by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Oct 3, 2020 | RAM Tools & Methods, The Sustainable Plant
We work in a sea of ever-churning reliability acronyms, buzz words, and descriptive labels with multiple meanings. It’s not easy to effectively communicate with our peers or, worse yet, with top management when we use uncommon terms with assumed meanings. Such...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Sep 27, 2020 | Newsletter Column, Workforce Issues
As I’ve said and written for decades, “Maintenance is the least defined of all industrial activities.” There is no common set of standards that defines maintenance standards, practices, methods, or job descriptions. Yet, there are some industry-specific standards and...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Sep 11, 2020 | Plant Operations, Safety Matters
Why is it that many people on the plant floor use compressed air to clean their machines and the floors around them? It’s easy. That’s why. The problem is compressed air can be the most expensive and most ineffective and damaging way to “clean” machine♦s. Think about...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Sep 6, 2020 | Asset Management, Newsletter Column
Those of us working in the world of manufacturing and facilities management are frequently called upon to find ways of improving maintenance. But maintenance-improvement practices come in many different forms. What are maintenance best practices? What’s under the...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Aug 28, 2020 | Learning from Mistakes
Some years back, I was helping top management set the foundation for a new way of maintaining and operating their site’s critical manufacturing equipment. On one of the plant tours with a small group of supervisors, operators, and mechanics, I heard the faint...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Aug 23, 2020 | Asset Management, Newsletter Column
We live in an overly complex world with complex tools and programs to keep equipment and technology up and running. When we find ourselves up to our belt loops in perplexing reliability issues, we have an opportunity (make that ‘an obligation’) to learn...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Aug 15, 2020 | RAM Tools & Methods, Workforce Issues
How time flies. It was another place and another time. I first wrote about the following stories over 16 years ago. Given the timeless nature of their reliability angles, I’m hoping my re-telling of them here will be of interest to newer members of the...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Aug 9, 2020 | Newsletter Column, Training & Qualification
“I showed them how to do it over and over again, but they just can’t seem to get it right.” Sound familiar? For decades I’ve helped industry focus on training results (a.k.a. learning) rather than focusing on training. Confused? Let’s briefly walk through what can...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Jul 26, 2020 | Newsletter Column, Workforce Issues
Two of the often overused, mis-used, and mis-understood words in plants today are “reliability” and “leadership.” Businesses that have not fully understood and defined what these two words mean in their organizations and the way they are...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Jul 17, 2020 | Training & Qualification
In this social distancing-era of the COVID-19 virus many businesses and governmental units are resorting to various video-conferencing platforms more than in the past. Virtual meetings are proving to be an effective way of managing many business necessities by...
