This month, MEPCA is delighted to introduce our readers to Rob Webster, Head of Onsite CM and Asset Management at RS UK & Ireland, where he applies his expertise in analytical chemistry to solving condition monitoring mysteries.
Rob Webster is a champion of condition monitoring (CM), who has recently begun highlighting the importance of the practice through his ‘CSI Rob’ videos, which offer a light-hearted look at the role of analytical chemistry in monitoring and maintaining the operational performance of industrial assets. To date, these videos have covered a case of forklift sabotage, a catastrophic failure at a chicken nugget factory, and a metallurgy-based fault at a brewery, with more content in the pipeline.
MEPCA had the pleasure of asking Rob more about his role, ‘CSI Rob’ and the importance of CM.
The ‘CSI Rob’ videos are an engaging way of educating the sector on the application of analytical chemistry to industry. How did this come about?
Before moving closer into the world of CM around 12 years ago, I worked in analytical chemistry. I absolutely loved helping customers with a good troubleshoot; problem solving, mapping out likely candidates and establishing root cause. This led to the change in my career towards CM, where these skills are applied in industrial environments and the impact can be more significant when things go wrong. This provided the opportunity to build a new lab facility from the ground up and to learn from a team of very experienced engineers.
Fast forward a number of years and ‘CSI Rob’ was born from the idea to utilise my background in analytical chemistry and share knowledge of how to apply it to engineering applications. It has garnered quite a following and we’re about to start filming more.
What common mistakes do businesses make that threaten the longevity and operational performance of industrial assets?
Measuring might tell you where you are right now, and you may even have trended data to use. However, all too often we see this data, so meticulously collected and managed, effectively disregarded when it comes to real, tangible action.
Getting the basics right should be at the forefront of any engineering manager’s mind; effectively clean, inspect and lubricate (CIL), understanding asset criticality and critical spares like the impact of key equipment failing and having the ability to resolve this quickly, if needed. This means ensuring bearings are well fitted, bolts are correctly torqued, belts are tensioned correctly, shafts are correctly aligned, staff are adequately and correctly trained . . . the list is endless, but it’s all common sense.
Since beginning your career, what changes have you seen in the practices of analytical chemistry in the industry?
Technology is evolving at pace; portable labs having evolved from rudimentary test strips and simple dielectric sensors, through to today where particle morphology – the properties of a wear particle that can provide clues as to how it formed – can be reviewed onsite in real time through portable labs, like our RS Pro Particle Pal range. There’s no excuse for any business to not have an effective oil analysis program based on the relatively small costs involved (versus the alternative!)
Laboratory test equipment has evolved from testing wear particle samples using electron microscopes that fill a whole room, to more modern, equally capable equipment, not much larger than a benchtop PC.
Additionally, engineers are spread more thinly, so while they are often firm believers in oil condition monitoring, they simply lack the time or resource to act on it. This is because engineering budgets are tight and production time expectations are at an all-time high.
