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 Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Nov 30, 2019 | RAM Tools & Methods, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
To recap, in a recent article, “Workforce Appreciation and Achieving Plant Goals” (Nov. 23, 2019), I discussed how, in early 2000, the Canadian consulting company Systems Approach Strategies (SAS) developed a training course that brought W. Edwards Deming’s “14...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Nov 23, 2019 | RAM Tools & Methods, Safety Matters, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
While a plant’s efforts in areas related to reliability, availability, and maintenance (RAM) indicate appreciation for equipment assets, who or what beyond the HR department makes it a point to show similar “appreciation” for the site’s human assets? To put it in...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Nov 15, 2019 | RAM Tools & Methods, The Bloch Files, The RAM Library Collection
The following excerpt is taken from material I prepared for the first of 14 chapters of my upcoming book, “Fluid Machines: Improving the Life of Pumps, Gas Compressors and Turbines,” (ISBN 978-3-11-067413-2). Its German publisher, De Gruyter, Berlin...
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 Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Oct 31, 2019 | RAM Tools & Methods, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
Quite some time ago, I had a very candid discussion with the Reliability Manager of a prominent multi-national oil company. One of his concerns involved what he considered a rather puzzling fact: Many companies that experienced repeat failures of rotating equipment...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Oct 25, 2019 | RAM Tools & Methods, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
You probably have long suspected this: Some companies can be their own worst enemies. I offer the following examples, from my perspective as book author/technical writer, of how some companies earn a bad name, while others earn a good one (and good things that come...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Oct 18, 2019 | RAM Tools & Methods, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
One of the nicest bonuses that a retiree enjoys is freeness of speech. Here, I’m taking advantage of that “freeness” by sharing a few thoughts on good reliability managers and some of the ways they approach their roles (or should). Consider my points in the...
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...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Oct 6, 2019 | Maintenance Management, RAM Tools & Methods, The Bloch Files
Few pieces of petrochemical process machinery lend themselves more readily to early symptom-cause identification than reciprocating compressors. This fact becomes quite clear when considering how the neglect of subtle performance changes can result in costly wrecks....
