September 14, 2006
Got Stress? Human Error Reduction is needed!
Reliability Center can help you learn the underlying reasons why humans make errors and how you can prevent them. We can provide your company with the ability to develop effective policies for managing human reliability and decrease human error in your workplace and—everywhere else for that matter!
September 14, 2006
Ultrasound Tip
Combine Positive Pressure with Artificial Ultrasound
Checking large volumes for leaks is done by placing an ultrasound transmitter inside the test volume and then scanning the seal points (doors, windows, vents, etc…) with an ultrasonic receiver. Leaks are identified by an abrupt increase in ultrasound levels as the inspector passes over the seal area. Rubber seals and gaskets are leak culprits but their faults can be masked during static testing.
Applying a positive pressure inside the volume, in conjunction with the ultrasound transmitter, greatly increases the inspector’s chance of finding leaking seals and gaskets. The pressure gently plies on the seals shifting them away from their rest position and potentially exposing any faults that could affect their ability to tightly seal. For volumes such as clean rooms, where tightness is crucial, the inspection should be performed twice; once in conjunction with pressure, and then again without.
In the hands of a properly trained inspector this method can prove fast, efficient, and useful means of ensuring the tightness of virtually any neutral pressure volume.
This tip supplied by SDT North America
http://www.sdtnorthamerica.com
905-377-1313
September 14, 2006
Lean Maintenance Tip
The very foundation of Lean Maintenance is Total Productive Maintenance (TPM). TPM is an initiative for optimizing the reliability and effectiveness of manufacturing equipment. TPM is team-based, proactive maintenance and involves every level and function in the organization, from top executives to the shop floor.
Tip provided Ricky Smith, Co-Author of Lean Maintenance
September 14, 2006
White Paper: EAM Made Simple. Well, Kind of Simple
By: Rob MacArthur, President Genesis Solutions
Asked to pen this piece on Enterprise Asset Management (EAM), I was struck with a radical idea. I would script the definitive and all encompassing manual for EAM. Not only that, but it would be written so that an 8 year-old could understand it. As it turns out not many people involved with EAM are of that age, so I figured I’d just keep it as simple as possible. Here it goes…
Download Your White Paper: EAM Made Simple. Well, Kind of Simple
September 14, 2006
Heinz Bloch Response from the Purpose Of Maintenance Discussion
Editor’s Note: I found this exchange totally enlightening and feel the lesson illuminated extremely valuable. Thanks Heinz - Terry O
The various and sundry exchanges are all interesting; none of them can be disputed. But, as is so often demonstrated by the preponderance of articles in numerous trade journals, and by the work output of hundreds of “benchmarking consultants,” these exchanges usually do little more than state the problem. Few, if any, are giving unequivocal solutions and the writers appear to be unaware that some organizations have implemented solid solutions four decades ago. Here’s how they did it:
In essence, since the early 1960’s and from that time on, my then employer did the following:
1. Assigned a machinery engineer to the project, insisting that he/she reside at the design contractors offices for the duration of the engineering and asset quality and reliability assurance (AQARA) phase of the project.
2. Assigned the same person (!) to the equipment startup team for the duration of the startup and, typically, one full year into the “feed in” or normal operation of the plant (!)
3. Asked the plant manager (first layer of management) to---typically--- head a four-layer organization. His/her second layer of management, which was then called a “Division,” had (a) a Technical Division Manager, (b) a Manufacturing Division Manager, and (c) an HR/PR Division Manager.
4. Insisted that within the third layer of management (comprised of several “Departments") there were---among other Department Heads---an Operations Department Head and a Maintenance Department Head. Both of these reported to the Manufacturing Division Manager who told these two Department Heads about a critically important feature of their careers: He told them that, after an unspecified number of months of “wearing their respective hats,” they would be asked to trade these “hats” and do the other Department Head’s job for, again, an unspecified and entirely variable period of time.
(As an aside, the fourth layer was comprised of section supervisors or group heads. Their job functions reported, of course, to the “Department” layer).
Because of the edict spelled out in (4), above, the two Department Heads cooperated with unprecedented effectiveness. They leaned each other’s job; there was never any bickering. The Manufacturing Division Manager was held accountable for quality and throughput. He had no excuse and could not blame non-performance on people (Department Heads) who reported to him in the first place.
By Heinz Bloch
September 14, 2006
Maintenance Tip
Breaking down some barriers
Many companies invest heavily in their asset care strategies, but fail to get the results they require because not enough is done to improve the underlying ‘softer’ issues. For example, one of the main problems that gets overlooked, when introducing a new process or strategy, is the importance that human factors play in its success or failure. There are very few people who deliberately go to work to do a bad job… and even less that like being disliked. So why then, do so many problems exist within a typical workforce?
