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on Maintenance Reliability

A listing in reverse chronological order of these article series:


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How Should I Start?

How Should I Start?

This morning, I was swimming and I was thinking about a question that I get asked frequently.  The question goes like this:

Rob, my facility is very reactive, how do I start my reliability program?

Having a water polo background is something I rely on when I embark on new projects.  I didn’t become a better swimmer by reading, watching YouTube videos or planning to become the best swimmer.  I got better at swimming by swimming.  I don’t discount the value of a coach, teammates or a plan (I had a coach and a team) but at the end of the day, you need to start. [Read more…]

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Business Cases for Asset Management – Part 2

Business Cases for Asset Management – Part 2

This is the second blog in a two-part series that explain how to present Capital Asset Management and Maintenance Improvement programs to the various decision groups who speak different “languages”. Your finance people speak in terms of revenue, costs, return on investments. They see things as figures and financial statements. Somehow they need to translate your operational or functional benefits into dollars in order to truly support your ideas. [Read more…]

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Twas the Night Before Christmas a Visit from the CEO

Twas the Night Before Christmas a Visit from the CEO
(Inspired by the Poem by Clement Clarke Moore)

Twas the night before Christmas
When all through the facility
Not an engineer was stirring
Not even in reliability

The KPIs were hung by the lunchroom with care
In hopes that the plant manager soon would be there
When out on the plant floor there rose such a clatter
I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter

Away to the plant I flew like a flash
Put my PPE on and slammed my door with a crash
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear
But a man and eight junior engineers

With a white hard hat, suit and a shiny high vis vest
I knew in a moment it was the CEO, I guess
He spoke not a word but went straight to his desk
And walked right past the broken equipment that needs money to invest

And laying his finger aside of his nose
And giving a nod, up the stairs he rose
But I heard him exclaim, ere he climbed out of sight
Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night

[Read more…]

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CMMS User Training Maximizes Efficiency

CMMS User Training Maximizes Efficiency

After you’ve purchased computerized maintenance management software (CMMS), your work is done. Implementation will be a breeze, all users will quickly learn the system and your organization will begin reaping benefits immediately. Although this scenario is possible, it’s very unlikely. Companies that carve out ample time for CMMS training typically experience the most success with their software.

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How Asset Management Impacts Your Happiness

How Asset Management Impacts Your Happiness

Have you worked in a company that says they want to be world class in reliability but won’t make investments in training their people or their reliability initiatives?

Have you seen companies who say safety is a value, but you see people pressured to work in an unsafe manner?

These are examples of misalignment and violates a concept in asset management.  In asset management, aligning decisions with the company’s purpose & objectives is how to get the most value out of your assets.

What does this have to do with my happiness?

I do agree that working for a company that says one thing but acts another way is frustrating and can impact your happiness (mostly through disengagement), but that’s not I want to talk about.

[Read more…]

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The Conscious Asset Framework – 4

The Conscious Asset Framework – 4

Putting the Framework to work – steps 3 and 4

By James Reyes-Picknell & Uri Wittenberg

3. Planning

It is vital to get Planning right, so it will take some time to execute. This is where some of the philosophies, concepts and tools, conveyed during the Awareness portion in concert with past knowledge and experiences, will help assemble the overall implementation project plan with all its pieces. It should consider cross-functional daily interaction between all areas in the organization vital to the successful operation of all business essentials. [Read more…]

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The Conscious Asset Framework – 3

The Conscious Asset Framework – 3

Putting the framework to work – steps 1 and 2

By: James Reyes-Picknell & Uri Wittenberg. The Four Sustainability Stages of the Conscious Asset Framework™ comprise 3 building blocks each. Each of these blocks will be reviewed and customized to fit each individual organization’s unique needs.

Let’s take a closer and more detailed look at each of the four stages and their elements. [Read more…]

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IoT’s Impact on CMMS Software

IoT’s Impact on CMMS Software

There’s no denying the power of the Internet of Things (IoT) on our everyday lives. Connected devices provide us with the convenience we’ve become so accustomed to. Take the Amazon Echo, for example. It’s much easier to ask Alexa to add an item to your grocery list than it is to write it down. But IoT technology doesn’t just impact consumers, it’s transforming the way companies do business. And integrating IoT with CMMS software opens up a world of new possibilities for maintenance management professionals.

It’s All About Data

The use of CMMS (computerized maintenance management systems) software to streamline maintenance operations and reduce costs has existed for many years. However, new capabilities within CMMS software have been realized thanks to IoT technology. Aside from convenience, the IoT provides greater reliability through its vast data connections. Going back to the Amazon Echo example, you can’t always rely on yourself to remember to bring a written grocery list with you to the store. But you can rely on a list generated by a cloud-based voice service and access it through your mobile device. Data stored within the cloud works to the same advantage for maintenance professionals—it gives them the ability to simplify and improve many tasks.

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My Struggle with Mental Health

My Struggle with Mental Health

I’ve had a nagging feeling that I needed to write about this topic for a while and I haven’t for fear of judgment.  In honor of a mental health campaign in Edmonton titled 11 of Us after the statistic that 11 Edmontonians that attempt or die by suicide each day) and my core values of honesty, impact and service, here it is, my struggle with mental health.

June 4th, 2010 – This day should have been the biggest moment in my life up to that point.  I walked across the stage and graduated from MIT.  Coincidentally, it was also my 22nd birthday.  I remember feeling void, questioning what’s next for me.  Up until recently, those feelings never left. [Read more…]

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Where to Draw the Line Between Maintenance & Physical Asset Management

Where to Draw the Line Between Maintenance & Physical Asset Management

Physical Asset Management has received a lot of attention in recent years within the asset intensive industries e.g. oil/gas, energy, utilities, process & manufacturing. On one hand, the release of PAS 55 & its subsequent follow-up by ISO 55000 has brought Physical Asset Management within limelight & on the other hand it has created an ambiguity for many Maintenance practitioners. [Read more…]

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The Conscious Asset Framework – 2

The Conscious Asset Framework – 2

Building a successful and sustained asset management program

Putting the Framework to Work

By: James Reyes-Picknell & Uri Wittenberg. In figure 2 below, it should be clear that The Conscious Asset Framework™ is general in nature. It is what we want to achieve but how do we get there?

Few of us are fans of cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all, approaches and methodologies. They just don’t work without some sort of tailoring. Some consulting firms have rigid approaches and they won’t vary from them. Others claim to have no approach, but in reality most simply haven’t taken the time to articulate one. Most, including many “experts”, do use some guiding methodology or model even if they can’t (or won’t) describe it clearly. [Read more…]

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How Can CMMS Support Your Predictive Maintenance Efforts

How Can CMMS Support Your Predictive Maintenance Efforts

With industry statistics like the one from a joint study by the Wall Street Journal and Emerson, it’s no wonder that more manufacturers are looking for ways to proactively handle unplanned machine downtime. Among several issues discussed, the study states that unplanned downtime costs manufacturers about $50 billion per year. Furthermore, it mentions that outdated maintenance programs waste resources and potentially expose staff to higher safety risks.

[Read more…]