by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Jan 17, 2022 | Newsletter Column, Workforce Issues
I grimace when major-newspaper editorialists beat up on manufacturing because of workers leaving, excessive job openings, and an overall decline in jobs. They’re looking at data. What do they know about how manufacturing works? And what do they really know about...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Jan 10, 2022 | Newsletter Column, RAM Tools & Methods
Happy 2022 New Year to all RAM professionals. The New Year is synonymous with a restart, refresh, or rebirth for individuals and businesses alike. And it’s universally recognized as the most natural temporal milestone for change. As clocks zero out, the New Year...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Jan 3, 2022 | Newsletter Column, RAM Tools & Methods
Making decisions about what to improve and how to measure the rate of improvement requires a systematic use of data. But whether we’re dealing with raw data, databases, or spreadsheets, it’s important to use “the right data.” Doing so is not...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Dec 12, 2021 | Asset Management, Newsletter Column
When a new piece of equipment arrives at your plant, many crucial design decisions will already have been made to provide a machine that’s functional, safe, reliable, usable, manufacturable, and maintainable. Good design is no accident. It’s a result of an...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Dec 5, 2021 | Newsletter Column, RAM's Human Factor
As a young design engineer, I worked under the tutelage of my mentor Tedeus (Ted) Monkiewicz. Within this arrangement, I often accompanied him on visits to customer operations that were experiencing machine warranty issues/problems. At each sites, I was not to speak,...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Nov 29, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations
“I’m doing the best I can, but it’s not enough. The other crew doesn’t seem to care about the equipment here. They beat it up, run it dry, don’t put things back. They don’t seem to understand that our jobs depend on taking care of it so we can take care of...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Nov 22, 2021 | Asset Management, Newsletter Column
Thinking about integrating new technologies in your manufacturing or utility systems? Beware. Equipment-performance data collection goes back to zero to build a new baseline of performance rates, points of failure, and failure modes. All too often, new tech is sold on...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Nov 15, 2021 | Newsletter Column, RAM's Human Factor
“Asset management” took on a whole new meaning in the RAM world when ISO-55001:2014 finally hit the streets. We were informed, taught, coached, and critiqued when we tried to understand it. And no wonder: The new Standard wasn’t so much about direct...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Nov 7, 2021 | Newsletter Column, RAM Tools & Methods
To improve as individuals, teams, and Maintenance Departments, we first must look inward and examine ourselves through the eyes of others. Then, and only then, can true (and meaningful) change begin. Over the past 35 years, I have performed hundreds of...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Oct 31, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations, The Bloch Files
In the early 1970s, personnel at large multinational oil and petrochemical company decided to send any of the site’s process pumps that needed repairs to one of several low-bidding in-town shops. Many of those enterprises were owned by company retirees and...
