Tag: help

EXAIR & Tough Mudder Ohio 2015

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Several months ago, maybe even last year, a group of EXAIR employees started joking and talking about trying to get a team together to do the Tough Mudder in 2015.  After several months of joking, things got serious and 4 of us signed up to do the event at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course.   You may have seen a few of my blogs that involve Mid Ohio but they normally also involve a motorcycle.    The event was held on Saturday, May 9th, and was my first official “race” at Mid Ohio.   Prior to a few months ago, if you asked if I would ever “run” (I use the term run very loosely here.) a 10 mile race, I would have laughed in your face and said no way.   Let alone a 10 mile race with a whole slew of obstacles. Never underestimate the power of co-worker’s friendly chastising aimed at one’s toughness…

This was after the first wall during the pre race pump up speech / comedy show.
This was after the first wall during the pre race pump up speech / comedy show.

For the team, an Application Engineer (me), our CFO, and two from Shipping & Receiving.  As soon as we hit the first obstacle, which was a 6′ wall you had to clear in order to get to the starting line, our EXAIR mind-set kicked in.   There was no discussions on who would go first, who is going to take what position, or who is going to be the weak link.   It was simply teamwork.   We each helped where we knew our strengths were, anytime we needed a solid ballast, or good step off point, I was the man.   If we needed upper body strength, it was obvious that the handling of heavy freight found in shipping and receiving provided the necessary muscle – most definitely not me.

Needless to say, we made it through the entire course in less than three and a half hours which was absolutely shocking.   Not as shocking as the last obstacle, where we got shocked with 10kV before the finish line (see below).

Electroshock Therapy 2.0 - 10kV wires that will make any man scream.
Electroshock Therapy 2.0 – 10kV wires that will make anyone scream.

The fact of the matter is, we went there as a team, we conquered each obstacle and didn’t only worry about ourselves, but helped many others clear the same obstacles, and each one of us faced and conquered a personal fear.   For me, it was being able to complete a 10 mile run, and a slight fear of heights.  (You can see here that we had to jump out and grab onto a pendulum then swing and hit a bell, after which you would fall 12-15 feet into a pool of 15′ deep water. )

Didn't even come close to that bell, but I did remember to let go of the swing at least.
Didn’t even come close to that bell, but I did remember to let go of the swing at least.

The fact that people from three different departments in EXAIR worked so well together on something only one person on the team had ever done before speaks volumes to the environment and the way we conduct our day-to-day business here.

From the front offices, to the shipping dock, EXAIR is here to help you tackle any obstacle and face any fear you might have (involving your compressed air system that is).

Brian Farno
Application Engineer Manager
TOUGH MUDDER FINISHER
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

 

What Video Would You Like To See?

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Over the past several years we have posted nearly 75 videos to our YouTube channel.   Our channel has just received a fresh new layout to help you better find the videos you are looking for.   The videos on our YouTube channel vary from Featured Product Videos, Professor Penurious videos, and all of the Application Engineer’s Tips and tricks videos that span across all product lines.

The EXAIR Corporation YouTube Channel
The EXAIR Corporation YouTube Channel

The ideas for the A.E. Tips and Tricks videos are all spawned from our daily conversations with customers.   So that brings me to ask you, our reader: “What would you like to see next? ”

If there is a certain EXAIR product you would like to see more of, or maybe you aren’t sure if you are using your EXAIR product to its full potential, let us know through comments, tweets, calls, emails or even faxes.  We’ll see what we can do to make a video that will help you, as well as see if we can’t help while we are in contact with you.

So shoot us a message and we will do our best to help as fast as we possibly can.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

 

Just The Tip Of The Iceberg

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Over the past few weeks I have started to really look at the seemingly endless “Honey-Do” list for around my house.   As Russ Bowman mentioned a few blogs back it is still fairly cold here in Ohio so I immediately removed anything that has to do with being outside or the garage.   I decided to finally tackle the smallest room, the bathroom.

