Past AIST Committee Activities
Current Activities
The Maintenance & Reliability Technology Committee (MRTC) held a meeting in Greenville, S.C., on Feb. 2–3. There were several new members in attendance, so the meeting began with introductions. From here, the committee reviewed the status of the MRTC sessions for AISTech 2010 and identified areas where follow-up was needed. Chairs were also confirmed for the sessions. They then reviewed the program for their upcoming Specialty Training Conference, Operations and Maintenance Total Asset Reliability Workshop. Some minor changes were made to the program to improve the flow, and additional panelists were identified to strengthen the panel discussion. This Specialty Training Conference is typically held in the fall, and although this year’s conference was moved to the spring because of the economy, the preference is to hold it in the fall. Plans were discussed for themes and locations for the fall of 2012. The MRTC also reviewed topics for the AISTech 2011 Call for Abstracts. Plans were then developed to target specific companies that they feel ought to be involved with the committee. A membership chair was elected, and committee members were identified to make contacts within the targeted companies. The MRTC decided to have a representative at the AIST Technology Committees booth at AISTech 2010 in Pittsburgh, viewing this as an opportunity to recruit members. Auditors were identified to audit the Reliability Achievement Award entries, and the timeline for this process was set. Technical topics for the upcoming meeting in August were also identified. Technical presentations were then made on “Systematic Failure Elimination — A Critical Business Competency,” by Jim Humphries of Fluor; an overview of The Cline Co. by Bob Buchanan of The Cline Co.; an overview of MRSI by Jeff Blankenship of MRSI; and “IDCON Good to Great” by Christer Idhammar of IDCON Inc. These presentations were followed by a tour of the BMW plant.
The Maintenance & Reliability Technology Committee (MRTC) met on August 20–21 at AIST headquarters in Warrendale, Pa. Committee chair Chuck Kooistra noted that the attendance for this meeting was very good and attributed this to the value gained through the technical exchanges made at such meetings. The MRTC reviewed the status of their upcoming Specialty Training Conference and decided to move it from the originally scheduled September date to the end of March 2010. Committee members who could not attend in person were able to participate in the meeting via teleconference and WebEx. Randy Heisler of Life Cycle Engineering made a presentation on the A3 System and how the forms help justify a project’s return. Tim Kuzmicky provided an overview of USS-POSCO. Jim Wharrey provided an overview of TMK IPSCO Koppel Tubulars Corp., including the company’s structure and products produced at their facilities. Alan Wood of Elwood City Forge discussed the company’s equipment processes and capabilities, ending with a discussion on the need for educated maintenance personnel in the industry and the stigmas that need to be overcome to keep these talented personnel. Bob Miller of IVC Technologies reviewed the value of vibration analysis, the diagnostic tools available and the benefits of predictive monitoring. A preview of the presentation on gearbox maintenance, which was to be a part of the Specialty Training Conference, was provided by Terry Ryan of Chalmers & Kubeck. Mr. Kooistra followed this with “Performance of Human Resources Within the Maintenance Organization” and the increasing role of reliability. These presentations were followed by a discussion on providing Webcasts on a regular basis, possibly making them available in the AIST Members Only area as another valuable resource for committee members. Each year the MRTC presents a Reliability Achievement Award, and the results from the audits of this year’s projects were presented. Following the presentation of the results, the winners were determined and plans were developed to notify the award winners. The winners will be recognized in the December 2009 issue of Iron & Steel Technology.
The Maintenance and Reliability Technology Committee (MRTC) met on May 5–6 in St. Louis, Mo., in conjunction with AISTech. In addition to their own sessions, they held joint sessions with the Lubrication and Hydraulics Technology Committee. The papers presented prior to the meeting were reviewed, and the MRTC encouraged support of the upcoming sessions. A status update was provided on the committee’s Specialty Training Conference, “Operations and Maintenance Total Asset Reliability Workshop,” which will be held Sept. 16–18 in Michigan City, Ind. Everyone was encouraged to make contacts to help promote the conference. Gino Palarchio will be the keynote speaker at the dinner for this conference. Session chairs for the conference were also identified. Plans were then made for evaluation of the 2009 Reliability Achievement Award. To date, three entries had been received, and a conference call will be scheduled to review the evaluation process and identify auditors. The MRTC then identified options for their August meeting, where the audit results will be presented and the 2009 winners will be determined. This will also provide an opportunity to finalize any last-minute details for their Specialty Training Conference. The MRTC unanimously elected their new slate of officers for the upcoming year, with Chuck Kooistra as chair, Jason Roche as vice chair, Colleen Reeves as papers chair and Sig Johansen as Specialty Training Conference chair. They amended part of their mission statement from “developing maintenance leadership” to “developing maintenance and reliability leadership.”
