The 22nd International Maintenance Conference
Dec 4-7, 2007
Daytona Beach, Florida

Many conferences provide information – IMC-2007 provides knowledge based on 14 points adapted from and inspired by Dr. W. Edwards Deming!

1) Align the aim of maintenance with the greater aims of the company or organization and make sure everyone understands and supports that aim

2) Adopt a new philosophy of proactive reliability and teach it to your employees, suppliers and customers

3) Cease dependence on reactive and time based maintenance

4) End the practice of “low bid” purchasing and use total life cycle cost to calculate value. Move to single suppliers for key purchases of products and services

5) Improve constantly the system of maintenance, planning, scheduling and any other activity. This will improve reliability and productivity will also decrease cost

6) Institute skills training

7) Adopt and institute leadership for the management of people, recognizing their different abilities, capabilities, and aspiration. The aim of leadership should be to help people, machines, and gadgets do a better job.

8) Create a trust-based work environment to foster effective contribution from everyone

9) Tear down virtual walls between maintenance and operation, maintenance and purchasing and maintenance and management. The entire company is one system and must work as a team to accomplish the aim of the system

10) Eliminate the “program of the day” for maintenance improvements and tear down posters with catchy slogans that do not match what actually happens on the plant floor

11) Eliminate management by Key Performance Indicators (KPI). Use them to gain knowledge but substitute leadership for management by numbers

12) Allow people to enjoy their work and take pride in workmanship

13) Institute a vigorous program of training and self- improvement

14) Put everyone in charge of change – it is everyone’s job

Hotel and Early Bird discounts apply now so register early and save.

To learn more please call toll free (888) 575 1245 or…

Request an IMC-2007 Brochure Online

Get Back Into Work Mode After Vacation or Holiday

Think of it this way: there may be worse things in life than the first days back at work after vacation. In fact, there are - lots of them - but somehow they don’t come to mind as Cape Cod, Vermont, London and Singapore fade into the mist and visions of the office become increasingly vivid.

There are basically only two types of people who don’t need to shift gears to return to work. The first are workaholics: they didn’t want to go away in the first place, and their bodies may have made it to Paris but their minds were left behind. The second type is a magnet to vacation misfortune - mislaid baggage, seedy hotels, lousy weather, unfriendly natives - name it, it happens to them. Naturally, these people are ready to get down and kiss the ground, even their desk, when they return.

The necessity of psyching up for re-entry into the real world doesn’t indicate any lack of interest in or disenchantment with a job. It happens to almost everyone, including the men and women who genuinely enjoy working and indeed look forward to it. It’s simply that switching from an almost unfettered life to one with restraints and disciplines takes a certain amount of doing.

1) If possible, take a few afternoons off. Or at least, leave early. Most people, especially after a relatively isolated vacation, find themselves easily distracted and often waste the day away dawdling or worse yet, reminiscing about vacation. After vacations is the best time to exercise your flex time.

2) Take an extra day. Schedule your vacation so that it ends one day before you’re due back into the office. This allows time for you to get back into your regular routine. Pretend it’s Sunday… okay Sunday evening. Unpack, do some laundry, check your email, and rinse that crazy notion of early retirement out of your hair.

3) Extend your vacation. Keep a picture from your vacation in your wallet or taped to the inside of a desk drawer. When work starts getting overwhelming, pull out your little happy place and take a deep breath.
4) Get a massage, because indulgence doesn’t end with vacation.

5) An ounce of prevention. Leave as much information and as few loose ends as possible. Remind others that you are out the following week so that no one is surprised when you’re gone. Sure you’ll be exhausted by the time you leave, but that’s why you’re going on vacation, right?!

6) Alternatively, dive in head first. Don’t leave any time to “decompress” after a vacation, just plunge right in and keep up your momentum as best you can. Insert multiple cups of coffee here.

Tip provided by Wired How To Wiki

Finally, PM and PdM Training with the TOOLS you need to implement a successful PdM program at your facility.

The return on investment for reaching the right balance of preventive and predictive maintenance is clear. PM and PdM offer a rare opportunity to save millions of dollars.

Allied Reliability provides the framework you need to reach best practices in PM and PdM, in the shortest possible time, at the lowest overall cost.

New classes begin October 30th. Sign up before September 28th and receive a special $500.00 discount by calling Amy Campbell at: 888-414-5672 to get more information or…

Find Out More About Preventive and Predictive Maintenance Training

Get Organized

Inspecting the hundreds of electrical connections, all the rotating equipment and other plant equipment requires planning and organized execution. The best path to a successful IR inspection program is to spend the time upfront and get organized.

