The transformation of our businesses from paper to digital is nothing new. What is new is the scope of what can and should be made digital. What was not even considered a candidate for digitization five years ago is now just another record in a database waiting to be retrieved for analysis. A casual picture of a leaking valve from a smartphone texted to a supervisor is now a critical maintenance record! Whether you are being forced into it because of market or regulatory forces or it has become a way of life at your company, you must have a strategy.
Moving all or significant portions of the business from manual or paper-based data collection, to fully computerized… and the refined use of that data for decision making. The result is that XYZ is an order of magnitude better, and lots of people are doing their jobs differently.
Beneficial and measurable changes to business operations are implemented over time. Efforts are specific and run their course. Pauses are strategic to allow the impact of changes to be seen.
What are We Talking About?
Continuing to improve, aka transforming, your business requires strategically managing your people, processes, and programs (technology).
Image courtesy Total Resource Management
Taking advantage of all that “digital transformation” can bring to your business will certainly keep you on the path of continued improvement. Digital transformation is far beyond just putting stuff in a database. It involves managing the changes needed to your people, processes, and the programs they use to benefit the business.
We purposely sent technology to the back of the diagram. While important, its role is to support the other two and is the last to be considered.
In the Context of Maintenance and Reliability…
There are many approaches, software tools, and consulting firms that can help with pieces of your digital transformation. It is to your benefit to have a consistent team that will be with you from the beginning and support you well after the initial implementation. Plan for this process to take a full year to see tangible results. This is a long-term relationship. It could take less time, but it should take at most a year. Otherwise, you risk losing steam and tossing another failed project on the ash heap.
How has “Work” Transformed?
Let’s start with a little fun looking back at how work has changed over the years.
What we find interesting is that what used to be work (and necessary for survival) is now, in many cases, leisure or hobby activity.
The point? Work transformation is ongoing and rapid. What we do, who does it and the tools we use are in constant motion. We’ve gone from swinging jawbones to clicking a mouse.
Questions To Ask:
Does putting a tablet full of mobile applications into the hands of a person in the field digitally transform their job?
Unless the features/functions and how this new tool will be used have been well thought out, it will likely end up on the truck’s dash.
You might get more data, but its quality will continue to be unhelpful when making decisions.
Cool feature… not so practical. Example: Scanning barcodes in low light
Do you believe you and your team(s) are miserable failures who are not doing anything right?
Most likely, you and your team(s) are doing good work already.
Are there areas in need of improvement or transformation? Of course.
Is the “improvement roadmap” visible to everyone who is supposed to be involved?
The point? You are doing some good things. Keep those. Toss the rest. Move forward.
Do you (or your management) use available data to measure performance against goals?
Maybe. Perhaps you/they wish the data was “better.”
Some collected data might not ever be used. A waste.
Is there missing data? “If only we knew…”
The speed and volume of data collection are not nearly as important as the usefulness of the data to the business. Are you in a bad place and need to be elsewhere? You need a strategy.
You are on a path, good or bad, with activities helping you, whether in parallel or series, and some are in your way. You are trying to get to the goal of making good data-based decisions. You need a plan to keep going or make a course correction. Do you do singular process improvements or complete transformations? Will the expected results of the improvements fund the effort?
Expert troubleshooters have a good understanding of the operation of electrical components that are used in circuits they are familiar with, and even ones they are not. They use a system or approach that allows them to logically and systematically analyze a circuit and determine exactly what is wrong. They also understand and effectively use tools such as prints, diagrams and test instruments to identify defective components. Finally, they have had the opportunity to develop and refine their troubleshooting skills.
Expert troubleshooters have a good understanding of the operation of electrical components that are used in circuits they are familiar with, and even ones they are not. They use a system or approach that allows them to logically and systematically analyze a circuit and determine exactly what is wrong. They also understand and effectively use tools such as prints, diagrams and test instruments to identify defective components. Finally, they have had the opportunity to develop and refine their troubleshooting skills.
Semiconductor devices are almost always part of a larger, more complex piece of electronic equipment. These devices operate in concert with other circuit elements and are subject to system, subsystem and environmental influences. When equipment fails in the field or on the shop floor, technicians usually begin their evaluations with the unit's smallest, most easily replaceable module or subsystem. The subsystem is then sent to a lab, where technicians troubleshoot the problem to an individual component, which is then removed--often with less-than-controlled thermal, mechanical and electrical stresses--and submitted to a laboratory for analysis. Although this isn't the optimal failure analysis path, it is generally what actually happens.