For instance, operations and maintenance both want reliable plant… so why (in some cases) are their relationships so bad? Clearly, improving this relationship will make implementing new strategies so much easier… especially if several departments have to be involved. Some philosophies (e.g. Root Cause Analysis [RCA] and Total Productive Maintenance [TPM]) try to address this by promoting concepts such as team working and empowerment. However, these changes in culture can often take years to fully implement… and if not managed properly, fail somewhere along the way.
Therefore, one way of rapidly improving relationships between teams is to ‘prove’ that they can make a difference by working together. Rather than implement a strategy across the site (which doesn’t show any results for months - or even years), why not simply make a big difference to the worst piece of equipment on the plant… as a team. ‘Prove’ that by working together you can solve a major problem that helps everyone. Not only does this help break down some of the barriers that have been built up over the years, but it also starts to identify the correct processes and techniques that will inevitably make up the company’s reliability ‘toolkit’.
Tip provided by by Kirk Gillett, Maintenance Management Consultant at The Woodhouse Partnership Ltd.
September 07, 2006
Ultrasound Tip
Like your product to go smoothly down the conveyors through your warehouse?
Try using airborne ultrasound to locate control air leaks within the conveyor system. Control air is air that might be used to control an actuator that changes direction of a conveyor. If the control air system is leaking, it may cause product to hang-up during transportation. Using an airborne ultrasound receiver and parabolic dish for those overhead systems can be very beneficial.
Tip provided by Jim Hall
Ultra-Sound Technologies
(770) 517-8747
September 07, 2006
Maintenance & Reliability Job Fair - Houston Texas
Held in conjunction with Texas A&M’s Turbomachinery Symposium - George R Brown Convention Center
Houston Texas
September 26, 2006
10am-7pm
With a real maintenance and reliability skilled workforce shortage - leading global companies are prepared to hire qualified personnel on the spot.
Do not miss this opportunity!
Not in Houston? No problem - use the Reliability Resume Matching Service.
September 07, 2006
10 Rules For Stifling Change
From: Challenge of Organizational Change: How Companies Experience It And Leaders Guide It
by Rosabeth Moss Kanter
1 Regard any new idea from below with suspicion - because it is new and because it is from below.
2 Insist that people who need your approval to act first go through several other layers of management to get their signatures.
3 Ask departments or individuals to challenge and criticise each other’s proposals.
4 Treat problems as a sign of failure.
5 Express your criticisms freely and withhold your praise (that keeps people on their toes). Let them know they can be fired at any time.
6 Control everything carefully. Count anything that can be counted, frequently.
7 Make sure that any request for information is fully justified and that it isn’t distributed too freely (you don’t want data to fall into the wrong hands).
8 Make decisions to reorganise or change policies in secret and spring them on people unexpectedly (that also keeps people on their toes)
9 Assign to lower-level managers, in the name of delegation and participation, responsibility for figuring out how to cut back, lay off or move people around.
10 Never forget that you, the higher-ups, already know everything important about this business.
Tip brought to my awareness by Derek Burley, Cargill, Blair Nebraska
September 07, 2006
Tap into Joel Levitt’s vast array of experience
Tap into Joel Levitt’s vast array of experience and learn how to improve almost any aspect of your maintenance organization!
Recently published…Managing Factory Maintenance, Second Edition provides coverage of potential problems and new opportunities, what bosses really want, specifics for improvement of maintenance and production, World Class Maintenance Management revisited and revised, quality improvement, complete coverage of current maintenance practices, processes, process aids, interfaces and strategies, as well as personal and personnel development strategies.
Also Available…Managing Maintenance Shutdowns and Outages will help you save money immediately! Originally designed as an intensive course, this unique reference organizes the details of maintenance shutdown into a manageable form by introducing all of the steps to a successful shutdown or outage.
And Don’t Forget to Check out these other acclaimed Maintenance Resources…
• Complete Guide to Predictive and Preventive Maintenance - A culmination of 15 years of research, teaching, and consulting, this book shares the best practices, mistakes, victories, and essential steps for success which the author has gleaned from working with countless organizations.
• Handbook of Maintenance Management – Offers a complete survey of the field, an introduction to maintenance and a review of maintenance management.
• Maintenance Planning, Scheduling and Coordination - focuses on and deals specifically with the preparatory tasks that lead to effective utilization and application of maintenance resources.
SPECIAL OFFER to U.S. residents only…receive a 20% discount on any Maintenance book by providing special offer code MAINT-06 when checking out! Offer expires December 31, 2006.
