Bad Practices, Part 5

Bad maintenance practices tend to sneak into the way things get done. Here are three more to guard against:

Bad Practice #8 — Counting on Unstructured Visual Inspections

Before each ascent, climbers inspect each other's rope and harness in a specific sequence, using specific methods to detect specific problems. This way, something doesn't have to be obvious to be noticed. But how many electrical inspections rely on just looking around rather than following a predetermined pattern?

Bad Practice #9 — Not Training for Visual Inspections

Visual inspection is part art/part science. In addition to the science part (predetermined pattern of inspection points), electrical techs must know how to interpret what they see. If your facility doesn't have a rigorous apprenticeship program, you can bet most people conducting a visual inspection don't really know what they're looking at or what it means.

Bad Practice #10 — Relying on OJT Alone to Teach Visual Inspections

It's unlikely that every trainee will see the full spectrum of failure modes this way. Use videos and classroom instruction to provide full spectrum training.