Players have fun while experiencing how their reliability decisions will impact performance down the line and the overall business. Since this a virtual situation, your team can enjoy the challenge without worrying  about disastrous results.

It works like this:  players are members of a failing company.  Then, the game takes them through a series of real-life problems that require  reliability solutions to win the ABB Reliability Challenge.  The virtual manufacturing world gives players a sample of what companies may face in the real world. 

No matter what your plant produces, there are fundamentals that are critical to increasing production profitability that apply universally.  The game teaches several of these fundamentals using real-life examples. 

Sure beats another box lunch lecture!  Sign me up!  Maybe now I can beat my sons at Call of Duty 4 ….OK, probably not, but I’ll have fun trying.  You can check out the game at www.abb.com/reliabilitychallenge. Just so you know, I don’t own any stock in ABB and I’m not getting any commission here, just thought you might find this interesting.

Speaking of ABB, remember, we repair ABB electronic equipment from ABB  monitors to ABB motors.  If your ABB equipment is giving you a headache, send it in to the ACS tech team for a free evaluation.   Or call our helpful customer service team at 800-605-6419 if you’ve got questions. We are standing by to help you.

Reliability was followed, in descending order, by quality, safety, maintenance, service, price, throughput, technology, noise, speed, and “green”.

Maintenance ranked 4th out of 11 so we know it’s pretty high on your list.  Nobody wants equipment that is difficult or excessively expensive to maintain.  Downtime is lost time and lost time is lost money.  

Save money in the long run by purchasing quality industrial electronic equipment with a good warranty.  And when that warranty runs out, or the OEM does not provide responsive service, send your repairs to a reliable expert. 

The ACS tech team is trained and experienced in the repair of virtually all types of industrial electronics including drives, PLCs, power supplies, controls, encoders, servo motors, CNC equipment, printed circuit boards, touch screens, stepper motors, CRT monitors, test equipment and more.  We service most brands including Yaskawa, Okuma and Mitsubishi.  Rush service is available upon request.

It would appear that a cultural shift is in the wind and that safety attitudes and practices are changing – for the better.  There is a realization that a safe working environment is beneficial not only to employees but to the bottom line.

The concern is there on the part of  many CEO’s and managers but the question they often have is, “Where do we start?”  

You can start by thinking outside the OSHA box.  Assuming you have already met the minimum OSHA standards, do a hazard assessment.  Look at past history, look at insurance forms, reports on injuries,  where have the injuries and illnesses taken place, ask your employees what could be done better. 

Once you know where you stand and have identified problems, it’s time to implement training and commit to measuring the effectiveness of the new safety programs. 

Make your safety policy clearly defined based on industry standards, governmental regulations, and best practices with documented step-by-step procedures tailored to your specific locations and activities.

Don’t forget to reward success because in the end, success will reward you with a better looking bottom line.  

If you want more help, check out some helpful documents such as the NFPA’s “The Electrical Safety Program Book” which you can get from their website or visit the National Safety Council’s website www.nsc.org.

Keeping your equipment in good repair is also important for safety.  ACS Industrial Services repair provides power supply repair, servo motor repair,  safety PLC repair , test equipment, monitors, drives, encoders, controls, circuit boards, CNC equipment and much more.  Our tech team is working hard every day to keep our customer’s industrial electronic equipment in safe working order.  For more information see our website at www.acsindustrial.com or call our customer service team at 800-605-6419.

I was just reading a friend’s notes and he made a great case for providing detailed information to your repair service provider.  Here at ACS, we request our customers describe the problem with their item when they send them in for evaluation. You probably could not begin to guess what our Top 5 repair descriptions were for 2009, so I will share them with you:

Top 5 Electronic Repair Descriptions for 2009

1. Does Not Work
2. Blank (as in nothing at all in the problem description box)
3. Dead
4. No output
5. Will not power up

Numbers 4 and 5 are fairly useful.  But 1, 2 and 3…well, they sure won’t fall into the “too much information” category!   We certainly don’t expect our customers to diagnose or repair their damaged electronic equipment – that’s our job!  But most of us would not go to the doctor and make him or her guess what our symptoms are – imagine how that would go!  More information helps us diagnose your equipment better too.

The diagnosis and repair process is faster and therefore less costly if we can provide our technicians with some description of the problem or what happened that prompted you to request repair service.

