for
the opportunity to write this book; Alumax–Mt. Holly—currently Alcoa–
Mt. Holly—where he worked as a maintenance technician, for all the training
and the chance to expand his knowledge; and Dr. John Williams, who always
believed in him.



Industrial Machinery
Repair: Best Maintenance
Practices Pocket Guide



Industrial Machinery
Repair: Best Maintenance
Practices Pocket Guide

Ricky Smith and
R. Keith Mobley

Amsterdam Boston London New York Oxford Paris San Diego
San Francisco Singapore Sydney Tokyo

Butterworth–Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier Science.
Copyright © 2003, Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Recognizing the importance of preserving what has been written, Elsevier-Science
prints its books on acid-free paper whenever possible.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Smith, Ricky.
Industrial machinery repair : best maintenance practices pocket guide /
Ricky Smith and Keith Mobley.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-7506-7621-3 (pbk : alk. paper)
1. Machinery–Maintenance and repair. 2. Industrial equipment–Maintenance
and repair.
I. Mobley, Keith. II. Title.
TJ153.S6355 2003
621.8 16–dc21
2003040435
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
The publisher offers special discounts on bulk orders of this book.
For information, please contact:
Elsevier Science
Manager of Special Sales
200 Wheeler Road, 6th Floor
Burlington, MA 01803
Tel: 781-313-4700

Fax: 781-313-4882
For information on all Butterworth–Heinemann publications available, contact our
World Wide Web home page at:
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America


Contents
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2

Introduction: Why Use Best Maintenance
Repair Practices?

vii
1

Fundamental Requirements of Effective
Preventive/Predictive Maintenance

10

Chapter 3

Maintenance Skills Assessment

26

Chapter 4

Safety First, Safety Always

50

Chapter 5

Rotor Balancing

57

Chapter 6

Bearings

71

Chapter 7

Chain Drives

120

Chapter 8

Compressors

133

Chapter 9

Control Valves

180

Chapter 10

Conveyors

203

Chapter 11

Couplings

215

Chapter 12

Dust Collectors

245

Chapter 13

Fans, Blowers, and Fluidizers

261

Chapter 14

Gears and Gearboxes

283

Chapter 15

Hydraulics

314

Chapter 16

Lubrication

327

Chapter 17

Machinery Installation

348

Chapter 18

Mixers and Agitators

353

Chapter 19

Packing and Seals

361


vi Contents

Chapter 20

Precision Measurement

386

Chapter 21

Pumps

395

Chapter 22

Steam Traps

432

Chapter 23

V-Belt Drives

441

Chapter 24

Maintenance Welding

460

Appendix A

539

Index

541


Acknowledgments
Ricky Smith wants to offer his thanks to the following individuals who
contributed to the writing of this book. Bruce Hawkins, Life Cycle Engineering; Darryl Meyers, former U.S. Army Warrant Officer; Steve Lindborg,
Chemical Lime Company; Robby Smith (his brother), International Paper
Corporation; and J.E. Hinkel, Lincoln Electric Company. Ricky also wants
to thank Life Cycle Engineering, where he is currently employed, for
the opportunity to write this book; Alumax–Mt. Holly—currently Alcoa–
Mt. Holly—where he worked as a maintenance technician, for all the training
and the chance to expand his knowledge; and Dr. John Williams, who always
believed in him.

1

Introduction: Why Use Best
Maintenance Repair Practices?

“Only Permanent Repairs Made Here”
This book addresses, in a simplistic manner, the proper principles and
techniques in “Best Maintenance Practices—Mechanical.”
If these principles and techniques are followed, they will result in a serious
reduction in “self-induced failures.” This book is a tool that should be carried
and referenced by all mechanical maintenance personnel.
A number of surveys conducted in industries throughout the United States
have found that 70% of equipment failures are self-induced.
Maintenance personnel who are not following what are termed “Best
Maintenance Repair Practices” substantially affect these failures. Between
30% and 50% of the self-induced failures are the result of maintenance
personnel not knowing the basics of maintenance. Maintenance personnel
who, although skilled, choose not to follow best maintenance repair practices potentially cause another 20% to 30% of those failures. The existence
of this problem has been further validated through the skills assessment
process performed in companies throughout the state of Georgia. This program evaluated the knowledge of basic maintenance fundamentals through
a combination of written, identification, and performance assessments of
thousands of maintenance personnel from a wide variety of industries.
The results indicated that over 90% lacked complete basic fundamentals
of mechanical maintenance. This book focuses on the “Best Maintenance
Repair Practices” necessary for maintenance personnel to keep equipment operating at peak reliability and companies functioning more profitably through reduced maintenance costs and increased productivity and
capacity.
The potential cost savings can often be beyond the understanding or comprehension of management. Many managers are in a denial state regarding
maintenance. The result is that they do not believe that repair practices
directly impact an organization’s bottom line or profitability.

