by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Dec 16, 2019 | Asset Management, Newsletter Column, The Sustainable Plant
As the second decade of the 21st century draws to a close, we find ourselves, as individuals and businesses, facing what is arguably the greatest challenge in the history of civilization: the reduction of global warming. The influence of the RAM community on the...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Dec 9, 2019 | Newsletter Column, RAM Tools & Methods, The Bloch Files
Although I have written about the following conversation before, there’s another angle to it, and a very quantifiable one at that. I believe this angle is worth highlighting. It was exactly 20 years ago, in 1999, when I had a very productive discussion with the...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Dec 2, 2019 | Newsletter Column, The Sustainable Plant
Here’s some late-breaking good news: The 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season officially ended on Saturday, Nov. 30. The bad news: The 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season kicks off in just a few months (on June 1). With regard to production plants located in coastal...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Nov 25, 2019 | Newsletter Column, Workforce Issues
In the past, when businesses experienced labor shortages, they would beef up advertising, expand recruitment efforts, and speed up their on-boarding processes. That was when companies were looking for skilled and semi-skilled labor and unemployment was hovering...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Nov 18, 2019 | Newsletter Column, RAM Tools & Methods
In the retail world, November is celebrated for its “Black Friday” shopping events, during which old stock and “nice to have” luxury items are purchased at what seem to be fire-sale prices by enthusiastic consumers, just in time for the December holiday season. Taking...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Nov 11, 2019 | Newsletter Column, RAM Tools & Methods, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
If you’ve ever wondered how good Reliability Managers groomed their successors in the 1960s and 1970s, read on. I have written and spoken about this topic many times over the years. The following information is taken from a one-day teaching and networking session...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Nov 4, 2019 | Cut the FLAB, Newsletter Column
Have you and/or your team included threaded-fastener management in your proactive maintenance and plant-reliability goals? You should. And sooner than later. The reasons for doing so are clear. In the most basic of terms, poor threaded-fastener connections create...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Oct 28, 2019 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations
Think about it: Reliable equipment is effective equipment. That means the equipment is doing what it is supposed to do, i.e., doing the right things. When equipment runs every time it’s needed and produces defect-free output at the planned production rate,...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Oct 21, 2019 | Newsletter Column, Planning & Scheduling
Reflecting on history, the maintenance department, as we know it, didn’t appear until the early 20th century, at the advent of the age of mechanization brought about by the likes of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. Driven by two world wars and a rabid consumer-product...
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...
