Maintenance

‘If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It’, Preventive versus Predicted Maintenance In 1973, the university education is completed, in 1975 your writer entered Ankara Makina factory as a new engineer, after a while became the engineer responsible for the maintenance and repair workshop. The first simple rule of thumb I learned from the foremen of the maintenance and repair workshop is, "You will not interfere with the working machine and the workbench. Let it work, the machine will reveal itself when there is a need for maintenance." This rule has been used for decades all over the world. This is the simplest implementation of maintenance and repair works. Today, more detailed scheduled preventive maintenance is carried out. Preventive maintenance is the one performed after a certain period of time. It is usually done with an oil change. It is like changing the oil of cars after every 15 thousand km. Meanwhile, all filters and spark plugs are replaced. Brake pads are checked. Decreased oil and water levels are completed. Worn out parts are visually inspected, the necessary ones are renewed. Gearbox oils are changed after 5000-10,000 hours in lathe machines. If the machine is not working, or making unusual noises, if the machine is heavy, it is stopped, disassembled, the worn and broken part is found, a new one is made, replaced, and operated again under control. The maintenance person may not be able to replace all the dismantled parts while assembling the machine. While doing a repair job it can break another piece, these are very natural possibilities. After certain flight times, the planes are taken to the indoor hangars, each part is checked manually with a device, worn out parts are replaced, and the aircraft is put back into service after certain tests. In offshore platforms, the structural steels are subjected to load and vibration tests after a certain operating period. If the tests fail, the entire platform is dismantled and rebuilt with new materials. In general, offshore platforms are designed for 25 years and authorised permits are obtained. A test like "Class: A", ABS or Turk Lloyd is applied to the platform, that is, the parts that are underwater. It should be scanned from top to bottom by an authorised surveyor every 5 years. A thickness measurement is made every two years and the amount of rust is measured. When a generator fails too much; it is completely renewed. In factories, things are easier in electrical equipment, usually when overloaded, the fuse of the machine blows and you renew the fuse. You check the cables. The cable may need to be renewed. How to make scheduled preventive maintenance and repair of tens of hundreds of machine lathes in a huge machine factory? You definitely have records of when maintenance was performed, and you have lists of parts that break down frequently and need to be replaced. Protective scheduled maintenance must be done to the machines. You need to know statistically which machine broke down when and where. Selling a lot of spare parts is another way to make good money when you sell some technological machinery and equipment. Turkish Soma and Afşin thermal power plants have very large spare part warehouses. Spare parts have been purchased in quantities that will last a very long time. Although 25- or even 40 years have passed since the first plant operation, the reserves still could not be consumed and spares were sent to other power plants. When we graduated from Ankara METU University Mechanical Engineering in 1973, the alternative to running the machine until it broke down and repairing/maintaining it when it broke down was to replace some parts periodically with preventive maintenance. This method is still used in some areas, especially in the automotive industry. Not much, about 6 years after our graduation, in the Mechanical Vibrations course, which was started in the same department, we started to talk about another option, "predictive maintenance", and to convey its basic principles. In this new maintenance method, the vibrations of the machines are measured at certain intervals (once a week, every two weeks) and from the analysis of the measurement signals obtained, it is determined how close that machine is to failure, which part of it is about to break down, and whether there is another issue in the machine that requires maintenance. There are special measuring devices and software that perform the necessary analysis. In this way, no part is replaced before its life is complete, but an unexpected failure or deterioration of other parts of the machine is not caused. It is more important to apply in sectors where the cost of production loss is high. This predictive maintenance method is especially suitable for machines that may cause disruption of production, or critical machines such that other parts of the machine may be damaged when one part of the machine breaks down. The critical point here is which machine we are talking about. If it doesn't cause secondary failures when it breaks down and the cost of not being able to use the machine is negligible, okay "don't maintain a working machine, let it work". But, for example, if we are talking about machines in an iron and steel factory that will affect production when they break down, preventive maintenance is not the right solution, you will apply "predictive maintenance". Unfortunately, "predictive maintenance" is not yet fully applicable in cars, we are still doomed to preventive maintenance. ‘If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It’, The Old Saying Needs a Rephrase Ankara, 24 July 2021

