For industrial and manufacturing businesses, the cost of assembly and installation errors may be as much as 30% of reported failure and associated repair costs. For many this could mean millions of lost profit dollars each year! The problem as we all know is that it is not just the cost of repair but also; unscheduled production down time, poor product quality, a reduced reliability (OEE), diminished life cycle performance with an increase in parasitical/frictional forces tha

A closer look into the lack of applied Essential Craft Skills and how re-building can power real, sustainable improvements Reliable Manufacturing®…The Goal Reliable Manufacturing® is a strategic goal for all industry; whether you have rotating, reciprocating or static assets within the manufacturing process. Reliable Manufacturing® is achieved when systems and assets start upon demand, operate as intended for the desired period of time,in an efficient and effective manner to

Skilled trades are faltering in today’s market and the numbers do not lie. Skilled labor is decreasing in manufacturing and industry as seasoned trades-personnel retire from the job market. In an article by Forbes, out of the 2.9 Million Skilled-Trade Jobs, the North American workforce is comprised of 52.9% of workers over the age of 45 and 20.6% of workers over the age of 55. With the Baby-Boomers reaching retirement age and the current workforce not having the proper skil

Throughout industry, operators are given the task of inspecting equipment they are operating. Typically they have not received training or have been provided the tools to accomplish these tasks effectively. So are your operator rounds adding value to your organization? Spending years in the field and working with numerous companies, we at Reliability Solutions find that in most cases operators do not understand the operating context of their equipment. They do not understand

Everywhere in the manufacturing world, you hear the term “reliability.” You must have a “reliable” manufacturing process to be able to compete with your competition. Large companies all over the world are spending a lot of money trying to become more “reliable.” Better technology, better inspections, better operating procedures, better skills sets, everyone is looking for that magic bullet called “reliable manufacturing.” Interesting thing is that even though everyone is chas

Historically, we find it is often hard to justify improvements to belt driven equipment. Squaling, slipping belts are often ignorned until they completely fail, causing significant production or safety loss. A variety of products ot 'hide' the problem are available and they often only make the problem worse. When arguments are made to do something about hte problem, the discussion often centers on the phrase "belts are cheap"... We'll just change them when they break. So how

Insights into why people do what they do and how to implement and sustain real change. In our last article my good friend and colleague Tom Carr among other things, talked about putting pride back into the workplace. While we all agree that having the correct technical skills is important to Reliable Manufacturing those skills have no value, unless excited and motivated individuals or teams properly apply them. While training can address the technical skills; at the end of t

20% of your rotating spares potentially are already in a failed state causing increased risks of infant mortality and negative effects to your bottom line. Maintaining your spares for both short and long term storage is a key component to improving your reliability results. The journey to reliable manufacturing is something we all, in the manufacturing world, strive to achieve to ensure our future in a very competitive world market. Fact is, if we can’t produce our product at

Foundation and grout failures are quite commonplace in industry today. As our infrastructure ages, some say that these failures are inevitable. However poor base installation practices often reduce the life of our equipment. Here are some examples. Failure to Remove Laitance A common grout installation error is failure to remove the laitance from the foundation prior to installation and leveling of the sole plate. Concrete is a mixture of sand, cement and aggregate. The aggre

In today’s manufacturing environment, America and the world seem to be determined to become “reliable.” There are all kinds of catch phrases, programs and classes dedicated to making your assets and your processes more reliable. “You need better rounds.” “You need better tools.” “You need better…” so, what to do? There has been an awakening in Manufacturing America. We have awakened to the realization that there is a real shortage of skilled and engaged workers! Who will make