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Departments
	Reliability Forum
	Insights and advice on PT belts
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author:  • Departments|Reliability Forum
	Manufacturers of power transmission belts comment on the mistakes end-users make when selecting a power transmission belt.

	Safety Report
	Electrical safety is no shocker
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author:  • Departments|Safety Report
	Electricity is nature’s most versatile form of energy. Electrical power lights our homes, streets, offices and factories. The power of electricity can be dangerous if it’s not used correctly. Electrical energy can damage property and ignite fires. It can also hurt and even kill.

Editorial
	Advisors
	Early bearing failure detection
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: Dr. Jay Lee • Editorial|Advisors
	Bearing failure is one of the foremost causes of breakdowns in rotating machinery and such failure can be catastrophic, resulting in costly downtime. One of the key issues in bearing prognostics is to detect the defect at its incipient stage and alert the operator before it develops into a catastrophic failure.

	Plan a clear path to reliability improvements
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: Tor Idhammar • Editorial|Advisors
	The term reliability was discussed in my last column. I argued that maintenance should be responsible primarily for “equipment reliability” and work in a close partnership with operations, whose primary responsibility is “process reliability,” and engineering would control life cycle cost (LCC).

	Time zones create planning lag
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: Doc Palmer • Editorial|Advisors
	A primary reason that planning fails is that planners do not plan! They do not have time to plan because they are in the wrong time zone.

	Reliability-centered 'workforce' maintenance
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: John Ha • Editorial|Advisors
	It never ceases to amaze me that no matter what industry you are in or how big or small of a company you work for, success is dependent on the ability to find, attract, hire, manage, develop and retain the right people.

	Editors Column
	This old plant
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: Paul V. Arnold • Editorial|Editors Column
	The building that houses the editorial operations for Reliable Plant isn't pretty, but it has a rich and storied history in manufacturing.

	The Exponent
	Certification for the Reliability Engineer
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: Drew D. Troyer, CRE, CMRP • Editorial|The Exponent
	Drew Troyer takes a closer look at the Certified Reliability Engineer designation offered by the American Society for Quality.

Features
	Applied Reliability
	New battery technology a boon for cordless tools
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author:  • Features|Applied Reliability
	A new battery technology using a lithium-ion format is transforming cordless power tools for maintenance and production workers.

	Playing the percentages
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author:  • Features|Applied Reliability
	Gates Corporation supplies instruction on how to avoid six sources of common belt drive problems.

Web Exclusives
	None
	Problem analysis to manage and enhance customer-supplier relationships
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: Dan Kowalski • Web Exclusives|None
	As more companies outsource parts of production and develop closer partnerships with key suppliers, finding blame can topple the delicate balance in even the best customer-supplier relationship.

	Energy plan is blueprint for optimization, cooperation
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: Stephen Heins • Web Exclusives|None

	Want business success? Think a little differently
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: Maurice Ramirez • Web Exclusives|None
	While many jobs for American MBA graduates are going overseas, those who have MFAs will be in great demand. According to Gartner Inc, by 2008, 40 percent of information technology jobs for MBAs will be outsourced to workers overseas. The reason? A person can fill in a spreadsheet from India as easily as from Silicone Valley for one-tenth the cost.

	We found a rock star! Hiring the best of the best
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: Lonnie Pacelli • Web Exclusives|None
	The rock stars are out there and can be delivering value in your organization. Just make sure you keep focus on some of these basic hiring strategies and you’ll get the best of the best driving results for you.

	Boost your bottom line with better people management
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: John Skabelund • Web Exclusives|None
	When a company hires new employees, the goal is to grow, increase productivity, and ultimately make more money. But what happens when your new hire or even a long-time team member underperforms? You can forget about increasing productivity, that's for sure.

	The professional maintenance manager: A work in progress
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: Rex M. Gallaher • Web Exclusives|None
	In today’s environment of lean, TPM, Reliability Excellence, RCM, integrated maintenance/operations teams, new technologies and constant pressure to make maintenance more effective and elevate itself to a prominent value-added position, the maintenance manager must become a business unit manager with equal footing with other plant functions.