2 Introduction: Why Use Best Maintenance Repair Practices?

More enlightened companies have demonstrated that, by reducing selfinduced failures, they can increase production capacity by as much
as 20%.
Other managers accept lower reliability standards from maintenance efforts
because they either do not understand the problem or they choose to ignore
this issue. A good manager must be willing to admit to a maintenance
problem and actively pursue a solution.
You may be asking, what are the “Best Maintenance Repair Practices”? Here
are a few that maintenance personnel must know. (See Table 1.1.)
Looking through this abbreviated Best Maintenance Repair Practices table,
try to determine whether your company follows these guidelines.
The results will very likely surprise you. You may find that the best practices
have not been followed in your organization for a long time. In order to fix
the problem you must understand that the culture of the organization is at
the bottom of the situation. Everyone may claim to be a maintenance expert
but the conditions within a plant generally cannot often validate that this
is true. In order to change the organization’s basic beliefs, the reasons why
an organization does not follow these best practices in the repair of their
equipment must be identified.

“Only Permanent Repairs Made Here”
A few of the most common reasons that a plant does not follow best
maintenance repair practices are:
1

Maintenance is totally reactive and does not follow the definition of
maintenance, which is to protect, preserve, and prevent from decline
(reactive plant culture).

2

Maintenance personnel do not have the requisite skills.

3

The maintenance workforce lacks either the discipline or direction to
follow best maintenance repair practices.

4

Management is not supportive, and/or does not understand the consequences of not following the best practices (real understanding
must involve a knowledge of how much money is lost to the bottom
line).


Table 1.1 Best maintenance repair practices

Maintenance
task
Standard

Required best
practices

Lubricate
Bearing

1

2
3

Lubrication interval: time
based ± 10% variance.

4
Coupling
Alignment

V-Belts

Align motor couplings
utilizing dial indicator or
laser alignment
procedures. (Laser is
preferred for speed and
accuracy.) Straightedge
method is unacceptable.

1

Measure the tension of
V-belts through tension
and deflection utilizing a
belt tension gauge.

1

2

3
4
5

2

Clean fittings.
Clean end of grease gun.
Lubricate with proper
amount and right type of
lubricant.
Lubricate within variance
of frequency.
Check runout on shafts
and couplings.
Check for soft foot.
Align angular.
Align horizontal.
Align equipment
specifications, not
coupling specifications.
Identify the proper
tension and deflection for
the belt.
Set tension to
specifications.

Consequences
for not following
best practices

Probability of future
failures—number
of self-induced failures vs. following
best practices

Early bearing failure: reduced life
by 20–80%.

100% 20 vs. 1

Premature coupling failure.
Premature bearing and seal
failure in motor and driven unit.
Excessive energy loss.

100% 7 vs. 1

Premature belt failures through
rapid belt wear or total belt
failure. Premature bearing failure
of driven and driver unit. Belt
creeping or slipping causing
speed variation without excessive
noise.
Motor shaft breakage.

100% 20 vs. 1

Continued

Table 1.1 continued

Maintenance
task
Hydraulic
Components

Standard
Hydraulic fluid must be
conditioned to component
specifications.

Required best
practices
1

2

3

4

Hydraulic fluid must be
input into the hydraulic
reservoir utilizing a filter
pumping system only.
Filters must be rated to
meet the needs of the

component reliability and
not equipment
manufacturer’s
specification.
Filters must be changed
on a timed basis based on
filter condition.
Oil samples must be taken
on a set frequency, and all
particles should be
trended in order to
understand the condition
and wear of the hydraulic
unit.

Consequences
for not following
best practices

Probability of future
failures—number
of self-induced failures vs. following
best practices

Sticking hydraulic. Premature or 100% 30 vs. 1
unknown hydraulic pump life.
Sustaining hydraulic competency
by maintenance personnel.
Length of equipment breakdown
causes lost production.

Introduction: Why Use Best Maintenance Repair Practices? 5

MAINTENANCE
The act of MAINTAINING.

MAINTAIN

KEEP in an existing state.
PRESERVE from failure or decline.
Keep
Preserve
Protect

Figure 1.1 Maintenance

In order to solve the problem of not following Best Maintenance Repair
Practices, a sequential course of action should be taken:
First, identify whether a problem exists (i.e., track repetitive equipment
failures, review capacity losses in production and identify causes for these
losses, and measure the financial losses due to repair issues). (See Figure 1.2,
“The Maintenance Cost Iceberg.”)
Second, identify the source of the problem (this could be combination of
issues):
●

Maintenance skill level: Perform skills assessment (written and performance based) to evaluate whether skill levels are adequate to meet “Best
Maintenance Repair Practices” for your specific maintenance organization.

