by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Oct 31, 2020 | Lubrication Corner, Planning & Scheduling
Talking about the weather is a national pastime. It would appear we are obsessed with it. Yet, many maintenance organizations are often poorly positioned to deal with the problems that weather changes pose for their facilities and machinery, especially when cold...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Oct 17, 2020 | Motors & Drives, RAM Tools & Methods
In the most basic of terms, an electric motor is a simple device that converts electrical energy into rotary motion that when transmitted to a driven load will perform mechanical work. If applied correctly, the motor will run effortlessly. If set up correctly, the...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Oct 12, 2020 | Asset Management
As an asset-management consultant for the last 30+ plus years, I’ve never encountered the perfect asset-management system. Organizations can, and do, achieve perfection for a short while, but perfection is a moving target that’s often thwarted by...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Sep 25, 2020 | Asset Management, Planning & Scheduling
As the American singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett observed, “Without geography, you are nowhere!” Making sense of any production or maintenance workflow, process or procedure requires a textual map in the form of a diagram, visual representation, or an ordered text list...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Sep 18, 2020 | Asset Management, Planning & Scheduling
When a maintenance-work request reaches the desk of the planner, his or her first action item is to review the request and determine the priority of the work. This determination will influence whether the planner takes immediate action (Emergency Response) or queues...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Sep 14, 2020 | Newsletter Column, Training & Qualification
The path to maintenance knowledge has traditionally included a mix of college and “hands-on” learning through either an apprenticeship or university program. The quality and effectiveness of the education depended greatly on the student’s level of engagement and...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Sep 4, 2020 | Planning & Scheduling, RAM Tools & Methods
W. Edwards Deming once stated, “In God we trust, all others must bring data!” For some, data is a four-letter word, and the value of collecting and recording it and the evidence associated with an asset failure event is often poorly understood. Old-school thinking...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Aug 29, 2020 | Planning & Scheduling, RAM Tools & Methods
Developing objective and effective work instruction is a science. The quality of work performed by a maintainer when following a planner’s instruction will vary greatly depending on the objective requirement set within each line of instruction. If direction is vague,...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Aug 21, 2020 | Planning & Scheduling, RAM Tools & Methods
A maintenance work order (MWO) is basically made up of three distinct sections. The first section, which was covered in The RAM Review article “Make Work Orders Work (Aug. 17, 2020), contains the general information required to raise a work order and make it an...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Aug 15, 2020 | Planning & Scheduling, RAM Tools & Methods
The maintenance work order (MWO) is, unequivocally, the most important tool in the maintenance department. Unfortunately, many maintenance shops look upon work orders as nuisance items that take time to produce and complete. As a result, work orders are often reduced...