	Are people your most valuable resource?
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: Christer Idhammar • Web Exclusives|None
	“People are our most valuable resource” is most probably the correct political statement to make, but is this true? I do not think it is not true and in this article I will explain why I think so.

	The 70/30 phenomenon
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: Christer Idhammar • Web Exclusives|None
	When you ask front-line supervisors or team leaders if all people in their teams are performing to the same standards or if some are doing more work and achieving more results than others, you will often get the same answer. All over the world, the most common answer, after some analysis, verifies that about 30 percent of the people do 70 percent of the work. This is not only true for front-line people like mechanics and electricians, but also for planners, engineers and other salaried employees. However, our focus in this column is on the front-line of maintenance.

	Develop and implement a workplace violence prevention program
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: TrainingOnline.com • Web Exclusives|None
	The first priority in developing a workplace violence prevention policy is to establish a system for documenting violent incidents in the workplace. Such data is essential for assessing the nature and magnitude of workplace violence in a given workplace and quantifying risk. This data can be used to assess the need for action to reduce or mitigate the risks for workplace violence and implement a reasonable intervention strategy.

	Maintenance and reliability best performers
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: Christer Idhammar • Web Exclusives|None
	In this reliability article, I will discuss my observations of what the best performing organizations do differently than other organizations. It can be said in one word. These organizations that I have worked with implement, the rest do not implement. Most organizations spend more time planning what to do than actually doing it. In the best organizations, much time is spent on developing, documenting and agreeing on what to do; but much more time is spent on implementing reliability and maintenance plans over a long time period.

	A driving lesson for operations and maintenance
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: Torbjorn Idhammar • Web Exclusives|None
	Picture this. Personnel from a plant are driving along a road in an automobile. The maintenance manager is driving blindfolded. Sitting beside the maintenance manager is the plant manager who is peering in the rear-view mirror. In the back seat, the production manager is urging the maintenance manager to proceed at top speed while simultaneously warning him about a flat tire. This situation is obviously out of control. In a plant setting, it is equally out of control.

	Front-line leadership and performance indicators
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: Christer Idhammar • Web Exclusives|None
	You can develop, document and preach your improvement plans as much as you want, but if that does not result in better front-line maintenance performance, you have just wasted money and time. The front line of maintenance includes supervisors, planners and craftspeople; all others in the maintenance organization exist to support this front line.

	Headcount reduction
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: Christer Idhammar • Web Exclusives|None
	Not long ago, I was involved in a reliability and improvement initiative in a big plant. As always, the improvement initiative was received with skepticism. Many other initiatives had come and gone with various results during the last 15 years. These initiatives, management declared, would be different than the previous ones.

	Human health care and equipment maintenance: Any connections?
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: Christer Idhammar • Web Exclusives|None
	If we maintain equipment right, we will benefit fewer failures and breakdowns and a longer technical equipment life. Many case studies have proved this fact. In previous writings, I have shown case studies covering the strong correlation between high reliability and low-maintenance costs of equipment. In this column, I will discuss another aspect of maintenance and how this might prove the same phenomenon, including longer life.

	Improve basic work system first
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: Christer Idhammar • Web Exclusives|None
	Many organizations spend too much time searching for new reliability and maintenance concepts, and very little time on implementing and improving what they just started.

	Morning meetings: Maintenance planning and scheduling
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: Christer Idhammar • Web Exclusives|None
	All over the world, most plants have morning meetings. As a consultant, I have been asked to sit in on many of these meetings, and my conclusion from these experiences is that most of them are not very effective or meaningful to the attendees.

	Joint reward system drives results and teamwork
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: Christer Idhammar • Web Exclusives|None
	It is a given that all people in a plant should work for the same goal: to competitively manufacture a quality product on time. This could be measured in overall production efficiency or production reliability or prime tons/cost. If this overall measurement would be applied to all departments and coupled with each department’s measurement and reward systems, an organization stands a better chance to work in collaboration toward the same goal. This is, however, not always the case, so why is it so?

	Improvement: What comes first?
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: Christer Idhammar • Web Exclusives|None
	I often receive the question: What do we improve first? Do we start with root cause problem elimination (RCPE) or do we start with preventive maintenance and planning and scheduling?

