The Tampa (Fla.) Tribune is upgrading a chunk of its RTPs in a bid to improve runnability.

The paper selected Brock Solutions and partner Masthead International to perform the work, which is expected to begin this fall, said Buddy Kerr, The Tribune’s pressroom manager.

The upgrade will include mechanical components to replace parts on 16 obsolete Goss RTPs at The Tribune (daily, 236,376; Sunday, 309,916). The work will eliminate the RTPs’ current brake, clutch and magnetic pick-up designs, among other modifications aimed at improving tension control.

The paper will also install Brock’s Advanced Press Reporting Package software to permit press operators to monitor performance of the upgraded RTPs, Kerr said.

“We have to do something because the RTPs are obsolete and they don’t have software that permits us to track performance,” Kerr said.

The Tribune has a mix of Goss and TKS (USA) reelstands supporting its TKS presses. Two of the machines use Goss RTPs while the paper’s other two presses are equipped with TKS reelstands.

“Our goal is for the (rebuilt) RTPs to equal the performance of the TKS reelstands,” Kerr said, adding that the Goss RTPs are now responsible for 78 percent of the web breaks the paper now experiences.

APRP software will initially be used to track the rebuilt RTPs, but may also be tapped to monitor the TKS reelstands in the future, Kerr said.

The diagnostic app has become an attractive option to newspapers investigating how to improve their operations, said Dave Bast, Brock’s business unit manager.

“Newspapers are finding that diagnostic software can help them solve some operational issues that they weren’t able to monitor before,” he said. “By catching the odd glitch here and there (through the software), newspapers can improve their standard operating procedures.”