Maintenance, Repair and Operations Feature Library

Operations Engineer's library catalogues editorial features going back five years.

Access to all archive material is free to all, including non-members of IPlantE (the Institution of Operations Engineers) or BES (Bureau of Engineer Surveyors), under the umbrella of SOE (Society of Operations Engineers). However, to discover the many benefits of becoming an SOE member, please click here.

01/06/2006 Why bespoke speaks for itself When installing cable management products, getting all the equipment you need from stock is not always possible. After all, specific production facilities cannot be picked from a stock catalogue. Often, production lines within a facility ... » Read More

01/06/2006 Reliable technology As a function of quality management, reliability is defined as a measure of the degree to which a system does what it is intended to do. Clearly, reliability is crucial, and all manufacturing processes require safe and reliable operation ... » Read More

01/06/2006 Recovery position Despite the government's delays over implementation of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive, organisations must start to consider and implement solutions for disposing of this type of equipment. » Read More

01/06/2006 Raising the ante on safety While lifts and lifting operations have generally become much safer certainly than when passenger lifts first made their appearance during the 19th Century handling and lifting are still the largest source of industrial accidents in the ... » Read More

01/06/2006 Massive effort to take control Wasting compressed air is like watching money go up in smoke. People too often treat compressed air as if it is as free as the air around us, when in fact it's the most expensive utility available. This is because compressors turn around ... » Read More

01/06/2006 Key strategies In theory, it is possible to use computers to run a factory or plant in such a way that production is automatically optimised. Orders received can be responded to in such a way as to minimise production times and costs. » Read More

01/06/2006 Engineer surveyors: a testing role In the beginning?there were boiler explosions, and lots of them! And so the engineer surveyor, as we know that person today, came into existence - around the middle of the 19th century. This was a time of rapid industrial expansion that ... » Read More

01/04/2006 Watching for the red alert Plant engineers face a dilemma. Is it best to wait for something to break down or undertake maintenance work at pre-planned intervals (which may mean performing maintenance and causing downtime when it is not really needed)? Or should they ... » Read More

01/04/2006 Straining to be heard Talk 'training and education' to the leading lights in many businesses and there's a strong probability their eyes will glaze over. It's not a subject that's dear to everyone's heart. It doesn't set the pound signs rolling in the financial ... » Read More

01/04/2006 Red spells danger For many businesses, getting started in thermal imaging has never been easier. The latest thermal imagers designed for industrial maintenance are both powerful and easy to use. Maintenance engineers can quickly learn how to use the ... » Read More

01/04/2006 Prevention & protection There are only two ways in which workers can be protected from environmental, chemical and biological hazards. One is by giving them protective clothing - gloves, boots and, where appropriate, ear and eye protection. The other is by ... » Read More

01/04/2006 Planting seeds of recovery There is a part of all of us that agrees with the notion 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. But, equally, when it comes to plant maintenance and operations, the purpose of this activity is to minimise the risk to the business of expensive ... » Read More

01/04/2006 Kill Bill On 8 March, the government announced it is to push ahead with its draft Corporate Manslaughter Bill. In response, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "We are pleased that ministers have listened to concerns over the way that the ... » Read More

01/04/2006 Go with the flow Energy efficiency is near the top of every industry's list of business priorities, especially given its impact on the cost of operations and product margins. In addition to conventional means of gaining productivity improvements, in many ... » Read More

01/02/2006 What lies beneath Presentations at a recent seminar revealed the enormity of the tasks to be addressed if carbon capture and sequestration is ever to become a reality. » Read More

01/02/2006 The wrong mix Since The Control of Pollution (Oil Storage) Regulations 2001 came into effect, much debate has ensued regarding oil storage, and the challenges of avoiding water contamination in particular. But what are the real ins and outs of oil ... » Read More

01/02/2006 Safety and savings Compressed air continues to offer many advantages in process industry applications, especially in hazardous areas, but often continues to be used inefficiently. Help - much of it free - is readily available to help reduce energy costs and ... » Read More

01/02/2006 Pollution Solution Whether you look at the heavy engineering manufacturers, pharmaceutical, petro-chemical, or continuous process industries, copious volumes of dust and fumes are generated. These fumes and dusts have to be processed before they can be ... » Read More

01/02/2006 On the right track Rail is said to be favoured by European governments as an alternative to road transport because of its environmental friendliness compared to people driving their own cars. With oil supplies likely to begin to fall at a time when world ... » Read More

01/02/2006 Maintenance means business Maintec 2006 promises everything for today's maintenance professional, whether in industry, commerce or the public sector. It takes place from 14-16 March at the NEC, Birmingham. » Read More

01/12/2005 Under pressure The use of compressed air systems in manufacturing and process industries is said to account for some 10-15% of energy consumption, and they are found in almost every area of economic activity. The applications and use of compressed air ... » Read More

01/12/2005 Stem the flow These days, industrial lubrication has two main purposes: first, to ensure by some mechanical, electronic or outsourced human means that machine mechanisms receive timely lubrication; and, secondly, that this lubrication should be as ... » Read More

01/12/2005 Smooth a path to silence There shouldn't be any significant problems meeting the requirements of the new noise and vibration regulations, but there are issues which employers need to consider - and they should be wary of figures quoted by some equipment ... » Read More

01/12/2005 Make sense of data to boost profit Significant advances are constantly being made in gathering information about what is really going on in process and industrial plant - especially where located in more remote locations - and in processing this information to reduce ... » Read More

01/12/2005 Fuelling the debate With the price of fuel soaring in the UK - and diesel hovering around the £1 per litre mark - the time may well be right to look at viable alternatives. Biofuels seem to be attracting the headlines, so Plant Engineer felt it would be worth ... » Read More