How Do You Measure Success?

July 16, 2019

Why most of your repairs are not actually successful

Typically, in a production environment, repair success is measured by how quickly the equipment is put back into service. That is a valid way to measure repair success. But if that is the only measure of repair success in your plant, then most of your repairs are not actually successful. Compare the following two repairs of the same problem: a motor spins a bearing.

Jim replaces the motor and performs an alignment. Total downtime: 33 minutes.

Debbie does the same work, but also checks for gearbox lubrication issues, improper bonding, voltage imbalance, and harmonic distortion before connecting the motor. Total downtime: 59 minutes. Then she takes an additional 25 minutes to test for vibration, check the motor bearing lubrication history, and report discovered issues.

Jim did not seek to solve any of the conditions that would cause this failure mode, but he got the line running again in about half the time it took Debbie and he saved 25 minutes of other work also.

If you were tasked to predict which repair would result in the least total downtime over the next five years, would you need to think about it at all?

Jim's approach is more common than Debbie's, yet hers is clearly superior. What's the approach in your plant? How do you measure repair success?

the key.

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.