The Enterprise Asset Management Summit
April 3-6, 2007
Sheraton Waikiki Honolulu Hawaii

Workshop 10B
EAM Failure Coding and Functional Hierarchy Development by Bill Keeter

One of the most important parts of EAM/CMMS implementation is the generation of failure codes for the craftsmen to record. Picking good codes means that you will have information that is useful for continuous improvement activities. Picking inadequate codes means that crafts people will soon grow tired of carefully entering codes that are not perceived to generate value for the organization.

In this minute presentation Bill will show you how to use Failure Modes and Effects Analysis to generate useful codes that will provide a path forward for continuous improvement. You will see how good codes can help you generate useful failure statistics so that you can forecast future failures and develop preventive/predictive activities that will minimize the business impact of failures.

Seating is limited so register early. Early bird conference and hotel discounts end Feb 15.

Call +1 (305) 735-3746 or…

Find out more about workshops and case studies at the EAM-2007 web site

BACKLOG BOARDS

Excerpt from John W. Rushton’s book: Effective Maintenance Management Using Planned and Preventive Maintenance.

Any good planned maintenance program can become significantly better by installing and using backlog boards. In fact, we doubt that any group can become a first class maintenance organization without boards. If you question the quality of your program, installing boards is the single quickest way to find out just how good your program really is.

The backlog board is primarily a communications tool, and makes it easier for more people to get involved in the planning effort. Backlog boards make it easy for a vice president or plant manager to walk into a planning office and immediately know the health of the planned maintenance program. They make it easy for a production supervisor that perceives a need for maintenance work to quickly find out if there is a work order written. He can then initiate a job request, adjust priority and suggest a schedule in a matter of seconds.

The use of a computer cannot currently duplicate the function of a backlog board. If the planner does not keep the board up-to-date, everyone knows that the planner is not doing his job. This differs from the computer, where a planner can be behind for weeks or months before anyone realizes that the information in the maintenance computer is of little, if any, use in planning maintenance work. Most foremen like the lack of accountability that a poor system creates, and will gladly assign their people as they feel the need, and allow the planner to keep score after the fact. Backlog boards create accountability.

Boards can be purchased from almost any school or office supply company. We prefer a slick, white surface, and you should check to make sure the board is magnetic. Size and number of boards is determined by the size of the active backlog and the number of areas that need to be scheduled.

Tip provided by Rushton International
http://www.rushtonintl.com

For more information on implementing backlog and scheduling boards, please visit

Reliabilityweb.com, an online community of over 50,000 maintenance and reliability professionals, recently partnered with the Aberdeen Group to encourage members to participate in a study titled “Collaborative Asset Management Strategies”.

Aberdeen’s analysts and researchers Mark Vigoroso and Michael Israel have uncovered significant characteristics of “best practice” companies. According to the recently issued report these “organizations reap substantially larger benefits from improved maintenance practices than do average and laggard establishments, including:

• Significantly improved asset reliability,

• Greater asset uptime and availability,

• Lower costs of servicing assets,

• Fewer unexpected downtimes and outages, and

• A higher return on invested capital.”

Read the rest of the story

QUESTIONS ON V-BELTS?

When it comes to v-belts there is more to just throwing them on and walking away. Unfortunately in most cases this is exactly what is done. Another misconception is that v-belts do not need to be replaced until they have completely broken and will not function at all. V-belts will stretch and start slipping long before they will break. V-belt dressing will buy you some short term time but is not the answer. A quality preventive maintenance program may include automatically replacing vbelts every six months depending on equipment run time.

Proper v-belt installation is very important when it comes to getting maximum life and efficiency from your v-belts. Take time to insure that your v-belt pulleys are properly lined up with a strait edge and that they are not worn and cutting into the v-belts. Proper v-belt tension should be set with a v-belt tension tool and reset again after the first week or so of operation to allow for v-belts that stretch, and all v-belts will stretch. Most of the stretching takes place in first hours of operation so it is very important to re check belt tension after the belt has had some run time.

