While this effort has taken nearly two years to complete, we are pleased to announce that “Clean, Green & Reliable” is now available!  Doug Plucknette (co-Author) and I are pleased with the results and believe you will be as well.

Doug and I wanted this book to be different than the other books aimed at business in regard to energy savings.  I bet you can find well over 20 books that talk about reducing energy usage by doing an upgrade to the building lighting, windows and office thermostats.  With plenty of this information available, we wanted to write about some common systems and technologies where if you focused some time and effort, you would see a quick return on investment and a improvement in reliability.

As a reliability engineer and consultant, I find it exciting that nearly every major company in the world includes pages and statements in regards to energy efficiency and environmental responsibility on their corporate web sites.  I’m excited because I know that reliable systems, reliable processes, and reliable assets are both energy efficient and environmentally responsible.  If companies really want to address this topic head on and not just simply give it lip service, then Clean, Green & Reliable can help!

Here is a quick summary of the chapter contained in the book:

Chapters

1. Precision Alignment and Balancing – This chapter will address the topic of alignment and balancing in general discussing the known effects that the two have on energy efficiency.  How much more energy in terms of percentage will a motor that is out of alignment use, or a fan that is out of balance consume?
2. Ultrasonic Leak Detection – This chapter will address the topic of leak detection and provide general information on how this technology can be used to return massive ROI’s with the savings from detecting compressed air, gas, and steam leaks.
3. Electric Motor Reliability – This chapter will address the topic of motor efficiency and reliability utilizing techniques such a Motor Circuit Analysis and Power Quality analysis to determine the health of the motor (i.e., the condition of the winding, stator, etc.).  We will also discuss common design problems and the use of high efficiency motors.  Motor PM’s come in here as well; clean motors with proper airflow is just one example.
4. Air Handling Systems Reliability – This chapter will address the topic energy consumption in both HVAC and exhaust systems.  It is important in terms of reliability and energy efficiency that these systems be properly aligned and balanced, add in proper balance of the system along with the evaluation of how often absolute filters should be replaced.  We will discuss the effects of an over-taxed air handling system on reliability and efficiency.
5. Air/Gas Conveyance Systems – This chapter will address the topic of energy consumption of Air/Gas Conveyance Systems.  Improper design, misused operational procedures, and poor maintenance practices are the major issues with energy efficiency on such systems.
6. Compressed Air Systems – This chapter will address the topic of energy consumption of compressed air systems.  This is the most frequently requested system we perform RCM on and there are several failure modes that impact both asset reliability and energy consumption.
7. Refrigeration Systems –   This chapter will address the topic of refrigeration systems and that these systems represent huge energy consumers that often operate out of control.  Like air systems, refrigeration systems are seen as a utility, people don’t care about efficiency here they just want it to work.
8. Hydraulic Systems – This chapter will address the topic of hydraulic systems and the common practices which lead to excessive energy consumption.  These systems are maintained and operated almost identically to compressed air systems, which generally results in similar energy losses.
9. Electrical Power Distribution – This chapter will address electrical power distribution and the effects of “dirty” power which yields unreliable equipment, increased operational variability, and reduced OEE.  There is no doubt that clean power is more reliable and efficient.  Specific electrical failure modes which impact reliability and efficiency will be discussed.
10. Steam and Condensate – This chapter will address steam and condensate systems and the potential energy waste that result from unreliability.  This chapter will cover some simple operating and maintenance tasks that can be performed to maintain reliable and efficient steam and condensate systems.
11. Case Studies – This chapter will provide a look at two fantastic case studies on how projects that were aimed at improving equipment reliability also resulted in significant improvement in energy efficiency.
12. Reliability and Energy the Allied Way – This chapter will take an inside look at Allied Reliability’s approach to energy management with a foundation in equipment reliability.

See what others are saying about the book under “Book Reviews” on “MRO-Zone“.

Clean, Green & Reliable is a very practical guide to improve your plant’s green footprint. The guide walks you through 10 systems that most industrial plants have and gives best practices and means for detecting problems in each of these systems. The guides are very thorough and contains information on what to look for and how to look for defects that can be fixed to improve the energy efficiency and reduce the environmental effects as well as improving your cost. The topics covered are Precision Alignment And Balancing, Ultrasonic Leak Detection, Electric Motor Reliability, Air Handling Systems Reliability, Air/Gas Conveyance Systems, Compressed Air Systems, Refrigeration Systems, Hydraulic Systems, Electrical Power Distribution, and Steam and Condensate systems. In each of these chapters, Doug and Chris give very specific advice about where to look , how to look, what to look for, and why you should look for defects in these systems and what to do about them. They also cover several case studies to quantify the results you can achieve.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to make a quick improvement in the reliability at their plant.

Winston P. Ledet
Coauthor of “Don’t Just Fix It, Improve It”

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Clean, Green & Reliable is a must read for anyone who thinks for a minute that there is no relationship between reliability and energy savings.  The authors dispel that myth from the first page.  When you read through the book and learn about the energy impact from mishandling our equipment it makes you stop, think, and hopefully take immediate action. There is a lot of money to be saved through energy cost reduction simply by implementing programs to identify and correct the equipment related energy loss . This book provides the details necessary to get started.

Steve Thomas – President Stephen J. Thomas, LLC