by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | May 16, 2021 | Newsletter Column, RAM Tools & Methods
For many years, the all-purpose tool was well represented by the Swiss army knife. In time, favor turned to the Leatherman multi-tool and its many facsimiles. Although these previous-generation items are still useful, they pale in comparison to today’s...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | May 9, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations, The Bloch Files
Context is crucial when you’re providing, receiving, or understanding information. Consider the following process-industry examples. While we’ve touched on them in past articles and presentations over the years, they reflect how the true picture of an...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | May 2, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations, Training & Qualification, Workforce Issues
This column kicks off a new series of discussions in The RAM Review on workforce development in the post-pandemic era. Because workforce issues have plagued many industry sectors for years, some for decades, the “new normal” we’re in must include a...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Apr 25, 2021 | Asset Management, Newsletter Column, RAM's Human Factor
I suspect that a large majority of readers of The RAM Review’s columns and articles are reliability engineers like me. But I also suspect many may actually be functioning, albeit unknowingly, as “unreliability engineers.” Has unreliability become an...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Apr 17, 2021 | Maintenance Management, Newsletter Column
If you have ever heard anyone in your organization state, “We’ve always done it that way,” chances are that you’re stuck in a paradigm. And it’s a paradigm that’s likely ill-suited to your current needs and requirements. This paradigm...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Apr 11, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations, The Bloch Files
Several years ago, during a round of technical pump-related communications with a reliability engineer in Europe, he sent a particularly thought-provoking note. This engineer worked for a prominent oil refiner and, clearly, wanted to let me know all that glitters is...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Apr 5, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Training & Qualification
Developing maintenance training needn’t be complicated. It can be straightforward when focused on specific outcomes. Training alone, though, doesn’t make a person proficient in performing newly learned tasks on the job. The critical (often overlooked) step...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Mar 29, 2021 | Asset Management, Newsletter Column
If asked where a maintenance-improvement program should focus its initial efforts within your organization, how would you respond? If you answer, “understand and improve our stakeholder and partner relationships,” you have truly grasped the holistic, or universal key...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Mar 21, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations
Reliability improvement in some plants is far from business as usual, especially when departments and staff are shorthanded. The key is to stay focused on solving the most compelling problems, one step at a time. And that can be a challenge by itself. I’m reminded of...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Mar 14, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations
The unfolding events of the past year forced many individuals and businesses to become introspective about change. Although COVID-19 has brought about much disruption in our daily lives, it also has acted as a catalyst for positive and innovative action in the...