Semiconductor devices are almost always part of a larger, more complex piece of electronic equipment. These devices operate in concert with other circuit elements and are subject to system, subsystem and environmental influences. When equipment fails in the field or on the shop floor, technicians usually begin their evaluations with the unit's smallest, most easily replaceable module or subsystem. The subsystem is then sent to a lab, where technicians troubleshoot the problem to an individual component, which is then removed--often with less-than-controlled thermal, mechanical and electrical stresses--and submitted to a laboratory for analysis. Although this isn't the optimal failure analysis path, it is generally what actually happens.
In an ideal world, multiple components could be produced in a single piece, or coupled and installed in perfect alignment. However, in the real world, separate components must be brought together and connected onsite. Couplings are required to transmit rotational forces (torque) between two lengths of shaft, and despite the most rigorous attempts, alignment is never perfect. To maximize the life of components such as bearings and shafts, flexibility must be built in to absorb the residual misalignment that remains after all possible adjustments are made. Proper lubrication of couplings is critical to their performance.
In an ideal world, multiple components could be produced in a single piece, or coupled and installed in perfect alignment. However, in the real world, separate components must be brought together and connected onsite. Couplings are required to transmit rotational forces (torque) between two lengths of shaft, and despite the most rigorous attempts, alignment is never perfect. To maximize the life of components such as bearings and shafts, flexibility must be built in to absorb the residual misalignment that remains after all possible adjustments are made. Proper lubrication of couplings is critical to their performance.
The key to realizing greater savings from more informed management decisions is to predetermine the "True" cost of downtime for each profit center category. True downtime cost is a methodology of analyzing all cost factors associated with downtime, and using this information for cost justification and day to day management decisions. Most likely, this data is already being collected in your facility, and need only be consolidated and organized according to the true downtime cost guidelines.
The key to realizing greater savings from more informed management decisions is to predetermine the "True" cost of downtime for each profit center category. True downtime cost is a methodology of analyzing all cost factors associated with downtime, and using this information for cost justification and day to day management decisions. Most likely, this data is already being collected in your facility, and need only be consolidated and organized according to the true downtime cost guidelines.
I use the term RCPE because it is a waste of good initiatives and time to only find the root cause of a problem, but not fixing it. I like to use the word problem; a more common terminology is Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA), instead of failure because the word failure often leads to a focus on equipment and maintenance. The word problem includes all operational, quality, speed, high costs and other losses. To eliminate problems is a joint responsibility between operations, maintenance and engineering.
I use the term RCPE because it is a waste of good initiatives and time to only find the root cause of a problem, but not fixing it. I like to use the word problem; a more common terminology is Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA), instead of failure because the word failure often leads to a focus on equipment and maintenance. The word problem includes all operational, quality, speed, high costs and other losses. To eliminate problems is a joint responsibility between operations, maintenance and engineering.
The potential-to-functional failure interval (P-F interval) is one of the most important concepts when it comes to performing Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM). Remarkably, the P-F interval is also one of the most misunderstood RCM concepts. The failure mode analysis becomes even more complicated when you are dealing with several P-F intervals for one failure mode. This paper will help clarify the P-F interval and the decision-making process when dealing with multiple P-F intervals.
The potential-to-functional failure interval (P-F interval) is one of the most important concepts when it comes to performing Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM). Remarkably, the P-F interval is also one of the most misunderstood RCM concepts. The failure mode analysis becomes even more complicated when you are dealing with several P-F intervals for one failure mode. This paper will help clarify the P-F interval and the decision-making process when dealing with multiple P-F intervals.
As many of us strive to improve the reliability of our plants, several comments bemoan how challenging that is to do in an era of continuous deep cost cutting. They say that in their operation, maintenance is seen as a cost, and is one of the first things to arbitrarily cut. Some think their operations have cut too far! What they seek is a way to justify a strong maintenance capability. I submit that one approach is to speak of maintenance as an “investment in capacity.” Use the language that plant managers, controllers and senior management understands: capital investment and return on investment (ROI).
As many of us strive to improve the reliability of our plants, several comments bemoan how challenging that is to do in an era of continuous deep cost cutting. They say that in their operation, maintenance is seen as a cost, and is one of the first things to arbitrarily cut. Some think their operations have cut too far! What they seek is a way to justify a strong maintenance capability. I submit that one approach is to speak of maintenance as an “investment in capacity.” Use the language that plant managers, controllers and senior management understands: capital investment and return on investment (ROI).
