Here You Go.

Every motor repair shop is basically the same so it doesn't matter where you take your motor, right?  Wrong!  If you want to find out why this is so wrong, keep reading.

In my years in the electric motor repair industry, I have learned that if you have seen a motor shop, you have seen ONE motor shop. Each individual shop is truly unique, with its own specialty or individual approach to repairs. The same is true for the repair that you're taking in because each motor has its own quirks and issues.

Why Repair Shops Differ

From one electric motor repair shop to another, there can be major differences in method of repair, tolerances allowed, pass versus fail readings, etc. Each shop is going to have its own approach and methods to repairing a motor. And that means that the data taken and the repairs performed are only as good as the individual shop and the actual individual that performs them! 

This is a (9) nine minute segment of a larger (1) one hour presentation given by Mark Hatfield, Chief Executive Officer of HECO - All Systems Go at the 2017 Reliability Process & Maintenance Symposium.

This covers a variety of aspects of selecting and managing electric motor repairs. From developing an electric motor repair specification, qualifying and validating repair vendors, developing condition and assessment reports, final report standards, and finally implementing fixed pricing for motor repairs through a pricing matrix.

It’s interesting how rarely this question is ever discussed. Can the electric motor shop that you use, run your motor or properly power it with full voltage? Or do they simply spin the motor up to full speed/volts, “for a moment”, but then have to reduce the voltage because their power supply can’t handle the load?

The below video is a 15 minute segment of an hour long presentation given by Todd Hatfield of HECO at the 2017 Reliability, Process, and Maintenance (RPM) Symposium. This presentation discusses common preventable causes of electric motor failures. This section of the presentation discusses bearing related failures as bearings account for about 51% of all electric motor failures.

During a recent plant survey we encountered several motors that were suspiciously missing the manufacturer’s data plate but miraculously had a data plate from the last repair vendor. These “vendor” data plates usually only have the vendors job number and of course their logo and contact phone number. This is an old trick that forces the customer to call the last vendor for a replacement motor or a motor repair. 

A dilemma every industrial facility comes to time and time again. An electric motor in your facility has an issue, it could be a vibration issue, bearing issue, or a variety of other items. Now is decision time... should you remove that motor from service and send it out to a motor repair shop or should you ask the motor repair shop to come to you and service the motor right where it sits?

You should understand that every motor repair facility has their own practices and policies when it comes to charging an inspection fee.

 What is an inspection fee?

 It is a fee to cover the tear down, analysis, and testing of machinery to properly diagnose what has caused or could be causing the equipment to not work properly.

 What does the fee cover?

 It covers a portion of the cost for the professional skilled trades people to evaluate your equipment (such as):

Does shorter travel time translate into longer equipment life?

 Maybe it does, but in order to answer this question we need to take a look at a few factors that can make the difference. Right down the road from your plant is XYZ Shop, you’ve been using them for years because they can respond quickly, and when you get the motor back, well… it works. You’ve sent this 100HP vertical to them five times over the past six years and every time it bolts right back in place and runs. You continue to send it over because, John knows my motor. At this point I’d agree. After having it in his shop five times he knows exactly what to do to make that motor run again. Here’s a thought, what if it’s the pump and not the motor that is the root cause of the failure? Does John ask the question about the driven equipment after seeing the same mode of failure over and over again? Or does it not matter because we’ve grown comfortable with XYZ Shop and they do a good job of getting the motor up and running again, even if it is every 14 months.

So your electric motor failed, AGAIN! You remove it and send it to Harold at Acme Motor Repair across town and a few months later you get it back, just like the last time. Harold is a good old boy, always there to fix that motor every time it fails. The key words here are “every time”.

Harold never asks you what conditions the motor was under when it failed, what the environment conditions are where the motor was installed. Harold never asks you if you are lubricating the motor or if you even know how to lubricate the motor. Harold has never asked you if the motor is directly coupled or if you are belting it, he just fixes the motor. You once asked Harold for a failure report and he sent us a copy of the invoice. You’ve asked Harold if it made more sense to purchase another motor and he said that he was cheaper than anyone in the neighborhood on his repairs and under the price of a new motor.

When you send an electric motor out for repair, what information is provided back to you? Do you receive a formal, written quotation showing all of the items that are in need or repair, before they are done by your electric motor repair vendor? Or do you just get a repaired motor back, never knowing what was done to it?

Do you receive a final report once the motor is sent back, showing testing, measurements, and conditions of individual components of your motor?  Or do you just get a repaired motor back with none of the test results that you paid for?