How to Balance the Cost of Maintenance

There is not a single maintenance department that I am aware of that has an unlimited budget.  If you are aware of one, please let me know as I would love to see if it is successful or not.

Since most of us do not have an unlimited maintenance budget, we need to be smart about how we spend our maintenance money.  Therefore there needs to be a balance and well thought out approach to the spend.  We all know that proactive maintenance is cheaper than breakdown maintenance.  But how do we balance the cost of maintenance with risk, to ensure that operations get the most out the equipment?
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Understanding who owns the storeroom processes and stocking strategy

There are two different perspectives on the maintenance storeroom.  These perspectives are on who owns the operation of the storeroom.  Some believe that Maintenance owns the storeroom and the operation of it.  Others believe it is Procurement, or potentially Logistics or Warehousing.  Some organizations require the storerooms to be operated by a consistent group, while others leave it up to the site.
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Some Insights into the Current Status of Maintenance & Reliability Fundamentals

Let’s face it, we as engineers, maintenance staff, etc. all love technology and the newest gadget.  Our industry is never short of these new and shiny techniques, tools, sensors, etc.  Now, this new tech can lead to significant improvements in availability, OEE, or uptime.  But these are not the silver bullets many claim them to be… especially if the foundational elements are not in place.
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How to use FMECA to drive reliability improvements in your organization

An important part of the Reliability Centered Maintenance process, or used as a standalone approach for less critical assets; the Failure Mode Effect Criticality Analysis is vital reliability tool.   However, a large percentage of organizations do not take advantage of the tool during the design phase of the asset, or to develop the maintenance strategy once the asset is installed.
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How to ensure your assets are on a solid foundation

Installing an asset is a critical step that can impact reliability short term and long term.  Often times assets are installed without much thought.  They are thrown on the machine base, anchors drilled and away the operation goes.

But while focusing on the Installation – Potential Failure – Failure curve, it becomes obvious that time and precision during the installation point can greatly extend the life of the asset.   By investing in the installation, the asset will experience less premature failures and extend any wear out mechanisms that are present in the asset.
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