Schedule
4–6 November 2025 • Plaza San Antonio Hotel & Spa, Autograph Collection • San Antonio TX, USA
Tuesday 4 November 2025 | |
| 8 a.m. | Welcome, Introduction and Conference Overview Landon Woody, Nucor-Steel Yamato Co. |
| 8:10 a.m. | Ice Breaker |
| 8:45 a.m. | Keynote Presentation Barclay Simmons, The Timken Co. |
| 9:30 a.m. | Break |
| 9:45 a.m. | Fall Hazard Awareness and Control: Identifying Risks and Preventing Accidents Steve Ungphakorn, LJB Engineering Fall hazards are one of the leading causes of workplace injuries and fatalities, making proper identification and control essential for safety. This presentation will cover the key aspects of fall hazards, including common risks such as unprotected edges, unstable surfaces and improper use of fall protection equipment. This presentation will explore how to systematically identify these hazards and assess their severity. Additionally, it will discuss the Hierarchy of Controls, a structured approach to mitigating risks. This includes elimination (removing the hazard), substitution (replacing it with a safer alternative), engineering controls (such as guardrails), administrative controls (training and procedures), and personal protective equipment like harnesses and lanyards. By applying these principles, we can create safer work environments, reduce incidents and ensure compliance with safety regulations. The goal is not just to react to hazards but to proactively prevent falls before they occur. |
| 10:15 a.m. | Reliability Achievement Award Gold Winner: REXA Electrohydraulic Actuators on Blast Furnace Turbo Blowers Nick Dres, Cleveland-Cliffs Burns Harbor |
| 10:45 a.m. | Break |
| 11 a.m. | Overview of Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) and Their Application TMEIC This discussion provides a very brief overview of AC motor operating principles, explains why VFDs may be applied verses other options, and presents several application examples. |
| 11:30 a.m. | Maintenance Best Practices Related to Transformers Bill Herron, Reinhausen Manufacturing Inc. |
| Noon | Lunch |
| 1 p.m. | Enhancing Reliability and Safety in Heavy Equipment: The Role of Bolt Tensioners in the Steel Industry Stephen Busalacchi, Nord-Lock Group Informational presentation on torque vs. tensioning, the type of tensioners available, and how they bring benefits to industry: safety, reliability, accuracy, etc. |
| 1:30 p.m. | Utilization of Torque Monitoring to Predict Failures and Reduced Unplanned Downtime Brent Teubel, Regal Rexnord Monitoring torsional vibration on mill spindles in the steel industry can address common issues such as torsional fatigue, torque spikes, recurring failures and operating equipment beyond its design capabilities. The utilization of torque monitoring technology and data analytics has reduced unplanned downtime and catastrophic failures. |
| 2 p.m. | Break |
| 2:15 p.m. | Preventive Maintenance for HVAC Units Kyle Elkins, D&L This session will discuss the importance of having a predictive maintenance (PM) schedule and a company to take care of these needs. |
| 2:45 p.m. | Benefits of Scanning/Drones Zac Merkling and Ryan Freund, Orbital Engineering This presentation will discuss utilizing drones and 3D scan technology to gather reliable data for any project. Drones can greatly improve inspection efficiency and provide a much safer approach to hazardous inspections. 3D scan data can be used in many applications for inspection and engineering projects. 3D scan data can be captured using drone or ground-based tools. |
| 3:15 p.m. | Break |
| 3:30 p.m. | Reliability Achievement Award Silver Award: Cloud-Based Troubleshooting and Reliability Tool for Hydraulics and Controls Patrick Cavanguah, EVRAZ Portland |
| 4 p.m. | Hydraulic Filtration Vacuum Dehydrator Dan Kicker, EVRAZ Pueblo |
| 5 p.m. | Reception |
Wednesday, 5 November 2025 | |
| 7 a.m. | Breakfast |
| 8 a.m. | Operations to Maintenance: The Building of an Apprenticeship Program James Sberna, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. |
| 9 a.m. | Break |
| 9:15 a.m. | Reliability Achievement Award Bronze Winner: MRO Inventory Optimization Algorithm Nicholas Galbincea, Metallus Metallus created an algorithm that automatically calculates the reorder points and the economic order quantities for each item/ spare part stored in Metallus' controlled warehouse in order to optimize the inventory of each item. |
| 9:45 a.m. | Modernizing Maintenance With AI and Robotics Dan Mohan, Gecko Robotics Learn how leading mills are optimizing with advanced artificial intelligence and robotics technology. |
| 10:15 a.m. | Break |
| 10:30 a.m. | The New Centrifugal Pump Standard for Steel Mills Joseph Gloria, HeavyPumps Every steel mill needs to know how to increase pump reliability — this is the last thing a mill should be worried about. However, traditional line shaft pump technology, which can be as long as 40 feet, is often plagued by complex designs and reliability issues. These pumps, with their multiple shaft segments, sealing elements and bearings, suffer from increased vibration and wear over time, leading to reduced reliability, costly maintenance and eventual replacement. This presentation explores why the steel industry’s pumping challenges extend far beyond simple water or dirty water applications. Attendees will learn about the limitations of outdated line shaft technology and how advancements in sealing technology and hydraulic design are transforming pumping solutions. |
