Maintenance Technology May 2015 - (Page 12)

DON'T PROCRASTINATE...INNOVATE Ken Bannister, CMRP Contributing Editor Maintaining to the Weakest Link, Part 1: Weakness as a Desired State R efforts by recognizing, exposing, undesirable state. With synonyms such as fragile, frail, brittle and others, it's easy for a maintainer to have a negative view of the term. Yet in the world of machine design, weak links can be desirable, purposely exploited and made an integral part of a machine's design to 1) protect the more valuable or precise aspects of the machine design; 2) make the machine design more universal and adaptable for the end-user; and 3) reduce costs. Rarely will a maintenance organization have had input into the design of the machines in their charge. Instead, most have to develop a maintenance approach based on the often inadequate and subjectively worded maintenance manual (if one exists) and the sum experience of the planner or maintainer writing the machine maintenance plan. In this first part of our examination of weak links, we will look at the various aspects of machine design and learn how to recognize and take advantage of those that are built-in. understanding and exploiting Using weak links to achieve reliability emember the television game show Weakest Link? Its authoritarian host Anne Robinson specialized in shaming failing contestants with the words, "You are the weakest link, goodbye!" Unlike the TV show, which is designed to provoke disharmony among team members and negatively exploit the knowledge gaps of its contestants, the asset-management world cannot afford to be so dismissive. It can however, take an innovative approach toward improvement by recognizing, exposing, understanding and exploiting weak links in a positive manner. Those of us in the asset-management world can improve our reliability weak links in a positive manner. When weakness is desired Innovation springs to the forefront when we are open and able to reframe our viewpoint. For example, by not accepting such adages as "we have always done it this way," and scrutinizing a perceived problem that might otherwise have been ignored is an opportunity to be seized upon! When looking to increase a maintenance organization's effectiveness, it's important to identify and address weak links in the organization's culture and team dynamics, as well as in the maintenance system and approach to performing asset management. Most readers will naturally consider "weak" an 12 | MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY Reliability of any machine is primarily achieved by performing the simplest of maintenance observations and tasks based on its weakest links. Often thought of as "nuisance" or "pain" points, weak links are instantly identifiable as the parts on the machine that always need to be replaced or adjusted or opened and closed. Identifying and focusing your proactive maintenance approach on these items is a fast and effective way to assure asset reliability with minimum cost, maximum uptime/ throughput and minimum energy use. Weak links primarily present themselves in two formats: consumables and adjustables. Consumables are the machine items designed to wear out over time and be replaced with like-forlike items. Consumables are relatively inexpensive sacrificial products designed to provide machine functions and protect vital machine systems or MAY 2015

Maintenance Technology May 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maintenance Technology May 2015