Plant Engineering articles from July 2003

Plant Engineering archives from July 2003

Reader Feedback.(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2003... Manufacturing and skilled workers I find the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) study quoted in your Column [Comment, June 2003, p15] to be hypocritical. Manufacturers whine about a lack of skilled workers, engineers, and...

Cost savings difficult to find. (Forum).
July 1, 2003... Trying to find ways to save money in your budget for operating materials and supplies may be like searching for a needle in a haystack. A look at the latest round of price and cost data for the industries that make factory supplies shows margin...

I told you so. (Comment).(Editorial)
July 1, 2003... There's a great deal of satisfaction in being able to say, "I told you so." I learned as a kid that it was seldom a good idea to actually say it out loud. But it still felt good just to think it. I guess it's human nature to feel just a little...

Summoned by OSHA to testify: must they be paid for time lost? (Human Side).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... When Jonas Quinn, a painter in the maintenance department, sustained serious injuries following a fall from a scaffolding, Harold Falk, an inspector from the Occupation Safety and Health Administration, was -- brought in to investigate. ...

Jury duty: should an employee profit from it? (Human Side).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Jury duty is a civic service, and both employers and employees are expected to comply. That doesn't mean compliance should result in a freebee for the worker. When maintenance department electrician George Kramer received a jury duty...

Is lower-ranked job better than nothing? (Human Side).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... When times turn tough, managers turn to ways and means to reduce overhead. More often than not the result is a layoff announcement. When 59-yr-old Equipment Mechanic John Rolfe got the bad news his first thought was that because of his age...

Laying off a senior and keeping a junior. (Human Side).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... It was a cold blustery day in this northern Wisconsin manufacturing plant. A couple of inches of snow covered the ground outside of Building II, and the flakes were starting to fall again. Mechanic Grade I Alan Westphal was doing a...

Military service: is company obligated? (Human Side).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Senior Engineer Bernard Lowe was a specialist in technological aspects of his profession that were of particular interest to Army ordinance. At age 48 he could not be drafted to serve, but he was offered a captain's rating if he volunteered to...

Refusing to rehire due to heart problem. (Human Side).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... A dozen production and maintenance employees were laid off due to a business decline. When a rash of new orders came in most of the workers were recalled subject to approval following a physical examination. Warehouseman Gerald Busch was...

Personal leave: check for abuse. (Human Side).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Leave of absence requests were not welcomed in a thriving New England plant. But employees were allowed three paid personal leave days for "obligations that could not be fulfilled during regular working hours." Personal time off, the company's...

Is carelessness a disciplinary problem? (Human Side).(dealing with aging issues in the workplace)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Darn it!" Maintenance Foreman Dan Glover slapped down the work folder on his desk. Mike Kudlow had done it again. The 63-yr-old Grade I carpenter had either misread the instruction sheet in constructing the assigned jig, or was just plain...

Adding assignments to job description. (Human Side).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Stockroom Attendant Al Pistrillo's job was a breeze. He filled requisitions for tools and supplies, kept track of inventory, and wrote up purchase orders when stock ran short. Al allowed himself occasional break periods. He kept a magazine on...

Performance contracting: gaining competitive advantage. (Management Side).(Outsourcing)
July 1, 2003... Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part series on performance contracting. The second part will appear in the August issue. What are pert performance contracts? Performance contracting is a tool that more and more companies are...

Spec a belt. Wash it down.(food handling conveyor system design by PAC Flex Systems, Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... PAC Flex Systems, Inc Colorado recently completed one of the largest automated conveyor projects in its 26-year history. The application required a wide variety of packaging systems, with conveyors varying in length from 10 to 200 feet....

Ethernet for the plant floor. (Info Engineering).
July 1, 2003... "What does 'Ethernet-enabled' mean? It means you plug it in, and that's it," begins Victor Wegelin, instructor of Industrial Data Communications, a training course (TS05) offered by the Instrument, Systems, and Automation Society (ISA). Wegelin...

Exclusive guide to synthetic lubricants.
July 1, 2003... Key Concepts * These lubricants reduce wear and provide long life. * Synthetics can e formulated to satisfy application requirements. * The chart lists product offerings from 79 companies. Synthetics are the logical lubricant...

Track seals and pumps. (Fluid Handling: Suggestions).
July 1, 2003... Software enables plants to collate data and generate reports to help identify root causes of seal and pump failures. Each report provides a different operational perspective of the seals and pumps. By comparing this information with physical...

