by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Jul 26, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations
I’ve been an advocate of manufacturing all my life. Growing up in manufacturing and maintenance, educated in and then teaching tooling and machine design, and spending nearly four decades consulting on and writing articles about the people side of...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Jul 18, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations, The Bloch Files
If you don’t believe the above title, consider the following: Think about a healthy individual who seeks medical advice at the first sign of illness. Then compare his or her chance of recovery with that of a person who waits around and battles several different...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Jul 11, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations
History has shown that counterfeit materials have tended to thrive whenever there are shortages of commodity materials and goods, accompanied by opportunities to charge exorbitant prices. Increased online marketing has also fueled the growth of counterfeit product...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Jul 4, 2021 | Newsletter Column, The Sustainable Plant
I frequently write about the tremendous opportunity we have to reduce costs and our environmental footprint by cutting industrial energy consumption. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that for most industries, energy consumption and associated greenhouse...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Jun 27, 2021 | Newsletter Column, RAM Tools & Methods
Whenever I perform a Maintenance Operation Effectiveness Review (MOER) for a client, rarely do I find a maintainer who is truly satisfied with his or her current state. Many believe they are undervalued and misunderstood. Although most would welcome the chance to be...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Jun 20, 2021 | Newsletter Column
In an Oct. 30, 2020, article for The RAM Review, I wrote about my concern that the quest for electric vehicles will threaten the global environment more than maintaining a majority of fossil-fueled vehicles would (see link below). My concerns have only heightened...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Jun 13, 2021 | Newsletter Column
In January 2019, a railway collision near Copenhagen, Denmark resulted in 8 passenger fatalities and 18 injuries. What got my attention in the post-mortem report were the stated causes of the incident: improper loading, lack of lubrication, improper maintenance, and...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Jun 6, 2021 | Newsletter Column, The Sustainable Plant
The past few weeks have been a pressure cooker for large oil and gas companies. The message delivered by shareholders was clear: “Get serious about your environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance [particularly regarding climate impacts].” Consider...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | May 31, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Workforce Issues
The dilemma around workforce training persists today, as it has for decades. Same challenge, different situation. “If we train them, they’ll leave for a better job at another company, maybe even our competitor’s!” The other side of the dilemma: “If we don’t train...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | May 23, 2021 | Asset Management, Newsletter Column, Plant Operations
Humans are funny. One might assume that the big prize of increased profits and safer, more environmentally-responsible operations would motivate enterprises to adopt the practices of high-reliability organizations. That, however, is rarely the case. It turns out that...
