I’m participating on a conference call with a number of companies who made the commitment to begin a reliability journey. Each have drafted a 3 year vision that includes quarterly goals or milestones they worked to achieve and I’m impressed that the first company to present appears to be on goal or even ahead of their target.

“We had a goal this quarter to certify 60 people across our three sites and in our first month 28 people have taken the exam and if all goes as expected we should have at least 20 of those pass the exam. Next month we have over 30 people signed up so I think we are well on our way.” [Read more…]

by James Kovacevic Leave a Comment

6 Steps a Maintenance Professional Can Do to Reduce Email

Eliminating the Clutter To Focus On The Important Tasks

A common complaint I hear and experience is as a maintenance professional, our inbox has exploded and grown rapidly with all the daily activities in a plant. All the emails are perceived to be important, but in reality, they are mostly urgent, or not important and not urgent.

Take a moment and think about how much time you spend reviewing and answer emails. Even those emails that do not need a response, need time to review and move or delete. I am guessing you spend at least an hour a day dealing with email. Now think about what you can do with that hour… you could move the department forward and achieve the department and business goals.

Thankfully there are 6 steps you can implement to reduce the number of emails you receive and reduce the amount of time it takes to manage the remaining email. [Read more…]

by Mike Sondalini 5 Comments

Problems with Peristaltic (Hose) Pumps

This article explains the operation of peristaltic (hose) pumps and gives twelve points to be aware of when using them. [Read more…]

by Doug Plucknette Leave a Comment

Pets on Planes

So I got to wondering today, is it just me or are there way too many pets on planes these days?

And, just so I can maybe avoid 1 or 2 hate replies I am a pet owner. I have always loved all of my pets, I have spoiled them on occasion and we treat them like family. I love coming home the unglued excitement of a wagging tail powerful enough to take anything not nailed down off the closest table but I have to wonder how much our pets really enjoy being dragged onto a flying tin can captured in close quarters for hours at a time only to have the doors opened to an environment where their owners speed walk to the nearest rest room but poor Jake still isn’t allowed to relieve himself? [Read more…]

by James Kovacevic Leave a Comment

Becoming More Effective With Your Day

How To Save Time As A Maintenance Professional

You are running from one meeting to another, to a breakdown, to the storeroom and at the end of the day you stop and think. What did I really get done today? The day was busy, but did you accomplish what you wanted to or will make a difference in the long run?

The organization needs to focus on effective maintenance, and as a maintenance professional you need to be effective with your time. Only if you are effective with your time, can you drive the organization and the maintenance program forward. Being a maintenance professional it can be difficult to discern between the urgent and important and it is easy to get caught up in the rat race.

This will be a 4-part series on how a maintenance professional can free up time in their day and be more effective in driving their goals forward. [Read more…]

by Mike Sondalini Leave a Comment

Electric Motor Problems

This article presents a basic explanation of electric motor construction and operation along with eleven problems that can be encountered with their use.

Most electric motors in industrial equipment are three phase alternating current induction motors. Induction is the creation of an electric current across a gap. Two types of induction motors are commonly used: squirrel-cage and wound-rotor. The names come from the way they are built. [Read more…]

by Doug Plucknette Leave a Comment

What Can We Learn From Flint Michigan?

The finger pointing in Flint Michigan has already begun and it’s likely to reach and cross several levels of Michigan’s government. We have developed a society where it has become more important to find out who is to blame, than it is to find out what happened and how we can be sure it never happens again.

Regardless of what you may have read in the papers or seen on the news the effects of lead poisoning are real. Chronic lead poisoning over time like one would expect from a contaminated water source results in damage to every part of the human body and lasts a lifetime. [Read more…]

by James Kovacevic Leave a Comment

Speaking the Same Maintenance & Reliability Language

The Importance of Understanding the Terms and Definitions of the Maintenance & Reliability Language

Imagine being asked to discuss a breakdown during a production meeting. Only you are not aware of a breakdown, but production is claiming there was one and it could have been prevented by some Preventative Maintenance. You ask what equipment the breakdown was on and check the records. The records show there was a minor corrective action on the equipment last night, but not a breakdown.

