Tag Archives: Operator Training

Mycom / Mayekawa

A few weeks ago at our local RETA meeting the guest speaker was Dave Johnson, Service Business Manager-East Industrial Refrigeration Division from MYCOM U.S.A. He stripped down a Mayekawa compressor for us, which was a good experience for operators who … Continue reading

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Speaking their language…

I recently came across this fatality report from NIOSH about a workplace fatality which included this quote: The foreign-born worker in this incident and a friend were hired together by a temporary agency to work as cleaners at the feed … Continue reading

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Dumping Ammonia Down the Drain? That’s a bad idea and it will cost you!

“On Jan. 24, 2008, an ARC technician was performing a service job that required the removal of all ammonia from the refrigeration system’s 1,683-gallon holding tank, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Morse said. After transferring most but not all of the … Continue reading

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Stop Fantasizing about your Dream Team and get to work!

I’m continually amazed how often I come across underperforming organizations that don’t try to improve because they feel the caliber of their employees is inadequate to achieve higher performance. It may well be true that your team is suboptimal in … Continue reading

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Three kinds of Ammonia Operator

Over the past few years I have had the opportunity to work with quite a few Ammonia Operators. Recently I chose to oversee the training of a new operator who had no previous refrigeration experience. In preperation I talked with … Continue reading

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Classic Ammonia Video

This video has been around for quite some time. Whenever I’ve been shown it I’ve been told it’s real. Some internet research leads me to believe it may not be. Still – it’s a good idea to show this to … Continue reading

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Ammonia PSM Coordinator? Go Gemba!

“Gemba” is a Japanese term for “where the real work is done.” In manufacturing, one of the best things your Kaizen or Process Improvement team can do is spend some time on the shop floor. There you see the problems … Continue reading

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Benefits of a Trained Professional Ammonia Operator

“Without Standardization, there can be no improvement” That’s one of my favorite phrases from Lean/Six Sigma. Is the person who is in charge of your ammonia system someone who genuinely cares about how your system is running? Are they the … Continue reading

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A gem from the National Transportation Safety Board

I read accident reports from all sorts of sources. A few years ago I read through the entire NTSB online library for fun and I still keep up with the new ones. There were many good insights in the reports … Continue reading

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Learning Industrial Ammonia Refrigeration

Lets say that you are new to industrial refrigeration, or refrigeration in general. What is the easiest way to get up to speed on this rather counter-intuitive topic? Well, I read quite a few books on the subject but honestly … Continue reading

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