Maintenance Technology October 2016 - 13

PLANT PROFILE

Left and middle. Fork-truck mechanic Rafael Martinez performs maintenance on equipment at the
Dana facility in Fort Wayne, IN.
Right. It is critical that the forklifts operate smoothly. The maintenance teams keeps these crucial
machines functioning reliably.

performing overhauls when needed,
and effectively using data to make wise
long-term maintenance decisions."
Weber and McKenna agreed that
the goal for the facility is to have
100% preventive maintenance. They
are convinced that the data generated
from the CMMS system will help them
accomplish this goal.
"Once we had data that showed how
our program was progressing, I shared
it with the rest of our maintenance
teams in group presentations. They were
impressed," McKenna said. "I think it
has helped everyone understand what
we are talking about and what we are

driving toward. The data we compile
helps the maintenance team and the
production workers understand that, as
we do more of these corrective PMs, it
will keep the machines from breaking
down. That helps contain costs in the
long run."
McKenna noted that, since the onset
of the program, they have been able to
quantify six-figure savings for the plant,
which has helped win support at all
levels of management, maintenance, and
production.
"It's one thing to talk about an idea we
can implement to save money," he said,
"but it leaves quite an impression when

you can see the impact on the bottom
line."
McKenna uses four-panel programs
for cost-savings projects. As the name
indicates, this involves four key steps:
1. Show the problem.
2. Show what you did to solve it.
3. Show the tools and people used to
solve it.
4. Show the benefits.
"Our eMaint program helps to drive
the four-panel tool," McKenna explained.
"We consider key questions like: What is
your problem statement? What are some
of the tools you use to test it out and to
prove it out? What are the variables-the

The Dana Story
In 1904, engineering student Clarence
Spicer left Cornell Univ. to launch a new
business in the vacant corner of a New
Jersey factory. While still a student, he had
earned a patent for his groundbreaking
design of the first practical universal joint to
power an automobile.
Spicer's innovation would literally
unchain the automobile, which had previously relied on chain-and-sprocket drives to
transmit power.
A talented engineer and inventor, Spicer
had neither business nor manufacturing
experience. Although the automobile was
destined to become a global institution, its
future was still far from certain at the turn of
the 20th century.
It was from these uncertain begin-

OCTOBER 2016

nings that Dana Inc. emerged as an
influential automotive supplier. Founded
on Spicer's designs, and fueled by the
business acumen of attorney, politician,
and financier Charles Dana, the company
proceeded to expand its product lineup,
technological expertise, and geographic
scope throughout the century.
Dana Inc. products have helped
drive some of history's most well-known
vehicles-from the Model T and the World
War II-era Jeep, to London taxicabs,
18-wheel rigs, giant earth-moving
machines, and a number of cars on the
NASCAR racing circuit.
Dana is considered a pioneer in
drivetrain technologies for four-wheel-drive
vehicles and, along with the U.S. Army,

Willys Overland, Ford Motor Co., and the
Bantam Car Co., is one of the entities credited with developing the Jeep vehicle for
use during World War II. Dana developed
the four-wheel-drive system for the original
Jeep prototypes and eventually became the
supplier for the military vehicles and later
models used for civilian applications. In
fact, Dana has been a continuous supplier
of components for the Jeep since its inception 75 years ago, which is believed to be
the longest such supplier relationship in the
automotive industry.
That involvement with off-road
applications drove the company to build
new rugged, durable axle technologies for
other commercial, mining, and agricultural
applications.

MAINTENANCETECHNOLOGY.COM | 13

http://www.MAINTENANCETECHNOLOGY.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maintenance Technology October 2016