Here are some actual examples of helpful Problem Descriptions that came from real customers:

• This unit is an emergency (power out) light. Battery was hooked up backwards and now won’t work. Everything seems to check out okay except 2 items. Their numbers are: EUB0002B and TIP41B.
• Heard a loud pop, followed by a loss of +5V
• Units do not give good 5V and 15V readings
• The DeviceNet boards in 7 different drives burned the same exact way as this one. This board is from a Cutler Hammer SV9000 series drive.
• Motor continues to kick out or quit. Won’t keep running. When you enter a spindle drive command the motor stops.
• This is a KME VGA monitor from a MotionMaster CNC router with a Fagor 8050m controller. There is no display and the input to the monitor has been tested. We currently have a PC monitor hooked up and it works.
• This unit is for a fmc wheel balancer 2500. The machine lights up but I have no functions. I had someone look at it and test it they said it was the board, and recommended you guys (hey, I really like this one!!)

We understand that sometimes the person that actually fills out the ACS online repair form is given little or no information about what is wrong with an item being sent in for evaluation.  That’s ok too – we’ll figure it out.  But, a little background information can go a long way and we appreciate the information.

ACS Industrial’s customer service rep stayed with our repair job the whole time.  This company got all three LCD monitors working again and back to us in less than 14 days. And it cost far less to repair them than to buy new ones.

We will call ACS when we have any monitoring equipment go down.  If you want friendly and helpful customer service when you need industrial electronics repaired, these guys are the ones to call.

The catalog can be searched two ways.  Either by letter or part number. For example, if you have a Mitsubishi Servo Motor that needs repair, click the “M” and you will be taken to the page with all the manufacturers that begin with “M”.

If you have a model number like, 1326AB-B520E-S2L, Enter it in the search box at, http://www.acsindustrial.com/repair-catalog/search.php?c=m.

In the event your item is not listed, don’t worry… we can probably repair your item.  If you call, one of our technical repair reps will be glad to discuss your specific item, 1-800-605-6419.

ACS is proud to announce that we are listed on Kelly Search, http://www.kellysearch.com/us-company-900078290.html.  We are always looking for new ways to make YOUR job easier.

When you attempt to repair a monitor…a Monitor Repair Manual is not enough to effectively get the job done. If you are frustrated and fed-up with trying to repair a monitor, you should think about sending your damaged monitor to ACS Industrial Services for repair. Most monitors are repaired for much less than the cost of a new one. ACS specializes in touch screen displays, CRT monitor repairs, LCD Display repairs and obsolete monitor repairs of every kind.

There is no risk to send your monitor in for an evaluation. The evaluations are free and there is no obligation to accept the repair quote. If you like the price for repair, approve it and arrange payment and shipping. It will then be repaired and returned as fast as possible. If you don’t approve the price or the monitor is uneconomical to repair, it will be returned promptly at your request.

Each monitor repair carries a one-year warranty unless stated otherwise. ACS can be reached at www.acsindustrial.com or call 1-800-605-6419 for information.

The experienced repair techs at ACS treat each repair job as if their job depended on it. And guess what…their jobs do depend on how well they repair the customer’s equipment. Our customer’s satisfaction with the Electronic Repair Services we provide is the most important aspect of our business.

You can rest assured that your damaged electronics will be evaluated, repaired, tested and returned in perfect working order and it will be done fast. Call now and speak to one of our customer service reps about how ACS Industrial can help with your current Yaskawa repair problem. 1-800-605-6419.  Your call will be appreciated.

Some FANUC equipment is available for the exchange program getting your machinery back up and running very quickly. Call for information if you want to see if your FANUC item is available for exchange. Find out why many companies only use ACS Industrial for their critical electronic repair needs.

Call ACS for help coordinating an evaluation of your defective FANUC equipment needing electronic repair. A helpful and courteous customer service rep is standing by to help. 800-605-6419

ACS offers a one year warranty on repaired items. We are very proud of our low rate of warranty claims. If you want to feel confident that your Allen-Bradley items are being treated as if they were our own equipment and you want the highest level of technical experience working on your equipment, send it to ACS for a no-charge evaluation. We will evaluate the equipment and get back to you with a price quote in just a few days. For info, please call one of our customer service reps at 800-605-6419.  We will be happy to help coordinate an evaluation of your defective items. Or visit us at www.acsindustrial.com.  We want to hear from you today.