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TPM and Tecate: The new translation
Total Productive Maintenance takes on a deeper meaning at the Cervecería Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma brewery in Tecate, Mexico. Read this in-depth case study by Paul V. Arnold and find out why this plant (the maker of Tecate, Dos Equis, Carta Blanca and Sol beer) is MAD about TPM.
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Editorial
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Editors Column
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'Lies, damned lies and statistics'
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author: Paul V. Arnold, RP Editor
• Editorial|Editors Column
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Paul V. Arnold says an allegiance to statistics and metrics can have negative consequences.
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The Exponent
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Putting a modern spin on FMEA
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author: Drew D. Troyer, CRE, CMRP
• Editorial|The Exponent
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Drew Troyer offers some key points for updating your FMEA process to get it working for you in the plant.
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Features
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Advisors
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Selling maintenance to management
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author: Tor Idhammar
• Features|Advisors
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We often complain about how hard it is for us to "sell maintenance to top management". There are several things we can do to change this.
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Best ways to kill planning, scheduling
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author: Doc Palmer
• Features|Advisors
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Two ways to kill a planning and scheduling system dwarf all other methods. According to Doc Palmer, these are the perfect job plan and schedule compliance.
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Why are you performing vibe analysis?
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author: Andy Page
• Features|Advisors
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While many maintenance and reliability initiatives incorporate vibration analysis, few people have a sound philosophical base for how it is to be used.
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Lost in communication
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author: John Ha
• Features|Advisors
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Plants continually identify communication as a problem area. Shouldn't we be good at this by now? So, what's the problem? People management guru John Ha hashes out the reasons and root causes.
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Leaving a lasting legacy
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author: Tim Goshert
• Features|Advisors
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What is a legacy? Cargill M&R leader Tim Goshert says it is what you will be known for in the future and with future generations.
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Applied Reliability
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Use P-F intervals to map, avert failures
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author: Robert Apelgren
• Features|Applied Reliability
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The potential-to-functional failure interval is one of the most important (and misunderstood) concepts when it comes to performing RCM. Robert Apelgren provides guidance in this article.
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Safety Report
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Q&A: Talking safety with the NSC
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author: Paul V. Arnold
• Features|Safety Report
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Paul V. Arnold explores plant safety in a conversation with one of the National Safety Council's top executives.
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Web Exclusives
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None
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Assessment leads to steam system energy savings at Dow Chemical
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author: the U.S. Department of Energy
• Web Exclusives|None
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At some chemical plants, steam systems account for the most end-use energy consumption. By conducting energy assessments of their steam systems, chemical plants can uncover important opportunities to improve energy efficiency, which leads to significant energy savings, lower emissions and better productivity. This case study chronicles an assessment project at a Dow Chemical plant in Louisiana.
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Ask an Energy Expert: Optimizing process heating systems
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author: the U.S. Department of Energy
• Web Exclusives|None
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Dr. Arvind Thekdi, an Energy Expert for the Department of Energy, routinely conducts energy assessments to improve energy efficiency of process heating systems at plants. During the assessments, he often encounters questions that indicate confusion about how process heating systems operate. In this article, he provides some basic information about process heating systems, and offers solutions for reducing heat losses to increase efficiency.
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Two invaluable tools for problem solving
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author: Darren Dolcemascolo
• Web Exclusives|None
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While most people associate lean with tools and principles such as value stream mapping, one-piece flow, kanban, 5-S, Total Productive Maintenance and kaizen events, few people think about the more mundane aspects of lean. Problem solving is one of the keys to successful lean implementation through worker empowerment.
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Plastics OEM integrates a total controls system solution
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author: Jim McMahon
• Web Exclusives|None
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Auxiliary plastics equipment manufacturer Thoreson-McCosh streamlined its equipment throughput, expanded its system scalability, decreased its machine downtime and increased support accessibility with new PLCs.
