Is My Machine OK?

Are you responsible for your plant’s industrial machines? Is My Machine OK? is a compact and handy reference on the potential risks of machine failure and safe machinery operation. Authors Robert Perez and Andre Conkey, aided by several contributors, provide 225 pages in this hardcover guide. It foms a solid basis for reliable and safe machine operations. The authors employ their extensive background to combine the most commonly used assessment tools in a single source.

Developed specifically to be taken into the field by machine operators, plant supervisors and maintenance technicians, the guide will also help reliability professionals make informed decisions about factory and process equipment.

Features

This book is made up of four sections subdivided into 12 chapters and two appendices:

• Evaluating process machines, containing basic instruction and practical advice on evaluating the condition of machines
• Equipment specific assessments adressing the evaluation of centrifugal pumps, steam turbines, electric motors, and piping
• General assessment guidelines for field assessment methods, limits, and advice commonly employed to evaluate process machinery
• Improvement Ideas throughout the book include many relevant examples that will help you better understand the proper application of the various assessment methodologies presented.

Authors

Robert X Perez has more than 30 years of rotating equipment experience in the petrochemical industry and holds a BSME from Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas; an MSME degree from the University of Texas, Austin, and is a licensed P.E. in the state of Texas. He also is the author of Operator’s Guide to Centrifugal Pumps.

Andrew P. Conkey is an assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University at Qatar. He has been a member of the Vibration Institute for over 15 years and has conducted research on the application of fiber optic interferometers for machinery rresponse measurements. He earned a BSME degree from Texas A&I University, and MSME and Ph.D. degrees from Texas A&M.

Contributors

Bill Stark, P.E., Principal, Bath Engineering, is a licensed Professional Engineer in Texas, with over 15 years of project engineering and management in petrochemical plant design and construction. He earned degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering from the University of Missouri at Columbia and an MBA from Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi.

Julien Le Bleu, Jr., Principal Rotating Equipment Engineer, Retired, has more than 35 years of experience with critical industrial machinery, including 25 years as the Principal Rotating Equipment Engineer for Lyondell Chemicals in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He earned a B.S. degree from the University of Florida. Mr. Le Bleu is currently teaching machinery best practices to operators and maintenance personnel.

John W. Davis, President and Founder of WFM Associates, is an established author and recognized authority on Lean Manufacturing. With an extensive background in products ranging from air conditioning and fractional H.P. motors to jet engines, helicopters and elevators, Davis has a broad range of experience in manufacturing and has consulted with numerous leading firms including Brunswick Corporation, Crane Pumps, CertainTeed Corporation, Rowe Manufacturing, JTB Furniture, and Defiance Metal Products.

Information from the Back Cover:

This unique book provides plant supervisors, maintenance personnel, and reliability professionals with a handy guide for assessing the potential risk of failure of industrial process machines. It also provides a solid basis for reliable and safe machinery operation and was developed to be taken into the field so that informed decisions can be made “on the spot”.

This is the first book to offer machinery assessment advice together with established guidelines for the most commonly-used machinery condition parameters, such as vibration, pulsations, temperature limits, and lubrication. Until now, machinery users had to identify, purchase, and maintain an extensive library of machinery books and standards in order to assemble a body of sound evaluation practices.  This persuaded the authors that there was a need for a single, compact volume combining assessment advice, the most commonly used assessment tools, and helpful references.

This book is made up of four sections:

1) Evaluating Process Machines, which contains basic instruction and practical advice on evaluating the condition of machines

2) Equipment Specific Assessments, which covers the evaluation of centrifugal pumps, steam turbines, electric motors, and piping:

3) General Assessment Guidelines, which contains field assessment methods, limits, and advice commonly employed to evaluate process machinery

4) Improvement Ideas. Throughout the book there are many relevant examples that will help you better understand the proper application of the various assessment methodologies presented.

Contents

• Introduction
• Machinery Assessment Steps
• Data Collection Tips
• Vibration Severity Guidelines
• Basic Vibration Analysis Part I & Part II
• Allowable Pulsation Levels
• Dynamics
• Machinery Rules of Thumb
• Temperature Limits-Bearings
• Compressors
• Piping Vibration and Strain-Lubrication
• AC Electric Motors
• Appendix A-Useful conversions and equations
• Appendix B-Glossary of Conditions Monitoring Terms