Tag Archives: maintenance

Analyzing and eliminating the root cause of a failure is a powerful tool for improving plant reliability. At IDCON, we call this process Root Cause Problem Elimination (RCPE). We find that this term more accurately defines the desired outcome of the process. 

Cutting the maintenance budget will be easier if you have a plan that is well thought through and a partnership with the plant management team.

Imagine you work in a mill as a mechanic and get a work order that states: Replace bearings on a press roll due to high vibration level. You complete the work and the damaged bearings and seals were replaced according to the plan. The machine was started up and is now producing paper again.

"Gemba" is a Japanese word meaning the actual place where value is created, or where actions are executed. It includes Gemba walks to the actual place to observe, learn and improve work.

A key inspection for gear reducers is to listen for noise. The inspection should focus on a change in the sound.

Catch up with Tor's latest installment in the series "How to Document Cost-Effective Preventive Maintenance" here.

When it comes to existing PMs, the first thought is usually to search in the Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS). Of course, this is a valuable resource, but we may be missing other activity happening in departments of the plant, mill, or mine. It is very common that different crafts/departments have set up their own Preventive Maintenance Systems for components and equipment.

What is a component? IDCON uses the word “component” to describe an item that is highly repetitive for preventive maintenance purposes.  For example, the AC motor on the infeed hydraulic unit is composed of several components or machine elements. The infeed hydraulic unit is a highly repetitive unit often found in paper mills, refineries, mines, etc. AC motors are a component that is reoccurring as well.

So, we have completed our Criticality Analysis. What’s next? In Part 5 of this series, we will cover the importance of using an equipment list while performing Preventive Maintenance, how to use the equipment list most effectively, and provide an example and template of a well-organized equipment list. 

Part 2 in this series covers how Preventive Maintenance fits into the overall Reliability and Maintenance cycle. Figure 1 shows IDCON’s Productivity Circle which is used to demonstrate the overall partnership between Operations and Maintenance.