●

Maintenance culture: Provide training to all maintenance and management relative to a change in maintenance strategy and how it will impact
them individually (e.g., increase in profit for the plant, less overtime


6 Introduction: Why Use Best Maintenance Repair Practices?

Materials

Overtime

Contract Services
Overhead & Benefits

Labor

Direct Maintenance Costs

Maintenance Budget
Operating Budget

Indirect Maintenance Costs
Set-Up

Ripple Effect
On Production

Waste
Disposal

Start-Up
Accidents
Excess Inventory

Missed Schedules

Regulatory
Fines

Environment
Customer
Complaints

Crisis
Management
Clean-Up

Lost
Business

Product
Liability

Emergency Purchases

Figure 1.2 The maintenance cost iceberg
resulting from fewer equipment breakdowns, etc.). Track and measure
the changes and display the results to everyone.
●

Maintenance strategy: Develop a plan to introduce a proactive maintenance model with “Preventive and Planned Maintenance” at the top
of planned priorities. This will provide more time for performing
maintenance utilizing the “Best Maintenance Repair Practices.”

Third, implement the changes needed to move toward following “Best
Maintenance Repair Practices” and measure the financial gains.
Everyone should be aware that financial rewards can be great but we must
understand why they can also be hard to achieve.
Several of the reasons why implementing a program of change, such as the
one discussed, can be doomed to failure include:
●

Management not committed;

●

Lack of discipline and direction;


Introduction: Why Use Best Maintenance Repair Practices? 7

●

Lack of management commitment and accountability;

●

Momentum becomes slowed or changes direction;

●

Lack of an adequately skilled workforce;

●

No gap analysis or specific action plan to guide the effort to close
the gaps;

●

Conflict between emergencies and performing maintenance following
“Best Maintenance Repair Practices” (this does not mean all “emergent”
repairs must be performed to “as built” specifications the first time, but
it does mean that the repair, especially a temporary fix, will be corrected
during the next outage of the equipment).

To conclude, as many as 90% of companies in the United States do not follow “Best Maintenance Repair Practices.” The percent that do follow these
practices are realizing the rewards of a well run, capacity-driven organization that can successfully compete in today’s and tomorrow’s marketplace.
Remember that use of the “Best Maintenance Repair Practices” might just
become a mandatory requirement for the future success of an organization
in today’s economy.
Utilize this book as a resource to:
1

Write corrective maintenance procedures to attach to specific work order
tasks in a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS).

2

Train personnel regarding new and existing maintenance repair procedures.

3

Be used as a tool by a current maintenance staff. Have all maintenance
personnel use this book on the job site in order to follow “Best Maintenance Practices.” (This book can be set up in a storeroom in order to be
replaced as the book is worn and damaged on the job site.)

Preventive and Predictive
Maintenance (PPM)
PPM is more than the regular cleaning, inspection, tightening, lubrication,
and other actions intended to keep durable equipment in good operating condition and to avoid failures. It is an investment in the future—a
future without major, disruptive breakdowns of critical equipment. It is,


8 Introduction: Why Use Best Maintenance Repair Practices?

at times, an investment without an immediate return on that investment.
Here the philosophy must be, “Pay me now or pay me later,” because that is
exactly what happens when it comes to PPM. If preventive maintenance is
not accomplished in the proper way and in a timely manner, then the payme-later clause will occur at the most inopportune time. That is the premise
that must be established and promoted by management. While the maintenance department has the day-to-day responsibility of plant PPM, the plant
manager is ultimately responsible for setting the expectations concerning
plant preventive maintenance.
In general, the preventive and predictive maintenance effort is not focused.
To spotlight some of the weaknesses, review the following points:
1

Many of the components that make up a good predictive maintenance
program have not been developed;

2

Thermography;

3

Oil sampling for some gearboxes and hydraulic units.

Preventive Maintenance (PM)
Some of the PM procedures have been developed; however, they lack
details to make them efficient and safe, and to reinforce sound maintenance
practices.
1

No mobile equipment has written PMs.

2

Logbooks are used, but it can’t be determined who was looking at and
using the data.

3

All preventive maintenance regarding lubrication should be reviewed
for detail and accuracy.

4

The forecasting and generation of PM tasks because of the state of the
CMMS is not part of the normal maintenance routine.

Recommendations
Review all lubrication-related task procedures for detail and content.
●

Provide training in effective plant lubrication procedures and techniques.
The lubricator, maintenance personnel, and maintenance supervisors
should attend.