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Workplace management: Get to know Generation Y
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author: Dr. Maurice A. Ramirez
• Web Exclusives|None
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To understand the influence this age/work group has, you must understand how Generation Y functions. These young professionals have truly tapped a globalized market through the use of the Internet and social networking services. The only question, is the global market (and your company) ready for true globalization?
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Why change is so hard, and what you can do about it
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author: Gary Bradt
• Web Exclusives|None
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Change happens. It's sudden, it's quick and it disrupts our equilibrium. Whether it's the unforeseen sale of a company, the sudden loss of a job or the unexpected loss of a loved one, the world you once knew is gone, and it's difficult to know what to do next. It's frightening, because one way we survive is by being able to predict our environment and acting accordingly. When predictability disappears, so too does our sense of safety. This article features four tips to help you lead yourself and others through difficult and perhaps sudden or unforeseen change.
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Improve thread & machining quality by removing contaminants
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author: One Eye Industries Inc.
• Web Exclusives|None
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Producing the highest-quality threads and machined surfaces is always a challenge. Many shops lose valuable operational time and spend excessive amounts on new dies and maintenance due to premature wear. Reducing these costs and increasing uptime leads directly to increased profitability.
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Ford designers create color in a virtual world
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author:
• Web Exclusives|None
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The same virtual process that enables Ford designers to create new vehicles without the use of clay is helping designers develop colors without opening a single can of paint. It’s all part of Ford’s continued advancements in virtual design, which are helping the company bring more products to market faster.
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Software tools essential to energy savings at wastewater plant
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author: the U.S. Department of Energy
• Web Exclusives|None
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Energy-efficiency improvements at the Metropolitan Syracuse Wastewater Treatment Plant in New York have reduced its energy costs by more than $200,000 annually. Read this case study and see how much you could save.
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Personal branding: It's different, more important than you think
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author: Brenda Bence
• Web Exclusives|None
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Everyone – including you – has a personal brand. Simply by being yourself in the workplace, you have created a brand without realizing it. Does this realization excite you ... or make you a bit nervous? Read this article and learn more about this important workplace topic.
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Asset management for new facilities: Design, construction and startup
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author: Jim Davis
• Web Exclusives|None
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Perhaps the single most damaging mistake in industry today is the common practice of overlooking asset management concepts during the design, construction and startup of major new facilities. The global cost of this poor management practice is truly astronomical. New facilities experience excessive unplanned downtime, resulting in excessive costs and loss of critical production due to quality and quantity issues. These losses can be avoided by implementing proper business processes and good operational planning prior to facility startup.
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Recruitment fundamentals: Get more ‘A’ players on board
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author: Lee Froschheiser
• Web Exclusives|None
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Putting the wrong person in the wrong position just to fill a job vacancy can have dire consequences to your organization – i.e. poor employee morale, low productivity and lost opportunities. The impact to your company’s bottom line can be staggering. The good news is that companies can drastically improve their workforce quality by adopting a proactive mind-set and consistently using the right hiring procedures.
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Inexpensive roof vent could prevent wind damage
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author: Newswise
• Web Exclusives|None
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Hurricanes often lift the roofs off buildings and expose them to havoc and damaging conditions, even after the worst of the wind has passed. A roofer, Virginia Tech faculty members from architecture and engineering, and a graduate student have devised an inexpensive vent that can reduce roof uplift on buildings during high winds, even a hurricane.
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Understanding overall equipment effectiveness
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author: Carl Wright
• Web Exclusives|None
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Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) is becoming a commonly utilized maintenance metric within lean organizations. It normally measures the effectiveness of a machine center or process line. Learn more about OEE by reading this article by industrial engineer and master blackbelt Carl Wright.
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Do you provide world-class service?
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• Issue: 5/2008
• Author: Michael Guld
• Web Exclusives|None
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What is world-class service? It is the talk of many but the reality of few. When you provide world-class service, it often becomes a legendary experience that the client retells to others. This article features a six-component test that will determine your level of customer service.
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