The Hidden Benefits of Labeling Energy Sources You Might Miss

Why Label?

Often you'll find yourself in a situation where there is a leak, a fire, or a tripped circuit. In these situations where time is of the essence to ensure the safety of both personnel and equipment, knowing where the disconnecting means for these energy sources is critical. Having a clearly labeled tag will help minimize the time it takes to return to normal safe operation.

Company Highlight: Combi

Combi

What is Combi?

In short, Combi makes packaging equipment. Some of their product lines include case erectors, palletizers, case sealers, and even shrink-wrapping machines. If you're in North America, in a factory with any type of packaging that needs to be put together, there's a high chance you'll have at least one of their machines in your facility.

Parts Town: The Ultimate Resource for Kitchen Equipment

Partstown.com

What is Partstown?

Partstown is a company that provides OEM parts for commercial kitchen equipment. All of their parts are readily available and guaranteed to be what you need without having to do modifications since they match the original standards With their parts, you never need to 'make it work' since it will just work out of the box.

They also provide a great deal of information for free. Their resources saved me time and time again when I started my career and learned the ins and outs of kitchen equipment. They have videos readily available for a wide range of equipment that can be viewed on your phone while you're scratching your head trying to figure out the proper procedure to get through the job.

Lock Out Tag Out: Protect Yourself from Hazards

LOTO for short

It is the process of identifying, securing, and tagging an energy source(s) on a piece of equipment. It's not the most exciting topic but it is crucial for ensuring a safe working environment when working on equipment. In a nutshell, you identify what potential sources of energy from various sources are in a particular piece of equipment. You then secure it, typically by turning a valve or flipping a switch and then putting a physical lock on it. If you have tags with holes, put the lock through the hole. The tag typically has the name of the person working on it, how to contact them, or whatever information your company deems necessary for the procedure.

Winter Cooling Tower PMs

Spring Cleaning Done Early

Not all cleaning should be done in the spring. Wintertime is the perfect time. Your cooling systems will be shut down for several months and will need some tender love and care if you want to prevent breakdowns during their peak run times. Get ahead with a few key procedures.

Wintertime means less stress on your cooling towers. You are likely running fewer chillers, a lower speed on its VFD or possibly running on a chill plate. This lack of a load on your cooling tower(s) means either entire towers are offline or maybe only a few cells in the tower are currently active. This is the time to do a deep clean on your offline towers.

Electrical Tape Tricks

Now that you've learned the importance of having more colors of tape than you thought necessary, it's time to learn some a few like tricks.

The Hidden Benefits of Colored Electrical Tape You Didn't Know About

Colored Tape is Your Friend

We all have a need for electrical tape. You likely have a roll in your bag, pouch, box or with a majority of your tools back in the shop. But what color is it? Most will answer black unless, of course, they have been an electrician. Some people may have never seen the variety of colors, or may even question the usefulness of such colors.