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on Maintenance Reliability

A listing in reverse chronological order of these article series:


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Air Mover and Air Amplifier Problems.

Air Mover and Air Amplifier Problems.

Air Mover And Air Amplifier problems! Touted as great maintenance savers and a very efficient means of moving large volumes of air, they can in fact be extremely energy hungry. Based on using a small amount of compressed air to draw through a large amount of entrained air they can cause huge energy waste if an air compressor is run in order for the air mover to operate. It is wasteful to install an air mover on a plant air system unless the air compressor is always running well under peak demand.

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Are you Informed, or Data Distracted? You need AIM

Are you Informed, or Data Distracted? You need AIM

Asset Information is far more than just data, and it must be managed. We want to be informed, not distracted by our data. Our goal is to make “evidence-based decisions”. The “evidence” of what is going on can be very useful if it is accurate, timely, complete, and fit for its intended purpose. Increasingly, we are turning to our computers for that evidence. But do we find it? Or do we end up searching through data looking for that “needle in the haystack”? Do we spend our time making informed decisions, or seeking information from an increasingly large and confusing array of disorganized, out-of-date, inaccurate, and incomplete data? Data must be fit for purpose. 

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Thoroughly Modern Maintenance

Thoroughly Modern Maintenance

Efficiency of 99.995% … in 1915

The Street Railway Journal, later renamed the Electric Railway Journal was published from 1884 until 1931.  The first 1884 volume described the reason for the journal’s existence, to serve the streetcar industry better than journals focusing on heavy rail. In 1884 it was most common for horses to pull street cars on fixed rails.  The importance of animal power was reflected in the articles about managing animals and many advertisements for grooming machines, traces, harnesses, and cures for horse colic.  A rarer method of motive power was a steam engine that drove an underground tow cable.  The second 1884 volume reported several experiments in using electric motors to power the cable instead of steam. 

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Is the Human Being Really an ‘Asset’?

Is the Human Being Really an ‘Asset’?

We often hear our organizations referring to their workforce as their greatest ‘asset’. But are they really?

Let’s first define ‘asset’ from a financial perspective:

“In financial accounting, an asset is an economic resource. Anything tangible or intangible that can be owned or controlled to produce value and that is held by a company to produce positive economic value is an asset. Simply stated, assets represent value of ownership that can be converted into cash (although cash itself is also considered an asset)”

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Understanding Soft Foot and How to Correct It

Ensure Your Precision Alignment Program Is On The Right Foot.

Imagine (or maybe you don’t have to) that you take out your brand new Easy-Laser system, and proceed to perform a shaft alignment.  However, it seems that no matter what you do, you can’t get a great alignment.  What is going on?  The foundation looks good, new shims were used, the asset is clean, and there is no pipe strain.  After some discussion with others, they mention a term in which you are unfamiliar with, soft foot.
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Proactive Maintenance is More Covid, How “Covid” is Yours?

Proactive Maintenance is More Covid, How “Covid” is Yours?

Proactive maintenance requires fewer people and is more suited to physical distancing, yet cost-savings measures are driving more reactive work and workplace crowding than necessary. Proactive maintenance is more “Covid”. You have laid-off workers, contractors, and reduced spending on maintenance and parts. In fact, Covid-19 presented you with a great savings opportunity! Have you done anything to make sure those costs stay down though? Short term maintenance cost savings are easy to achieve. but they bite hard later! [Read more…]

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MTBF versus Useful Life

MTBF versus Useful Life

There’s a big difference between MTBF and Useful Life. The two values are often misunderstood and misapplied when assigning Preventive Maintenance task intervals. In this video, I’ll explain which one is used to assign intervals for Scheduled Replacement and Scheduled Restoration tasks. We’ll also discuss Operating Context and how that can affect Manufacturer Recommended Maintenance. This is an “edutainment” video. If you’d like to skip the fun stuff (although I don’t know why you’d want to ☺️), I’ve time stamped the Reliability Moments below. Enjoy!

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Grade Your RCA Effort and Print Out Your Private Report Card…

Grade Your RCA Effort and Print Out Your Private Report Card…

If you had to give a grade to your current Root Cause Analysis (RCA) initiative, what would it be? How would you come to that conclusion (grade)? The paradox many face with such initiatives is drawing the distinction between compliance and actual effectiveness. What would our RCA grade be based on? In this article we will focus on the key elements to quantifiably measure your RCA initiative, so the organization can focus on the elements of the initiative that are lacking.

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Personal Expectations

Personal Expectations

A friend I have been mentoring for quite some time now asked me recently if I had a set of personal expectations I hold myself to. As part of our conversation, I quickly came up with 4 or 5 things and then later on sat down to list out the expectations I try to live by.

I think my parents set the groundwork for what I would consider my list of personal expectations. My Mom and Dad had sound values and I think it’s those values that influence our expectations. With that said, here is my list;

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Hey, Maintenance Planner! Do You Know What to Report on in Weekly Meetings?

As an Enterprise Maintenance Planner, you manage the backlog, provide a maintenance schedule, liaise with Maintenance and Operations, maintain excellent knowledge of the facility and its equipment, and find ways to optimize productivity. Phew! That’s no small to-do list.

Every day, you’re working hard to:

  1. Keep the backlog as low as possible
  2. Keep downtime to a minimum
  3. Manage an organized working schedule
  4. Successfully communicate updates to Operations and Maintenance
  5. Work towards many other tasks and goals too!

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Pay $3k to Keep out of Trouble, or More to Get out of Jail

Pay $3k to Keep out of Trouble, or More to Get out of Jail

Pay $3k now to keep out of trouble or more to get out of jail later. Your plant asset performance is down and you know it. It’s only a matter of time before there is an accident. You need to improve but funds are limited. 

The expert consultants will want to begin with some sort of an assessment. They will identify problems and offer solutions, for a price (likely $50k or more). You can’t afford it. Some consultants might even be former employees. Ask yourself, “if they worked here before, then why didn’t she/he fix what was wrong when they were here?” Consider getting a different consultant but you will still struggle with a big inconvenient truth! [Read more…]