Maintenance Technology November 2015 - (Page 8)

FOR ON THE FLOOR An outlet for the views of today's maintenance & reliability professionals Reliability Program Challenges: How Real? Jane Alexander Managing Editor W ith the growing emphasis on reliability across the industrial landscape, some recent "word on the street" talk came as a big-and disturbing- surprise. If true, the reported difficulties some sites are having hiring reliability engineers to staff and grow their programs may just be more fallout from the technical-skills crisis. We asked our MT Reader Panelists several questions about the situation. Q What's the state of your organization's reliability efforts (or those of your client[s]), and has your organization (or your client[s]) found it difficult to staff this type of program? "Our reliability efforts have been renewed. For the first eight months of the year we had a Could the difficulties some sites are reportedly having hiring reliability engineers eventually touch all facilities, even 'best-in-class?' It's a sobering prospect. consulting company come in and work with both management and trades on our maintenance-andreliability program. Since they worked with us, we have seen a reversal in our reactive versus proactive jobs. The team bought in after seeing results." ... Maintenance Leader, Midwest "Our efforts are lagging. We are not permitted budget room to make any efforts other than required repairs. Improvements or upgrades are almost non-existent." ... Sr. Facilities Engineer, Southeast "Currently, we are in a transition period from moving our organization to be a more reliability/ proactive-driven group. Historically, the makeup has been primarily preventive and emergencydriven activities. We are starting activities that are more predictive and data-driven based." ... Sr. Maintenance Supervisor, Midwest "We have invested in some new equipment to improve our reliability, such as thermography, ultrasonic, and vibration, but the duties have been given to existing maintenance employees." ... Sr. Maintenance Mechanic, South "In what we do, reliability efforts are simple and controlled with OEM-required dates on equipment maintenance schedules and the like. As it relates to industries we serve, some are adapting and taking control of reliability, and others wish they could, but are understaffed and on the concept of run to fail. This is evident in the metals industry, which is struggling right now in North America." ... Industry Supplier, Midwest Q What difficulties, if any, has your organization (or your client[s]) experienced in staffing, building, and/or growing its reliability program or efforts? "There have been several attempts in the past that failed mainly due to no follow through. We 8| MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY NOVEMBER 2015

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

Editorial
Uptime
For on the Floor
Tiered Empowerment Drives PEX Reliability
Consider the Common-Cause Method
Think Like A Hacker
Take a "CSI" Approach to Asset Management
Maximize HVLS Fan ROI
Keep Your Planners Focused
Extend Chain Life
Scan Energy Wasters

Maintenance Technology November 2015