We are in the infant stages of installing a reliability program. A lot of the people in key positions are old school (fix it when it breaks). What are some of your methods that you have used to get the people to respond when you want to fix something before it breaks?

For starters, I would discuss the practical aspect of planned vs. unplanned maintenance. That it is more cost-effective to order parts, adjust work schedules, and shift plant processes before equipment failure than dealing with the chaos that results from unanticipated failure.

I would also cite studies that show maintenance costs using periodic preventive maintenance are around 30% less than costs incurred from a reactive maintenance approach. The same study also shows that predictive maintenance can be 40% more cost effective than periodic preventive maintenance.
R.J. Hudachek and V.R. Dodd, ASME, “Progress and Payout of a Machinery Surveillance and Diagnostic Program

Also, discuss OSHA, EPA, ASME, etc. mandated periodic maintenance requirements, which if missed or deferred could cost your company millions in fines.

If you have newly purchased equipment then discuss the warranty requirements. It is unusual for a vendor to sell you equipment without requiring you to perform their PM maintenance during the warranty period.

Regards,
Larry J.

Document and inform. Then when it breaks, tell them that "you tried to tell them". Not quite as PC, but it works.

There is a lot of info available to show how a good PDM program can save money, so use it, too.

Lastly, don't try to change everyone at once. Try to get a couple to listen. Then, show them what the failure looks like. Not so much the "squiggly lines", but the failure itslef. We've always kept failed bearings and gears around for show and tell.

For some "balance of plant" or non-critical equipment "run to failure" (incipient failure as opposed to catastrophic) is an effective risk management strategy. Because it is not critical, repairs may still be performed on a planned and scheduled basis.

I would begin by identifying which systems and equipment are critical to the business and applying risk management strategies (PPM) to those. Identify what is important and the consequences of its failure and subsequent downtime. I would invite those "key players" to be a part of this criticality screening.

As you develop your reliability program assure that your PPM's are realistic, effective and supported by a business case.

You may want to consider a knowledge and skill assessment for those that will be involved in implementing your program. Don't set anyone up for failure - give them the required tools.

Somehow, you need to build a case for change and being realistic in your approach and involving the appropriate people can only help.

Priority should be based on importance and not urgency.

Jim C.

Hi Jim,

Most people are motivated by cash so you could try to quantify the actual cost of a few breakdowns then try to project this cost into an annual context. Use only facts as opposed to assumptions. You will need facts to convince them. If you are in a production environment calculate the cost of breakdowns that affect production volumes. What does this cost?

If overtime is a factor you could also calculate the cost of overtime caused by equipment failure. If you email me I'll send you a link to some free articles that may help you.

Bryan Weir

Jim, all of these ideas are good. But, it sounds like your dealing with the same people I am. We have come a long way, with a long way to go. We started with a small project we knew would save our company money if they would let us fix it the way it should be done. Doing all of the things from machining the base to tightening up all of the tolerances on our rebuild and alignment. Finally we cut the piping loose and took all the strain out. Yes it took a while longer and the bosses saw it taking longer but the end result was that pump and pretty much every installation since has been done this way. (time permitting)Most of our folks had to see it to believe it. It's a rough road but keep pushing until you get what you want.
Russell H Dees
Evergreen Pulp, Inc.

Every company has these type people, well almost every company.

I found that making a showing such as saving a high dollar piece of equipment from destroying itself is the easiest way, but not all of us have, say, a new paper machine that has a yankee dryer with a cracked inner race that if not for the NEW vibration crew finding this, the problem would have went from a mere 16 hour shutdown with just a bearing change to possibly a MAJOR wreck that might have lasted days with a new or re-turned journal, a new bearing and who knows what else. After this, the crew had smooth sailing and soon most all scheduled shutdowns were planned around the reports from the crew.

Talking $$$$ with proof is a must. But then the old," he said, they said, he said, so and so did this and if we do this we will save millions", will not get much support.
Document all calls vs repairs then calls vs run to destroy. All it takes is one or two good calls to get credit.

Hello Jim:

The key to motivation is a key acronym: WIIFM (What's In It For Me?).

In the case of production: What is the risk of not correcting a potential failure versus what is. The decision-maker will want to make a decision based upon risk of unplanned downtime versus the risk of not being correct. This often involves understanding cost avoidance.

Attached is the September/October 2004 compilation of my ReliabilityWeb Blog the "Penrose Lecture Series" on starting a motor management program. How to 'sell the program' (which applies to any reliability-based or maintenance program) starts on about p 18.

Note: I am no longer with ALL-TEST Pro, so any questions can be directed to howard@motordoc.net.

Howard

3_Developing_Your_Motor_Diagnostics_Program_Blog_Lectures.pdf (174 Kb, 28 downloads)