Maintenance, Repair & Operations

Are You a Puppy or a Big Dog?

Sept. 4, 2018

Many maintenance organizations are still chasing their tails when it comes to equipment repairs.

It’s cute when puppies chase their own tails. As they mature, they tend to stop such foolishness. Unfortunately, many maintenance organizations are still at the puppy stage when it comes to equipment repairs.

So, you’ve got a great team that quickly responds to trouble calls and makes expert repairs. Could their expertise be due to repeatedly making the same repairs? Practice makes perfect; maybe it’s time to aim for less perfection.

To stop chasing your tail, you need to see patterns in the trouble codes entered for the repairs. Ensure those codes are accurate and are being used. Generate a report from your computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) to show the trouble codes for a group of equipment. Group by location, function, feeder ID, or whatever else may be appropriate.

Suppose you group by location and you find the two most common trouble codes are “failed electronics” and “motor winding failure”. This is a strong indication that equipment in that area has power anomalies in the supply and/or grounding/bonding deficiencies. Address those, and you knock out many future failures. Be a big dog.

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.