Recent incidents such as lead found in Hershey’s chocolate products and WanaBana applesauce pouches are shining the light on lead contamination in the food and beverage industry. What are the risks that lead exposure (and other heavy metals) pose to people who consume the products – and to those in the manufacturing facilities who make the products? What can be done at a facility level to promote safety for maintenance crews?

The magnitude of the diesel technician shortage in the United States is creating significant challenges for the transportation industry. To combat this shortage, efforts are being made to encourage students to pursue a career as a diesel technician, with innovative initiatives aimed at piquing their interest.

While ammonia offers reliable and cost-effective solutions for industrial refrigeration, its toxicity poses significant risks to personnel and communities if not handled properly. o address these challenges, the integration of predictive maintenance and a CMMS emerges as a crucial strategy.

In the manufacturing industry, having the right spare parts in the right place when you need them is key to making sure your facility is operating efficiently. Developing technology such as vision picking, predictive analytics, and more are rapidly transforming the way spare parts management programs function across industries. Storeroom and spare parts organization is typically an area where we see opportunities for improvement in many organizations. What does a good storeroom look like? What are best practices in spare parts management? How can we use new technology and trends to organize and optimize the storeroom?

Advances in conveyor belting fabrication abilities and materials in recent years are improving processes related to the food industry. They allow for easier repair, more efficiency, and most importantly, better food safety. What are the recent changes to belts? What are the best ways to improve reliability and perform conveyor belt PM?

As the focus strengthens on renewable energy, hydropower is being touted by the US Department of Energy as the future, providing 100% clean electricity by 2035. How does hydropower work and how can it help? Are there drawbacks? What will need to be addressed for reliability and maintenance in hydropower facilities?

The US Navy is facing significant challenges procuring spare parts for their submarine fleet, greatly impacting their maintenance program. Nearly 40% of the Navy’s attack submarines are either undergoing repairs or awaiting maintenance. The issue has been attributed to a shortage of skilled workers, delays at shipyards, and disruptions in the supply chain.

Augmented reality (AR) is emerging as a solution to enhance maintenance programs and mitigate the technician shortage. AR for maintenance has the potential to transform organizations’ maintenance programs by improving maintenance efficiency and accuracy in a time when skilled technicians are in high demand.

Manufacturing organizations are making a change from standard CNC type lathing and milling machines to newer Swiss-style lathes for the production of high-quality parts in large volumes. What are the reasons for the switch? Traditional CNC lathing and milling machines can involve four different setup processes requiring more than one crew member to run, while the more compact and faster Swiss style machines allow operators to process the entire part in one operation.