2002 Maintenance Tips & Tricks Winners

Winner of the 2002 'Maintenance Tip of the Year' is Steve Bailey, Honeywell, Conway, SC. He received $1000 for his suggestion on how to find and drill through the center of a piece of round stock. Runners-up are Frank Anderer, Bell & Gossett, Morton Grove, IL, and Ralph Dewey, BP Solvay Polyethylene North America, Deer Park, TX.

By Joseph L. Foszcz, Senior Editor, PLANT ENGINEERING Magazine February 15, 2003
Sections:
First Place
Second Place
Third Place
Entering the contest

Winner of the 2002 “Maintenance Tip of the Year” is Steve Bailey, Honeywell, Conway, SC. He received $1000 for his suggestion on how to find and drill through the center of a piece of round stock. Runners-up are Frank Anderer, Bell & Gossett, Morton Grove, IL, and Ralph Dewey, BP Solvay Polyethylene North America, Deer Park, TX. Mr. Anderer presented a solution for holding gaskets in place and Mr. Dewey explained how to keep many screws handy when driving them with a drill. They each received $250 for their suggestions.

Participate in our 15 th annual Tips & Tricks contest by submitting a tip no later than April 30 and you could win $1000.

Countless time-conserving, money-saving, aggravation-avoiding ideas for solving typical plant maintenance problems are used by PLANT ENGINEERING readers. Unfortunately, all too often the knowledge base of these inexpensive, easy-to-implement problem-solvers is not universal.

Sharing simple, shortcut maintenance methods or procedures with others in the profession is the basic intent of PLANT ENGINEERING magazine’s 15thannual “Tips & Tricks” article. Reader-submitted maintenance suggestions selected by our review committee will appear in the August issue. (Those not picked for that article will be considered for use in our monthly “Solutions” department).

In addition to submitting maintenance ideas, we want our readers to pick the “best” tip of 2003 from among those published. A reader service number will be assigned to each entry so you can vote for the five entrants you think are the most appropriate or practical for solving your maintenance problems.

The highest vote-getter will be rewarded with $1000. The two runners-up will each receive $250. All other items published in “Tips & Tricks” and “Solutions” will earn $35.

First Place

Drill through the center of round stock

Problem: Holes must be drilled through the center of round stock. Is there a way to determine where the center is quickly and easily?

Solution: Mark the axial location of the hole and clamp the part in the drill press vise. Place a thin strip of metal (6 in. steel rule, hacksaw blade, etc.) on the part. With the drill press off, lower the drill bit onto the metal strip, lightly squeezing it. Move the vise until the metal strip is level. That is the center of the round part.

Second Place

Gaskets stay put

Problem: Sometimes gaskets have to be installed in unusual and/or difficult locations. They may be awkward or impossible to hold in place while installing bolts. How can you get a gasket to stay in place when installing it in such a situation and adhesives can’t be used?

Solution: Hold the gasket in location against one surface and tie it in place with pieces of string located in opposite holes. Install bolts in the remaining holes, drawing the two surfaces close to each other. Cut and remove the strings. Install the remaining bolts and the job is done.

Third Place

Keep screws handy

Problem: When using a lot of fastening screws, it is time-consuming to reach for them one at a time from a box. Is there a better way to have the screws handy while doing this work?

Solution: Tape a magnet to the back of a drill. Dip the drill into the box of screws and dozens of them will stick to the magnet. They are now convenient to select and do the job.

Entering the contest

Look around the plant, or call on your past experiences. Do you see a shortcut method for handling a maintenance problem, or recall a technique that solved a problem in the past? The ideas do not have to be rocket science or original with you. What is common knowledge or routine in one plant, industry, or area might be a revelation elsewhere.

If you come up with a good idea, send us a detailed explanation. State the problem that existed and present the solution provided by your tip. Drawings or color photographs visually depicting the idea are extremely important to the impact and understanding of the tip. Also include your name, title, company mail, and e-mail address, and daytime phone number. Send your ideas to: Joe Foszcz, PLANT ENGINEERING , 2000 Clearwater Dr., Oak Brook, IL 60523.

Ideas can also be e-mailed to jfoszcz@reedbusiness.com or faxed to 630-288-8781