| 11 a.m. | Waters Impact on Maintenance AJ Feller, ChemTreat This session will begin with a discussion focused on the basic concepts of water chemistry. From this foundation, it will review specific examples of how water chemistry and related water quality directly impact equipment reliability and operation within the mill. |
| 11:30 a.m. | Lubrication, Tribology, and Sustainability and How to Implement and Document Results for ROI Doug Sackett, Dilmar Oil Co. Lubrication and reliability have taken on a whole new meaning with new corporate responsibility to achieve “net zero” or “carbon neutrality” by 2035–2050, and how as tribologists or reliability/lubrication engineers do we look at all the avenues that we can utilize to achieve and document this goal? Not only do we have to be good stewards of our environment during the production process, but we also have to calculate and show the return on investment (ROI) on lowering production cost to keep the process profitable. We have to work with companies in the field to teach, train and asses this process to integrate the leading tribology research and development and how to use it properly in the field. This presentation will look at new and old lubrication formulation, technology, and how to implement tribology knowledge into plant reliability strategy to lower your greenhouse gas or carbon footprint while assessing and calculating how to achieve the highest ROI. |
| Noon | Lunch |
| 1 p.m. | Blending Dedicated Wireless and Hardwired Systems With Traditional Route-Based Vibration Monitoring Shawn Sikora and Brad Kintner, ITR A comprehensive vibration monitoring program requires capturing data at the correct location under the proper operating conditions. Various technologies accomplish this — from traditional route-based methods where technicians rely on wired accelerometers, to sophisticated systems that integrate mill signals and employ wired and wireless sensors for automated data collection. This presentation explores how blending different vibration data acquisition methods, tailored to the criticality and complexity of equipment, can reduce unplanned downtime. |
| 1:30 p.m. | Practical Application of Mass Damping on a Turbo Blower Dave Suarez, Cleveland-Cliffs Cleveland Works LLC Tuned mass dampers were designed built, and implemented to remove energy from a damaging frequency of vibration on a turbo blower. This allowed the turbo blower to continue operations while maintenance planned the outage to eliminate the root cause of the vibration. |
| 2 p.m. | Break |
| 2:15 p.m. | Mitigating Human Factor Errors in Structural Inspections Mike Falk, Falk PLI This presentation will discuss distortion fatigue cracking, how it’s measured, visual inspections and different types of cracking. |
| 2:45 p.m. | Material and Equipment Tracking System for the Metals Industry Ed La Bruna, Janus Automation This paper examines material and equipment tracking systems designed for the metals industry, focusing on enhancing visibility, efficiency and safety. It explores the use of technologies such as RFID, GPS, radar, and IoT sensors to monitor the location, movement, and status of materials and equipment in real time. The study highlights the benefits of accurate tracking, including reduced losses, optimized inventory management and improved operational workflows. It also discusses logistics optimization and the integration of tracking systems with existing ERP and MES systems, aiming to streamline processes and support data-driven decision-making in the metals industry. |
| 3:30 p.m. | Industrial Cleaning: Are Your Services Efficient and Reliable Victer Crenshaw, Victory Industrial Cleaning In a world of increasing cost due to inflation and supply chain disruptions, while also dealing with an increase in demand, it is important for the equipment to run effectively and efficiently. Industrial cleaning crews are normally the first line of defense. They make sure the equipment is clean, the pits are empty, and the walkways and inspection decks are free of debris. This allows the millwrights or maintenance teams access to the necessary equipment for inspection or repairs. If you cannot see it, you cannot fix it. Making sure your industrial cleaning crew is up to par can be of great importance to the overall health and vitality of your company |
| 4 p.m. | Fire-Resistant Hydraulic Fluids Scott Southworth, KOST USA This presentation will discuss the benefits and drawbacks to the fire-resistant hydraulic fluid options currently available (water glycol, PAGs and esters – polyol and phosphate), and will cover common issues, troubleshooting and best practices maintaining water glycol:
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| 4:30 p.m. | Break |
| 4:45 p.m. | Panel Discussion and Reception |
Thursday, 6 November 2025 | |
| 7 a.m. | Breakfast |
| 8 a.m. | Plant Tour of CMC Steel Texas |
| Noon | Conference Adjourn |