T O P I C S
How To Start A Successful Ultrasound Program
Ultraprobe Tip
Comments & Contributions
Training Schedule
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This newsletter is dedicated to you, the reader with the goal of improving your ultrasonic inspection skills and enhancing your value to your company or clients. As such, we welcome your participation. If you have questions or seek advice about your inspection techniques or programs, or if you wish to share your experiences with others, please e-mail your contributions to us at info@uesystems.com.
How To Start A Successful Ultrasound Program
For any project to be successful it has to have support from key players. Those players can range from management to plant personnel. With all the opportunities for ultrasound inspection and so many ways to demonstrate cost avoidance and savings there must be something or some way to get the support you need. This is not always easy.
In some instances, getting the program started is to “Just do it”. Often, the reported results of successful inspections and the dollars they are saving are enough to get others involved.
Usually an organized, planned approach works more effectively.
According to Doug Waetjen, our national sales manager, there are four key ingredients to a successful program: Motivation, Preparation, Participation and Perspiration.
1. Motivation:
One effective point to be made is to explain the cost of not implementing the program. If it’s energy loss, that can be dollars currently being wasted from compressed air and steam leaks. In fact, according to a recent publication from the US Department of Energy, energy expenditures typically account for anywhere from 5% to 15% of operating costs of US manufacturers. (Source: Energy Matters, Spring, 2004).
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Another point can be made for maintaining asset availability. The more “uptime” created for operating equipment the more productive the output, which results in efficient use of operating budget dollars. It stands to reason that the more unplanned “downtime” the less efficient use of operating budget dollars. According to a recent ARC report, "in an economic climate where capital equipment expenditures have been substantially curtailed, good maintenance practices are more important than ever*." ( Courtesy of ARC Advisory Group: www.ARCweb.com )
2. Preparation:
According to Gary Mohr, “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.” One of the largest factors that lead to program failure is lack of planning. To plan your program you must have a clear idea as to what your goal is. This enables you to then consider other key factors such as the reporting, personnel, training, inspection route planning, scheduling and equipment to be used.
3. Participation:
There has to be support from those involved directly and indirectly with the program. Keep management informed. Make sure they understand “clearly” how you are meeting your goals. If you can use dollar figures, include them in your reports. Details such as cost avoidance, improved uptime, or a little story demonstrating the how you solved a particular problem always helps. Amplify this with photos and charts to help them understand.
Consider other personnel and departments that may be useful in keeping the project moving forward. Try to educate them and get them involved if necessary. Show them how by keeping energy costs down and that by reducing unplanned downtime, production can be improved. Demonstrate budget savings for their department, or explain that it will impact the bottom line of the company and possibly add to job security. Maybe an issue of personnel safety will win them over or the fact that they won’t be sent home early during an unplanned outage.
4. Perspiration:
Go out and perform the surveys. Set up your instrument for the inspection, bring the required accessories, perform your inspections, record your results. If you’re going to produce reports or analyze your results, enter the data in Ultratrend DMS and/or UE Spectralyzer software. When you’ve collected and analyzed your data, issue reports and work orders. Make sure repairs are performed effectively and in a timely fashion. Use only quality components for repairs. Be sure to follow up on all reported items and re-test when necessary. When through, review your results, update appropriate personnel, issue cost savings and asset availability results and recommendations for improvements, if any.
Starting an Ultrasonic Predictive Maintenance Program takes a lot of hard work. Proper education can insure that the program gets off to the right start. One of the principle components is good training. Have you been certified yet? To learn more or to register for any of the Level I or Level II classes, go to: http://www.uesystems.com/training/Default.htm
Ultraprobe Tip:
In bearing trending programs when more than one person will perform the tests, one way of reducing a variable is to use a magnetic mount probe with a cable such as the RAS-MT for consistent inspection technique. Set a test point and place the probe on that point for all tests.
Comments and Contributions:
Travis Dunn of Thermo-Scan Inspection in Indiana reports they recently performed an underground leak detection inspection for a local apartment community which had seen their water bills surge from $2,000 a month to $12,000 a month. No water was surfacing but they knew they had a big leak. Using ultrasound and a t-bar (and a lot of patience) they meticulously searched about 500 yards of main, listening every 12 inches or so, and finally found a break that was dumping into a cracked sewer line.
After fixing this leak, the water bills went back down to $2,000 a month.
Thanks Travis!! You may contact Travis at: tdunn@thermo-scan.com. Thermoscan's web site is: www.thermo-scan.com
Training Schedule:
The Level I classes are filling up fast. We strongly recommend that you register early to get into the class of your choice.
Level I:
August 9-13: Davenport, IA (FULL)
September 13-17: Toronto, Canada
October 4-8: Los Angeles, CA
November 1-5: Greenville, SC
November 15-19: Chester, UK
Come join the "Best of the Best" Ultrasound World Conference, October 24-27. The only conference dedicated to Airborne Ultrasound Technology. To learn more:
http://www.uesystems.com/ultrasound-world/uw3emlr.pdf
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More articles will be posted periodically. Please check back.
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