Page 16 - Improving Machinery Reliability

agementl-a totally new concept for achieving maximum value from
industrial production and manufacturing assets.

Asset Management and the Maintenance Process. Industrial
production and manufacturing equipment are the specific assets of inter-
est to reliability and maintenance professionals. Machinery, solids-han-
dling equipment, heat exchangers, valves, etc. are examples. Vital
integrity tests and condition-assessment measurements include mechani-
cal and fluid condition, operating efficiency, safety checks, operational
and electrical tests, thickness, and cathodic/anodic voltage measure-
ments, temperature profiling (thermography), and leak detection. The
preceding examples and others form the basis of asset management.
There is one incontestable law of maintenance: The only way to per-
manently reduce maintenance cost is to reduce the need for maintenance.
Examples of this principle are as close as our television. Many of today’s
automobiles advertise a guaranteed 100,000 miles between tune-ups.
How have maintenance requirements been reduced so dramatically-by
at least a factor of 20 in the past ten years? The answer is clear: Design
for least maintenance. That means better materials, fewer parts, greater
attention to lubrication, and extensive use of low-maintenance compo-
nents such as fuel injection and electronic ignition. Trends in the automo-
bile industry demonstrate that reduced maintenance has real value. There
is another law of maintenance familiar to television viewers: mainte-
nance neglected or ignored always reappears-multiplied in cost and
effect. “Pay me now cur pay me much more later.”
Another bit of wisdom bears repeating: Many senior business and
financial executives fail to recognize high availability, normal operation,
and the absence of problems as direct results of continuing action. Exam-
ples include continuing action by conscientious, committed individuals
and systematic programs such as cost-justified equipment improvements,
condition-directed maintenance, and proactive problem solving. In some
cases, successful maintenance programs are curtailed or even terminated
because high availability and fewer problem incidents lead to the conclu-
sion that benefits have been largely captured and thus the means
employed to gain these results are no longer necessary.
For the past several years, reliability has been the primary focus of
maintenance professionals. However, as most are aware, reducing load
and the rate of production increases reliability. But is reduced production
an option? If not, perhaps reliability is not the final objective. Reliability

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