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Redundancy is not a four-letter word!

Redundancy is not a four-letter word!

By Ned Mitenius • on September 16, 2009

In one of my first blogs here, I mentioned my nuclear submarine background. Among the things I mentioned was the redundancy built into their high-reliability designs. Many of those systems were split into two halves (port and starboard), and each system had two pumps (total of four). Each side could

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How to reap the benefits of parts standardization

How to reap the benefits of parts standardization

By Bob Schindler • on July 28, 2009

Nothing leverages your parts and training budgets like standardization. It is so important; it is one of the key areas of the 5-S process. The more you can standardize, the fewer parts you need to maintain and the further your training goes. Some plants have dozens of manufacturers represented on their

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A walk in the machine park or quality inspections?

A walk in the machine park or quality inspections?

By Tor Idhammar • on May 8, 2009

Detailed inspections require the right type of person with the right mind-set, attitude and training. Most mills/mines/plants have some type of inspection program but, unfortunately, the inspections are often ineffective. There may be many reasons why inspections often aren’t effective. But, one

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