After some discussion, the production manager explains that there was a leak, and the line had to be stopped to repair the leak. You know that a leak is not a breakdown, and will not impact production. The production manager saw a leak and assumed it was a breakdown. The end result was an unplanned outage lasting 30 minutes. [Read more…]

by Mike Sondalini 1 Comment

Pulse Jet Bag House Dust Collectors

In this article on pulse jet bag house dust collectors we cover twelve factors spanning their design and operation.

A bag house dust collector is used to separate dust from a dust-contaminated gas stream. The gas is filtered through bags made of fabric. The fabric traps and filters out the dust while the cleaned gas passes through. The fabric consists of either woven or intertwined (felted) fibres. The bag fibre is selected for its ability to give a long working life within the internal environment of the dust collector. [Read more…]

by Fred Schenkelberg 2 Comments

To Improve Reliability Get Good at Change Management

The process to design and deliver a reliable product involves identifying risks. Taking action to understand or mitigate those risks involves much of the day to day work of reliability engineering.

Taking action to set expectations and improve decisions involves change. Change of understanding, change of specifications, change of expectations, change of designs, processes, and results.

It is the changes, big and small, that occur that achieve the desired results for the customer and organization.

You also know that not every suggestion is greeted warmly. Not every proposal is funded. Not every recommendation is accepted. [Read more…]

by Doug Plucknette 1 Comment

Scoring Your RCM Effort

Like it or not we live in a society where we like to keep score. The score provides feedback; it gives those who are not involved information on the progress or success of those who are involved. The score can be delivered in an endless number of formats, the price of your company stock, net profits, unit cost of product, overall equipment effectiveness, or percent emergency/demand maintenance. In the world of Reliability Centered Maintenance RCM Guru Jack Nicholas gathered a team of experts several years ago to develop the RCM Scorecard. The result of this effort was a comprehensive tool that evaluated Key Performance Indicators at various periods before and during an RCM Project. [Read more…]

by James Kovacevic Leave a Comment

Reaching the Full Potential of Your CMMS

Getting Your Technicians to Use the CMMS as Part of the Daily Routine

The CMMS is often looked at as a tool for planners, engineers and managers, but that is only partially true. The CMMS is a powerful tool for the technicians as well. But getting the technicians to use the CMMS can be a difficult journey, and can blow up in your face if is it not rolled out and communicated properly. As with other best practices, having the technicians use the CMMS is not easy, but by doing so you can dramatically improve the performance of the operation. [Read more…]

by Mike Sondalini Leave a Comment

Components of an Effective Maintenance System

If you are ever in the fortunate position of developing a maintenance system from the beginning, the list below will help you focus your efforts. Maintenance systems in small business, develop by default and without much forethought. This list puts together, in one place, the important components of a workable maintenance system. [Read more…]

by Doug Plucknette 1 Comment

Is Technology Failing Me?

I no sooner accepted the meeting notice for a public training event in Europe that my mind began to race. The dates were setting off bells in my head for some reason so I pulled out my cell phone and checked my calendar.

The only thing now scheduled for those dates were the training events in Europe yet for some reason I still could not let go of the thought that I had something else scheduled for those dates. [Read more…]

by James Kovacevic Leave a Comment

Leverage the Data within Your CMMS

Unlock the Potential of Your CMMS by Accessing the Data Within

If you have properly selected and implemented your CMMS, you have the ability to truly make significant improvements in your operation. This is made a reality by using the data within the CMMS to make data driven decisions instead of intuition or feelings. This ensures the business resources are spent on the most important and strategic issues for the business.

In order to leverage the data within your CMMS, you have to ensure the data can be captured and reported easily. This is usually done during the implementation phase. [Read more…]