Machinery Lubrication

Machinery Lubrication Jan Feb 2016

Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation

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18 | January - February 2016 | www.machinerylubrication.com By Thomas L. L anTz Many maintenance departments today "fight fires" instead of approaching their problems systematically. Prevention is a far better goal than trying to solve problems as they arise. While this strategy may be a little costly at first, it is not nearly as expensive as allowing problems to occur. Maintenance problem-solving is primarily concerned with four areas: main- taining critical systems, fixing the problem quickly and faster than the last time, deter- mining what is causing the breakdown to happen so frequently, and identifying the 20 percent of breakdowns that are consuming 80 percent of your resources. This article will focus on the four common types of maintenance problems with the ultimate goal of helping you to prevent or at least minimize each type. Problems vs. Difficulties A problem is a situation that can be char- acterized by a gap between your existing circumstances and where you do or do not want to be. The gap cannot be eliminated or maintained through obvious methods. Some analysis and creativity are required to define a situation as a "problem." Visualizing a problem as a gap can be a useful technique. Usually you want to overcome the gap, but sometimes you wish to maintain it. An example would be painting an object to prevent deterioration. If you can see a solution and all it takes is good planning, then the situation confronting you should be termed a "diffi- culty" rather than a problem. Of course, if you are experiencing many of these difficul- ties, there may be a common root cause that could define a problem. Where Problems Originate Problems are caused by your goals or a lack of them. You may have an overall goal of wanting your plant to run efficiently with few interruptions, but unless you translate that general goal into viable subgoals, you will experience problems. Establishing specific subgoals is essential if you wish to control the magnitude and number of the inevitable problems. Otherwise, having no goals or only general ones will magnify those problems. Often a disturbance (problem) will force you to ask, "What (unrecognized) goal do I have that is being thwarted by this situation?" Asking this question may cause you to reassess the goal. 4 Types of Maintenance Problems The four common types of maintenance problems can be categorized as identifica- tion, cause/effect, means and ends. Let's discuss each of these in turn. Identification When you don't understand a natural phenomenon, a question or a method of MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILIT Y 4 Resolve Them Problems and How to Common Maintenance

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