Ring Power Corporation News

RIVERVIEW, FL – County commissioners and community leaders were among 200 invited guests in attendance at the groundbreaking ceremony Oct. 11, heralding the final phase of construction on the Spurlino Family YMCA at 9650 Old Big Bend Road in Gibsonton, Fla.

The new, 32,500 sq. ft. main building will include an outdoor aquatic center and will feature an 8,000 sq. ft., fully-equipped fitness center, the Ring Power Center for Fitness and Wellness, named in honor of Ring Power Presidents Randy Ringhaver and Lance Ringhaver, his late brother.

The entire project was made possible by an eight-year planning and fundraising effort. The first phase of construction (five athletic fields, covered basketball court, playground and picnic pavilion) was completed last year at a cost of $4.6 million. Funds raised for the second phase of the project totaled $11.8 million; anticipated completion is slated for late fall 2018.

Addressing the guests, Tampa YMCA President & CEO Tom Looby and Southshore Leadership Council Co-Chair Tony DiMare recognized Ring Power’s generous $250 thousand contribution and expressed appreciation to the Ringhavers for their commitment to the community. In addition to nurturing the potential and improving the health of South County children and teens, The Spurlino Family YMCA at Big Bend Road will promote economic development of the area by providing more than 125 jobs.

About Ring Power Corporation

Ring Power Corporation, North and Central Florida’s Cat^® dealer, is headquartered in St. Augustine, Florida. Ring Power is comprised of eight divisions and has more than 55 years of experience servicing and supporting Cat^® products and allied equipment. For more information, visit www.ringpower.com

About the Tampa Y

The Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA is a cause-driven, 4-star charity, dedicated to strengthening Hillsborough and East Pasco communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. For more information, visit www.tampaymca.org.

With the advanced technology available today, equipment owners can have access to real time information about the health, utilization and location of their machines. But the data provided by Cat Product Link, Cat VisionLink and Scheduled Oil Sampling is only useful if it is monitored regularly and interpreted accurately ― a complex task that some equipment owners don’t have time for, and others prefer their service professionals to handle.

Responding to this need, Ring Power became one of the first Cat dealers to offer Condition Monitoring (CM) as a value added service to assist customers with asset management.

Seven years ago, Danny McCabe (former Business & Technical Systems Support Manager, now retired) and Mike Lack (now Technical Communication Foreman) established a CM Center in Tampa, dedicated to interpreting data from multiple application sources to help customers make timely, informed decisions regarding maintenance, repair, availability and efficiency of their machines.

Today, CM Analysts Mike Coronado, Annah Tarallo and David Seal share the responsibility for monitoring and managing electronically gathered machine data, oil sampling and preventive maintenance test results on more than 2,500 “connected assets” owned by Ring Power customers. They have been assigned to more than 800 connected assets each, and will spend from eight to 10 hours every day attending to hundreds of emails containing fluid analysis results from the Oil Lab, event and diagnostic alerts from VisionLink, hardware issue messages from Product Link and requests for reports from service managers and PSSRs.

Given the high dollar value of the machines, evaluating event and diagnostic alerts, fuel burn, run time, idle time, and other asset data is the biggest part of a CM analyst’s job. All alerts are investigated using CM software to identify the machine, the customer who owns it, what (if any) action is required, and who needs to be notified. When an emergency diagnostic (equipment fault) alert reveals an opportunity for support or service, the PSSR and/or service manager or dispatcher associated with the asset is notified and they contact the customer to schedule the repair.

Monitoring our customers’ equipment is a complex and daunting job that requires a unique combination of product knowledge, computer proficiency, mechanical aptitude and customer interaction skills. Although CM software has simplified the job by automating the reporting that used to be manually compiled, it is still up to the CM analysts to interpret the collected data, filter out the anomalies and identify the significant trends so they can provide customers expert advice on equipment maintenance.

