Search Results for: Change Management

Importance of CMMS Naming Conventions

When using a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), proper naming conventions are important to its success. Although it may take time in the upfront planning phase to define IDs for assets, parts, resources, maintenance procedures, etc., the outcome will be well worth the extra effort. Appropriate CMMS naming conventions provide a streamlined process for easily finding information and reporting.

While a state of the art CMMS system provides extensive query capability by most data fields, it still makes sense to think about and craft proper naming standards. Your CMMS vendor should be able to provide recommendations that have stood the test of time and worked well for their customers. Most important to the success of a streamlined and efficient system is to document your organization’s conventions in the maintenance standard operating procedures (SOPs) and provide proper training on the SOPs, along with the software training provided by your CMMS vendor. Once users know the established standards and how to use their CMMS system, finding needed information is a snap.

[Read more…]

Ask a question or send along a comment. Please login to view and use the contact form.

by James Kovacevic Leave a Comment

SMRP 05 – Maintenance Perfection with Joe

Maintenance Perfection with Joe

It’s hard to hear someone talk about maintenance without mentioning reliability, or the other way around. While these terms are similar, they are not the same. In this episode, Joe Lonjin of Cohesive Solutions helps us get a better picture of how these two practices are different, and how to create harmony between them. ᐅ Play Episode

by Greg Hutchins Leave a Comment

World Economic Forum Risk Assessment Survey

Guest Post by James Kline (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

The World Economic Forum conducts a risk assessment survey annually. The 2019 survey is the 14^th edition. It contains information from 2009 to 2019. The article looks at the results of the survey for these years and discusses some implications. [Read more…]

by Robert Kalwarowsky Leave a Comment

Much Ado About Infant Mortality

I have recently been diving into work orders and using Weibull analysis to determine optimal replacement times. During one of the analyses, we discovered a significant infant mortality problem where the equipment was failing under 1 year of operation. I’m not stopping there.

A common misconception with infant mortality is that there’s nothing we can do. I’ve heard people say that we can’t plan for infant mortality or we can’t reduce these types of failures without switching manufacturers.

That’s not the case [Read more…]

by Ryan Chan Leave a Comment

MIM 006 LaWayne Smith

Tips on Establishing a Reliability Culture Within Your Organization with LaWayne Smith

This week on Masterminds in Maintenance, we hear from LaWayne Smith, Head of Asset Management and Reliability at the University of Kansas Medical Center. LaWayne shares with us his journey being the steward of change for his organization in revitalizing their preventative maintenance program. Thank you, LaWayne, for joining us!
[Read more…]

by James Kovacevic Leave a Comment

177-Project Manager’s Guide with Brandon Weil

Project Manager’s Guide with Brandon Weil

Planning and scheduling maintenance and reliability programs takes a bit of a work but implementing that plan takes real effort and that’s where the project managers come in. They are the ones who define the scope of the plan and come with estimates in terms of budget and time. Project planners usually have a singular responsibility and that is to divide the work into a group of activities. These activities are part of major interdependent processes and there are always risks involved that need to be identified and addressed at the very start. It is very difficult to get the results without proper planning and management.

In this episode, we covered:

How do you become an effective Project Manager?
What are the traits of a reliable Project Manager?
What are the the steps for M&R Implementation?
And much more!

ᐅ Play Episode

by James Kovacevic Leave a Comment

Bonus Episode-Planner Certification with Shon Isenhour

Planner Certification with Shon Isenhour

Behind a successful reliability program, there’s always a great plan for implementation. This is something that maintenance planners handle. They are the ones who create job plans, strategize those plans, and then develop procedures to implement them with success. The scope of a maintenance planner’s job is flexible, so there are different type roles that a planner or a planner and scheduler plays depending upon the type of the organization they are working for. Some of the maintenance planners receive proper training while the others just get into the process as they go along.

In this episode, we covered:

Why is a plan for implementation the key to a successful reliability program?
Why is consistent feedback important?
Why does planning and scheduling hold great organizational value?
And much more!

