Page 20 - Improving Machinery Reliability

0 Condition assessment must be directed toward increasing commer-
cial availability and reducing operating costs. Measures such as
number of machinedpoints monitored and average vibration level
are irrelevant and inconsistent with the principles of profit-centered
maintenance.

Full, enthusiastic support from Operations/Production is a mandatory
aspect of profit-centered maintenance. Contrasted with re-engineering, a
one time radical change to organizational and administrative processes,
profit-centered maintenance addresses all elements of the maintenance
process: equipment, organizational, and administrative and is a process
of continuous change. It is value-centered and has a broader scope than
condition-directed maintenan~e.~ Profit-centered maintenance demands
proactive, preemptive maintenance, and requires continuous evaluation,
refinement, and improvement.

Profit-centered maintenance is a powerful statement of commitment to
the principal corporate objective. It is focused on outward, customer-ori-
ented results. Profit-centered maintenance leads to optimum decisions
and permanent solutions that maximize profitability.

Organization. Many leading visionaries are shifting to team-based,
multifunctional organizational structures with overall responsibility for a
logical, readily identifiable process or area.5 This concept has numerous
advantages over traditional “silo” organizations based on functional work
groups. Characteristics of the team organization include single-person,
end-to-end responsibility-including logistics and quality-and assign-
ment of all skills necessary for normal operation. Benefits include greater
awareness, ownership, involvement, responsibility, and improved team-
work. Counterproductive bickering and operating costs are diminished.
Specialized, high skill and safety-related tasks and training remain within
a central support organization. Examples include high voltage electrical
testing, in-shop machine work, specialized repairs and training in areas
such as instrument calibration, pump seal replacement and shaft align-
ment. As an example of how this concept is implemented, one facility
allows cross-trained mechanics to tag out, disconnect, and remove a
motor for repairs. Electrically reconnecting the motor requires a qualified
electrician.

xvii