Best of 2011: Education

This past year has featured some new developments in our education programming alongside traditional education, producing a great year for members and non-members alike.

Here is the recap:
Annual Meeting Education Courses

• Advanced Lubrication 301
• Basic Lubrication 101
• Basic Lubrication 102
• Biofuels & Lubes (*new course this year)
• Condition Monitoring 150: CM, An Overview
• Grease 101 - (co-hosted by NLGI)
• Hydraulics
• Metalworking Fluid Hot Topics (*new course this year) - click here to listen to the Summary presentation, to hear what you missed or to get ready for next year's panel discussion!
• Synthetics 203: Non-Petroleum Fluids and Their Uses
• Synthetics 204: Fluid Formulation and Application

*We also included a new live broadcast of a panel discussion to on-site and remote attendees (see the webinar listing below). Click here to see what's coming to next year's Annual Meeting.

Regional Courses

• TSI/STLE Joint Education Course hosted by the Tribology Society of India and put on by STLE instructors, held at IndianOil Institute of Petroleum Management in Gurgaon (Haryana), India
• Basic Lubrication and Hydraulic Fluids & Their Applications, both held at the IFPE (March)
• Metalworking Fluid Management Certificate Course, held in Southfield, MI at the Engineering Society of Detroit's facility

with more regional courses to come next year, including:

• Intro to Hydraulics: Lubrication Fundamentals, Hydraulic Fluids and Their Application - 1 day course co-hosted by AEM, near their HQ in Milwaukee, WI (USA), to be held March 27, 2012
• Education Course (topic TBD) at ASM International's Aeromat Conference, June 22, 2012
• Basic Lubrication for the Sales Professional - date TBA (July/August 2012)

If there is a challenge you're facing at work or you don't see something that fits your continuing education needs, let us know and we can make a regional course that centers around your problem. We can also bring the education to you with our on-site courses. Tell us what your staff need and we can tailor a course directly to your audience, educating them on-site, with no down time.

Online Courses

Released at the end of last year and updated throughout this year, here are some of the courses you may have missed. Starting in 2012, those who have purchased the course will also have access to quarterly Q&A/Discussion webcast sessions with the instructor of the course. See the calendar for dates. Once you purchase the course, the discussions are automatically available to you.

• Basic Lubrication Short Course - covers friction, lubrication and wear
• Fundamentals of Lubrication Certificate Course - more extensive than the Basic course, this includes knowledge check questions as you go, comes with a certificate at the end of the course, and allows you to learn the fundamental concepts associated with the field - friction, lubrication and wear
• Metalworking Fluids Short Course - includes modules on metal removal fluids and types and function of metalworking fluids
• Lubricant Composition Short Course - includes modules on additives, base oils and grease
• Fluid Management & Recycling Short Course - includes a case study, presents the business case for starting a program, and information you need to start your own program
• Seals & Sealing Devices - to be released soon! Covers packing, static seals and dynamic seals
• The Science of Shaft Sealing - coming next year!

Webinars: Highest Attended of 2011
Click here to see a list of all the webinars offered in the past year, and to preview next year's schedule. In 2012, all webinars will have an audio file (along with the slides) of the session to take along with you if you're traveling, so you can learn on the go.
The highest attended sessions included:

• Condition Monitoring Data Interpretation with Evan Zabawski. A new series will be available for 2012, featuring 6 separate webinars. Click here for details on the first event, which picks up where this event left off.
• Bearing Damage Analysis with Paul Shiller, great to take with the Basic Lubrication Short Course or Fundamentals of Lubrication Certificate Course to get an all-around look at wear and how it applies to bearings.
• Current Issues in Wind Energy Tribology - Panel Discussion broadcast live from the Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA. Panelists included: Gary Doll, Aaron Greco, Kevin Harrington, Shawn Sheng, David Van Langevelde, and Erwin Zaretsky
• Base Oils: Their Manufacture, Properties, Performance, and Applications with John Rosenbaum
• Grease and its Use in Food Processing with Wayne Mackwood (part of the Food Grade Lubrication Series, the other events are coming up in February and March)

January Webinars: VOCs from MWFs, Sales

As you start to plan out your holidays, keep upcoming education events in mind, whether it be for your own personal knowledge, for recertification (STLE's CLS, CMFS or OMA designations), or to help you with a specific issue you're facing right now at work, or will face when you get back from the holiday!

