by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Dec 5, 2020 | Asset Management, RAM Tools & Methods, The Bloch Files
The above title doesn’t really disclose what I wanted to capture here: If your company is still repair-focused in late 2020, it will be no match for competitors whose conversion to being fully reliability-focused began over a decade ago, and is now complete....
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Dec 5, 2020 | RAM Tools & Methods
A number of products have come out of the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) Department of Commerce project on Manufacturing Machinery Maintenance. Among them is a set of software tools that provide the ability to benchmark. For this article we’ll...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Nov 28, 2020 | Asset Management, RAM Tools & Methods
Once a piece of equipment or a building has been built, installed, and commissioned, it is customary to hand over the caretaker keys to the maintenance department. Regrettably, in many organizations, this ends up being the first opportunity that maintenance team...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Nov 28, 2020 | RAM Tools & Methods, Workforce Issues
I’ve always been amazed and impressed by the knowledge and problem solving capability of plant-floor workers. Skilled and knowledgeable tradespersons and operators really know what’s going on at a site. And they’re an extremely valuable resource in our quest to run...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Nov 22, 2020 | RAM Tools & Methods
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, nist.gov) was formed in 1901, and is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. While most are only aware of their test instruments and device calibration being traceable to NIST, the Institute is actually a...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Nov 20, 2020 | Lubrication Corner, RAM Tools & Methods
All bearings are destined to eventually fail. While ineffective lubrication practices are, arguably, the greatest contributing factor in such failures, the root cause(s) are rarely investigated due to production and maintenance turnaround demands. It’s...
by Sponsored by The RAM Review | Nov 19, 2020 | PODCAST, RAM Tools & Methods
HOST: Howard W Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP of MotorDoc LLC, and SMRP Government RelationsCO-HOST: Tom Moriarty, PE, CMRP, of Alidade MER, Inc., and Chair SMRP Government Relations OVERVIEWThe National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), under the U.S. Department of...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Nov 13, 2020 | Asset Management, RAM Tools & Methods
This article is a follow-up to various material published by The RAM Review on the topic of data collection in today’s plants. That includes, most recently, my Nov. 1, 2020, newsletter column, and Drew Troyer’s Nov. 7, and June 5, 2020, articles (see...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Nov 7, 2020 | Plant Operations, RAM Tools & Methods
The ways many businesses measure financial performance with standard cost accounting may be at odds with reliability improvement. Likewise, production-scheduling standards can also mute the importance of reliability improvement. As a top executive once explained to...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Oct 24, 2020 | Asset Management, RAM Tools & Methods
“Amnesia” is a partial or total loss of memory. “Corporate amnesia” is when a company suffers that type of “memory” loss. The impact can be significant. Our plants and facilities depend upon the knowledge and know-how of highly...
