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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Advanced AC Lift-Truck Motors Offer Powerful Alternative to Internal-Combustion Models
January 21, 2004 8:36 am | by Dirk von Holt, President Jungheinrich Lift Truck Corp. | CommentsFor years the forklift, powered by an internal combustion (IC) engine has been the workhorse for industrial and commercial material handling of heavy loads. The noise, emissions and performance limitations of conventional forklifts was accepted as a necessary evil. However, one of the most significant trends in the forklift industry is the increased use of electric-powered forklifts.
Proper Cleaning of Powder-Paint Booths Improves Safety, Profits
January 21, 2004 8:32 am | CommentsThe powder-paint coating process offers important advantages that make it the finish of choice among many manufacturers. But it also introduces health and safety issues that make cleanup of powder-coating booths a challenge. Potential hazards of the process include worker exposure to inhalable particles, the possibilities of powder combustion, and environmental damage.
Cut Costs With Automated Tank Cleaning
December 8, 2003 10:30 am | CommentsAutomated tank-cleaning systems typically consist of a motorized tank washer, pump and process-control package that make efficient use of resources. Chances are, tank cleaning in your facility is a simple procedure. Workers physically rinse, wash and sanitize them. Or the tanks are rinsed, filled with cleaning solution and water, drained and rinsed again.
Best Practices: Baldor Electric Co.<br> Wired For Quality
December 8, 2003 10:27 am | CommentsIn its 83rd year, the Arkansas-based electric-motor manufacturer continues to deliver high-quality products and customer-focused value through good times and bad. Randy Breaux, vice president of marketing (top) and Neil Condray, corporate quality manager. Behind them are views of Baldor's main manufacturing facility in Fort Smith, AR.
Consider 24V DC Control Voltage for Safety, Reliability
November 12, 2003 5:06 am | by Neil O'Shay, Product Manager/Solid State ControlEaton Electrical | CommentsThere are two basic components to virtually every manufacturing process: motors and the devices that control them. Typically, control devices are large and operate on the same voltage used to power the motors. This results in large motor-control centers that may not provide maximum reliability.
Lighting Upgrade Reduces Textile-Mill Hazards, Improves Workspace
November 12, 2003 5:03 am | CommentsSafety is always a concern in a textile mill because of potential fire hazards. When Avondale Mills, based in Graniteville, SC, constructed a 217,000-sq.-ft. addition at its Horse Creek, SC, plant, the facility installed enclosed luminaires to both improve light and help eliminate lighting-related fire hazards.
Who Works in Your Plant?<p> A Profile of Today's American Factory Worker
November 12, 2003 5:03 am | by Nancy Syverson, Managing Editor | CommentsAs the number of manufacturing jobs declines in the U.S., so does the traditional image of the factory worker. Lean times have made today's worker both more competitive and technically sophisticated. A company can only be as good as its employees. But since 1980, the number of employees in manufacturing jobs has dwindled - significantly.
Soy-Based Lubricants Ready for Industrial Role
October 15, 2003 5:34 am | CommentsSoy-based engine oil does not readily boil off and resists heat degradation. In tests, it caused a significant drop in hazardous air emissions, compared with petroleum-based oil. The 2002 Farm Bill signed by President Bush encourages the use of biobased products, including those made from soybeans.
Custom Oil Blend Helps Treatment Plant Use Caustic Sewage Gas for Energy
October 15, 2003 5:30 am | CommentsLead Wastewater Treatment Plant Mechanic, Tom May (atop engine) inspects one of the six Waukesha lean-burn engines that provide power for the Pima County Wastewater Treatment Plant in Tucson, AZ. The engines run exclusively on sewage effluent gas. Using sewage effluent gas to fuel engines and generators, operators of the Pima County Wastewater Treatment Plant in Tucson, AZ, save an average of $30,000 a month in outside energy costs, reduce environmental pollution by fueling with gases that otherwise would be flared off to the atmosphere, and reduce the use of non-renewable natural gas resources.
A Practical Approach to Reliability-Centered Maintenance
October 15, 2003 5:29 am | by Michael E. Creecy, Contributor | CommentsRCM is not complicated, but requires groundwork and the understanding that it is an ongoing process, not a one-time project. Most writers on the subject of Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) emphasize that it includes a systematic approach to determining what must be done to ensure the reliability and availability of physical assets in a production setting.
Flushless Seal Boosts Uptime for Ethanol Producer
September 9, 2003 10:50 am | CommentsThe Abengoa Bioenergy Corp. ethanol fuel plant in York, NE, is one of three U.S. facilities formerly operated by Wichita-based High Plains Corp. that produces 85 million gallons of ethanol a year. It earns $42,000,000 annually and uses more than 19 million bushels of local grain. That type of demand requires that production run at the height of efficiency.
Controlling Air Pollution With Thermal or Catalytic Oxidizers
September 9, 2003 10:42 am | by Charles M. Martinson, President, The CMM Group, LLC | CommentsUnder the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA), many manufacturing operations have become subject to stricter local regulations regarding both VOC (volatile organic compound) and HAP (hazardous air pollutant) emissions. The CAA singles out 188 air pollutants that are of special concern, many of which are used in everyday production and/or manufacturing atmospheres.
Best Practices: Metaldyne's 5S Showcase
September 9, 2003 10:24 am | by Rick Carter, Editor-in-Chief | CommentsThe auto supplier's die-casting facility in Niles, IL, is nearing plant-wide completion of a 5S strategy that has both bonded the workforce and helped keep the unit competitive through tough times. Tom Dolack, director of engineering; a Metaldyne worker operates one of the facility's 40 die-cast machines; Tom Fisher, general manager; and a completed automatic-transmission valve body is cleaned and inspected.
Checklists Help Ensure Regulatory Compliance
August 15, 2003 6:38 am | by Karen D. Hamel, Technical Specialist, New Pig Corp. | CommentsBoth the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) require facilities to perform routine inspections. These requirements were established to protect the environment from damage and workers from injuries. Routine inspections are a good way to uncover problems, and inspection forms are one of the things that an OSHA or EPA compliance officer will ask to see during an inspection.
Hand-Powered Pump Simplifies Chemical Handling for Microcircuit Manufacturer
August 15, 2003 6:37 am | CommentsIxion Ceramics, Inc., a Chattanooga, TN-based subsidiary of Ixion Technologies, Inc., designs and manufactures microcircuit "packaging" for telecommunications, military, aerospace and other applications. It makes precision-engineered ceramics and metals that begin as slurries and, when shaped and dried, form tapes and pastes that are, in turn, used to create electronic circuits or screen-printed dielectric layers.
