Brent H
Ultra Member
Yes!
So we run a maintenance program that we input most of the machinery hours into every day. Some items are not "clocked" but are calendared (like every month, every year etc) and some items are "as required"
35 years ago when the ship was built each piece of machinery , with reference to the operators manuals, best judgement and OEM advice had all the maintenance schedules, lube types, methods of inspection or overhaul loaded into a pretty simple program. We have upgraded this program (lasted 24 years running original DOS) and now have a bit more tracking of items and the requirements of the maintenance.
Over those years - similar to yourself, we have altered and changed frequency of parts renewal or inspections times or eliminated some items that are none problematic and just take time with no pay back.
Being a large ship we are also subject to a similar set of standards, like your annual truck inspection. Some items are annual and we have a person in and some are every 5 years. To keep our current sailing status (anywhere there is water basically) we have to dry dock twice in 5 years...$$$$ and the ship goes through many inspections like tanks, hull, props, hubs, shafts etc
Some of the benefit I have is being on the same ship for loads of years and can help keep the list of maintenance , failures and solutions updated. Most of our fleet- this is not the case due to lots of transition of people.
You have a great system in place Dave and you are very serious about driving a safe rig - so super great! I am sure though that you would not want a truck going for 35 years though - I think this ship will need to go 50 plus....
Honestly I am not opposed to the oil testing/fluid testing and I suppose I may have sounded a bit negative about the whole thing - mostly I think that is because the testing, the instruments to do so and the data interpretation needs to be tailored to your needs. It also needs to work. Most of the stuff we get in the government has some smoke and mirrors behind the scenes to sell the stuff and we have not benefited here. Lots of communication issues as well - but what can you do
Vibration analysis: probably great for stationary machines, set up when they were new and the machines are running in a consistent and constant manner. Not as good on moving platform with multiple configurations and no consistent operational configuration.
Fluid testing: Has to be used for benefiting the end user either financially or functionally. The testing lets you extend lube or fluid life, indicates possible failures - oil in water, fuel issues, metal build up etc It needs help prevent problems by letting you know that things are changing in the engine or machine - allows trending, solid reference to a base line sample. I have been disappointed in this because, unlike yourself, I don't have the total say in what happens to my rig and we change fluids far too soon and a few other maintenance things that rot me (like pulling a perfectly good machines apart so some stranger can have a look). Typically something gets cocked up on the re-assembly
Right now we are pulling apart/assembling a 2200HP engine and rebuilding it to meet OEM specs as well as many other projects on the maintenance list. - I can supply a few pics if anyone is interested!
Do you have a favorite meal @Chicken lights ? I will ensure we are set for your next visit!
So we run a maintenance program that we input most of the machinery hours into every day. Some items are not "clocked" but are calendared (like every month, every year etc) and some items are "as required"
35 years ago when the ship was built each piece of machinery , with reference to the operators manuals, best judgement and OEM advice had all the maintenance schedules, lube types, methods of inspection or overhaul loaded into a pretty simple program. We have upgraded this program (lasted 24 years running original DOS) and now have a bit more tracking of items and the requirements of the maintenance.
Over those years - similar to yourself, we have altered and changed frequency of parts renewal or inspections times or eliminated some items that are none problematic and just take time with no pay back.
Being a large ship we are also subject to a similar set of standards, like your annual truck inspection. Some items are annual and we have a person in and some are every 5 years. To keep our current sailing status (anywhere there is water basically) we have to dry dock twice in 5 years...$$$$ and the ship goes through many inspections like tanks, hull, props, hubs, shafts etc
Some of the benefit I have is being on the same ship for loads of years and can help keep the list of maintenance , failures and solutions updated. Most of our fleet- this is not the case due to lots of transition of people.
You have a great system in place Dave and you are very serious about driving a safe rig - so super great! I am sure though that you would not want a truck going for 35 years though - I think this ship will need to go 50 plus....
Honestly I am not opposed to the oil testing/fluid testing and I suppose I may have sounded a bit negative about the whole thing - mostly I think that is because the testing, the instruments to do so and the data interpretation needs to be tailored to your needs. It also needs to work. Most of the stuff we get in the government has some smoke and mirrors behind the scenes to sell the stuff and we have not benefited here. Lots of communication issues as well - but what can you do
Vibration analysis: probably great for stationary machines, set up when they were new and the machines are running in a consistent and constant manner. Not as good on moving platform with multiple configurations and no consistent operational configuration.
Fluid testing: Has to be used for benefiting the end user either financially or functionally. The testing lets you extend lube or fluid life, indicates possible failures - oil in water, fuel issues, metal build up etc It needs help prevent problems by letting you know that things are changing in the engine or machine - allows trending, solid reference to a base line sample. I have been disappointed in this because, unlike yourself, I don't have the total say in what happens to my rig and we change fluids far too soon and a few other maintenance things that rot me (like pulling a perfectly good machines apart so some stranger can have a look). Typically something gets cocked up on the re-assembly
Right now we are pulling apart/assembling a 2200HP engine and rebuilding it to meet OEM specs as well as many other projects on the maintenance list. - I can supply a few pics if anyone is interested!
Do you have a favorite meal @Chicken lights ? I will ensure we are set for your next visit!