Thursday, November 29, 2012

A New White Paper - Keys to Implementing a Reliability Process

A New White Paper - Keys to Implementing a Reliability Process
Author: Darrell Carnes

Since the late 1990s more and more companies have realized the benefits of a reliability-based maintenance program. As organizations evolve and adopt a new reliability-based culture, long-time employees are taking on new roles. Seasoned mechanics are finding themselves promoted to the position of reliability coordinator with new responsibilities that include getting the reliability program up and running, reducing costs while maintaining the facility, and keeping efficiencies up. These new responsibilities can seem overwhelming at first as the new reliability coordinator questions: where do I start, how do I get employees involved, and what technologies do I use? Luckily, there is help available to get your program off to a good start. While there are numerous sources of information-books, seminars, websites, etc.-sifting through such an immense amount of information can be overwhelming. This article outlines some basic steps-communication, process development, and training on short- and long-term goals-that will help you to get started and give your reliability-based maintenance program a solid foundation.

To read more, click here.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

A New White Paper - How to Pick Your Project Team

A New White Paper - How to Pick Your Project Team
Author: Paul Cronin

Leaders of reliability-centered maintenance projects usually have to rely on volunteers from multiple departments to join their teams. Much of the literature about selecting teams is based on enterprise-wide initiatives led by high-profile executives. Executives have the luxury of handpicking the "right" people. This is not a typical scenario because most reliability-centered maintenance initiatives are led by a staff person who has no direct control over any of the team members and can only influence the decision to volunteer. How well the project leader influences the organization and people's perceptions will determine the quality of the team volunteers. Volunteers will be looking at two key criteria: what they know about the project's impact on them, and their perception of the project leader. This paper outlines steps to building team success by addressing these criteria.

To read more, click here.

A New White Paper - Operational Excellence and Improved Reliability

A New White Paper - Operational Excellence and Improved Reliability
Author: Paul Cronin

Integrating Asset-Based Operational and Reliability Programs to Achieve Excellence

The real improvement in plant performance occurs when operational excellence programs are integrated with reliability programs and are built around each asset. In many companies, reliability is a stand-alone engineering or maintenance program that only indirectly involves operations. Operational excellence programs focus on operations only. Safety and environmental programs are also separate. To achieve true excellence, operations, maintenance, and reliability programs must focus on assets and be integrated with safety and environmental programs.

To read more, click here.

A New White Paper - Top Five Maintenance & Reliability Enablers for Improved Operational Performance

A New White Paper - Top Five Maintenance & Reliability Enablers for Improved Operational Performance
Author: Dennis Belanger

Think back on successful projects or initiatives both in business and your personal life. Consider why they were successful. Think about the key things than enabled these successes, particularly long-term sustained successes. By truly understanding the positive enablers that bolstered success and leveraging that understanding, chances of future success are significantly improved.

Many improvement initiatives put a significant amount of focus on the benefits they can provide, including potential cost savings and improved productivity. Unfortunately, we often don't spend enough time discussing and identifying the enablers that must be in place to achieve the projected benefits. While understanding the benefits is important, there are two additional parts to any business case: the upfront cost or investment and the level of management fortitude required to achieve the goal. I believe that management fortitude is primarily measured by how the enablers for success are addressed. If considerable effort and focus is applied to the enablers, an initiative is likely to be successful and sustainable. If the enablers are left to chance, then failure will likely be the result.

The bottom line is that taking the time to understand, establish, and surround yourself with a foundation of positive enablers is key to success.

To read more, click here.

A New White Paper - Capital Projects Operational Readiness and Business Risks

A New White Paper - Capital Projects Operational Readiness and Business Risks
Author: Bruno Storino

When a company invests in new assets, it makes a strategic business decision to improve its position in the marketplace. Building new facilities-or expanding existing ones-is a response to market needs. Investing in assets or new facilities may be required to launch new products or increase existing capacity. In some cases the nature of the industry requires close proximity to demand; in other cases it may be better to locate a new plant closer to specific raw materials sources.

The objective is to complete the project on schedule, on budget, and to have the new assets commissioned. Once the facility is put into operation, it must fulfill its intended role and deliver what was specified in the business-case strategy throughout its entire lifecycle.

Considerable effort is put forth during project phases prior to commissioning, but it is during the operational lifecycle that the new assets must pay for themselves by fulfilling their role in the market strategy that spurred the investment. Traditionally, the project-execution phase places less emphasis on ensuring optimal utilization of the assets during their productive life. Companies often fail to recognize and address significant operational risks, which results in paying a steep price in the form of less-than-optimal facilities and operational processes.

To read more, click here.

A New White Paper - Implementing a Best Practices Predictive Maintenance Program

A New White Paper - Implementing a Best Practices Predictive Maintenance Program
Author: Douglas Hart

In a global marketplace, it is imperative that industrial and manufacturing organizations operate as competitively as possible. Maintenance has an enormous impact on an organization. It influences equipment reliability, equipment availability, production throughput, and eventual bottom-line profitability, so it is critical that informative and cost-effective equipment management strategies be employed. Predictive Maintenance (PdM)/Condition Monitoring, if implemented properly, is a very effective strategy.

In this white paper you will learn how to avoid the ten most common pitfalls associated with implementing a PdM Program in your organization.

To read more, click here.

A New White Paper - Equipment Advocates: Giving Equipment a Voice

A New White Paper - Equipment Advocates: Giving Equipment a Voice
Author: Charles Spillman

The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease
This truism is well worn and time tested, but it usually doesn't refer to a wheel. The trite saying typically means the guy who is the loudest, the most overbearing, and the most insistent will get his way. Unfortunately, the same does not hold true for a wheel that is actually squeaking, a bearing that is scouring a path through the bearing race, or a compressor that is... well, you get the idea. The truth is that often the production schedule and the pressure to fulfill delivery obligations becomes the squeaky wheel, and the insistent noise from the sales and the operations departments muffles concern for the production equipment.

It is Time to Give the Equipment a Voice!
A Midwest mining operation struggled with unscheduled down time and chronic, repetitive repairs that significantly impacted uptime and throughput. Preventive maintenance was routinely disregarded, and all efforts from the maintenance staff were concentrated on urgent repairs. The constant pressure from operations to keep production equipment in service and the frenzied need for quick repairs had created an adversarial relationship between the maintenance and operations staff. The two groups struggled with constant heated confrontations about what repair work was critical and what could be postponed. This battle resulted in a tense working environment and steadily deteriorating asset health.

To read more, click here.