We commend Mike Coronado, Annah Tarallo and David Seal for helping to make Ring Power the leader in connected assets. Their commitment to providing the most accurate machine information possible creates positive experience for our customers and business opportunities for us.

Ring Power Corporation has been working with Crowley Maritime Corporation to bring temporary power equipment to the Port of San Juan, Puerto Rico, where all terminals, warehouses and offices were closed and all operations suspended due to the impact of hurricanes Irma and Maria.

Three Cat® XQ2000 generators and ancillary equipment and cabling were supplied by Ring Power through Crowley, providing more than 5000 kilowatts of power to enable the port to resume operations so that the island can receive relief supplies and personnel.
The Port of San Juan reopened on Sat., Sept. 23, and is currently open for daylight transit only.

About Ring Power Corporation
Ring Power Corporation, North and Central Florida’s Cat® dealer, is headquartered in St. Augustine, Florida. Ring Power is comprised of eight divisions and has more than 55 years of experience servicing and supporting Cat® products and allied equipment. For more information, visit www.ringpower.com.

About Crowley Maritime Corporation
Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., Crowley Maritime Corporation is a U.S. owned and operated marine solutions, transportation and logistics company providing services in domestic and international markets. Crowley Maritime was founded in 1892 and today supports six primary maritime business segments. Additional information is available at www.crowley.com.

Cat® Connect Condition Monitoring capabilities allow our advisors to remotely analyze many things about a piece of equipment, including: site conditions, inspection results, repair history, electronic history and fluid analysis results.

An advisor then provided actionable recommendations for maintenance, repairs, training and operations. Following these recommendations can help keep your machine running better and more efficiently.

Before starting your machine it’s important to perform a daily walk-around.

First, always be sure to check you transmission fluid level. Next, take a look at the center articulation area. Keep an eye out for wear in the driveline area. Then, inspect all hoses and couplers, making sure there are no leaks. Remember — don’t check for leaks with your fingers. Next, check all tires. Check inflation pressure and look for any damage to the tires or rims, as well as checking for loose lug nuts. Don’t forget, the front tires need more pressure than the rear. Then, take a look at the lift arm – inspecting for wear. Look for any sign of leaks in the lines or any loose fittings or hose clamps. Next, take a look at the bucket. Look for any unusual wear patterns or cracked welds. Finally, examine the cylinder rod. Make sure the tilt rod is not scratched.

One of the most important features of Cat® Connect is the asset tracking service. Product Link allows us to collect fleet location and utilization data from anywhere around the world.  This data gets aggregated in the cloud and you can access it anywhere. You are able to see the locations of all your equipment – even down to a single piece of equipment. You can quickly and easily monitor utilization and check for fault codes. Cat Connect Services provide the information, advice and partnerships you need so you can make the most of your valuable machine data.

Before starting your machine, it’s important to perform a daily walkaround. After you’ve completed your walk around on the exterior, you will also want to check the engine compartment.

• Check engine enclosure screen for damage
• Inspect engine compartment for debris and/or leak
• Check the engine oil to ensure proper levels and look for any possible contamination.
• Check air cleaner service indicator
• Check coolant level
• Inspect fuel cooler; hydraulic oil cooler; charge air cooler hydraulic coil filter for debris and leaks
• Examine fans and fan enclosure
• Check the radiator and fuel cap
• Inspect hydraulic oil filter
• Look for signs of exhaust leaks
• Inspect V Belt
• Check Air Intake Hoses
• Look Under Machine

 Following these steps will help your machine working longer and more efficiently.

Ever since “Dinos Alive!” opened in February, more than a dozen species of life-size, animatronic dinosaurs have been on the loose at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo, giving visitors a chance to experience what the prehistoric behemoths might have moved and sounded like when they actually roamed the planet.

Lowry Park, a longtime Ring Power customer, worked with Tampa air compressor sales rep, Todd Norris, to get the exhibit up and running. As a testament to the quality of our equipment and service, most visitors have no idea that an air compressor is what powers the dinosaurs’ lifelike performance.

