Page 339 - Intro Predictive Maintenance

330 An Introduction to Predictive Maintenance

Because of the almost unlimited numbers and types of machinery and systems used
in industry, it is impossible to cover every one in this book; however, Chapter 7 pro-
vides a cross-section that illustrates the process used to identify the monitoring
parameters for plant equipment.

15.3 SELLING PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS
Justification of a predictive maintenance program to corporate management is diffi-
cult, but convincing the entire workforce to embrace improvement is almost impos-
sible. Because few companies can afford to invest the financial resources and staffing
required to improve the effectiveness of their plants, corporate management has a
built-in resistance to change. Couple this resistance with the natural aversion to change
that dominates most workforces, and selling improvement becomes very difficult.
How do you convince corporate management and the workforce to invest in predic-
tive maintenance improvement?

15.3.1 Six Keys to Success
There are six keys to successful justification and implementation of a continuous
improvement program: (1) formulating a detailed program plan, (2) knowing your
audience, (3) creating an implementation plan, (4) doing your homework, (5) taking
a holistic view, and (6) getting absolute buy-in.

Formulating a Detailed Program Plan
Do not shortcut the program plan. It must be a concise, detailed document that pro-
vides clear direction for the program. Remember that the plan should be a living
document. It should be upgraded or modified as the program matures.

Concise Goals and Objectives. Your justification package must include a clear,
concise game plan. Corporate and plant management expect you to understand the
problems that reduce plant effectiveness and to offer a well-defined plan to correct
these problems.

The first step in reaching this understanding is conducting a comprehensive evalua-
tion of your facility. Evaluation of your plant will be the most difficult part of your
preparation. Cost-accounting and performance tracking systems are not set up to track
all of the indices that define performance. At best, there will be some data for yield,
unscheduled delays, and traditional costs, such as maintenance, labor, and material,
but in most cases, the data will be extremely limited and may not provide a true picture.

Typically, the reports generated by these tracking programs are compartmentalized
and will only disclose part of the true picture. For example, delays will be contained
in several reports. Maintenance delays will be divided into at least two reports:
unscheduled and planned downtime. Operating delays will be in another report or