Eugene/Springfield Water Pollution Control Facility 1984-1991

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Section F: EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE Page 47 ers. An assoranent of other equipment includes small and large metal lathes, drill press, hydraulic press, bead blaster, bearing warmers, parts washer, and steam cleaner. Purchasing the equipment and cools has proven to be cost effective when com- pared to the work delays and higher costs the plant incurred when the work was contracted out. The electrical shop area has many testing and diagnostic tools. For example, the dielectric test set checks the internal insulation of motors, trans- formers, and other electrical equipment rated to ^ MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT The planning, coordination, and performance of the plant's maintenance work has developed from a simple card system to a computerized mainte- nance management system that emphasizes pre- ventivemaintenance.The preventive maintenance program provides historical maintenance records for all equipment, including labor hours and parts' cos ts. The program has reduced unscheduled main- tenancework requests by nearly 50 percent. Staff, with the help of a technical advisory committee composed of all the potential users of the program, is currently looking at additional improvements. At the time of plant start-up, a card system was used to track maintenance work orders. When repairs were needed, equipment deficiency cards were submitted to the maintenance supervisor, who assigned the work to a plant mechanic. When a j ob was completed, the mechanic would note the repair on the card. Completed cards were photo- copiedand sent to plant operators, and the original cards were filed for future reference. A numberof needs prompted staff to investigate an alternative system. Maintenance work requests increased sharply for a brief time when the old Eugene plant, the Springfield plant, and the new treatment facilities were operating concurrently. It quickly became clear the card system was cum- bersome and inefficient, and a system was needed that could process more work requests and quickly provide reliable equipment histories. A structured preventive maintenance schedule also was needed to reduce the high cost of replacing equipment. During their research, workers discovered that the firm that had produced the plant's process com- puter was offering a new maintenance manage- 15,000 volts. Equipment for programming and diagnostic analysis of logic controllers and a fre- quency analyzer for diagnostic analysis of tele- phoneline telemetry systems are other examples of the specialized tools. The instrument shop is equipped with most of the tools needed for calibration, testing, and diagnos- ticpurposes. The calibration equipment calibrates the meters that monitor the atmosphere of con- finedspaces. Anoscilloscopehelps staffdesignand troubleshoot problems in electronic circuitry. ment software program. The program was capable of processing maintenance work orders and had a preventive maintenance program that could man- age apart's inventory. At about the same time the new plant came on-line, the plant purchased the program and the card system was eliminated. The maintenance management program provides more efficientprocessing anda more detailed docu- mentation of maintenance work activities. It pro- cesses three types of maintenance requests: un- scheduled, corrective, and preventive. To initiate unscheduled maintenance, a work request is com- pleted and submitted to a supervisor to sign. The request is then forwarded to the maintenance work section, and a copy is sent to the data control clerk, who logs the information into the maintenance management program. Each request is tagged with a code number for identification and tracking. At this point, the program can produce an unscheduled backlog re- port, which prioritizes and schedules maintenance work that cannot be handled immediately. When the maintenance supervisor receives a re- questfor corrective work, he or she assigns it to a maintenance technician. When the work is com- pleted, the technician fills in the work acknowl- edgment section of the form. Qnce the mainte- nance supervisor signs the completed form, it is routed to the data control clerk, who logs the information into the maintenance management program. The program allows the plant to maintain an historical recordof every significantpiece of equip-