Page 266 - Improving Machinery Reliability

Machinery Reliability Audits and Reviews 237

the job may have a clear idea of what’s expected, others may not have the same
understanding. Publishing this role statement, which by the way includes not only
what the job is, but also what it is not, avoids the frequent misunderstandings that
often occur in positions of this type.

A Service Factor Stewardship Committee charter is sometimes developed. The
thought behind this activity is based on a simple premise: The successful identifi-
cation and resolution of plant problems requires that:
-All departments (operations, technical, maintenance) recognize that a problem
exists.
-All departments participate in the resolution of the plant problem since, in the end,
they are all affected by the problem.
-One individual is generally given the responsibility for resolving the entire prob-
lem.
-There is an organizational means for the individual or group to efficiently use the
skills of the entire organization.

In addition to developing means for resolving problems, successful plant organi-
zations look beyond this effort and consider problem-solving sessions as part of a
consistently applied cooperative effort to improve service factor. Once problems are
seen as but one of the elements that have an impact on the service factor, a more
cohesive and effective approach can be used to identify the root causes, eliminate
them, and establish procedures to prevent their recurrence.
The implementation of an organization such as the Service Factor Stewardship
Committee has proved to be an effective means for bringing together diverse ele-
ments in a plant organization for the purpose of improving plant service factor.

A technical training approach emphasizing state-of-the-art technology needs to be
defined for the mechanical/machinery workforce at many plants. This phased
approach starts out with two deceptively simple, but highly effective self-training
methods.
-The plant should subscribe to several important trade and engineering journals.
These should be routed to key recipients-usually engineers or technicians for
review and screening. Within five working days from receipt, the key readers
should be obligated to identify and pass on to selected coworkers, write-ups,
advertisements, editorials, etc., that are of potential importance to the plant or to a
given individual on the machinery/technical staff.
-Each machinery/technical person should periodically be called upon to present
informal, 10-20-minute “shirt-sleeve seminars” to mechanics and machinists
assigned to both shop and field. This would compel the presenter to do a bit of
research, educating himself and others in the process, and contributing to the
development of team spirit, mutual respect, and cooperation among different
groups of the organization.

From here, the phased approach to training moves toward in-plant courses in spe-
cific technology areas ranging from maintenance to machinery performance analysis.