by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Dec 7, 2019 | Cut the FLAB, Maintenance Management
In many plants, the maintenance instructions provided with work orders can be terribly vague. Details on the proper tightening of threaded fasteners, however, is essential in avoiding looseness-related vibration in rotating equipment and leakage in piping flanges....
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Nov 30, 2019 | Maintenance Management, RAM Tools & Methods
In my Nov. 24, 2019 article for The RAM Review, I focused on the “relationship” factor with regard to what a maintenance department actually controls and what it merely manages. That’s an important distinction when it comes to understanding the...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Nov 30, 2019 | Maintenance Management, RAM Tools & Methods, Workforce Issues
There are huge, and growing, opportunities to improve what we do in the workplace, including, among other things, safety, productivity, quality, efficiency, effectiveness, equipment performance, and reliability. But the desire to improve and the words “improve it” by...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Nov 24, 2019 | Maintenance Management, RAM Tools & Methods
For a maintenance department to understand the “who” and “what” factors in equipment or process failures, it first must understand what the department actually controls and what it simply manages. There’s a big difference, one that involves the relationships a...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, Editor, and Lance Bisinger, CMRP, CRL | Nov 23, 2019 | Maintenance Management, RAM Tools & Methods
If you’re a manager or engineer at a manufacturing or process-industry plant, you probably don’t get through a day without learning of some type of equipment failure or an asset that needs corrective action. While you may not know exactly what maintenance will be...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Nov 9, 2019 | Maintenance Management, Plant Reliability in Dollars and $ense
Ensuring that your maintenance teams have the right parts, at the right time, in the right condition to execute precise and effective maintenance is crucial. After all, the best technicians working with the best tools, procedures, and instructions can’t execute...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Oct 14, 2019 | Maintenance Management, Newsletter Column, The Bloch Files
As I drove my car to the dealership for service, I saw my role very clearly: I was only a data taker or data observer and simply responding to a dashboard display that read ”Service Engine Soon.” My job was done quickly. I signed for a loaner car and drove home. THE...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Oct 11, 2019 | Maintenance Management, Plant Operations
When critical equipment fails the traditional cry is “Fix It Now!” In most cases, that’s exactly what happens. The equipment gets “fixed” and is up and running. That is, until it fails again. The problem continues and the fixes continue. The reliability...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Oct 6, 2019 | Maintenance Management, RAM Tools & Methods, The Bloch Files
Few pieces of petrochemical process machinery lend themselves more readily to early symptom-cause identification than reciprocating compressors. This fact becomes quite clear when considering how the neglect of subtle performance changes can result in costly wrecks....
