by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Apr 12, 2020 | Newsletter Column, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
Forgive me if you’ve heard this story before. I’ve often shared it. But, it’s a simple example of the need for those in the RAM arena to plan ahead and be prepared for a variety of contingencies. After all, an opportunity may only knock once, and not answering could...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Apr 10, 2020 | Training & Qualification, Workforce Issues
Most of us associated with plant operations and maintenance were excited about learning to make and fix things while we were in school. But that rarely seems to happen in today’s schools. Basically, our model was learning by doing. More accurately, it was probably the...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Apr 4, 2020 | RAM Tools & Methods, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
Managers have cause to ask for cost justifications or projections before they sign off on proposed equipment upgrades (see my Mar. 27, 2020, article). These projections are preferably on the safe side. They should not promise unrealistic returns on the investment....
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Apr 4, 2020 | Plant Operations, Workforce Issues
In football, a team’s quarterback and backfield typically receive the most attention. They handle the ball and get it where it’s going or intercept it. Little attention is given to the linemen who have one square yard of responsibility. And, in most cases, how...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Mar 29, 2020 | Newsletter Column, Workforce Issues
The year was 1859. That’s when Charles Dickens released his 13th novel to the public. Widely regarded as a masterpiece of fiction, A Tale of Two Cities opens with what is, arguably, the most famous opening line in English literature: “It was the best of times, it was...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Mar 22, 2020 | Newsletter Column, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
The title of this column is a serious, common-sense recommendation, and for good reason. Sadly, we have migrated to an environment with a “fog index” that is greater than ever before. So, while my recommendation isn’t intended as a commentary on managers who might...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Mar 8, 2020 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations, Workforce Issues
Famed management guru Peter Drucker was spot on years ago, when he coined the phrase “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” That statement is just as true today as it was back then. Make no mistake: Drucker was not discounting the importance of strategy. Rather, he...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Mar 7, 2020 | The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
There are many ways to make one’s job recession-proof. Being a better-than-average worker is an obvious advantage, assuming your facility’s owners tend to give pink slips to employees in the lower 50% of capability, likeability, productivity, and the usual criteria....
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Mar 2, 2020 | Newsletter Column, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
It has now been roughly 20 years and four months since I met with the reliability team of a Well-Known Petrochemical Company—let’s call it “WKPC”—to discuss ways to improve the organization’s reliability performance. During about four hours of discussion, we...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Mar 1, 2020 | Plant Operations, Workforce Issues
As a presenter at a recent conference, I attended sessions on topics of maintenance, workforce development, and automated-handling and -sorting systems. Intriguing discussions on the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” a recurring theme of business and industrial...