You see, our house was built in 1951 by skilled workers and has only had one other family live in it than mine.   The original family had a woodworker in it because I find lots of detailed cuts and trims that you don’t see in other homes so I know the house was well cared for.  In the 8 or 9 years we have been there we  have had the normal joys of home ownership but nothing that I couldn’t handle.   That is of course until we decided to spruce up the bathroom.

The bathroom was the one room we hadn’t done anything to and you could tell.   I decided it was at least time to repair the cracks in the walls and slap on some fresh paint, maybe a new medicine cabinet, and some other updates.   Well, what was once merely a crack in paint quickly evolved to the entire bathroom now needs a skim coat of joint compound.

What was once just a crack in paint is not an entire wall scraped to the plaster.
What was once just a crack in paint is now an entire wall scraped to the plaster.

This all happened in the course of about 5 minutes.   I just started to scrape the crack to get the loose paint off and sure enough it turned into what is shown above.   The bad news is the crack runs the full length of the wall and this is only a third of the wall.  Needless to say, I am now in over my head but am willing to give the repair a shot on my own but have already called in backup just in case.

Compressed air systems may have a lot of characteristics in common with my honey-do list.  The small issues may go for years without being checked or fixed, the list of items needing looked at may be growing daily.  Even worse, what you think might be just a small leak that doesn’t amount to much could actually be just the tip of the iceberg.   Instead of putting off the maintenance and the list of items to look at on your compressed air system, start checking those items off today.   If you don’t have a list, take a look at our 6 steps to compressed air optimization.   A little work now can save a lot of money later on.

EXAIR Six Steps To Optimizing Your Compressed Air System
EXAIR’s Six Steps To Optimizing Your Compressed Air System

 

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

 

Never Think Your Idea Will Not Be Heard

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

The above title proved very true in a work experience of my father’s. After working in the mill for several years, he drew up a new piece of process equipment which would eventually turn in to something that they put in place on the production line.   This was all done from his idea that he was able to place on a scrap piece of paper as a drawing.   While he wasn’t the decision maker in the process, he was the person who saw what kind of impact this device could have and knew the people he had to get the information to.

That brings me to the topic of this blog, don’t ever think an idea is too small to warrant a reward.  This can ring true throughout any type of application, including compressed air.  There have been instances where a maintenance worker, or even a new operator, have called in to speak to me here asking what can they do to lower the noise in the work area when they are using the hand held blow gun the company supplies.   After talking to them about what they are trying to achieve with the blow gun and how much air they are currently using, we generally find that they can save a good amount of compressed air, lower the noise level, and become OSHA compliant, all by changing this one simple tool.   Once they have all the benefits that their company will see from implementing our engineered solution, they can then propose this to the decision makers.

For the most part, companies will at the very least entertain ideas like this.  When you back that idea up with some relevant data on how much money the company will save, or the fact that is will make the work environment safer and more enjoyable, then you will more than likely get a little more attention.  The main point is to ensure that you are getting that information to the correct person and that you have the correct information.   That is one of the many reasons that EXAIR has a full team of Application Engineers who can help you identify how much air you might be using, what products will fit the need, and what kind of benefits your company will see.   On top of all the information that we have available for free, we even offer the chance to get compensation for sharing application data with us.

EXAIR Efficiency Lab
EXAIR’s Efficiency Lab will test your product for force, flow, and noise.

That’s right, we will compensate you for sharing your cost savings, sound level reductions or application improvements, with us.  This is all possible through our Case Study program.  All you have to do to find out more is contact any Application Engineer.  We simply need some photographs of the application and some quantitative data for the benefits you have gained.  Don’t know what your current device is using, take advantage of our EXAIR Efficiency Lab, that will give us a good amount of information we need to then, help you solve a problem as well as produce a Case Study.

If you would like to discuss your compressed air systems or how we can help you, please contact us.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer Manager
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF