There are 100,000 Power Transformers in America, and they are beginning to fail. The results can be catastrophic. What can we do about it?
If it ain't broke, don't fix it
In the old days, the expression in business circles was "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Later, in the era of re-engineering the corporation, that expression morphed to "if it ain't broke, fix it!”
Fact is both expressions are useful. When it comes to power transformers, what one wants to avoid - is "fixing" an unbroken multi-million dollar piece of equipment. It’s costly. It also introduces new risks. However, when a transformer fails, the results can be and often are catastrophic -financially, environmentally, and socially. Sometimes people get hurt, and sometimes, even worse.
So the problem is distinguishing broken from unbroken.
Posted by maintenancetalk at April 17, 2004 12:27 PM