Organize your inspections following your specific constraints which might include, skill trades people availability, seasonal load factors, equipment criticality, equipment age, safety compliance or many other factors. Make sure to identify all locations requiring inspection by reviewing a database of assets and equipment (often available from an existing CMMS system). Or create your own asset database and review the items with other supporting equipment lists. Once your equipment is organized, you can organize your inspections into routes that maximize your team’s efficiency delivering more wrench time to maintenance groups always under the gun to do more with less. Make a list of inspection points and sort it as you intend it to be traversed. Note that it is now possible to export your asset data into some thermography program management software packages that integrate directly with portable infrared cameras. Alternatively, manual lists can be useful as a guide during infrared inspections.

• Get organized by using existing asset databases to identify all inspection points (or create your own database)
• Organize your IR inspection into routes built around demand factors not location proximity
• Stay diligent and use the tools consistently

iPresentation Invitation: Improving IR Inspection Programs by Using CMMS/EAM Asset Databases

Conveyor Lubrication Maintenance Tip

In most cases lubricating bearings on a conveyor system is most effective while the system is operating. To address safety concerns, plant operators will often extend grease lines to a location away from pinch points or other potential safety concerns. Without specific direction these remote grease lines can be found to have been installed in a variety of configurations. Here are some guidelines for installing remote grease lines on equipment.

1) Always install a fixed or rigid lube block and group lube lines that require equal amounts of the same lubricant.
a) An operator or mechanic will struggle to attach a grease gun to a loose hose with a grease zerk attached.

2) Tag the lube lines to identify the frequency, type and amount of grease required.

3) When possible mount the lube block in a location that allows the mechanic to see the bearing(s) being lubricated.

4) Standardize on one type of grease fitting, zerk or button head. (Button head fittings provide a more positive connection for the grease gun).

5) When possible grease blocks should be installed at about 4’ above the level where a mechanic will stand.

6) Lube blocks can be purchased in a variety of fitting combinations or they can be custom made using drilled angle iron of flat bar and fitted with common bulkhead fittings. Most industrial suppliers will offer assistance in configuring an effective system.

Following these simple guidelines will improve the effectiveness of your lubrication program and simplify future training requirements for new employees. Although this tip focuses on conveyor systems, these principals can be applied universally.

Reader tip provided by Dennis Skaluba
Plant Engineer
Lafarge
Presque Isle, Michigan

Thank you Dennis - your Stainless Steel - Diamond Plate Reliabilityweb.com Coffee Mug is on the way!

Send in a Maintenance Tip and get your own Reliabilityweb.com coffee mug

ABB Reliability Services assists industry in achieving operational excellence by driving reliable plants and processes. We combine deep expertise with proven best practices to move maintenance from a cost center to a strategic asset.

• ABB Reliability Systems develops and implements hosted reliability management services that help increase production and reduce maintenance costs by improving equipment reliability, availability and maintainability.

• ABB Reliability Consulting offers premier consulting services to improve maintenance processes, people, equipment and metrics. Our experienced professionals help increase equipment reliability and operational productivity.

• ABB Full Service assumes responsibility for customer maintenance operations through a performance-based partnership, bringing together world-class methodologies, leadership and business management to help improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness and reduce costs.

For more information please call 866.695.7480 or…

Find Out More About ABB Reliability Services

CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF…

A common paradigm in industry is that if I cannot obtain “management support”, I cannot be successful in my RCA efforts.

If people actually believe this, then their RCA effort will never be successful. Sure, full management support would make it easier for us to be successful, but is it a deal breaker? Only if we let it be. If we have the will and desire to conduct RCA’s on events where it is the RIGHT THING TO DO, then we will be successful despite the barriers placed in front of us. If we lead an effort to conduct a thorough RCA that ultimately nets a quantum amount of returns for the corporation, then those in the “ivory tower” will take notice and start to inquire how those returns were realized. You are in control of your own destiny, not management!!

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

Join the Root Cause Analysis Discussion at MaintenanceForums.com

If you are asking yourself the following:

*Where can I get a template to create an RCM analysis?

Then read on….

It is possible to template RCM work, but it is probably not desirable. Much of the benefit derived from RCM analysis comes from the interaction among members of the analysis team.

Having operators, maintainers, and engineers in the same room discussing equipment issues and developing solutions generates extremely high buy-in for the resulting maintenance strategies, operating strategies, and equipment modifications that are generally the result of an RCM analysis.

Tip provided by Bill Keeter
Allied Reliability
888-414-5760

Find Out More About Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM)