Maintenance, Repair & Operations

Efficient vs. Effective

April 3, 2018

What to do when you can’t perform all repairs with the same level of thoroughness

Resources are limited, which means you can’t do all repairs with the same level of thoroughness. For your least important equipment, you want your repairs to be as efficient as possible. For your critical equipment, you want them to be as effective as possible.

If you have a 400-hp motor driving your plant’s main air compressor, do you just swap it out with a new one if it fails? No. One reason is that is quite an expensive motor to simply stick into the same environment where one like it just failed. However, the main reason is if you lose that compressor much of production must shut down.

So, your repair is quite thorough, including a post-mortem conducted by the motor repair shop. You’re not just going to determine the failure mode and solve for it — you’re going to perform a battery of tests and examinations to look for contributing factors. In this case, you identify some load issues that put excessive strain on the (old) motor. While one crew is replacing the motor, another is repairing those issues.

About the Author

Mark Lamendola

Mark is an expert in maintenance management, having racked up an impressive track record during his time working in the field. He also has extensive knowledge of, and practical expertise with, the National Electrical Code (NEC). Through his consulting business, he provides articles and training materials on electrical topics, specializing in making difficult subjects easy to understand and focusing on the practical aspects of electrical work.

Prior to starting his own business, Mark served as the Technical Editor on EC&M for six years, worked three years in nuclear maintenance, six years as a contract project engineer/project manager, three years as a systems engineer, and three years in plant maintenance management.

Mark earned an AAS degree from Rock Valley College, a BSEET from Columbia Pacific University, and an MBA from Lake Erie College. He’s also completed several related certifications over the years and even was formerly licensed as a Master Electrician. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and past Chairman of the Kansas City Chapters of both the IEEE and the IEEE Computer Society. Mark also served as the program director for, a board member of, and webmaster of, the Midwest Chapter of the 7x24 Exchange. He has also held memberships with the following organizations: NETA, NFPA, International Association of Webmasters, and Institute of Certified Professional Managers.