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Articles: Maintenance Management

The Business Case For Reliability

“It’s OK to get Excited about Maintenance” has been the introduction that I have given on every presentation related to maintenance, reliability, and asset management. Those presentations go on to say that the reason for this is the business case associated with doing it right. Asset Management initiatives have been documented to have Returns on Investment (ROI) ranging from 4:1 to 50:1. In fact, many organizations have found that a Total Equipment Asset Management (TEAM) initiative has proven to be the best investment that they have ever made in their facility.

The Continuous Journey

By Nicholas E. Maki, Jack T. Croswell and Dean A. Weiberg

Just as there is always a change in seasons, the journey to reliability excellence will continuously be changing and adapting.

Maintaining a facility the size of Hibbing Taconite, a mining and natural resource company, is and always will be challenging. It is an endless cycle of preparing and repairing; continuously moving from one project to the next. It can be rewarding one minute and frustrating the next. As anyone involved with the process can attest, it is harder than it may appear to maintain equipment at its original designed capacity and efficiency. From the moment a piece of equipment is put into service, the clock starts and wear begins. It never seems to end and there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel. You move from one project to the next, over and over again, seldom taking time to reflect and appreciate the work you have accomplished because the next project is waiting. This is how it is in the maintenance process. We execute repair after repair, continuously planning for the next shift, day, week, month and year, seldom taking time to look back and appreciate the work that has been accomplished.

The Eight Critical Elements of Asset Management Survey. A Detailed Assessment of Results.

The Onesteel Eight Critical elements survey was released globally in May 2009 and by early October had received over 250 responses from over 20 countries and 29 industry types. In October 2009 the results were analysed and will now be presented as a 4 part report, free to Reliabilityweb readers in next few weeks.

The Maintenance Function

Maintenance to many organizations is a word which provides little value to an organization when in fact it provides great value to any company when development, management, and discipline are applied. I think what is most misunderstood about maintenance is the true objective of the function. The objective of maintenance is to maintain the assets of a company so that they meet the reliability needs at an optimal cost.

The Maintenance Man

This work analyzes both profile and role of the maintenance man within the framework of current and future developments in the maintenance function. In times when other company functions are subject to automation, robotics and tend to the elimination of people at the worksite, maintenance appears as a typically human task that makes an irreplaceable contribution to modern companies' competitiveness.

We have studied the conceptual and organizational references that now determine the maintenance function as well as current trends and concluded upon the requirements that the maintenance professional must fulfill in order to do his job effectively, i.e., as stated in the definition of the maintenance function, to assure company competitiveness.

The Maintenance Ponzi Scheme -  The Cycle of Maintenance Destruction

While we have heard much about Ponzi schemes, they are fraudulent investing scams promising high rates of return with perceived little risk to investors. The Ponzi scheme generates returns for older investors by acquiring new investors. This scam actually yields the promised returns to the Ponzi manager, as long as there are more new investors. These schemes usually collapse on themselves when the new investments stop.

The Manufacturing Game

Introduction

This paper discusses the application of computer simulation to the management of the maintenance function at DuPont. Large Scale simulation models often have been used to analyze technical problems of plant operation. Typically, these models mimic the operation of the plant and are used to predict capacity and uptime for alternative equipment configurations. These models require input assumptions for key parameters such as mean time between failure and mean time to repair.

The Myth of Free Air

By Shannon RichardsThe air we breathe may be free but the notion that this applies to the compressed air that drives processes and production tools is a myth that no plant can really afford. Although the costs of air compressors may appear minor when compared to pricey production equipment, air systems should be properly scrutinized; otherwise plants may face higher electrical costs, maintenance, premature failures and, worst of all, unplanned downtime.

The Next Challenge For the Maintenance Department

Are we approaching an energy crisis? As I write this column, crude oil has hit record prices, again, with gas prices at the pump sure to follow. Meanwhile, debate concerning two major issues, peak oil (the end of cheap mineral oil) and global warming (the end of the planet as we know it), rage on.

The Next-Generation Maintenance Manager (NGMM)

By John Reeve

As an Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) consultant visiting multiple industries over the years, I've noticed a new generation entering the maintenance work force. They work primarily in the maintenance organization from trades to maintenance manager, are mostly younger professionals, and are very comfortable with computers.

But, whether younger or older, they see the value of corporate systems as a means to retrieve data to help them do their jobs and stay competitive. They recognize that almost every job in today's market involves some form of computerization, and they have embraced technology. They even welcome change. The maintenance manager who is part of this new generation is what I call the Next-Generation Maintenance Manager (NGMM).

Top Ten Ways to Waste Money

By Dave Bertolini, Managing Principal, People and Processes

Being the self described humorist that I like to think of myself as, I have pulled together my "Top Ten" money wasting things I have seen, heard, and regrettably even witnessed. Living in the "consulting world," I have been exposed to a lot of things: good, bad, evil, and just downright funny things. Hope you get a chuckle or two from my collection, but more importantly, you take away the messages buried beneath the humor.

Video Tip: The Biggest Opportunity for Supervisors

Please join Debbi Gray and Jeff Shiver of People and Processes Inc. for a 3 minute video tip on the biggest opportunity for supervisors.

What Do You Have A Right To Expect?

By Dan Daley, Author, The Little Black Book Of Reliability Management

Expect what you inspect.
~ An old inspector's saying 

Approximately twenty years ago, the company where I was employed sponsored a workshop focusing exclusively on reliability. When the workshop and its subject were announced, I was a little surprised.

 

What Do You Mean Compressed Air Isn’t Free?  We Use It Everyday!

It is amazing that while there is so much discussion in various media about energy and carbon reduction, most plant personnel fail to realize that there are incredible opportunities for cutting energy waste and carbon gases right under their proverbial noses. These are opportunities that could dramatically improve their company's competitiveness.

Why do PdM Programs Fail?

Lack of Consistency in Methodology

by Tom Francisco, PE, CMRP

There are a number of reasons why Predictive Maintenance (PdM) programs fail.  In recent years we have seen an industry shift toward outsourcing these functions to PdM service providers and/or equipment vendors in order to remedy the issues that have made it difficult for plants to run their own programs.  This article will focus on the common problem of a lack of consistency in how the PdM program is run and managed, more from a technical level than a personnel level – although the two are often related.  If your plant has not received the advertised 10:1, 20:1 or even 30:1 return on investment (ROI) promised by these programs then this article may provide you with one of the reasons why.

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