Today’s plant automation systems provide transparent monitoring of system status, plus tools such as condition monitoring or predictive maintenance – all help to reduce unscheduled downtime. Hartmut Pütz, President Factory Automation EMEA at Mitsubishi, considers how to address brownfield installations with legacy equipment.

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Water quality plays a considerable role in plant efficiency but what should we be measuring, where and how? Armand Uchtmann, commercial business manager water quality EMEA of HORIBA, offers guidance on monitoring the quality of water used for heating and cooling purposes.

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Rapidly evolving technology is set to dramatically impact the indirect procurement supply chain, according to Peter Malpas, managing director - RS Northern Europe

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Whether it is safety tests for your electrical switchgear, efficiency tests for your boiler or upkeep for plant parts and equipment, the need for ongoing maintenance is vital. However, when completing international projects, where management of a facility is transferred to a local team, how can maintenance of the site and its components be preserved? Dave Friar of Boulting considers what you should do when preparing to hand over maintenance control

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A joint research project conducted at the University of Nottingham found that energy efficient motors remained within ±0.5% of their original efficiency after being repaired by a good service centre. This is within the specification tolerances of the label and efficiency banding. Tim Marks of the Association of Electrical and Mechanical Trades (AEMT) reviews the project and its findings.

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ExxonMobil offers tips to help gas engine operators optimise engine performance by taking a best practice approach to lubrication and highlights the benefits a gas engine operator in Poland has seen since it started to analyse used oil on a regular basis

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Timely maintenance and protection can help to extend the useful working life of a manufacturing facility and the machines within it, explains Phil Burge, country communication manager at SKF

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It’s never pleasant when everyday technology of any sort fails, but when equipment breaks down in an industrial production environment, results can be ruinous. Here, Leroy Spence, European Automation’s sales development manager, explains how to limit the damages of a breakdown by rapidly sourcing the right component

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Industrial vending takes technology previously used for consumer goods and applies it to Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) product supply, as this article – adapted from a white paper by Ian Ritchie, MD of Brammer UK, explains

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Steel mills, food manufacturing facilities and pulp and paper plants are just a few of the industries that have high-temperature operating environments. As a result, operators require lubricants, including greases, that are designed to ensure consistent performance and longevity in tough conditions. Umut Urkun, Industrial Marketing, EAME at ExxonMobil Lubricants & Specialties comments

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When a machine in the Cold Mill at Tata’s Port Talbot works failed, Quartzelec worked 24/7 to get it operational.

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With engineering skills becoming an increasingly scarce resource it is important that an engineer’s time is spent on core tasks. Unfortunately, too many are still spending valuable time sourcing spares, according to Paul Bermingham, contract development manager Eriks Integrated Solutions Ireland

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When the three-phase control resistors for the 2700kW main motor on Ketton Cement's rock crusher failed, Cressall Resistors came to the rescue, as Martin Nicholls, sales director explains

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Every day, the Queen Mary Reservoir holds 910,000,000L of water. This is drawn in from an intake channel fed from the Thames. After almost a century of activity, and following several refurbishments to machinery and equipment throughout the years, the centrifugal pumping system was ready for a major upgrade

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The traditional cure for an inefficient belt drive has been to simply replace the worn belt with a new one. However, Mark Maher, technical manager at ERIKS UK, argues that the repair or replacement of a pulley is a more effective way to resolve the problem.

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The British Compressed Air Society (BCAS) is often asked about what requirements there are in law in relation to spare parts for compressed air equipment, especially with regards to availability, and also what rights people have in terms of a warranty. In this article, Greg Bordiak, BCAS technical officer, looks at the most frequently asked questions relating to spare parts and the law.*

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Since being awarded the MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) contract for Baileys, a key brand within Diageo, Brammer Ireland has helped the company to reduce its suppplier base, cut its costs and enabled sustainable benefits to be achieved. Val Kealey visited the site to find out more

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The standardisation of maintenance, repair & overhaul (MRO) products can play a key part in operational and commercial success, as Kevin Lacey of Buck & Hickman, explains

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All too often, when negotiating with suppliers, industrial buyers focus almost exclusively on price. This can be both short term and potentially counterproductive, says Julia Mullar, new business manager for ERIKS OnSite Solutions.

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The University of Reading is starting to achieve water and energy savings at its Bio Food Hall in the Food & Nutritional Sciences Department following the installation of two Busch RA oil lubricated rotary vane pumps for the vacuum circuit. According to the University’s Energy Manager Dan Fernbank, since the two pumps were installed by AxFlow earlier this year, water savings of between 20 and 30m³ per day are being attained, this being the equivalent of between 7,000m³ and 11,000m³ annually.

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FLIR Thermal Studio is a thermal image analysis and reporting software designed to manage large sets of thermal images and videos.

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The special requirements around maintaining plant and equipment on an NDC (National Distribution Centre) revolve around the key area of making sure the plant, conveyors, cranes and the like, are running at the maximum efficiency for the maximum length of time, thereby ensuring that the clients products are sent out on time, be they pet food, groceries, computer parts or D.I.Y items.

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