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The rise of autonomous operator maintenance and work redesign
My blog entry on the “White Glove Story” got close to the idea of operator maintenance. My study on the coal gasification generating plant was about the ultimate vision of the one employee who has the skills and ability to do whatever is necessary to keep the process operating effectively. What
Important considerations for CMMS data entry
When implementing a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) into a facility, one of the largest tasks involved is entering the data into the system. This is a two-part task that first requires the one-time entry of the initial data that has been gathered. The second task is the entry of the
If at first you succeed … try, try again
Training Within Industry (TWI) is a micro version of “creative destruction”, a term used by some economists to describe a free-market capitalistic economy. Creative destruction means that new businesses, services or products enter and create the new markets, while destroying existing ones
Is proper torquing a part of your standard work?
Read enough OEM recommended procedures and you will notice that a common thread is proper torque values for fasteners. Many standard work (and standard operating) procedures in industrial facilities list recommended or required torque values for jobs like gasket replacements, motor alignments, bearing
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
Lean thinking … to go!
As I’ve gotten older, I have tried to curtail my consumption of fast food. I know that the fat content, calorie counts and general nutrition levels are not the healthiest available. I know that as we age, we should watch our cholesterol, our weight and make sure that we eat healthy. I also know
Has anyone applied lean to government institutions … ever?
I recently had cause to visit a state government office to conduct some business. So, prior to my visit, I decided to do some legwork beforehand to see what I was in for, and to ensure that I was prepared for the visit. The Web site was simple enough and I had no problems discovering what I was looking
One plant’s solution to the Sweet 16 dilemma. What’s yours?
My prior article posed the proposition that, to some employees, the typical organizational chart more closely resembles the bracketed final 16 college basketball teams when rotated 90 degrees with the perceived behavior of management