Unconditional customer satisfaction

Unconditional Customer Satisfaction In 1984, I left my public service and got a job as an engineer in charge of sales and marketing in a large local contracting company. We have just obtained the design license of the American steam boiler manufacturer company (Babcock & Wilcox) . Before us, the same American boiler company B&W sold industrial boilers to American companies in Turkey, and now their maintenance, repair and rehabilitation works were also given to us. One day, an invitation came from an American-owned tire manufacturer factory located in the Izmit region. I went to the factory. The plant engineers welcomed us and took us directly to the steam power plant of the factory without telling us about the subject. Our steam boiler did not work, but there was an extraordinary situation. The combustion chamber of the water tube steam boiler is a space made of seamless steel drawn tubes. Seamless steel drawn boiler pipes are brought side by side, a steel strip is put between them, welded, the tube wall is formed. In this boiler, welded pipes with seam are used instead of drawn steel seamless pipes. ASME ASTM norms allow welded pipe at this pressure. But who knows where the pipes were bought from, which standards were checked for compliance. Seeing the steam pressure, the welded pipes split open and burst. The boiler was out of use. As saying goes, it was as if boiling water was poured over my head, and I was sweating all over. I didn't know what to say. We produced the steam boiler in our factory. We used American norms and standards. The norms allow the use of welded steel pipes in accordance with ASME ASTM rules, but there is doubt about compliance with these norms in welded pipes. I presumed that we did not buy from a reliable manufacturer, I presumed that we used the production of a Balkan country using a fake document. In addition, the thin steel strips in between are not brought to the seam. Tire Factory engineers showed me the situation on the spot, I saw the problem at site, I returned to Ankara headquarters, I explained the situation to the boss verbally and then in writing. There was a serious situation that needed to be cleared without much publicity. Finally, the boss said, "disassemble the boiler in question, bring it to the factory, disconnect all the combustion chamber tubes, replace with new seamless steel drawn tubes from a reliable manufacturer, take the boiler back to the tire factory, put it back on, operate it, close the issue". We did exactly as we were told, there was a serious additional expense, we did not charge anything, we did not even think of asking for money. The client was satisfied with the resolution of the issue. The lack of steam boiler extra spare capacity was not noticed, the steam capacity of the boiler was sufficient for production, we were lucky during the renovation, there was no need for spare steam. Our licensor, the American steam boiler company, and the buyer, the American tire company, were satisfied with the resolution of the issue. We made a serious expenditure, but we achieved market satisfaction. We never used welded pipes with seam in the production of steam boilers again. We have always purchased seamless tubes from the most reliable manufacturers in the market, strictly inspecting their quality control documents. Customer satisfaction is very important in all markets, all kinds of expenses should be spent in this regard. Prince islands istanbul, 23 June 2021

Crusaders' Castle

Crusaders' Castle, Krac des Chevaliers Back in the 1990s we were returning to Damascus from the TalSalhap Sugar plant. We had made a proposal for a steam boiler for the sugar factory, and we were returning. Our guide, our representative from Syria, wanted to show an ancient Armenian church in the valley. We toured the church, inside it was a thousand years of magnificent woodcarvings all around. Then we saw the majestic medieval castle on the way, we were not even aware of where we were, the importance of the castle. We arrived at the castle gate, we asked the boy at the gate about the guard. The guard came from one of the houses next door, opened the castle door with the medieval big keys in his pocket, and showed us around. He spoke amazingly French and English. As a child, he learned that he had listened to the speeches of foreign guides when he was a child, the brain made a sound recording, he did not know what he said, but he was telling the voice recording of this brain to every incoming traveler, even repeating the jokes of the original foreign guide in some places. He was happy when we laughed at jokes. Krak des Chevaliers castle was built by the Crusaders on top of an old castle in Syria in 1142. For almost a hundred years, Crusaders collected the tax of the region they were in. Nearly 2000 Crusader warriors of different nations from different European countries occupied their own places of the castle in accordance with the architecture of their own countries. The English round table meeting table layout, the French cathedrals, German, Spanish and Polish architecture were reflected. After a hundred years of ruling, the Crusaders left the castle to the Muslim Mamluks after a short siege in 1270 without a fight. The reason for this was the fake letter war trick applied by the Muslims cunningly. Later, the people around the castle moved into the castle, they lived in the castle for years, this became their home and living space. In 1917, after the first world war, the place where the castle was located was occupied by the French armies. The French commanders removed the people inside the castle in 1934 to protect their national heritage from the French Crusaders period. They cleared the castle, emptied it and turned it into a open-air museum. The main structure of the castle, where people were present, was being preserved and repaired. When it became a museum, the place was kept empty, there was no one left. Occasionally, by chance, a few travelers like me were visiting the Castle. After the Second World War ended, in 1946 the French colonial rule left, Syria became an independent state. The castle still remained as museum, but the money could not be spared for its maintenance, the thousand-year-old structure was left in the brutal merciless hands of nature, the corrosive desert winds. The place that impressed me the most was the dungeons. It was in three separate parts. Minor offenders were kept in flat cages. Medium offenders were incarcerated at a lower level. There were also wells where serious criminals and prisoners of war were thrown. Those who were thrown there had no chance to get out. The inside of the castle was surrounded by inclined roads, there were no stairs, horses, cavalry and carriages could carry people and goods up these slopes. A thousand years ago, the door keys of a place where the Crusaders, European kings, warriors, captured enemies entered with pride or fear, tied the region to tribute, were now under the protection of a local guard. Renovation maintenance and repair was no more. On the roof of the castle are my photographs with the landscape of Northern Syria behind me. Now the castle is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. There are no treasures, paintings, sculptures, important items inside, it is empty, but it still stands as the most important architectural structure of the Middle Ages, which is still preserved today. Prince islands in Istanbul, 1st July 2021

