Maximizing Training Effectiveness

Getting the most out of an investment in training requires more than choosing a class from a catalog or a website. For starters, you need to consider this question: Are training and education always the solution to performance problems? The answer is no. Training and education are only part of the picture. You really need to look at what’s driving the performance issue. Does the person have the skills and knowledge? Do they want to do the job? If they want to do the job, but don’t have the knowledge or skill then it’s a training issue. But if someone already knows how to do something and isn’t motivated to perform well, then no amount of training will change that. Trying to send someone to training without carefully considering performance is like prescribing a medication without diagnosing the condition that underlies the symptoms.

Tip provided by the Life Cycle Institute
800-556-9589
http://www.LCE.com

Download the complete interview “Maximizing Training Effectiveness” with Bill Wilder, Director of the Life Cycle Institute (PDF)

Is your Asset fully covered?

Three fundamental processes that cover every asset:

1. Monitoring Process:
The process covers what asset data needs to be captured to manage the asset effectively. It includes technical specifications, as-built data, failure modes, process impact metrics (time before failure modes become service failures), preventive maintenance schedules and condition/performance assessments. The process can recommend monitoring devices suitable for a particular installation (specified as design templates).

2. Reactive Process:
The reactive process describes what actions are necessary after an asset breaks down, so that the effects of failure are contained before they affect service to process.

3. Proactive Process:
This process spells out what actions need to be taken to preempt failure such as inspections (and their frequency), performance analysis, economic life analysis and process impact analysis.

Reader tip provided by Pramod Tiwari
Tata Consultancy Services
London UK

Thank you Pramod - your stainless steel - diamond plate Reliabilityweb.com coffee mug is on the way

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Trico’s Grease Meter accurately measures the grease quantity dispensed in volume or weight, in both US (fl. oz. or oz.) and metric units (cm3 or g). The Grease Meter can be connected to any grease gun by simply replacing the lubrication pipe or high-pressure hose on the grease gun with the grease meter. Once installed a simple push of a button will set the meter to zero and the metering can be started. The amount of grease dispensed is displayed on a backlit LCD display.

For more information please call Trico toll free at 800.558.7008

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I would like to comment on Mr. Smiths earlier Preventive Maintenance (PM) Tip Is it Preventive Maintenance (PM) or Corrective Maintenance (CM)?

In the tip he makes the point that items found during the preventative maintenance are also preventative maintenance and should be coded as such. If not then the question comes why are you finding so much corrective maintenance.

I disagree with this. Preventative maintenance is the closet thing to standard work that the maintenance department has. With this type of work the cost and time to perform should be constant each time the work is performed. Otherwise how do you schedule. Yes an adequate PM is designed to find the deficiencies prior to failure and can be part of an effective program but the repairs to the equipment should be corrective (CM). If not then my question is why are your PM costs so out of control.

Most CMMS programs allow you to create your own coding system. I have created and used the PM-Repair code to show what we have found and fixed using the PM program. This along with PM costs and CM costs will show an effective program. The curve will show as PM costs go up the PM-Repair costs will peak and then decrease and the CM costs will decrease. The point at which the PM costs, PM-repairs and CM costs are at the minimum is the maximum you are going to get from the current PM program you are using. At that time only a change in the maintenance will cause a continual decrease.

Feedback provided by Clint Mileur
Maintenance Manager
JamesHardie Building Products
Peru IL

Thanks Clint - your Maintenance-Tips is on the way!

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As a general rule, corrective maintenance is more costly than preventive maintenance.

If anyone should doubt this, then just compare two similar plants or systems where one has a proactive maintenance program and the other a reactive maintenance program.

Which one do you think has the lower overall maintenance cost and higher availability?

Tip provided by Anthony “Mac” Smith, Author, RCM - Gateway to World Class Maintenance, Butterworth-Heinemann, ISBN-10: 075067461X

Find Out More About Mac Smith’s RCM Workshop on DVD

North America, Australia & Europe – 2008 Training Schedule Now Available

How do you transform a reactive maintenance program?

What are the keys to sustaining a proactive maintenance approach?

How do you transform a maintenance culture that is used to fighting fires?

How much can you save?

For over 10 years organizations around the world have been turning to ARMS Reliability Engineers to help improve the skills, knowledge and expertise of their engineering, maintenance, production, operations and safety teams. ARMS Reliability Engineers have expert trainers and facilitators who teach a wide variety of disciplines:
• Reliability Centered Maintenance
• Plant Modeling
• Apollo Root Cause Analysis
• Managing Reliability Improvement
• Reliability Leadership
• Expert Reliability
• Life Cycle Costing
• Hazop
• System Safety
• Fault Tree & Event Trees
• Reliability Week

Find Out More About ARMS Reliability Engineers Training for 2008

During visual inspection with a strobe light it is good reliability practices to carry a digital camera.

If you encounter a problem with a rotating part such as, pulleys, belts, couplings or fans the item of interest can be stopped by the strobe light. At that time a digital picture can be obtained to show the defect that was noticed on the rotating part with out shutting the unit down and interrupting production. A digital camera takes the picture as you see it with your own eyes stopped by the strobe light.

Tip provided by Ron Blay
CBM Analyst
Allied Reliability
Fayetteville NC

Get a copy of PdM Secrets Revealed by Allied Reliability

Defining Maintenance Excellence

Maintenance Excellence is the obtainment of a level of excellence in the maintainability of a company’s assets which is unequal to any competitors in their business sector. “Maintenance Excellence is the result of caring more than others think is wise, risking more than others think is safe, and dreaming more than others think is possible.”

Companies who obtain the highest level of maintenance (optimal asset reliability) are the ones who are willing to take risk, care about their employees and their customer, and dream to be the best. Maintenance Excellence is not a “maintenance thing” but a plant wide change of culture. Everyone in a plant must be committed to performing maintenance in a proactive manner which is sustainable. Maintenance Excellence is the desire to be the best in maintaining the assets of a company. It is being the “best of the best” in a business sector, “optimizing asset reliability at an optimal cost”.

Tip by Ricky Smith, CMRP

IMC-2007 Workshop Leader
Lean Six Sigma for Maintenance & Reliability Professionals

Find Out More About Ricky Smith’s IMC-2007 Workshop - Dec 4 - Daytona Beach FL