Plant Services - April 2008 - (Page 7)

FROM THE EDITOR High-priced mistakes Enrich yourself at others’ expense doesn’t come in time for a lot of them, but there’s no reanother politician resigns from office while his stoic son it couldn’t. At a recent Advanced Technology Services spouse looks on. Somebody wants to start another event, one plant manager nearly broke down and cried as war. The market crashes and leaves us in its dust. he described how well his plant started performing once Sometimes I doubt we are capable of learning from our own they learned they would be closed – if only they’d had the mistakes, much less have any hope of leveraging the misersense to do it before the handwriting hit the wall. If only able experiences of others. he had led them. To quote Peter Principal formulator Laurence J. Peter, Dozens of industrial maintenance and asset-management “There is only one thing more painful than learning from consulting, education, systems integration and services experience, and that is not learning from experience.” companies are out there helping industrial facilities increase There’s a lot of pain going around, and it doesn’t have to production quantities and quality, as well as safety, while be that way. reducing costs. Many now have enough industry-specific The 15 people killed in the BP refinery explosion in experience to analyze your operations and tell you early on Texas City, Texas, didn’t have to die. The 440 people who exactly how (and how much) you’ll save. But work at the closing Union Tank Car facility you shouldn’t be surprised when they don’t in East Chicago, Ind., didn’t have to lose darken your door on their own – they’re very their jobs. Your plant doesn’t have to be less You shouldn’t busy helping your competition. You’d best safe or have higher costs than any other fabe surprised give them a call. cility in its industry. when they don’t Then you’ll have to do something. You’ll have Don’t believe me? Start with the newly darken your to change your culture – the way your people released computer simulation video of what do things – and, above all, yourself. It’s not fun, happened at the BP refinery (linked at www. door on their said Mike Hays, team leader, Tyson Foods, in csb.gov/index.cfm?folder=news_releases& own. his presentation, “Correct Change Required,” at page=news&NEWS_ID=420#). You’ll be SAP-Centric EAM. People have to go through astounded at the series of errors that led to all the classic symptoms of denial, anger, pessimism and, ultithe disaster, not because they’re so egregious, but because mately, despair before they decide whether to stay and accept they’re common as dirt. If you don’t recognize yourself, change or leave and take their chances somewhere else. your coworkers or your management, drop me a line and I’ll While you and yours are grieving the good old days, work nominate yours for Plant of the Year. might not go so well, or as Hays said, “Every transition “You don’t have to contemplate the consequences of The will affect business performance in some way.” Professional Big One to appreciate the benefits of the safety-conscious change-management can more than pay for itself by helping plant,” said Norm Poynter, business consultant, Nexen, in you minimize that dip. his presentation, “Process Safety Management,” at the reAbigail Van Buren once said, “If we could sell our expericent SAP-Centric EAM 2008 event in Austin, Texas. “The ences for what they cost us, we’d all be millionaires.” Imagbusiness case for PSM isn’t well illustrated by focusing on ine how rich you can be by learning from others’. incidents,” he says. Consider the competitive advantages of process integrity, protected personnel, environmental and social responsibility, risk and liability mitigation and enhancing the value of your brand. Even safe factories are being closed every day because PAUL STUDEBAKER, CMRP greedy stakeholders join gluttonous consumers in a race EDITOR IN CHIEF to the bottom of the economic ladder. But those closed pstudebaker@putman.net first are almost always underperformers. Enlightenment (630) 467-1300 ext. 433 April 2008 www.PLANTSERVICES.com 7 A http://www.csb.gov/index.cfm?folder=news_releases&page=news&NEWS_ID=420# http://www.csb.gov/index.cfm?folder=news_releases&page=news&NEWS_ID=420# http://www.csb.gov/index.cfm?folder=news_releases&page=news&NEWS_ID=420# http://www.PLANTSERVICES.com

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Plant Services - April 2008 Contents From the Editor Letters The PS Files Up and Running Crisis Corner What Works Asset Manager Technology Toolbox Cover Story Compressors Motors Flooring Web Hunter In the Trenches Product Picks Classifieds Energy Expert

Plant Services - April 2008

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