by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Mar 29, 2020 | Newsletter Column, Workforce Issues
The year was 1859. That’s when Charles Dickens released his 13th novel to the public. Widely regarded as a masterpiece of fiction, A Tale of Two Cities opens with what is, arguably, the most famous opening line in English literature: “It was the best of times, it was...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Mar 22, 2020 | Newsletter Column, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
The title of this column is a serious, common-sense recommendation, and for good reason. Sadly, we have migrated to an environment with a “fog index” that is greater than ever before. So, while my recommendation isn’t intended as a commentary on managers who might...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Mar 15, 2020 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations, The Bloch Files
Roughly 25 years ago, a respected colleague, Fred Caspari, had just retired from his reliability-management position with LUSC (Large U.S. Company). Two other colleagues and I heard him speak on “Abandoning the World-Class Maintenance Approach at a Major Multinational...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, Editor | Mar 8, 2020 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations, Workforce Issues
Famed management guru Peter Drucker was spot on years ago, when he coined the phrase “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” That statement is just as true today as it was back then. Make no mistake: Drucker was not discounting the importance of strategy. Rather, he...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Mar 2, 2020 | Newsletter Column, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
It has now been roughly 20 years and four months since I met with the reliability team of a Well-Known Petrochemical Company—let’s call it “WKPC”—to discuss ways to improve the organization’s reliability performance. During about four hours of discussion, we...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Feb 24, 2020 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations, Workforce Issues
The spreading coronavirus epidemic in China and elsewhere will most likely show us how a global supply chain can be interrupted by an unanticipated human cause. A localized human health emergency rarely affects global businesses. But, when the virus in a global supply...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Feb 17, 2020 | Newsletter Column, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
Those who no longer stand up for what is right have plenty of company. Like dead fish, they swim downstream, in accordance with the tide. Their sense of self-preservation takes over, and their consciences become dulled. I’ve seen this in the reliability field,...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Feb 10, 2020 | Newsletter Column, Safety Matters
One of the hallmarks of a best-practice maintenance organization is its preparedeness and ability to respond to emergency situations, whether they have occurred or could occur. The definition of an emergency is commonly understood to be a situation or occurrence that...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Feb 3, 2020 | Maintenance Management, Newsletter Column, The Bloch Files
Perhaps you, too, have seen a storeroom packed full of startup spares (usually two wear parts or parts that, in the past, failed due to “random coincidence”). In any event, “random coincidence” is how my car dealer’s service manager explained things...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, Editor | Jan 27, 2020 | Newsletter Column, Plant Reliability in Dollars and $ense
You’ve no doubt heard the old saying, “What gets measured gets done.” The statement is partially true. In reality, what gets rewarded gets done. As it happens, in the real world, what gets measured is usually what gets rewarded. So, we must be very careful about what...