	What constitutes world-class maintenance and reliability?
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: Christer Idhammar • Web Exclusives|None
	I have received many calls asking, "How can you tell if you are a world-class maintenance and reliability organization, or not?"

	Find a better word than 'carelessness'
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: TrainingOnline.com • Web Exclusives|None
	When reporting verbally or in writing on the results of an accident investigation, it's tempting to sum up the cause as "carelessness." This indicates that the accident probably could have been avoided if someone hadn't done – or failed to do – something. But it doesn't really help in pinpointing the real cause, let alone correcting whatever behavior was involved, in order to prevent recurrence.

	The skinny on permit-required confined spaces
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: TrainingOnline.com • Web Exclusives|None

	Working safely with cranes and slings
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: TrainingOnline.com • Web Exclusives|None
	Cranes play an important role when we have to move certain types of materials. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration permits only trained, qualified employees to use this equipment, but we should all know what's involved. When we understand the complexity of these moves, we can see how important it is to stay clear of operating cranes and assure detailed inspections.

	Ergonomics and the workplace
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: TrainingOnline.com • Web Exclusives|None
	There's been a lot of talk in recent years about “ergonomics”. Ergonomics is the study of the relationship between people and their work environments, which is very important to both health and safety. Good ergonomics adapt the job to fit the person rather than forcing the person to fit the job. In an ergonomic workplace, tasks and tools are designed to fit individual capabilities and limitations so people can do their jobs without being injured.

	The eyes have it
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: TrainingOnline.com • Web Exclusives|None
	If, like many manufacturing plant department managers, you spend long hours at a video display terminal (VDT), you won't be surprised to learn that eye and vision problems are the most common health complaints of VDT users. Typical symptoms include: eye fatigue or eye strain; blurred vision; burning, itching or tearing eyes; temporary change in the ability to see colors; and headaches. Although the experts have not found a connection between VDT use and long-term damage to the eyes, many people feel that their vision has worsened after working with VDTs.

	Do your employees know how to put out a fire?
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: TrainingOnline.com • Web Exclusives|None
	Your employees are busy working when one worker notices smoke billowing out from behind some machinery. As he gets closer, he sees flames. He grabs the nearest fire extinguisher and starts to spray. Within minutes, the fire is under control and the employee is a hero. Sound too good to be true? It could be. For instance, what if your worker didn't know how to use the extinguisher? What if the extinguisher didn't work? Or, what if he used the wrong extinguisher and the flames increased?

	Hand tool safety quiz
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author:  • Web Exclusives|None
	Confused as to how and what hand tool to use when tackling a work project? You are not alone says the Hand Tool Institute, an association of North American hand tool manufacturers. The following 10 true or false questions deal with hand tools commonly found in most workplaces. Test your knowledge – 10 correct is excellent; 9 is good; 8 is fair; 7 or less, poor.

	Give your hand tools a helping hand
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: TrainingOnline.com • Web Exclusives|None
	During a routine inspection at a local factory, an Occupational Safety and Health Administration compliance officer noticed a worker using a 4-pound sledgehammer with a crack that extended halfway down the handle. Immediately, he cited the company for failing to make sure that the tools and equipment used by employees were safe (Sec. 1910.242(a)). Much to his surprise, the company appealed the citation, claiming that the sledgehammer was not dangerous. The Review Commission was also surprised. After looking at a photograph of the cracked handle, the commission wryly observed, “In our opinion, it would not have taken much force for the handle to break and cause the head of the hammer to fly off, creating a hazardous condition.”

	All about hazardous materials storage
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: TrainingOnline.com • Web Exclusives|None
	We all know how important it is to take precautions when working with hazardous materials. But we may not always recognize that it's equally important to maintain the same high level of safety when these materials are in storage.

	Sound advice on hearing conservation
	• Issue: 9/2005 • Author: TrainingOnline.com • Web Exclusives|None
	Understanding and applying Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards is at the heart of any safety and health program. That’s the thinking behind this compliance report, a review of the widely applied and frequently cited standard on occupational noise exposure (29 CFR 1910.95). The article aims to provide a helpful overview of the requirements, as well as some compliance tips to give your programs a boost, or to help you get one off the ground.