Eliminating Repairs
A plant saves a lot of money and lost production by reducing how long a given repair takes. Trimming repair times is well worth the effort. But what if you could eliminate the repair in the first place? By this, we don't mean early detection and intervention, though that is also worthwhile.
To eliminate repairs, you must determine the cause of the failure that made a repair necessary. A large percentage of failures are due to human error during maintenance activities. So, start by analyzing maintenance activities for opportunities for elimination or frequency reduction. Modifying an activity is also good; for example, install color-coded test ports to eliminate getting into cabinets to take voltage measurements.
Operator abuse, even if unintended, is another source of failure. How can that be designed out? For example, an operator performs too many restarts in a given time. Installing a control device that limits restarts to X starts per Y minutes will prevent that, or a thermal-based solution can be used.
Installing controls for overspeed, overtemperature, over-vibration, over-pressure, and other harmful conditions can also prevent equipment failure.
Sometimes equipment is used beyond its design parameters, causing failure. What design change could accommodate that use?
About the Author
Mark LamendolaMark 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.