Page 435 - Intro Predictive Maintenance

426 An Introduction to Predictive Maintenance

state exactly how to make the inspection as well as the acceptable range of tension.
For a major repair, the procedures should include drawings, tools, safety concerns,
and a step-by-step disassembly and reassembly procedure.

18.11.3 Standard Procedures Are Not Enough
Without universal adherence, standard procedures are of no value. If adherence is left
to the individual operators and maintenance craftspeople, the probability of measur-
able benefit is low. To achieve benefit, every employee must constantly and consis-
tently follow these procedures. The final failure of most corporations is a failure to
enforce adherence to established policies and procedures. It seems to be easier to
simply let everyone do his or her own thing and hope that most will choose to follow
established guidelines. Unfortunately, this simply will not happen. The resultant
impact on plant performance is dramatic, but few corporate or plant managers are
willing to risk the disfavor of their employees by enforcing compliance.

From my viewpoint, this approach is unacceptable. The negative impact on perfor-
mance created by a failure to universally follow valid procedures is so great that there
can be no justification for permitting it to continue. The simple act of implementing
and following standard procedures can eliminate as much as 90 percent of the
reliability, capacity, and quality problems that exist in most plants. Why then, do we
continue to ignore this basic premise of good business practices?

18.12 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
When one thinks logically about the problems that limit plant and corporate perfor-
mance, few could argue that improving the skills of the workforce must rank very
high. Yet, few corporations address this critical issue. In most corporations, training
is limited to mandated courses, such as safety and drug usage. Little, if any, of the
annual budget is allocated for workforce skills training. This failure is hard to under-
stand. It should be obvious that there is a critical need for skills improvement through-
out most organizations. This fact is supported by three major factors: (1) lack of basic
skills, (2) workforce maturity, and (3) unskilled workforce pool.

18.12.1 Lack of Basic Skills
Evaluations of plant organization universally identify a lack of basic skills as a major
contributor to poor performance. This problem is not limited to the direct workforce
but includes all levels of management as well. Few employees have the minimum
skills required to effectively perform their assigned job functions.

18.12.2 Workforce Maturity
Most companies will face a serious problem within the next 5 to 10 years. Evalua-
tions of the workforce maturity indicate that most employees will reach mandatory