One-stop service. (Fluid Handling: Suggestions).
July 1, 2003... PRO Services offers life-cycle-enhancing service solutions, which include maintaining and upgrading all brands and types of rotating equipment including pumps, gearboxes, and heat exchangers. Extended downtime is avoided because experienced...

Size flow sensors. (Fluid Handling: Suggestions).
July 1, 2003... VeraData CD includes state-of-the-art sizing software, VeraCalc (Ver.5.0), and a catalog of literature featuring: flow calculation software that calculates differential pressure based on flow conditions; installation documents and instructions;...

Separator handles air and steam. (Fluid Handling: Products).
July 1, 2003... Wright-Austin Type T gas/liquid separators automatically remove 99% of all liquid and solid entrained particles 10-microns and larger. They are equally adapted for use with air, gas, and steam. The no-moving-parts design eliminates the need for...

Upgrade pump performance. (Fluid Handling: Products).
July 1, 2003... Power End Upgrades are available for virtually all brands, makes, models, and sizes of end suction centrifugal pumps. This unique upgrade system requires no piping or foundation changes. The bearing frame and seal back-pull-out assembly is a...

Two-wire float switch. (Fluid Handling: Products).
July 1, 2003... NuTec Series L52000 level switch is a thermal mass switch designed with two-wire, 4-20-mA loop power. Using 24-Vdc input power, the innovative design enables retrofitting of existing two-wire, failure-prone, mechanical float switches without...

Hot oil flow meter. (Fluid Handling: Products).
July 1, 2003... This flow meter is designed for use in processes that go up to 550 F. The unit provides visual indication of flow rates from 5 to 40 gpm. Accuracy is [+ or -] 10% of full scale. Maximum operating pressure is 150 psi, Connection size is 1 in....

Ultrasonic flow meter. (Fluid Handling: Products).
July 1, 2003... Dynasonics Series TFXL ultrasonic, transit time, clamp-on flow meter uses time of flight technology to measure most liquids containing less than 40% total suspended solids or aeration. The noninvasive unit attaches to the outside of steel and...

Shear-sensitive pump. (Fluid Handling: Products).
July 1, 2003... Series LS high-capacity pumps are designed for the rapid transfer of delicate products. The one-piece, bow-tie impeller cleanly sweeps the pump chamber, scooping product through the pump rather than beating it. Models have capacities up to 1000...

Steam systems. (Heating: Training).
July 1, 2003... Steam system specialist training will be held in Milwaukee, WI. System Level One training will be given September 16-19 and Level Two training will be given September 30 to October 3. All workshops are limited to 30 attendees to ensure that...

Boiler on-line maintenance. (Heating: Products).
July 1, 2003... New boiler monitor is hard-wired in a daisy chain, going from boiler to boiler, and enables basic troubleshooting by operators and maintenance people. A computer formats and displays data up to 3000 ft away. A month's boiler operating data can...

Remote detectors. (Heating: Products).
July 1, 2003... Gasmonitor Plus uses industry standard 19-in, rack enclosures, allowing multiple units to be stacked and providing as many detector channels and control outputs as required. Rack enclosures allow easy integration with onsite rack-mounted...

Remotely view light-off. (Heating: Products).
July 1, 2003... FireSight high-temperature remote viewing system easily and economically speeds boiler light-off and reduces [NO.sub.x] emissions. System permits color video monitoring of combustion and process control on boilers, furnaces, kilns, and...

Use old oil. (Heating: Products).
July 1, 2003... Burning of used oils provides free shop heat and eliminates haul-off costs and the liabilities of shipping used oils off-site. The Venturion series of used-oil-fired heaters feature easy access to both ends of the heat exchanger, swing-out...

Boiler feed systems. (Heating: Products).
July 1, 2003... Horizontal Boiler Feed Systems are completely packaged with performance-matched components and are available in seven sizes from 50 to 500 gal to feed up to 500-hp boilers at 15 to 250 psi. The systems are furnished with single or multiple...

Collect energy. (Heating: Products).
July 1, 2003... Split Pumped Heat Pipe system (SPHP) is applicable to new construction as well as retrofits. One section is installed in the supply air, the other in the exhaust. The sections can be located far apart and on different levels. Units can recover...

Hazardous gas detection. (Safety: Products).
July 1, 2003... Sentry WebServer combines the power and flexibility of the Sentry gasrisk management system with the interoperability strength of the FieldServer WebServer. The server provides a graphical display of hazardous gas conditions using the Microsoft...

Monitoring device. (Safety: Products).
July 1, 2003... The Pac Ex 2 is a handheld combustible gas and oxygen monitoring device featuring an LCD concentration display with audible, visual, and vibrating alarms. An optional sample pump allows for confined-space measurements. Draeger Safety, Inc....

