by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Jul 25, 2020 | Plant Operations, The Bloch Files
Not too long ago, I had a two-day interchange of correspondence with a machinery engineer. Located overseas, he was asking for my opinion on a situation of potential concern. The following is a lightly edited version of this round of communications. THIS WAS THE...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Jul 18, 2020 | RAM Tools & Methods, The Bloch Files
My article for The RAM Review last week (July 13, 2020) focused on “C.A.R.E.,” an acronym that stands for “Clear Direction and Support,” “Adequate Detail,” “Recognition and Reward,” and “Empathy.” As I noted...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Jul 10, 2020 | RAM's Human Factor, The Bloch Files
If you want to show that you care about your workers or those of your client(s), read on. Yes, I have referenced this topic in previous writings and presentations (as have others on The RAM Review team. After all, elements of the topic cover issues of great importance...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Jul 5, 2020 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations, The Bloch Files
In 1984, I was reporting to an enlightened Reliability Manager at a leading multinational petrochemical corporation. At some point, he asked for a briefing on equipment-reliability issues at one of our plants. As I explained, projects at several of our sites were...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Jun 27, 2020 | Plant Operations, The Bloch Files
It was a long time ago. While absolving an apprenticeship in communications technology from 1950 to 1953, I became aware of certain stamped sheet metal chassis and resin-coated wires gathering dust in the shop’s basement. The dusty items were part of...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Jun 19, 2020 | Plant Operations, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
The answer to the above question is, of course, “no.” That brand of the otherwise very astute Ford Motor Company went out of business in late 1959. Chances are management was slow in recognizing that the car-buying public had a number of choices that...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Jun 14, 2020 | Newsletter Column, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
This title might seem vaguely familiar to some readers. It could be because I’ve touched on the topic in other articles and columns that I’ve written here and elsewhere. In my opinion, it highlights an ongoing problem in many a workplace. Permit me to...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Jun 5, 2020 | Maintenance Management, The Bloch Files
Decades ago, I was given the opportunity to study how different refinery giants re-shuffled their approach to pump repairs. Two different corporations provided insights into what went right and what went wrong. In the 1950s, each of two different world-scale...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | May 31, 2020 | Newsletter Column, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
I know this title comes across as a cryptic comment. But, it’s also a reminder that removing seemingly useless components associated with plant-equipment systems can have unforeseen (albeit not unforeseeable) consequences. Remember, too, that all effects have causes,...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | May 23, 2020 | RAM Tools & Methods, The Bloch Files
Many decades ago, my grandmother would leverage the old adage in this title to remind me about the importance of taking precautionary measures. Neither she nor I, though, ever could have imagined how that saying would apply to reciprocating compressors some 77 years...
