RELIABILITY WIRE by www.reliabilitydirect.com 

"Your One Stop Shop for Condition Monitoring"

Vibration, Balancing, Alignment, Ultrasound, Oil Analysis & more...

Volume 4, Issue # 8 – August / September, 2003

In this Issue: 

New Products: New Additions to the RDI On-Line e-commerce catalog

Ask The Expert: 
What's Hot:  Top Selling Items from www.reliabilitydirect.com

Recommended Book:  The Root Cause Analysis Handbook: A Simplified Approach to Identifying, Correcting, and Reporting Workplace Errors by Max Ammerman

Contest Winner:  Kenneth C. Sullivan - Advantage Reliability Services, Inc.

New Products:  Over 1,600 products in the On-Line Catalog (www.reliabilitydirect.com)

The EXT-461825 Combination Photo Tachometer/Stroboscope is two meters in one! It performs Tachometer RPM Measurement and Stroboscopic Speed and Motion – only $329.00.

The EXT-461501 Digital Non-Contact Tachometer Counter with PC Interface. Features include: MAX/MIN/AVG, Data Hold and Auto Power Off. Comes with Windows software and PC cable.

Reliability Direct has also expanded our dial indicator alignment tool section to include the A-Line and REACT series of cost effective dial indicator alignment systems. To further accommodate our Alignment tools, we have increased our offering of pre-cut stainless steel shims.

Our popular CMCP310 series fiberglass BNC Switch Boxes are now available in Powder Coated Steel and Stainless Steel. Electroswitch environmentally sealed switches provide a much longer life than "Open Frame" or PC mounted switches that are not sealed. The mechanical construction is also more suited for Industrial use than many light duty switches. All enclosures are manufactured using Hoffman Enclosures, one of the best known and trusted manufactures. All enclosures are rated by NEMA, UL, EEMAC, CSA and IEC.

Ask The Expert: MRO and the Internet: e-commerce on the rise!

by Paul Barker (excerpt from Machinery and Equipment MRO, December 2001)

Comments: Dave Gallagher – www.reliabilitydirect.com

Thousands of dot coms may now be dot gones, but that hasn't stopped a number of instrument, machinery, and equipment MRO distributors across from adopting the Internet and more specifically, e-procurement strategies as a new and preferred way of conducting business.

A key reason is that e-procurement -- the ability to buy and sell goods and services online -- is having an impact on how virtually every manufacturing sector in the industrialized world operates today. Its reach and influence is so prevalent that any distributor within the MRO sector that chooses to ignore it could end up suffering the same fate as so many of the dot com start-ups that have crashed and burned.

John Moore, vice-president of ARC Advisory Group, a Dedham, Mass. consultancy that specializes in the manufacturing sector, contends that e-procurement is far more than the ability to purchase products online.

"It can cut procurement costs, streamline ordering, shorten cycle times, broaden supplier and product selection, and control spending," he says. "It can give suppliers access to markets, tighten customer relationships, and lower customer acquisition and service costs."

Meanwhile, a report released earlier this year by The Aberdeen Group Inc. on e-commerce strategies and the MRO market, predicted that the winners in this new economy will be those that can use the Internet to organize internal and external resources to rapidly respond to changing market dynamics and customer requirements.

"The Internet has enabled new business processes and business models that would have been too costly and complex to manage in the physical world," the report said. "Simply put, the Internet is changing the rules of business, and companies must adjust accordingly. In the new economy, the winning companies are proving to be those that can leverage the Internet to organize people, assets and resources to rapidly respond to changing market dynamics and customer requirements."

According to the Boston, Mass., consulting firm, the early MRO adopters of e-procurement have already realized significant process, cost and productivity improvements.

Reliability Direct, Inc. recognized this opportunity early on, having published our e-commerce site for maintenance professionals in 2000. Today, we are the largest e-commerce site for the niche condition monitoring / predictive maintenance marketplace. As we continue to expand our on-line catalog, we solicit your comments and feedback. Is there an instrument you feel we should add to our offering? Let us know. www.reliabilitydirect.com pledges our commitment that we will continue to seek and provide innovative, proactive maintenance products that will fit your budget as well as your reliability needs.

What's Hot:

The VB1 Vibration Analyzer Kit is our best selling Vibration analyzer which includes the capability to measure and display velocity, acceleration and displacement, as well as an accelerometer, 512k standard internal memory, and the MAS Vibration Analysis Software for PC. The VB1 comes complete with a rechargeable battery and charger, a padded carrying case, full instructions, and all applicable cables, sensor and accessories. All for $3,995!

Hot Alignment Tools include the best selling BeltHog for Belt/Pulley alignment tool and the V180 Laser Shaft Alignment System - the lowest cost shaft alignment tool on the market.

The VB-1000B is a compact, rugged, stand alone dynamic balancing instrument, capable of solving any single or dual plane balance problem with ease. Lightweight and extremely portable, the VB-1000B is easily carried on site to any problem machine.

The PK2 is ideal for non-contact RPM measurement, as well as for inspecting moving parts by “freezing” or “slowing down” the action. The PK2 is supplied as a complete kit that includes the strobe, universal (100–240 VAC) battery charger, free NIST-traceable calibration certificate and hard-plastic carrying case.

Recommended Book: This month's 5 Star Recommendation:

The Root Cause Analysis Handbook: A Simplified Approach to Identifying, Correcting, and Reporting Workplace Errors

by Max Ammerman

This book provides a clear, step by step methodology, with techniques, for problem or error analysis and identifying a solution. This is an exceptionally practical work offering a methodology for problem solving that is attractive; one which I subscribe to and use. I particularily liked the chapter on interviewing techniques, which added a practical dimension root cause analysis. I also liked the way the author used hints throughout the book to reinforce methods.

Contest Winner:  Kenneth C. Sullivan - Advantage Reliability Services, Inc.

July Question:  Built into the VB-1000B Dynamic Balancer is the ISO 1940 standard. The VB-1000B provides calculations for Trial Weight, Split Weights, Combine Weights and Change Radius. The unit sells for only $4,995.00.

Aug / Sept Contest Question:  The Belt Hog makes it simple to align belts and pulleys. You won't have to remove the belts to make quick, accurate adjustments over distances of _" to __ feet.

Prize:  Raytek MT4 MiniTemp Infrared Thermometer AND the new Reliability Direct Ball Cap!

Send your answer to dgallagher@reliabilitydirect.com  subject: Aug / Sept Question.

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