on Maintenance Reliability

One of the most common mistakes I see at plants and manufacturing facilities around the world is centered on the lack of a good lubrication program. For whatever reason, the task of lubricating equipment in most companies has been traditionally viewed as menial but necessary and delegated to low skill level employees with little or no training in lubrication best practices. It is this type of thinking that results in the unexpected failure of rotating equipment, including, pumps, motors, gearboxes, and bearings. Worse yet are the companies that have no lubrication program at all and somehow believe that someone in the plant will lubricate the equipment when it needs it. Just leave a few grease guns and some oil drums around the site and people will know when to add some. [Read more…]

As companies around the globe look to improve equipment reliability, I can’t help but think of the Technicians and Craftspeople I meet after conference presentations. As they step up to introduce themselves to comment on the presentation, these attendees will often say, “I really liked your presentation, but I don’t think our management would ever support a program like this. What you are doing makes a lot of sense, but we just don’t have the people and our Operations Managers don’t understand maintenance and reliability.” [Read more…]

If Not, Does it Matter?

One of the best things about my job is from time to time I get to work with some younger people who have a passion for the Maintenance and Reliability business and have made the decision to pursue a career in this business.  I really enjoy being a mentor, guiding the ambitious and offering advice on where to find information, articles and real, workable solutions. [Read more…]

It used to happen once every few years and now it seems to happen twice a year or more.  The customer who would like you to come in and perform an RCM analysis on a piece of equipment they are struggling with and when you begin to discuss the upfront work required to do a thorough RCM analysis they attempt to change the rules. [Read more…]

I’m not an Engineer

Engineers want order. Everything should happen in a programmed sequence making an expected result predictable. It’s one of the traits that gives Engineers a reputation for being boring. When things happen out of order or sequence the engineers of this world become quiet while their brains churn out what they know the expected order should be and what might have occurred to upset the process. [Read more…]

The face you make when you know it’s supposed to be a team meeting yet the word you keep hearing most is “I”! Unless your working with a group of Optometrists it’s usually not a good sign!