Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/290460
www.machinerylubrication.com | March - April 2014 35 earlier and used by local maintenance crews for some time, would continue to be utilized by them. Sophisticated ultrasonic analysis devices that had previously been issued to the mainte- nance crews but not used much because of their complexity and crew member turnover were transferred to the PdM team. Main- tenance crew PdM practitioners who received and were trained on the simple-to-learn tools began using them to conduct PMT. An existing laboratory-supported lubricant and wear particle analysis program remained in the capable hands of local mainte- nance crews and their planners. Another key was having personnel both within the PdM team and the local maintenance crews with the desire and drive to make the PdM program work. Annual alignment PMs and workflows were developed to obtain baseline readings on newly installed equipment and rebuilds or major repairs. Once alignment is completed, a task is created for the PdM team to acquire new baseline readings. After the newly formed team was in place, a predictive main- tenance management software (PDMMS) contract was established to allow personnel to manage and correlate PdM data from all the efforts of the team, the outside contractor and the maintenance crews. The PDMMS is Web-based and operates outside of network firewalls, which requires some manual transfer of data (such as work-order numbers, etc.) between the CMMS and PDMMS. Classroom training by the contractor and technology vendor instructors along with in-the-field training and mentoring has proven invaluable. Once hours of on-the-job practice are met, certification in the assigned technologies is required. This is over- seen by a PdM specialist from the outside contractor, who provides vibration analysis and infrared thermography services until the PdM team takes over. After two years, all PdM team members are expected to be certified in at least two technologies. The most important part of the two-tiered PdM system is the involvement of the local maintenance crews. Instead of a PdM team coming out and telling them what to fix and whether they did their job correctly, it's more of a unified approach. The hard-working staff at MSD along with the senior and executive leadership have been essential in promoting a culture that is striving toward world-class maintenance reliability. While their simple approach of fostering a proactive culture based on proven best practices works, it requires time and energy. A commitment to follow-through at all levels is delivering results, and efforts to continuously improve are being rewarded by a noticeable culture change and success stories. The vast improvement in the overall program is evident by the increase in proactive labor from 46 percent in 2011 to 70 percent today. The monthly emergency failure rate has also decreased by 55 percent, and documented cost avoidance has reached more than $650,000 due to proactive maintenance activities. Thus, assets are more reliable, and downtime has decreased as a result. Less than halfway into its five-year PdM plan, MSD is excited to see what the future holds.