Things to Think About and Do in 2011: Leakage

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Leakage

As a football fan, I have found it interesting to note that some defense-minded coaches have used the term “leakage” to describe situations where a team’s opposition had been able to gain more yard than expected based on the team’s less-than-perfect defensive scheme. In other words, Leakage describes an instance where, although a total breakdown did not occur, the system did not function as “tightly” as planned. There are many analogous situations in work and personal life where leakage occurs.

For instance, We intend for a repair to be completed today, but it slips into tomorrow. Is the leakage a catastrophe? No. It is, however, a sign that your systems are not as well controlled as you had hoped. 

 

Another example is repeat failures. The repeat failure would not have occurred if the failure-causing defect had been removed, or if another failure-causing defect had not been introduced during the repair. Again, this may not be a catastrophe, but it is a leak in your system.

Still another example is when you find that although a repair restores functionality, it does not restore the reliability of a device. All too often, when technicians focus on getting things back into operation as quickly as possible without paying enough attention to restoring the inherent reliability. This practice allows defects to leak from the past into the future. This causes the future failure rate to increase. 

Returning to the football analogy, when a defensive coach recognizes that his team has a porous defense, he knows the problem is one of two things: either the defensive scheme is not putting the players in the right place at the right time, or the players are not performing. The first is a systemic problem and the second is an individual performance problem. 

Good managers recognize leakage when it occurs and take decisive action. They are not afraid to blame their own systemic problems or to deal with poor performers. Individuals who manage leakage seldom have to worry about managing catastrophes.

—Daniel T. Daley

Things to Think About and Do in 2011: Priceless

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Priceless

Qualified vibration analysts are priceless. Determining that a bearing has a defect on the inner race takes skill and experience. A timely warning about the defect so that action can be taken to avoid a catastrophic failure reduces downtime, eliminates the secondary damage and mitigates the safety risk. But that is not the end of the job; it is just the beginning. Performing acceptance testing so that only healthy machines are installed in your plant is essential. Detecting and correcting unbalance, misalignment, and resonance extends the life of the machine; you’ll see fewer bearing defects. And when you do detect a fault, determining why the fault occurred, and working to ensure that “root cause” is not repeated in the future; that’s where the real pay-off comes. Detecting bearing faults is important, but there is so much more you can contribute to plant reliability, safety, and profitability.

—Jason Tranter

Things to Think About and Do in 2011: Sustained

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Sustained

One of the objectives of setting goals is to improve performance for a given process, area or event. Each time I perform an RCM [Reliability Centered Maintenance] Blitz™ analysis, I set a goal with the RCM team before moving on to the next analysis. Having facilitated hundreds of RCM analyses, I have a good idea of what it takes to implement the tasks and I also understand the implications of not achieving this first goal.

After achieving this first goal of implementing the RCM tasks, while we might take a moment to celebrate, we must realize that our work is not complete. Analyzing the failure modes and implementing the mitigating tasks is only two-thirds of the equation when it comes to having a successful RCM effort. A successful effort can only be achieved by now completing the implemented PL and PdM tasks as scheduled on a routine basis. The results of your effort can only be recognized by having the leadership, structure and discipline required to plan, schedule and complete this new strategy.

The objective of performing Reliability Centered Maintenance is to improve the reliability of your assets, and while achieving the goal of implementing you RCM analysis is a good start, it doesn’t make your equiptment or your company reliable.

Reliability, afterall, can only be achieved by demonstrating a sustained level of performance over a scheduled period of time. 

An RCM effort, therefore, can only be deemed successful when the implemented strategy delivers an improved and sustained level of reliability.

—Doug Plucknette

Things to Think About and Do in 2011: Influence

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Influence

I’ve noticed lately how much I impact my own day. I’ve recently moved and with that came much packing, unpacking, home improvements and decoration. Fabulous, darling! However, if I don’t look at what I’m doing or think one step ahead, then something falls off the table, I buy the wrong size, forget something at the store, something doesn’t fit however hard I try to squish it, and the cupboard needs un- and re-packing (if it hasn’t been squished for good). Far from fabulous, darling! If simply having a trouble-free, ‘no rework’ day requires constant concentration and discipline, what does excellence require? Constant concentration and discipline, plus the belief that you can make improvements.

I’ve come to believe that excellence is not a state, but a journey. The picture of excellence changes over time, but the journey to get there remains the same and it always energizes. It’s continual improvement.

A company that survives must to things well and strive to do it better tomorrow. It takes continual improvements from people in every department and all levels to achieve this. In 2011, I’ll be thinking about how to notice and congratulate others when they have done something that energizes them, however small, for “continual” tends to happen in small steps and people are better at improving things when they feel positive. I’ll be working at a level that’s tangible to me (small and basic!), but hopefully this will help those with whom I come into contact today improve something else tomorrow, and maybe I can positively impact someone else’s day as much as I influence my own.

—Claudia Faye