ᐅ Play Episode

by Greg Hutchins Leave a Comment

The 2019 State of Risk Oversight

Guest Post by James Kline (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

In another article, I discussed the results of the risk survey conducted annually by the World Economic Forum. The survey respondents are considered the economic elite. The responses provide an indication of the concerns of the movers and shakers of business. Consequently, the questions asked, and the risk concerns expressed are more policy oriented. [Read more…]

by Christopher Jackson Leave a Comment

SOR 453 How to Balance Reliability vs New Tech

How to Balance Reliability vs New Tech

Abstract

Chris and Fred discuss how we balance … or incorporate new technology with reliability. Is reliability something that only comes with legacy or age? … as in old technology? Can you make a product that is based on new technology and have it reliable? … are these concepts mutually exclusive? If we look at this from an ‘asset management’ perspective, there is a movement out there that we need things like increasingly sophisticated sensing technology to ensure reliability, availability, throughput or whatever it is we are trying to improve. From a ‘developmental product’ perspective, does new technology mean ‘all bets are off’ when it comes to reliability? Well … we talk about these things in this podcast. ᐅ Play Episode

by Robert Allen Leave a Comment

Tiered Meetings Structure Enables Production Oversight & Support

A complex production process requires a mixture of leadership, governance and management. In this article, we’ll discuss a tiered meetings structure that can effectively enable this. Empowerment, escalation paths, accountability and responsibility are included as some key ingredients. We’ll start with the following diagram:

[Read more…]

by Greg Hutchins Leave a Comment

Conundrum: Global Warming – Electric Demand

Guest Post by Geary Sikich (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

We hear so much about global warming, climate change and disruptive weather these days. It is often difficult to understand what is fact, truth and valid from hype, hysteria, and hyperbole. Should we all be driving electric cars, not eating as much meat, using wind and solar; redefining our lives? Or, should we forget about it and continue doing what we have been doing since the early days of the industrial revolution? [Read more…]

by Christopher Jackson Leave a Comment

SOR 450 Customer Experience and Failures – Its not you its them!

Customer Experience and Failures – Its not you its them!

Abstract

Chris and Fred discuss what it means to ‘fail.’ Not from a personal sense! But what does it mean for your product to fail. Engineering or design specifications describe what the product or system must do. So does failure simply occur when the product can no longer meet all these specifications? What if your product or system meets all these criteria – but your customer ‘thinks’ is has failed? We have seen many instances where a group of people who design and make products will vehemently argue that even if the customer thinks something has failed when it meets the specifications, then nothing is wrong. Is it? What do you think the customer will do? Do you think they will be ‘happy’? If this is a problem you come across, then listen to this podcast.
ᐅ Play Episode

by Dev Raheja Leave a Comment

Lessons Learned From Designing for Reliability

Reliability is a process. If the right process is followed, results can be great such as eliminating most of the warranty costs. The opposite is also true in the absence of the right process. There is a saying: “If we don’t know where we are going, that’s where we will go.” It is difficult enough to do the right things, but it is even more difficult to know
what the right things are!

Knowledge of the right things comes from practicing the use of lessons learned. One must utilize the accumulated knowledge for arriving at correct decisions. Theory is not enough. One must keep becoming better by practicing. Take the example of swimming. One cannot learn to swim from books alone; one must practice swimming. It is okay to fail as long as mistakes are the stepping stones to failure prevention. Thomas Edison was reminded that he failed 2000 times before the success of the light bulb. His answer, “I never failed. There were 2000 steps in this process.” We can use the following lessons learned. [Read more…]

by James Kovacevic Leave a Comment

171-Decision Making with Rob

Decision Making with Rob

Decision making is a major part of maintenance and reliability. The engineers have to make decisions all the time regarding assets, budgets, and risk analysis. There are some decisions that don’t really have serious consequences but when it comes to asset management, every decision is important. They need to be economical and there should be a good balance between cost, risk, and asset performance. Most of the time, the managers are making all the decisions and they either do it based on their experience or they just go with their gut feeling.

In this episode, we covered:

Find out why every decision is important
How can you make a sound decision?
Why should organizations need to always be thinking long-term?
And much more!

ᐅ Play Episode

by Greg Hutchins Leave a Comment

Black Swans or Just Wishful Thinking and Misinterpretation

Guest Post by Geary Sikich (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

There seem to be a lot of sightings of “Black Swans” lately. Should we be concerned or are we wishfully thinking, caught up in media hype; or are we misinterpreting what a “Black Swan” event really is? The term “Black Swan” has become a popular buzzword for many; including, contingency planners, risk managers and consultants. However, are there really that many occurrences that qualify to meet the requirement of being termed a “Black Swan” or are we just caught up in the popularity of the moment? [Read more…]