Behind the scenes, an electric, 50-hp Sullair LSR16 compressor supplied by Ring Power breathes life into the awe-inspiring dinosaurs, including three of the most well-known: Tyrannosaurus, Brachiosaurus and Stegoceras. Fed by two custom manifold systems, the multi-sensory beasts move and make sounds that keep the guests engaged while the entire installation ― which consists also of a Sullair refrigerated dryer, receiver tank and hoses ― remains discreetly out of sight and earshot.

Kudos to all of the Ring Power Tampa Power Systems Division associates for their teamwork: Todd for securing the contract, Rental Supervisor Jonathan Grubb for coordinating the logistics, Rental Support Mike Lugo for assembling and testing the equipment, and Transport Driver Sam King for delivering it to the site.

“Dinos Alive!” will be a main attraction at Lowry Park Zoo through the end of August, 2017. To see how the air-powered dinosaurs move and hear how they sound, search for “Dinos Alive at Lowry Park Zoo” on YouTube, or visit www.lowryparkzoo.org.

Ring Power's Fluids Analysis Lab (a.k.a. “Oil Lab”) is one of the best in the nation.

Located in Tampa’s main service building, it houses about $1 million worth of high-tech diagnostic equipment and computer software and is staffed by a dedicated team of oil lab technicians ― five in Tampa and one in St. Augustine ― who process anywhere from 400 to 500 fluid samples each and every day!

Taking samples of oil, fuel and coolant to diagnose a machine’s operating condition is a good way to prevent component failures and unplanned downtime. Much like conducting biometric screenings to diagnose a person’s state of health, analyzing fluids is an accurate, reliable way to detect and resolve potential problems before they become major issues.

But putting 60+ samples an hour through a battery of sophisticated chemical tests without mixing them up is, by itself, no small feat.

Each fluid sample undergoes five tests ― depending on the fluid type and the preliminary results, some might require seven ― to check for viscosity, contaminants and wear metals. Think about that for a minute: That means our oil lab technicians must conduct and record the results for anywhere from 300 to 400 or more chemical tests every hour.

Add to that the extreme care that must be taken to ensure the validity of the test results ― measuring precisely, calibrating the equipment, following set procedures, keeping accurate records ― and you’ve got a real challenge.

Fortunately, our oil lab technicians are up to it.

Their days begin at 5:30 a.m., when Dennis Buckner brings in the sample bottles and sorts them by machine and fluid type. By 6:00, Sheri Delgado is hard at work, entering each sample into the LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System) database according to the tests it requires while Alice Martinez begins checking and calibrating the equipment, monitoring the operating procedures, and verifying the data entries. By 6:30, Amelia Cullen and Travis Veitch are running the samples through the gamut of chemical tests and by 8:00, Eileen Garcia is at her computer in WCC, evaluating and interpreting the new data, comparing it with established baselines and previous results to look for trends.

Working in the oil lab takes commitment, integrity and ― above all else ― teamwork.

A basic knowledge of engines, hydraulics, transmissions and power trains is also helpful. Our oil lab team keeps up on equipment technology via online studies; Eileen, who interprets the test data, and Sheri, who backs up Eileen, must be recertified by Caterpillar every two years for this important job.

We applaud our team of topnotch oil lab technicians for their commitment to excellence. In March, they processed 10,638 oil samples, setting a new record and putting them on track to beat last year’s total. It’s easy to see why Ring Power has been at the forefront for fluids analysis since 1974.

Today is National Forklift Safety Day. National Forklift Safety Day is an important day to highlight the significance of operator training and the safe use of material handling equipment. This day provides educational opportunities for customers, forklift operators and government on the importance of safe forklift procedures.

Make forklift safety a year-around priority. 

Take Action Now: 
▶ Download a Sample Operator's Daily Checklist
▶ Review your operator's training certifications
▶ Schedule training for those operators in need of renewal or certification