Publishers Note: We recently challenged our good friend and maintenance expert Ricky Smith to tell us 10 things we can do today - not 10 things we can buy today - to improve reliability at our plants. No new software, no new hardware, no new consultants. Ricky did as Ricky usually does and showed up with goods!
We admit he did include one "buy recommendation" but we let it pass because it falls under US$100. Here is what he came back with. - Terrence O'Hanlon, CMRP
Kaohsiung Industries, an international manufacturing company, has recently made substantial inroads into US and European markets, shaking the confidence of investors in competing US and European manufacturers. Around the globe, manufacturers like Kaohsiung are capitalizing on lower trade barriers, a growing global economy, and substantial growth in the Asia-Pacific economies, challenging other manufacturers' long-standing position in their traditional markets.
Beta International, a large manufacturing conglomerate, is under intense pressure from domestic competitors with newer technologies, from foreign competitors with cheaper products, and from within- there's so much politicking that much of the work that's done by many individuals is related to positioning for survival in a streamlined organization. They have just named a new CEO, Bob Neurath, who is determined to get the company back on track and reestablish itself as the leader in its markets, especially its chemicals sector.
In 2012, the predictive maintenance team at the Tucson Electric Power Springerville Generating Station (SGS) helped the company avoid more than $1 million in maintenance and replacement costs. In the first three quarters of 2013, predictive maintenance efforts at SGS saved more than $750,000. This documented return on investment is one of the factors that led Emerson Process Management to recognize Tucson Electric Power (TEP) with the Reliability Program of the Year Award for 2013, an honor for which 64 programs around the world were nominated.
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VibrAlign introduces the Smart Machine Checker, the Fixturlaser SMC. The SMC is a machinery diagnostic tool that empowers mechanics to instantly diagnose the health of their industrial machinery, while requiring no vibration training or certification.
The safety pyramid was first proposed by H.W. Heinrich, whose 1931 book, “Industrial Accident Prevention: A Scientific Approach,” stated that 88 percent of accidents are caused by “unsafe acts of persons” and put forth what is often referred to as Heinrich’s accident pyramid.
Uptime® Magazine and Reliabilityweb.com® are proud to bring you the Solution Awards to recognize innovative products, software, training and services for maintenance reliability and asset management.
Categories:
Best Reliability Engineering for Maintenance
Best Asset Condition Management
Best Work Execution Management
Best Leadership for Reliability
Best Asset Management
Winners were recognized at a special ceremony held at Solutions 2.0 on August 3, 2015 in Houston, Texas.
In
the movie Deliverance, Burt Reynolds's character says, "Sometimes you
have to lose yourself before you can find anything." That statement is
never truer than in discussions about asset management. When you're
focused on what you already know, it's easy to miss a better way of
doing things
DeltaV SaaS SCADA mobile app updated to empower operators and technicians with more visibility, awareness and customization options regardless of location
Asset management giant Pragma sees independence as important for success
The majority of metros and municipalities in South Africa don’t know how to translate the ‘what’ into the ‘how’ with regards to co-ordination and management of their asset care function and should consider outsourcing as either an interim or long term solution to the situation. This is according to Dean Griffin, head of consulting and partner at the leading asset management firm, Pragma. Recently, the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality reappointed Pragma Africa to operate their Asset Care Centre within their Electricity directorate until June 2013. For the last five years 14 Pragma staff members have been placed at the metro looking after the high and medium voltage distribution assets, totaling approximately 62 000 maintenance significant items, with a total replacement value of R24 billion.
For over 10 years, the country has seen a shift in the workforce. Older workers, known as baby boomers, have begun to leave in droves before younger replacements are trained or, in some cases, even onboard. You keep hearing, “jobs, jobs, jobs,” but what should be heard is, skilled workers, skilled workers, skilled workers. That’s right, there is a worker shortage more than a job shortage. Why, you may ask? There are several reasons, but more importantly, very little is being done to solve the problem.
Human factors play a vital role in influencing maintenance reliability management in an organization. This article presents some specifics on the influence of culture and leadership in the process and chemical industries.