Tip provided by HVAC Maintenance & Supplies
http://www.mainsupplies.com

Find out more about HVAC Maintenance & Supplies

Condition Assessment of Large Oil filled Power Transformers

The aging population of power transformers needs to be monitored closely to avoid unexpected failure. The fact is that failure occurs as equipment ages, the difference is knowing when to trend, when to repair and when to place and order for a replacement. The tips below will aid this process.

1. Treat the transformer and its support systems as you would any other critical plant system.
2. Create a level 2 condition assessment plan.
3. Select a dedicated team to man this process.
4. Obtain the test equipment to provide the needed data.
5. Gather baseline data on all subject transformers.
6. Monitor and trend.

These six steps will not only provide the information to the PdM coordinator to maintain these aging giants, but will uncover many anomalies that would lead to premature failures in their support systems.

Tip by Jon Giesecke
JLG Associates
http://www.powerpd.net

Learn more about partial discharge monitoring

In order to get good analytical data from your EAM/CMMS it is good to have standard data fields to select and sort your data. One way to accomplish this is to establish and use predefined codes for documenting what component failed, what caused the failure, and what action was taken to repair the equipment. Most all EAM/CMMS systems have the ability to use standard codes for this information. It may take effort to get these codes establish and used on a routine basis but the results will well worth the effort.

Tip provided by AssetPoint
http://www.assetpoint.com

iPresentation Invitation: Use Maintenance Data to Solve Production Problems

CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF… When presenting RCA recommendations, we must take into consideration who we will be presenting to. Creating a “boilerplate” presentation to give to all audiences may not be advisable. When we are pitching our final results, our objectives are to get the resources and funding that we need to implement our recommendations. In order to accomplish that, we must strategize about how best to present our findings. Part of this strategy involves researching how the decision-makers are compensated (provided incentives). Why? We must demonstrate a benefit that will interest the decision makers in order for our recommendations to be considered seriously.

For instance, if my analysis concludes a need for the purchase of new laser alignment equipment and associated training, then I do not just want to present that this package will require funding of $10,000. If I know that the decision makers are compensated based on throughput performance, then I will express my savings in those units. So instead of asking for $10,000 for new testing equipment and training, we will say that if we are able to stop failures due to misalignment, our analyses show that we will cut downtime back by 15% which equates to an increase in production of 20,000 units over the year. The net increase to corporation would be about $750,000/year. so Mr. Decision Maker our request for these funds is minimal compared to the projected returns based on increased throughput!

Tip provided by the Reliability Center Inc.
http://www.reliability.com

Root Cause Learning Event: Feb 21-22 Charlotte NC

Put Your Fingers in Your Ears if You Are Given Feedback (11 of 12)
If you remember back to the first tip in this series, we discussed the importance of communication to any healthy maintenance organization. Communication includes listening skills, and the destruction of the maintenance process requires you to completely ignore any feedback you receive.

People who care about their work, and want to improve their workplace will come to you with ideas and suggestions for changes that could be beneficial. Wave them off, close you door and forget about it. When they are talking, constantly look at your watch, and change the subject often. If someone says that they have something important to tell you, ask them if they would like to hear a story about your childhood, or what you had for dinner a few weeks ago. Make sure they understand that you don’t want to hear anything they have to share.

In the extreme case where you have to endure a person giving you feedback about your own performance, it is OK to receive positive comments, particularly if someone else is listening. If the feedback is negative, put your fingers in your ears and sing a song loudly until they give up and walk away. After all, negative feedback must be inaccurate, since you are invincible.

Tune in next week as we continue to expose the secret lives of seriously disturbed maintenance “professionals” with The Dirty Dozen Tip #12: Walk Away From the Challenge.

“Tip” provided by NoBreakDowns.com
Tel: (218) 327-3114
http://www.NoBreakDowns.com

Receive a complimentary Dirty Dozen: 12 Ways to Wreck Your Maintenance Program electronic poster