Articles tagged Maintenance program

The Evolution of Maintenance Practices

What is Maintenance?
An Historical Perspective of Maintenance
Equipment Reliability
Reliability and Maintenance Strategy
The Ongoing Evolution
Effective Maintenance – DuPont Maintenance Study Results
Making the Transition from Reactive to Strategic
Discussion

1. What is Maintenance?

A definition: Maintenance describes the management, control, execution and quality of those activities which will reasonably ensure that design levels of availability and performance of assets are achieved in order to meet business objectives. [Read more…]

by George Williams Leave a Comment

Opportunities for Maintenance and Operations: No Part Replaced

This informative video provides valuable insights into how we respond to operations and help them improve their processes. By pulling data out of the CMMS, we can identify areas of opportunity and provide recommendations for improvement.

For example, by analyzing the data, we can see where operators may need training, or where improvements can be made in the incoming raw material process. Our goal is to provide practical, actionable advice that can help you maximize your resources and achieve success in your manufacturing facility.

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by Mike Sondalini Leave a Comment

Defect Elimination needs to be Systematic to Stop Failures in Your Company

Focus on failure elimination, otherwise equipment failures never stop because they are forever being introduced and perpetuated by poor procedures and practices, poor quality control and poor business management systems.

Knowing defects cause future equipment failures, production downtime, unnecessary costs and lost profits, it is necessary to put defect elimination strategies into place to purposely stop defects occurring and to remove the defects that are already present.

[Read more…]

by Mike Sondalini Leave a Comment

How Can Companies Stop Their Machines Failing?

Plant and equipment failures are business process failures. Plant stoppages and breakdowns result from failure-causing practices built into business processes and from leaving the right reliability practices out of them. Processes may superficially look okay because they have documentation, charts and records, but if you suffer a steady stream of failures, problems, and rework, then your processes contain unforeseen ‘traps’ into which your people and equipment regularly fall. Failure was not intended when your processes were chosen and designed, but failure is what happens when they are used.

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by Mike Sondalini Leave a Comment

Why Autonomous Teams Are So Successful

Companies that want plant and equipment reliability need to engage the people in the workplace and give them a large degree of responsibility for improving the performance of their equipment. The most successful solution yet discovered to do that is the autonomous work team.

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by Mike Sondalini Leave a Comment

The Future of Production is Endless Risk Free Operation

The world needs plant and equipment that are reliable and fault-free for decades. Yet Maintenance can only keep machinery working by replacing broken and at risk parts. Even industrial asset management only aims to lower the cost of plant and equipment ownership. Neither methodology has the capability to deliver what mankind needs in future. Before the end of this century both disciplines will die-out because intelligent production machines will be made that are completely reliable and maintenance-free for their entire lifetimes.

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by Mike Sondalini Leave a Comment

Stop Committing Industrial Suicide on Reliability Cliffs

Equipment and machinery reliability grows as machines are made more accurately and components kept in more perfect condition. Finesse and refinement practised on equipment parts extends equipment life by months, sometimes many months. Once you reach superb precision and work quality control your reliability growth bounds forward by years at a time. Conversely, when assembly accuracy is poor or parts’ environments are degraded you lose reliability at a rate of years at a time. In fact, the rate at which you lose reliability when component health is lost is as if you threw your machine from a cliff. Many industrial companies blindly commit industrial suicide daily by leaping off ‘reliability cliffs’.

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by Mike Sondalini Leave a Comment

Do You Contract Your Maintenance – Yes or No?

Guest post By Arnold (Arnie) F. Newland, CMRP

I have led internal maintenance teams towards world class reliability, I have outsourced specialized maintenance functions (predictive technologies) and I have worked with companies outsourcing all maintenance.

Maintenance outsourcing continues to grow with 65% of large companies outsourcing some maintenance..but perhaps for the wrong reasons.

[Read more…]

by Mike Sondalini Leave a Comment

Show All The Total Losses of Breakdowns

A good way to change mindsets and behaviors toward preventing forced outages and stoppages is to show everyone in the operation the total business losses of breakdowns.

It is incredible what the total business losses of breakdowns can rise too. Plant and equipment breakdowns are ultimately due to having wrong thinking and doing wrong practices. In this response to an FAQ, I advise to tell your people the true costs of breakdowns. Let them share the pain and loss suffered by the business and start them thinking of better ways to care for their operating assets.

[Read more…]

by Lindsay Walker Leave a Comment

Total Productive Maintenance and CMMS

For conscientious plant managers and production leaders, achieving successful and sustainable Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is a top priority. TPM is the key to reducing downtime, preventing breakdowns, and ensuring top-notch product quality during the process of manufacturing maintenance. But how do you put a TPM plan into action, and what steps should you follow to seamlessly integrate it into your existing operations and maintenance procedures? Keep reading, and we’ll break down what TPM is, how to implement it step by step, and why it matters. [Read more…]

by Bryan Christiansen Leave a Comment

Improve Critical Equipment Reliability and Reduce Maintenance Costs

In today’s competitive business environment, reliable equipment operation is crucial for uninterrupted operations and increased productivity. On the other hand, saving on maintenance costs can be a perilous path to tread.

Maintaining a balance between the two factors can have far-reaching effects, potentially even raising maintenance costs. The solution lies in optimizing equipment reliability, making it the bedrock of maintenance efforts.

It may be difficult to accelerate double-digit percentage cost reductions in some industries, such as pharmaceuticals and nuclear. Nonetheless, the primary focus should be on improving equipment reliability, which could lead to lower maintenance costs. [Read more…]

by Bryan Christiansen Leave a Comment

Building A Strong Reliability Culture For Your Maintenance Department

A reliability culture is a set of values, attitudes, and behaviors that promote the consistent delivery of high-quality products and services. It is a collective effort involving every team member, not just the team of reliability engineers. Proactive organizations prioritize identifying and eliminating reliability issues early in the production process. In contrast, reactive organizations only take action after failures occur, which can result in costly consequences, such as product recalls. [Read more…]

by Bryan Christiansen Leave a Comment

4 Ways Of Cutting Maintenance Costs That Won’t Impact Asset Reliability

Physical assets require continuous maintenance throughout their useful lives. That makes allocating and tracking maintenance expenses a necessity for companies. Maintenance cost is any expense that facilities incur while keeping assets in good working conditions. Typical maintenance costs include:

Amount spent for procuring spare parts or replacement components.
Cost of purchasing or leasing maintenance tools.
The amount for procuring and maintaining digital maintenance tools.
Wages for maintenance staff.
Costs associated with inventory management.

[Read more…]

by Bryan Christiansen Leave a Comment

How Can Reliability Engineers Improve Maintenance Management

Reliability engineers are responsible for keeping equipment or facilities operational, extending their useful lives, and managing maintenance costs by formulating relevant maintenance management policies and programs. They offer guidance to maintenance teams, analyze existing maintenance programs to identify opportunities for improvement. Unlike maintenance supervisors, these professionals rarely engage in the daily execution of maintenance tasks. The roles of reliability engineers span the entire lifecycle of an asset beginning from the design phase, operational stage to disposal. How do reliability engineers influence the gradual improvement of maintenance management in different organizations? [Read more…]

by James Kovacevic Leave a Comment

Be Audit Ready: How to Ensure Your Maintenance Program Can Stand Up to Regulators

When was the last time you were involved with a regulatory body? I can remember a time when a millwright was involved in an incident in our maintenance shop. He was using a 20″-disc grinder when the piece of steel he was grinding got caught and pulled his hand into the grinding wheel. He was off for a quite a few weeks, but he did not sustain any long-term injuries.
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