Balancing plant maintenance costs and activities with the need to achieve production goals is a daily challenge for most maintenance professionals. Since the motor-driven system is often a critical component in this dynamic, this article looks at some best practices to help it achieve those goals and meet customer demands.

The procedure for aligning two rotating machines requires measuring their relative shaft positions and adjusting one or both machines. Until recently, though, how closely the shafts need to be aligned was an open question. That changed with the publication of American National Standards Institute/Acoustical Society of America (ANSI/ASA) standard 2.75-17.