E-LOGGER DEVICE

LMS2000 and E-Logger set to revolutionise lubrication control Lubrication is your plant's lifeblood. Your company's profitability and reputation literally rest on the health of your machinery, Kurt Deby, manager of the specialist lubrication company Total Plant Control, in Scoresby, says he has seen one neglected bearing can take down an entire production line, at enormous cost to production schedules. How can a plant manager know that the job has been done, on time, and with the right lubricant? In 1995 Total Plant Control brought a new discipline and certainty to routine lubrication with its revolutionary LMS 2000 lubrication management system - a software package that generates lubrication schedules, then monitors and updates them to ensure they have been completed.

Total Plant Control has now made another quantum leap in lubrication management with a new and more powerful Windows-based version of LMS 2000. Simpler and more intuitive to use, it offers even greater functionality. Mr Deby says customers already using the DOS-based LMS2000 will be able to use the new system's automatic-upgrade function to migrate smoothly to the new Windows based system. The real power of the LMS2000 system is realised when it is linked to Total Plant Control's new portable electronic data-logger, the E-logger, which has been designed to work with microchip "tags" called Dallas buttons that uniquely identify each machine - even down to individual bearings. TPC's Kurt Deby believes his company's new lubrication management system is unique - "When we launched the LMS2000 system there was nothing like it anywhere in the world. "We've recently reviewed the international market, and concluded that our few rivals have a long way to catch up - our new Windows edition of LMS2000 especially with the E-logger keeps us well out in front. "It brings lubrication management into the modern era. Lubrication is such an important task that it can't be left to memory or chance. "Unfortunately, the days have gone when one faithful employee diligently looked after his company's machinery for decades, and kept all the information in his head. If you suddenly lose someone like that, you can be in big strife. "So we've created a system that ensures that the job gets done, with the right lubricants, on schedule, every time. In fact, with its new features, it does much more than that." LMS2000 sends weekly work to PAPER or to E-LOGGER device

Mr Deby says that, in its Securalube mode, the E-logger provides unmatched levels of assurance and accountability. Its ability to exchange electronic data with the LMS 2000 database eliminates the need for printed schedules and reports, and offers automatic lubricant inventory control. Used with the range of "smart" Dallas buttons, the LMS2000 system and the E-logger can track all aspects of plant lubrication, including trends in machine health, and provides timely warning of component failure.

The E-logger Datalogger TPC's custom-designed E-logger is a compact electronic device, worn on the belt, that provides ultimate control over lubrication scheduling. It can be used alone, or in conjunction with any one of three different Dallas buttons, permanently affixed to each machine on a lubrication route - or sometimes, to multiple bearings on a single machine. It could not be easier to operate, with just seven keys: 1. On/Backlight key 2. "Yes" key 3. "No" key 4. Up arrow (scrolling) 5. Down arrow (scrolling) 6. Fast search - brings up the next non-completed job 7. Feed back counter - operators enters a value such as top up quantities, Temperature, km/hour counter readings, etc... Up/down arrow increment/decrement input value.

Every Dallas button contains a tiny microchip individually factory-programmed with a 14-digit alphanumeric code; no two buttons in the world share the same number. Within its stainless steel housing, the microchip is tamperproof and resistant to shock and corrosion. Dallas buttons are powered up inductively by the E-logger's cup-shaped sensing head; no battery is required. The simplest Dallas ID button is a read-only device that responds with its unique coded "signature" when interrogated by the E-logger's sensor. A more sophisticated button with an inbuilt temperature sensor can monitor a bearing's temperature trend; if it exceeds a pre-set level, the LMS2000 sofware alerts the operator to a potential failure. The most sophisticated Dallas button, a 64K, read-write device, can store 8192 characters - the equivalent of about five A4 pages of text. It can store a bearing's lubrication history on the machine itself, or pass on information or instructions to the lube operator, isolation procedures, etc - instructions that may require acknowledgment, via the E-logger. The operator carries his own Dallas button on a key ring. By pressing it against the Elogger's sensor, he identifies himself, and can lock and unlock the E-logger to prevent unwanted modifications. One E-logger device can be shared by up to 20 users and each "log on" is remembered. The E-logger can carry up to 550 pages/job , each of them carrying a "YES/NO" (=done/not done) information.

The E-logger device can also be switched into a "safe mode" called SECURALUBE (Tm). This mode FORCES the user to LOG ON/TOUCH the Dallas ID button before he can say "YES" to any job. It proves therefore that the Plant Attendant has physically been at the lubrication point. The LMS2000 system includes an INSPECT REPORT which allows you to trace back WHO did WHAT and WHEN. PLease CLICK on SECURALUBE button for more information.