Up Time Magazine - February/March 2009 - (Page 6) upfront A Change of Direction Is it just me or does it feel like we have reached a turning point? Whether you like him or not, or agree with his policies or not, we now have a new president in the U.S. And, as a great American songwriter once sang – the times, they are a changin’. Barack Obama campaigned on a platform of change, and he won. That is interesting in and of itself, because in the maintenance and reliability industry, all of us, to varying degrees, are striving to change from a reactive culture to a proactive culture. And, as the experts in the culture change business will invariably tell you, culture change is often the toughest challenge we face. So how was President Obama able to gain traction with the platform of change? Well, of course it is much easier to embrace change when you are experiencing tough times and can see that the status quo is not working. This is the situation that helped President Obama win the election. Of course, for him it’s a double edged sword, because now he is charged with fixing the underlying problems in our economy. These are, indeed, very tough economic times. Some companies are weathering the storm well, while others are either laying their workers off, or worse, closing their doors. Without sounding like a Pollyanna, the current economic woes create an opportunity to seek changes for a more proactive maintenance program in your company. There are numerous sources in our industry that document condition monitoring and other proactive techniques as being far less costly in the long run than continuing in a ‘firefighter’ maintenance mode. This issue of Uptime focuses on energy savings and increasing efficiency. This is an area where any improvements pay immediate dividends through lower energy bills. Any proposal with a quick and positive Return on Investment (see our Feature article on page 8 and the Ultrasound section on page 50) is an attractive investment. Increasing energy efficiency will not only save money today, but as the economy strengthens, and energy costs inevitably rise, the payback becomes even greater. By investing in more efficient processes, you will lay the foundation for better maintenance, higher reliability and higher productivity, which leads to a stronger organization now and into the future. And that should be change that anyone can believe in. I hope you enjoy this issue. As always, thank you for reading. We appreciate your support, and hope you find value within these pages. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions that will make Uptime more useful to you, please let us know. uptime volume 4, issue 33 Terrence O’Hanlon PUBLISHER EDITOR IN CHIEF Jeffrey C Shuler EDITORIAL ADVISORS/ CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Ron Eshleman Greg Stockton Ray Thibault Jack Nicholas, Jr. Dr. Howard Penrose James Hall Alan Johnston Jay Lee, PhD John Mitchell Jason Tranter Bill Partipilo 888-575-1245 x 114 sales@uptimemagazine.com ADVERTISING SALES EDITORIAL INFORMATION Please address submissions of case studies, procedures, practical tips and other correspondence to Jeff Shuler, Editor In Chief Uptime Magazine PO Box 60075 Ft. Myers, FL 33906 888-575-1245 x 116 jshuler@uptimemagazine.com to subscribe to Uptime, log on SUBSCRIPTIONS www.uptimemagazine.com Uptime Magazine is a founding member of AMP the association for maintenance professionals All the best, Jeff Shuler Editor In Chief jshuler@uptimemagazine.com Uptime® (ISSN 1557-0193) is published monthly by Reliabilityweb.com, PO Box 60075, Ft. Myers, FL 33906, 888-575-1245. In the U.S. Uptime is a registered trademark of Reliabilityweb.com. No part of Uptime may be reproduced in any form by any means without prior written consent from Reliabilityweb.com. Uptime is an independently produced publication of Reliabilityweb.com. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of Reliabilityweb.com. Copyright© 2009 by Reliabilityweb.com. All rights reserved. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Uptime Magazine PO Box 60075, Ft. Myers, FL 33906. 6 february/march 2009 http://www.uptimemagazine.com http://www.Reliabilityweb.com http://www.Reliabilityweb.com http://www.Reliabilityweb.com http://www.Reliabilityweb.com http://www.Reliabilityweb.com http://www.Reliabilityweb.com
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