Guest Column

Sten Malmstrom, President & CEO, SKF USA, Inc.

Equipping The World With Knowledge

ur stated global vision is to equip the world with SKF knowledge. For our customers in the pump industry, this knowledge can be power. We operate more than 80 manufacturing sites around the world and staff sales companies in 70 countries, supported by 15,000 distributors and dealers. As the world's leading supplier of bearings and engineering solutions to the pump industry, SKF has helped shape its future through decades of close cooperation with leading manufacturers. This cooperation has advanced our ability over the years to pioneer innovative engineering solutions and bearing designs with the goal of improving performance and reliability of pumps for tomorrows demanding applications. Along the way, we have gained significant insights into the expectations of our many customers, which has given rise to extensive portfolios of products, systems and services that are tailor-made to satisfy both existing and evolving challenges.

The common denominator among all of this is knowledge, which has emerged as a distinct attribute in creating added value for customers seeking new and better ways improve performance, efficiency, productivity, reliability and profitability of operations and equipment. As a result, our customers are starting to view our company as the knowledge engineering company. We have recognized that we must strive to enlarge our sphere of operations with regard to products, systems and services for the monitoring and maintenance of equipment, primarily within the process and manufacturing industries. The purpose is to provide ideal solutions for optimized efficiency and maintenance of equipment assets, including pumps.

Sharing the Knowledge

As we work closely with individual customers to develop solutions to their often complex challenges, our knowledge base continually expands and we find ourselves cast in the inviting role of industry resource. In short, we have learned that when we can help one, we can help many. This philosophy has prompted us to cultivate and expand programs and services to help supplement customer resources. Many can prove helpful in the quest to maximize service life and reliability of pumps. A few examples: Condition monitoring Comprehensive condition-monitoring procedures make it possible to detect problems relating to pumps and components before unanticipated and unwanted downtime can occur. Sophisticated instrumentation and software can be employed to collect and interpret information and help control the maintenance factors that impact service life and overall pump operation. Bearing failure analyses This troubleshooting tool aims to help prevent bearing failures in the future by evaluating past bearing failures and identifying the causes.

Rising to Challenges
Pumps are everywhere in our society today, from industries making paper and chemicals to those supplying water in our neighborhood utilities. They further represent a highly demanding application. In turn, demands on industry suppliers are equally high and growing at a rapid pace. All this suggests that no matter how viable a companys product offerings, products alone will not ensure survival in todays increasingly competitive marketplace. Companies must offer valueadded solutions and expertise, grounded in a deep understanding of specific customer requirements. Our experience is that OEMs tend to value how our knowledge can make their products more competitive. For end users, the aim is to realize the maximum utilization of their assets in order to increase their productivity and profitability. In the aftermarket, the key factor is to know what kind of products a customer may need and to have them readily available.
8

NOVEMBER 2004

www.pump-zone.com

PUMPS & SYSTEMS

Factors for scrutiny typically include load-zone interpretation, static vibration, impact, electrical arcing, misalignment, overloading, insufficient loading, parasitic loads, contamination, fretting corrosion and inadequate or ineffective lubrication. Specialized training courses On- and off-site educational opportunities present forums to expand and fine-tune knowledge among pump service, maintenance, engineering and repair staffs. One of our most successful courses addresses Bearing Reliability in Centrifugal Pumps. This focused series of lectures, discussions, and hands-on workshops addresses the design, function and maintenance requirements of rolling bearings in centrifugal pumps. It also describes the preferred methods for installation, start-up, and run-in of rolling bearings in pumps and covers troubleshooting and solutions for common pump bearing problems. Reliability programs Reliability refers to the probability that equipment, machinery or systems will perform their required functions satisfactorily under specific conditions within a certain time period. This can be measured by mean time between failure (MTBF), or the duration or probability of failure-free performance under stated conditions. Recognizing industry interest and need, our asset efficiency optimization (AEO) process offers a pathway to plant profitability by proactively optimizing operation and maintenance of machine assets, pumps included. It encompasses an array of programs, services and consulting expertise available to complement and advance existing reliability maintenance programs. Among noteworthy AEO resources and capabilities are: 1. A system that replaces labor-intensive data analysis with automatic fault resolution and work-order notification based on asset knowledge science; this enables reliability

maintenance teams to apply decision-making criteria quickly and uniformly, based on meaningful data and pre-determined sets of procedures and priorities. 2. A system that serves as a condition-based maintenance equipment strategy to help identify equipment problems, prevent them from recurring and promote the best possible return on plant assets. 3. A series of newly introduced products that satisfy operator-driven reliability requirements; these essentially engage front-line personnel to serve as key resources in a plants reliability efforts. Design support Pumps must perform under increasingly demanding conditions. Operating conditions are diverse and severe, maintenance must be kept minimal and production cost must be minimized. These demands require that designers arrive at optimal solutions without making major concessions. Bearing selection for pumps, in particular, is no longer influenced only by load, speed and temperature limitations. Environmental, dynamic and noise effects will have an impact, too. Our customers can analyze existing or new pump designs by enlisting simple assessments or applying advanced modeling and simulation tools. Either way, potential design problems can be eliminated and optimized pump designs can be realized.

For our customers

in the pump industry, this knowledge can be power.

Embracing the Future

New solutions abound for newly emerging challenges. Our understanding is clear that customers can best be served when we embrace the exploration of new avenues and possibilities, constantly improve product ranges, develop new products and solutions and promote the causes of enhanced equipment performance and sustainability. P&S

PUMPS & SYSTEMS

www.pump-zone.com

NOVEMBER 2004