January marks the beginning of a new year and with it, we will feature 2 webinars per month, up from one per month this past year. The increased number will allow us to cover a larger number of topics throughout the year, including topics that impact you on a daily basis no matter what industry you're in. See below for the first two webinars taking place in January. If you'd like to see the entire year's schedule (still tentative), click here.

January 11, 2012: VOC Emissions from MWFs with Mike Morris & Uyen Uyen Vo, SCAQMD Short Abstract: The South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) is the local air pollution regulatory agency serving the South Coast Air Basin (Basin) consisting of portions of Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange and San Bernardino counties in California. The air quality in the Basin has been designated as extreme non-attainment by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). For that reason, AQMD often finds itself at the forefront of the nation’s emission reduction efforts. As part of these efforts, AQMD has been investigating volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions from metalworking fluids. One of the primary challenges has been to find a reliable test method to determine VOC content...click here to keep reading and to register.

Notice: In early 2012, AQMD and ILMA will sponsor a joint symposium on emerging low-VOC technologies, including water-dilutable, bio-based and paraffinic products, to further explore emission reduction opportunities.

January 18, 2012: Using NEADS Analysis to Get to "Yes" in Industrial Sales Short Abstract: We've all heard about the importance of identifying customers needs as a crucial part of the sales process. But how can you ask the right questions to uncover those needs? And what should you do with that information once you've acquired it? And, perhaps most important of all, how can knowing a customer's needs help you close more deals? These questions and more will be answered by the application of NEADS analysis to your sales process. NEADS analysis is a system of questions and methods that will help you guide prospects through the sales process and convert them into loyal clients. Click here to keep reading and to register.

Click here to view the flyer for both events, or click the event titles above to see the event listing and to register.

Interview with the Author: Lubrication & Maintenance of Industrial Machinery - Best Practices and Reliability

Join us this week as we talk to Robert Gresham, one of the editors of this invaluable book for maintenance and reliability professionals, which shows how lubrication maintenance fits into an overall proactive maintenance program. Written by leading industry experts, each chapter discusses an important aspect of lubrication, including deterioration, test methods, cleanliness, failure analysis, scheduling, handling and storage, conservation, and used oil recycling. The text also covers centralized lubrication systems, as well as the environmental implications associated with various lubricants. Click "play" in the slider bar above, click here to download/play the episode, or click here to read the transcript.

This book includes the following chapters:

• Full Circle Reliability, M. Castle


• The Degradation of Lubricants in Service Use, M.F. Fox


• Lubricant Properties and Test Methods, L.A. Toms and A.M. Toms


• Contamination Control and Failure Analysis, J. Stecki


• Environmental Implications and Sustainability Concepts for Lubricants, M.F. Fox


• Lubrication Program Development and Scheduling, M. Johnson


• Lubricant Storage, Handling, and Dispensing, M. Barnes


• Conservation of Lubricants and Energy, R.L. Johnson and J.C. Fitch


• Centralized Lubrication Systems—Theory and Practice, P. Conley and A. Grach


• Used Oil Recycling and Environmental Considerations, D.W. Brinkman and B.J. Parry
  

Click here to visit the STLE Store to purchase the book (available at a 20% discount for STLE members), or click here to read an excerpt of the book. This book is a handy reference for those looking to take STLE's Certified Lubrication Specialist® (CLS) exam, and a good desk reference for everyday troubleshooting and administration.

Aerospace in Tribology with Vern Wedeven

Join us this week as we talk to Vern Wedeven, who has been in the aerospace industry for more than 20 years. He highlights some neat aspects of his career, including the fact that he started at NASA the same week as the Apollo 13 mission, and different projects which have been memorable. He also covers some more recent work and projects, and provides detail on the boon of hiring in a certain sectors of aerospace.

For those interested in the field, Vern delineates aeronautics from astronautics, and details key concepts and terms one must know when discussing and working in the field. Given his experience, he also provides some of his best practices and advice to those working in the field.

Click here to listen or download the episode, click here to read the transcript, or click play in the slider bar above to play it in your screen. Be sure to visit the website for more news, information and research on the aerospace field. You can check out some of the articles we have on the subject on our website, or click the following links: Foil Air Bearing Technology Takes Flight, and two technical articles on particular applications: fighter engines and high speed civil transport. Feel free to leave comments on this interview, on other challenges or research questions you have, and resources you'd like us to offer.