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Ecmweb 20670 Data Charts Statistics Tadamichi Istock Gettyimages 991837552 0
Ecmweb 20670 Data Charts Statistics Tadamichi Istock Gettyimages 991837552 0
Ecmweb 20670 Data Charts Statistics Tadamichi Istock Gettyimages 991837552 0
Ecmweb 20670 Data Charts Statistics Tadamichi Istock Gettyimages 991837552 0
Ecmweb 20670 Data Charts Statistics Tadamichi Istock Gettyimages 991837552 0

Limit Data Collection

July 17, 2018
Assess the most likely failure modes, and collect the data that will be useful in preventing those modes of failure.

When is the last time you reviewed your preventive maintenance (PM) forms for collection of useless data? Techs may be wasting huge amounts of time collecting data that nobody is going to act upon. The thinking behind this situation is typically, “We’ll have it if we ever need it.”

Resources are limited, however, so you get situations like scaling back maintenance, which means some equipment gets little or no preventive maintenance. Or, people take shortcuts instead of doing a good job. And if nobody is acting upon any the flood of data being collected, what is the point of data collection?

A better way to use the data collection process is to focus on the data needed to prevent failures and not worry about the “just-in-case” stuff. Assess the most likely failure modes, and collect the data that will be useful in preventing those modes of failure.

If someone is using the collected data to generate meaningful queries and reports, then patterns will become visible. Seeing these patterns is the basis for engineering failure out of equipment. Eliminate a failure mode, and you have that much less data collection to do.

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.

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