While HECO’s 2024 RPM Symposium will be held this fall on Oct. 1-2 in Kalamazoo, there’s still a lot to learn from our 2023 event – including Bob Bolhuis’ breakout session, “The Six Elements of a Successful Equipment Management Program.” About Our Speaker & RPM A HECO employee since 1986, Bolhuis is HECO’s Manager of Business ..read more

The days of tearing a machine apart to remedy an unknown problem are all but gone thanks to the use and accuracy of noninvasive testing and maintenance techniques. Luckily for the human body, noninvasive testing also makes diagnosing illnesses less painful and dangerous as well. In healthcare, EKGs are a common, noninvasive way to examine ..read more

Regardless of your specific operation, there are numerous systems in place to keep your facility running smoothly and efficiently. At HECO, we strongly urge placing an active Equipment Management System (EMS) at the top of your list of priorities. A good Equipment Management System is not a passive program. It should include a proactive approach ..read more

Nearly every industrial facility in the United States uses vertical pumps and vertical pump motors. Also known as vertical turbines or line shaft pumps, these systems are widely used in farming applications and other operations that need to move water or other liquids from lower to higher elevations. Compared to their horizontal counterparts, vertical pump ..read more

In both medicine and industrial diagnostics, less invasive methods are typically the tests and procedures that are often the most cost-effective and easiest to recover from. Ultrasonic testing – sometimes referred to as sonography – is a noninvasive imaging method that relies on high-intensity sound waves to create images of internal workings and compartments. In reliability ..read more

Did you know the vast majority of electric motor failures are preventable? Sure, everything has a limited lifespan so some failures cannot be prevented, but many of the motors that come into our shop have suffered an unnecessary failure. Since HECO launched in 1959, we’ve performed countless motor failure repair jobs. Motor rewinds in particular ..read more

By defining how motors are designed, built, and referred to on their respective nameplates, standards from the National Electrical Manufacturers Association apply to all electric motor manufacturers to ensure that all manufacturers follow identical dimension data and naming conventions. Known as NEMA frame sizes or electric motor frame sizes, these electric motor dimensions assist operators, manufacturers ..read more

Once you’ve determined that you need a new electric motor, many of the resulting considerations center around the prospective motor’s specifications and capabilities. If your previous or prospective motor is regulated by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), the good news is that the organization’s standards will help guide your choices and build efficiency. At ..read more

What was the first thing your parents did when you complained that you didn’t feel well before school? We’re guessing it was checking for a fever by touching your forehead with the back of their hand before grabbing a thermometer for a more exact measurement. In reliability maintenance, temperature is an equally important indication that ..read more

Known as NEMA for short, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, is the United States’ largest electrical equipment manufacturer trade association. As established in part 1 of our NEMA Standards blog series, uniformity is a must in electrical manufacturing. At HECO, NEMA’s MG-1 standard for motors and generators is of particular interest when assisting customers in ..read more