Capital Equipment News July 2019

EDITOR'S COMMENT

LITTLE THINGSWITH BIG IMPACT

T he big focus on health and safety by the majority of capital equip- ment users across the board is commendable. Strict health and safety regimes are apparent at several sites we get to visit. However, there are some little things we tend to overlook and often they result in big problems – the impact can range from easily fixed with minimal losses to catastrophic, depending on factors like repair costs, total downtime, impact on production, as well as health and safety implications. I recently visited a leading industrial tools manufacturer and got to witness the work it does in terms of calibrating its customers’ industrial tools. My key takeaway from the visit was that the significance of using proper torque values for your bolts and nuts is enormous. Remember each bolt or nut you tighten has calculated torque values specifically designed for it. Whether installing the lug bolts on your truck after removing a tyre, replacing screen media on your screen, or doing an engine or transmission rebuild, every component hardware has a torque value. Most importantly, both under and over- torqueing a bolt can cause a catastrophic failure, therefore it is imperative to tighten each bolt or nut to the manufacturers’ specified values. The effects of under and over-torque- ing can be catastrophic. Imagine an 18-wheeler heavy commercial vehicle with under-torqued tyres, for example, coming loose and flying into the road, hitting other vehicles and causing injuries and even death! It is therefore important that the tightening tools, as insignificant as they sound, be given proper attention through regular calibrations by certified service providers. Pneumatic and electric tools need to be measured and verified at regular intervals. This ensures that the tools function correctly and precisely.

This procedure is essential because of the ultimate consequences of not carrying it out. Only tools that have been properly serviced and adjusted ensure proper production results and avoid incorrect tightening, which might be expensive and safety-critical. But how often should calibration of tools take place? It is not possible to give a general answer to this question as a calibration result always represents a glimpse of current conditions and change over time. The calibration intervals required depend on a number of factors including admissible tolerances, stability of past calibration results, accuracy required and quality assurance requirements, among others. This means that calibration intervals depend on the user and the specific application and need to be individually determined and monitored. Normally, the company’s quality manager is responsible for this task. In the case of new equipment, it may be beneficial to adapt the calibration intervals gradually to reflect actual conditions. For quality assurance in production and traceability of results, in their manufacturing processes OEMs ensure that any equipment used is calibrated at multiple points across its working range. Failure to calibrate or improper calibration may result in big liabilities as a result of failures. In comparison, there is a general sentiment that some end users are not doing their part as far as this is concerned. Calibrations are often seen as a waste of time and a cost factor. However, this view changes as soon as capital equipment owners incur huge losses through accidents, for example, as a result of wrong torque values on your bolts and nuts. Thus, calibration is vitally important wherever tightening tools are used. Look out for a feature on this topic in the August edition of Capital Equipment News .

Munesu Shoko – Editor

capnews@crown.co.za

@CapEquipNews

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CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS JULY 2019 2