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Do you have a matrix to prioritize work orders?
One of the challenges that many organizations face is maintaining work order priorities in the wake of the emotional squeaky wheel that yells the loudest. Remember the phrase, “In God we trust. All others bring data”? It applies here, as well. Reacting to false priorities exacerbates the
Important considerations for maintenance planning and scheduling
In this post, we will continue with answering a couple of planner/scheduler questions. How do you initially train someone new to the planner/scheduler position? First, let’s talk about the selection process, as I see this as an issue in many organizations. Ideally, the planner/scheduler should
Go execute the CI plan!
Hello out there, and happy belated Thanksgiving to you! Before I start the actual blog, I wanted to tell you all that I am very thankful to be an American. I had family in town over Thanksgiving, and we cooked and ate like there was no tomorrow! As I was sharing the food and laughs with family, it just
PDCA: Moving from the Plan (P) to the Do (D)
Hello, all you Lean Six Sigma people! I hope this blog finds you all doing fantastic! I have been working on a series talking about the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle as it relates to continuous improvement (CI). We have covered the planning cycle, and now it is time to do some real work after a short
Your CI list is long. Which projects should you pursue?
In my last blog entry, I talked very generally about the PDCA cycle (Plan, Do, Check, Act). In the first blog in this series, I wrote about how too many organizations get into the Do, Check, Act cycle without taking time to plan it out. We have covered the need to plan and the big picture process
Expert tips on successfully planning a CMMS project
A well-planned and executed computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) project can yield a maximum return on your investment (ROI). This return is realized through increased efficiency, productivity and profits. However, a poorly planned and executed CMMS project can result in a loss of revenues.
Breaking down the components of the PDCA cycle
Since we are all going through the planning process to various degrees, and since I received some feedback about my previous blog, I wanted to follow up with more thoughts about planning. Most of what I am writing is not new material, and I certainly don’t take credit for it. Most of this information
Lean evolves: How to make the most of process improvement
Lean efforts used to be 100 percent directed at the shop floor. What we have seen recently is that lean is moving into non-traditional areas of business. A lot of our recent work has been in: maintenance, procurement, distribution, engineering, the office and even the company kitchen! A friend of mine
Information management is the key to maintenance performance
One area that we often overlook is that of information management. That’s actually one of the more important areas, but it lacks glamour and excitement - plus it requires steady, regular and planned effort - so we naturally gravitate toward the areas that give us the periodic rush of adrenaline
How to enable process redesign and CMMS success
A blog from Kris Bagadia on “10 factors to a successful CMMS implementation” triggered a memory of attempting this in my preretirement days, long ago in 1990. I thought maybe my reply to Kris should be expanded, and this is the resulting blog posting. The United States Postal Service had