Coal Plants without Coal in Turkey

Coal plants without coal in Turkey How/ Where is the investment made for? The answer is actually very simple. The investment is made in the person, company or project that multiplies the money you give. It is not done to the person, company, or project that will sink, spend, downsize money you give. Would you invest money in a coal-fired power plant today? Is it possible to invest in a thermal power plant that constantly absorbs money and does not grow the money you give? Most thermal power plants still operate with high amount additional/ supplementary fuel oil support. The efficiency of most environmental equipment investment is uncertain. Most of them have no coal left in their coal fields. Yatağan coal reserves at south west of Turkey are depleted, Soma Deniş, Kangal, Kışlaköy, Tunçbilek coal reserves all consumed. Most thermal power plants have already reached the end of their economic life. There is almost no coal left. The electricity they produce is too expensive compared to market averages. However, with the support of the capacity mechanism, prices relatively may stand. Most of them now need to be closed down and sold for scrap. Afşin Elbistan-B is one of the best thermal power plants operating today, maybe the first. Would you invest money in this power plant? The E/P dust filters of Afşin Elbistan -B power plant are large enough and they all work well. They have flue gas desulfurization equipment and they work well. There is coal dewatering technology. The coal is dried and its calorific value is raised, then burned in the combustion chamber. The need for additional supplementary fuel is less. The lack of Afşin Elbistan -B power plant, there is no coal here, it used to exist in the past, now it is not. A landslide occurred in the nearby coal field of Çöllolar in 2011, and the coal field was closed. The field can no longer feed coal. Coal is transported here from the Kislaköy field, which is farther away, or often from other coal fields, very expensively. In other words, there is a good design thermal power plant without coal. This power plant has no ash dam, no place to stockpile the ash. Coal would be taken from the Çöllolar power plant and the ash from the power plant would be stored in its place. When the Çöllolar coal field was closed due to the landslide, the ash was left behind, there is no place to store it, and the ash dam that needs to be built does not exist. This power plant is built on the coal field, the transmission lines are also on the coal field, it is impossible to extract the coal under it. Çöllolar field should be put into operation, starting from the side where there was no landslide, the field should be reactivated. If these cannot be done, plant B must be completely closed and sold as scrap. Would you invest in an imported coal thermal power plant? The price of imported coal is determined in international markets. If all goes well, if the economy is good, prices are low. If the price per metric ton of high calorific South African or Australian coal with an average lower calorific value of 6000 kcal/kg falls below approximately US$60 per metric ton, the million BTU price will be at a reasonably competitive level and the power plant will sell reasonably the electricity generation kw-hour price. This is like gambling, good investors don't gamble. No money is invested in the thermal power plant investment that will only work with the support of the capacity mechanism. That's why imported coal power plant investments are being canceled one by one in the world. Buying an old existing power plant is like earning without working. Those who do not install the power plant do not know its value. They are just looking to make cash money. They delay the investments to be made in environmental equipment, they do not give good wages to good employees and misses them. Somehow, they don't know the value of the power plant they have, they operate it, spend it and lowers its value. Electricity production is expensive, and continuous new cash money inflow is required with the application of a continuous capacity mechanism. Half of the Elbistan coal content is water, the rest is ash, and there is very little flammable material. It's not coal, it's like a black snowball. Its lower calorific value, is around 500-1000 kcal/kg. No thermal power plant can be built anywhere in the world with a billion dollar investment for such poor coal. In the beginning, there was no technology suitable for this coal, but no one noticed. Whoever has convinced our public decision makers has done well. Today we have two power plants that are barely working. The coal field of one has shrunk, the other has had a landslide and is not working. In return for all this, we destroyed the third largest agricultural plain of our country. If agriculture was still being done in the Elbistan plain, we would have obtained a huge amount of agricultural products. Renewable energy sources are just like the educational investment you make for your child. Invest money in wind/ solar/ small hydro resources, just like your education investment for your child, you do not pollute the environment, it has a good return. You won't regret it. The people of my country, who had negotiated forty times for goods, services, products and even software for three cents, did not speak out for the decision to build two large power plants with billions of dollars from their pockets. The people of my country could not know the thermal technical details, the public decision makers who decided on their behalf signed these wrong decisions for the sake of three or five overseas trips and gave their approval. The newly rich of the market are investing in thermal power plants with no future, with the wisdom of self-appointed advisors. Most of the wrong, depleted old thermal power plants have no growth capacity, as well as no return capacity. Electricity is produced expensively, they constantly ask for additional money subsidies with the capacity mechanism. Their situation is a black hole, a bottomless pit. These investments are made in vain. Today, nobody volunteers for new investment in old thermal power plants. Nobody wants to spend money. Everyone is just focusing on cash inflow. Subsequent environmental equipment is not compatible. Most new equipment does not work adequately. In this case, old thermal power plants will work as long as they can, then they will be shut down. There is nothing new that can be done. This is the sad unfortunate unavoidable case all over the world. Buyukada, 16 July 2021