The Maintenance and Reliability Technology Committee (MRTC) met in Charleston, S.C., on Nov. 19–21, 2008. The Specialty Training Conference Subcommittee met on the afternoon of the 19th to begin planning for their conference in the fall of 2009. Then, at the meeting of the full MRTC, introductions were exchanged, followed by an explanation of the history and development of the committee. They began with an update on their sessions for AISTech 2009, to be held in St. Louis, Mo., May 4–7, 2009. Chuck Kooistra was elected as the new papers chair. He led the process for selection of papers and development of sessions for the conference. They also planned joint sessions with two other committees within their Technology Division. Colleen Reeves, 2009 Specialty Training Conference Subcommittee chair, updated the committee on the outcome of the subcommittee’s meeting. The plans are to have the conference in northwest Indiana, Sept. 16–18, 2009, and to collaborate with the Northwest Indiana Business Round Table. They were very satisfied with the format of their 2008 conference and decided to expand on this format, which included hands-on workshops. They continue to attempt to get operators, in addition to maintenance personnel, more involved with their conference. They also added more people to assist with the subcommittee efforts. The MRTC then reviewed the timeline and responsibilities for the 2009 Reliability Achievement Awards, particularly with respect to the earlier date of May 31, 2009, as the deadline for receiving entries. Additional members were also solicited to participate on this subcommittee, especially to assist with the audits. Ms. Reeves, who represented the MRTC at the AIST Leadership Development Conference, updated the group on the activities and outcomes of this meeting. Roger Raab of Nordlock made a presentation on “Bolted Joint Physics, Fastening Methods, and How to Stop Nuts and Bolts From Loosening.” Randy Heisler of Life Cycle Engineering did a presentation on “Justifying Reliability Projects, and Ricky Smith of Allied Reliability did a presentation on asset health. A tour of Alcoa Mt. Holly was included, and the attendees had the opportunity to hear about the procedures used that won them the 2008 Maintenance Excellence Award. Mr. Heisler also extended an invitation to everyone to attend an informal reception at their offices.
The Maintenance and Reliability Technology Committee (MRTC) met Aug. 18–20 in Fort Wayne, Ind. The MRTC has two subcommittees, one for their Specialty Training Conference and one for their Reliability Achievement Award. The Specialty Training Conference Subcommittee (STCS) met first to review the status of their conference. They reviewed registration, the status of the presentations and other details. Follow-up activities were identified to ensure completion of all open issues. Tentative venues for next year’s conference were then discussed, and the STCS decided to look into holding the conference together with a related activity. STCS members were asked to submit ideas for a theme, topics and potential presenters, to be discussed at the next meeting. Following this, the Reliability Achievement Award Subcommittee (RAAS) met to review the audits from this year’s RAA entries. The leader from each of the audit teams presented the audit results, and each member rated every submittal. After the results were tabulated, the gold, silver and bronze award winners were determined. Following this evaluation process, there was discussion on whether any changes were needed to the process. The main suggestion was to change the deadline for submissions to May 31 instead of June 30 to allow the auditors more time to schedule and perform their audits. The following day, both subcommittees provided an update to the entire MRTC. Members were encouraged to support the committee’s Specialty Training Conference within their own companies. To begin preparation for the MRTC’s 2009 activities, additional volunteers were accepted as members of next year’s subcommittees. The benefits of participating in these activities were espoused by both new participants and those who have participated for several years. Plans for AISTech 2009 were discussed, with a review of the available abstracts. Committee members in attendance also offered presentations for 2009. After the AIST business part of the meeting, Tim Stiers of Castrol made a technical presentation on contamination control for hydraulic systems. Vern Martin of Flowcare made a presentation on fan performance issues critical to purchasing retrofit components for new fans. A discussion on NFPA 70E, the standard for electrical safe work practices, was presented by Ed Miltenberger of Siemens. The day’s sessions closed with ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s Mike Keenan’s discussion on maintenance task analysis. On the final day of the meeting, Don Sanger of IVC gave an overview of predictive maintenance basics. A round table discussion was then conducted on items that were being worked on by members and any other current issues. Future meeting locations and agendas were then discussed. The meeting closed and the members attended a tour of the SDI Structural and Rail Division’s new medium section mill, which was arranged and hosted by Bill Bennett of SDI.
The Maintenance Processes Operating Committee (MPOC) met at AISTech in Pittsburgh on May 6. Their first item was to review the status of the integration plan for the AISI committees, which resulted in this committee becoming the Maintenance and Reliability Technology Committee (MRTC). They then discussed the quality of the presentations they had attended at AISTech 2008. It was recommended that there be two MRTC time slots at AISTech 2009, so that some longer presentations can take a full hour. They also encouraged committee members to attend the MPOC sessions at AISTech 2008, particularly the ones featuring the Reliability Achievement Award. Jim Dunn updated the group on the status of the upcoming Specialty Training Conference that will be held in Memphis, Tenn., Oct. 1–3, 2008, featuring a tour of Nucor Steel–Memphis. He also discussed the trip report that will be a part of this conference, and the chair responsibilities in collecting this information. They then discussed the entries, audit process and timeline for the 2008 Reliability Achievement Award (RAA) and identified a subcommittee to work on the audits of the submissions. New officers were elected for the upcoming year: Jim Dunn as chair, Jason Roche as vice chair, Doyle Hopper as papers chair and Colleen Reeves as Specialty Training Conference chair. After a review and approval of their mission statement, they discussed options and technical presentations for their next meetings and then adjourned.
