In a production facility, it's not the cost of repair or replacement that matters. It's the cost of the downtime. This is true for most types of facilities (think hospitals, for example).
It's nice that an ace troubleshooter can quickly diagnose the problem and restore the system to running as it did before the failure. But what other components were stressed by the event that caused the downtime? And is the equipment's current design truly a match for the demands now placed on that equipment?
When other failures follow the first one, we can think of them as echo failures. For example, a transient voltage event destroys a circuit board in the control panel of Line B. That same transient may have damaged motor bearings, motor windings, power conductors, control wiring insulation, sensors, and other components of the system.
To prevent these echo failures, you must conduct a comprehensive post-failure analysis. Not just of the failure, but of what didn't (yet) fail. Due to limited resources, you must prioritize based on:
- The cost of downtime for a given system.
- Likelihood of failure for a given component.
- Your predictive maintenance capabilities (e.g., you have ultrasonics for predicting bearing failure).
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.