Anchorage connectors. (Safety: Products).
July 1, 2003... Anchorage connectors feature uniquely designed, portable, reusable anchor points for use in both fall protection and non-fall protection applications. The series includes various models that meet single-user and dual-user fall protection needs,...

DOT compliance. (Safety: Software).
July 1, 2003... The Keller-Soft Safety Presentation Customizer is a new software program that brings together 50 PowerPoint computer-generated slide presentations into one package. The presentations cover a variety of DOT compliance topics as well as...

Small terminals. (Electrical: Products).
July 1, 2003... Small Hydent small-terminal product line offers ring and fork tongue terminals, flag-style and quick disconnects, and splices. The expanded product line also includes installation tools. Most connectors are UL and CSA listed, and are available...

Softstarters for low-voltage motors. (Electrical: Products).
July 1, 2003... PST series softstarters are available for operating voltages from 208 to 690-Vac and full-load line currents of 30-1050 A. When used on wye-delta wound motors, these softstarters are capable of inside-the-delta operation and are UL listed for...

Decentralized drive. (Electrical: Products).
July 1, 2003... VLT Decentral FCD 300 drive is an all-in-one-box adjustable speed drive that can be mounted on the wall, motor, or in any standard cabinet. The NEMA 4X enclosure allows the drive to withstand detergent and high-pressure cleaning. The drive,...

Expansion coupling. (Electrical: Products).
July 1, 2003... XJG-TB rigid conduit expansion coupling simplifies and speeds the job of installing expansion fittings in long runs of conduit. No disassembly during installation means no parts to drop or lose. The coupling, which requires fewer installation...

Interconnection relay. (Electrical: Products).
July 1, 2003... SEL-547 Distributed Generator Interconnection Relay provides utility-grade protection of distributed electrical generation (DG)futility system connections by detecting abnormal conditions in operating modes that include peak shaving, base...

Safety relays. (Electrical: Products).
July 1, 2003... PSR safety relay comes in a 22.5-mm housing, is equipped with 2-8 normally open (NO) release current paths and one normally closed (NC) signaling current path. It is designed in accordance with EN50 178 with reinforced isolation. The safety...

Position control. (Instruments & Controls: Products).
July 1, 2003... GNT 100 is a direct-mount actuator with 100 in.-lb of torque for valve and damper positioning applications. The actuator, which includes a 1-kOhm potentiometer for position feedback, is positioned by 120-Vac signals that turn the actuator CW or...

Humidity/temperature transmitter. (Instrument & Controls: Products).
July 1, 2003... HX50 series humidity transmitters are designed for monitoring indoor air quality in HVAC industry. HH5l measures RH; HH52 simultaneously measures temperature and RH. Outputs are configurable for 0-1 Vdc, 0-5 Vdc, or 4-20 mA dc, and can be...

Remote display. (Instruments & Controls: Products).
July 1, 2003... LaserLight series remote display is designed to improve visibility for any industrial scale application. The display employs a light-sensing feature that automatically adjusts the intensity of the display for optimum viewing under all ambient...

Electronic flow switch. (Instruments & Controls: Products).
July 1, 2003... FS 10 is an electronic flow switch that combines a solid-state relay with a flow sensor in one compact unit. The unit responds to flow rates in gas or liquid with temperatures from -13 F to 212 F and measures gas flow rates from 0.5 to 50-m/sec...

Analog output modules. (Instruments & Controls: Products).
July 1, 2003... BusWorks 972PB and 973PB analog output modules deliver data from a Profibus-DP network as voltage or current signals to as many as six measurement or control devices. Modules feature 12-bit digital-to-analog (DIA) converters, failsafe outputs,...

Acoustic sensors. (Instruments & Controls: Products).
July 1, 2003... Models 765M25 and 765M27 are high-intensity acoustic sensors (microphones) designed to measure gas-borne sound in the 100-Hz to 30-kHz range in industrial applications requiring operation up to 500 F. The acoustic sensors are constructed for...

Hybrid control system. (Instruments & Controls: Products).
July 1, 2003... Micro 2008R and 201 6R are ultra-compact controllers with hot standby control. Built-in redundancy protects against failure from controller to 110. The controllers combine PLC-like high-speed scanning with the complex control systems of a DCS....

Internet Connection.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Visit the following company web sites. For more information on how to advertise in PLANT ENTINEERING'S Internet Connection, call Jim Langhenry at 630-288-8789 abb-drives.com Site serves current and prospective customers with...