Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 8
ON THE FLOOR
An outlet for the views of
today's maintenance
& reliability professionals
Playing the Blame Game:
What Wastes Your Time?
Jane Alexander
Managing Editor
Who among us isn't as efficient in our personal
and work lives as we would like? Who can't
identify any number of things that, whether they
are within our control or otherwise, are eating
into our efficiency?
That's what we asked our MT Reader Panelists
to discuss this month: those pesky work-related
time wasters that prevent them and/or
their teams (or their client/customers'
teams) from accomplishing more
important things. We received
several responses, some of
which called out the usual
suspects, i.e., meetings,
time-wasting issues mainly
Our institution has had a budget problem
for a several years. Our maintenance-related
time-wasting issues stem mainly from not being
allowed to obtain parts until they're needed. For
example, if we plan to change a building's air
filters, we're supposed to order what we need two
weeks before we start. If the lead time is longer
than two weeks or the cost exceeds the purchase
cap, we can be delayed another two weeks or
longer.
The same can be said about almost all other
maintenance parts. Our only other option is if we
can get someone to approve purchase orders that
would let us go straight to a vendor and pick up
needed items as soon as possible. But there's no
guarantee that we can get that type of approval. It
depends on what needs to be done.
stem from not being
Industry Supplier, Southeast. . .
'Our maintenance-related
allowed to obtain parts until
they're needed.'
and some that pointed to
other culprits. Some Panelists
went into far more detail than
we are able to include in these pages.
Here's what we asked:
Q
What aspect or factor directly or
indirectly associated with Reliability
or Maintenance wasted their time and/
or the time of others at their site (i.e.,
interfered with the ability to accomplish,
in a timely manner, other, moreimportant things)?
The answers on these pages have been edited
for brevity and clarity. Additional insight can
be found in an expanded online version of this
column at maintenancetechnology.com.
8|
Plant Engineer, Institutional
Facilities, Midwest. . .
MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY
As a supplier of predictive-maintenance
(PdM) services, we find that the majority of
our customers, driven from a management
standpoint, are focused entirely on the bottom
line. That means routine PdM activities are often
shelved due to production demands. Supply
and demand dictate how management views
PdM activities, and, frequently, even planned
outages are postponed so facilities can meet
their goals.
[In my opinion] this problem will always
haunt maintenance personnel and, all too often,
will result in emergency repairs and lost production. Discussions, with an attempt to educate
upper management, typically fall on deaf ears,
and even catastrophic failures have short-lived
impacts. This is a conundrum that likely will
never go away since, in most manufacturing
facilities, management does not see preventive/
predictive maintenance as a cost-savings mechanism, but rather as time and money lost.
Industry Consultant, International. . .
From what I see with my clients, much time and
SEPTEMBER 2017
http://www.maintenancetechnology.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maintenance Technology September 2017
Editorial
Uptime
On The Floor
Bionics Will Drive Future Factories
Filling The Skills Gap
Virtual Simulation and Plant Safety
Update Grounding Knowledge
Don't Overlook STF Hazards
Alternative LOTO Measures
SAP: Tips and Tricks
Compressed Air Filters
IR Inspections
Crack The Lube-Fault Code
DCIM Drives Efficiencies
Products
Ad Index
Showcase
Final Thought
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - Ad
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - Cover1
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - Cover2
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 1
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 2
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 3
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - Editorial
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 5
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - Uptime
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 7
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - On The Floor
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 9
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - Bionics Will Drive Future Factories
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 11
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 12
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 13
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 14
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 15
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - Filling The Skills Gap
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 17
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 18
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 19
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - Virtual Simulation and Plant Safety
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 21
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 22
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - Update Grounding Knowledge
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 24
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 25
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - Don't Overlook STF Hazards
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 27
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 28
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - Alternative LOTO Measures
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 30
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 31
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 32
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - SAP: Tips and Tricks
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - Compressed Air Filters
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 35
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - IR Inspections
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 37
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - Crack The Lube-Fault Code
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 39
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 40
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - DCIM Drives Efficiencies
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 42
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - Products
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 44
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 45
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - Ad Index
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - Showcase
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - Final Thought
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - Cover3
Maintenance Technology September 2017 - Cover4
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