James Kovacevic — Thought Leader

Author of Maintenance and Reliability articles, ebooks, and host of Rooted in Reliability, co-host on Speaking of Reliability.

This author's archive lists contributions of articles and episodes.

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124 – Building a Maintenance Management Program with Brandon Weil

Building a Maintenance Management Program with Brandon Weil

When you think of an asset management program, what comes into your mind? Is it the CMMS? Is it the EAM? Or is it any other tool that helps you keep track of your assets and allows you to manage them? While CMMS and EAM help a lot in managing organizational assets efficiently but a comprehensive asset management program is much more than just computer software. It consists of all those other systems, procedures, and processes that support your CMMS or any other system you might have in place. You might not need a detailed asset management program if you have small-scale business.
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The 39 Subjects of Asset Management

Understanding the different functions and disciplines of asset management

The Global Forum on Maintenance and Asset Management (GFMAM) has worked with the major bodies (SMRP, PEMAC, IAM, etc.) to achieve a consensus on the major subjects within asset management.

These subjects are intended to describe the complete scope of topics within asset management. You can download the GFMAM guide for free here. It is important that anyone who wishes to understand asset management has an understanding of each of these topics, and hopefully some experience in each. [Read more…]

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123 – World Class Lubrication with Robert Kalwarowsky

World Class Lubrication with Robert Kalwarowsky

In a previous episode with our guest speaker Heinz Bloch, we covered how certain organizations were able to achieve best-in-class reliability programs. In this podcast episode, we’ll dig into what makes for a world-class lubrication program. Truth be told, only a very few organizations achieved and are implementing world-class lubrication programs. Obviously, there are certain best practices that they do that others don’t.
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The 7 Requirements of an Asset Management System

Understanding the Requirements of the ISO 55001 Standard

When looking through the ISO 55001 standard, one may quickly become overwhelmed with the requirements.

The ISO 55001 standard was written in a way that groups the requirements, making it easier to understand & implement the standard.

This is different that subjects found in asset management (which we will discuss next week). These are the requirements that must be met if one to certify themselves against the ISO 55001 standard. [Read more…]

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122 – Asset Effectiveness Model with Paul Daoust

Asset Effectiveness Model with Paul Daoust

In asset management, the organizations have a lot to do. They can’t go about making intelligent decisions every time without the help of team leaders and their engineering team. They are the ones who have to find the balance between performance cost, risks, and ROI. If they make good decisions, the organization’s top-level management will be able to focus on other things. They will be able to make sure that all the resources are provided for. The training, coaching, and implementation processes are going the way they are supposed to. This is where Asset Effectiveness model comes in handy.
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The Key 3 Asset Management Documents

Understanding these asset management documents will set the stage for an asset management program.

Aligning an organization is a critical step to implementing and ensuring the success of an asset management system. Various change management techniques will be used to bring about the change, but how do you ensure the message, direction, and principles of the asset management program are communicated consistently and clearly? [Read more…]

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121 – Starting with Mathematical Foundations with Fred Schenkelberg

Starting with Mathematical Foundations with Fred Schenkelberg

Every system in the world, no matter how complex, is designed on an algorithm. All the systems use the same basic principles of mathematics. When there is a failure in a system, there’s a logical explanation for its occurrence. Every engineering principles that vendors follow to build the machines and every calculative functionality they add to it so that it will work the way it is is based on mathematics. That’s why it is very important to have strong mathematical foundation in a reliability-oriented organization.
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Making Asset Management Work

Understanding the Concepts and Principles of Asset Management

In order to implement an asset management system, it is vital to understand what is involved in an asset management system. The aspects involved have been tested over time through many different industries. These industries have proven to be what it takes to be successful.

So let’s see what it takes to be successful in asset management. [Read more…]

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120 – What is the Difference between RGA and Weibull with Fred Schenkelberg

What is the Difference between RGA and Weibull with Fred Schenkelberg

Predictive maintenance is the backbone of reliability and maintenance industry. This is why every organization tends to use tools that can help them foresee the possible failures ahead of time and take preemptive measures. No matter how much you spend on building a sustainable program, there are always deficiencies left somewhere. You have to know at every stage what these deficiencies are to successfully get where you want to go exactly. This is where Reliability Growth Analysis (RGA) (or Crow-AMSAA, as oftentimes referred to) helps you with its wide applications. When you have a specific problem, focusing on a single failure mode, and have all the data related to it, it is good to use Weibull Analysis.
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Why Do You Need An Asset Management Program?

Understanding the Business Benefits of an Asset Management Program

Have you tried to upgrade / replace a piece of equipment due to the high cost of maintenance? What about having the process stopped by procurement because they are not aligned with the high upfront cost?

While there is a generally a common goal of ensuring the long-term success of an organization, the approach is not always cohesive. An asset management program is there to ensure an integrated and cohesive approach is in place. This cohesive approach ensures the organization is working towards a common goal. [Read more…]

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119 – What Customers Need is an Asset Management Program, Not Software with John Reeve

What Customers Need is an Asset Management Program, Not Software with John Reeve

When organizations feel the need to run their sites in a better and informed way, they tend to purchase different software that will help them get the answers they need. What they don’t realize is that software is only as good as the people using it. When you don’t have data input to the system, the output is most likely to be inaccurate. You can purchase a CMMS or any other reliability software but if you don’t know what it is that you want from the software, it is no good to anyone.
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What is Asset Management?

Understanding the Value of an Asset Management System

All stakeholders have different perspectives, and as a result, place value on different aspects of an asset. Trying to balance all the requirements is not an easy task. Whether the requirements are performance, cost, or the level of risk. Keep in mind, that performance can not only be uptime or OEE, but the beauty of a park, or the condition of a road. This is where asset management comes in. [Read more…]

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118 – Leadership with Erin Saylor

Leadership with Erin Saylor

Leadership is the key to achieving your goals in an organization. Without leadership, every process is destined to fall apart with time. That’s why it is so important to know what does it mean to be a true leader and how to improve your leadership skills as you move along. The first thing a leader needs to have is a code or principle that he never breaks no matter what. That means he needs to follow the rules first before he starts making any. He should be a good follower in as much as he is a good leader.
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Ethics In Maintenance? Are You Kidding?

How Ethics Influence The Reliability of The Plant

Ask almost any maintenance professional in your operation what they think about ethics. Chances are the answers will not have anything to do with their job and their role in maintaining equipment.

Ethics play an important role in many professions, such as doctors, engineers, lawyers, etc. Ethics are not typically thought of in maintenance, but in reality, ethics does have a place in maintenance.

To understand where ethics fit into maintenance, you first have to understand ethics. [Read more…]

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117 – RCM with Nancy Regan

RCM with Nancy Regan

RCM principles have been around for nearly 50 years now, and its process for nearly 40 years. Surprisingly, there is still a wide misconception and most people still don’t understand the term that is RCM. So, what is RCM or Reliability-Centered Maintenance? RCM is one of the most efficient and effective proactive maintenance processes that is considered one of the most powerful asset management tools. One of the great things about RCM is that you can apply it to any industry or your daily life. It has one of the most diverse applications in the world.
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