M-News Edition 32
|
| Plant Maintenance Resource Center
M-News Edition 32
| |
|
|
|
|
Edition 32, January 2003 ContentsIn this edition...
If you wish to receive notification of future copies of this newsletter by email, please register at www.plant-maintenance.com/registration.shtml. If you have any feedback on the newsletter, or have something to contribute, please send me an e-mail. WelcomeWelcome to the first M-News of 2003 - I hope you enjoyed a quiet and relaxing holiday period. Once again, we have the usual selection of high quality articles for you in this edition - and we announce the opening of our annual Maintenance Salary survey for 2003. I hope you find the newsletter to be of interest and value to you. Regards...
Feature Article - Maximum CMMSA recurring lesson in history is that obsolete tools in the hands of a master invariably produce better results than the latest technology in the hands of an amateur. So for managers seriously seeking improved maintenance management, the first step is for the entire department to learn how to better use the Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) that they have. Optimizing use of the CMMS requires a different approach than performing the initial system installation and configuration, and this paper from Dave Bertolinit of Life Cycle Engineering Inc. gives some tips on how to go about this important activity. You will find the article at http://www.plant-maintenance.com/articles/maximumCMMS.shtml. Feature Article - Adding Enterprise Analytics To Your ERPThis paper was produced by Oniqua's Vice President Strategy, Philip Duncan. Companies have spent an estimated $39 billion on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in the last 5 years, according to AMR Research. These ERP implementations have generally improved transaction processing across functional silos, streamlined operations and standardized corporate IT environments. But they have not fully addressed the information needs of these organizations. Few companies have been able to unlock the information that could help them make faster and more accurate business decisions from within the mass of data collected and stored in their ERP environments. This article explains some of the reasons for this, and outlines a possible way of better turning data into information. It is available at Feature Article - Fighting FailureFailure has become a part of every industrial culture around the world; it permeates everything we do in an industrial facility. It is so much a part of our existence that we create elaborate work management and data systems to manage the sheer volume. It is time to change our paradigm to a culture where failure is the exception and certainly not the rule. This is easy to say but a bit more of a challenge to accomplish. Ken Latino of Meridium, Inc. outlines some steps you can take to generate a more Reliability-focused culture within your plant or facility in his article at http://www.plant-maintenance.com/articles/FightingFailure.pdf. Once again, you will require the free Adobe Acrobat reader installed to be able to view this file. Feature Article - Rolling Element Bearing Acceptance and Life TestingThis article has been contributed by Prof. Dr. Ahmed Elkhatib, Professor of Machine Dynamics and Diagnostics at the Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University in Egypt. It outlines an interesting (and patented) approach to permit the estimation of the life remaining in Rolling Element bearings. You can read the full article at http://www.plant-maintenance.com/articles/BAT.pdf. Yet again, you will require the free Adobe Acrobat reader installed to be able to view this file. New Survey - Maintenance SalariesOur fifth annual Maintenance Salary Survey is now open. In the past, this survey has generated plenty of interest and responses, and, with your support, we can make it even bigger and better this year. The survey will close on March 15, 2003. In the meantime, you can contribute to the survey (all individual data is competely confidential), and review the results to date at http://www.plant-maintenance.com/survey.shtml. Please let as many as possible of your colleagues, associates and friends know about this survey - the more responses we get, the more meaningful the results. Book Review - SAP R/3 Plant Maintenance by Britta Stengl and Reinhard EmatingerSAP's Plant Maintenance module (SAP-PM) is being used more and more by large organizations in capital-intensive industries. It is recognised that implementing SAP-PM is a large and complex task. With this in mind, Britta Stengl and Reinhard Ematinger, both certified SAP consultants working for SAP AG at its headquarters in Germany, have written this book. It is, according to the authors, intended to be an introduction to SAP-PM, and is aimed at project teams and consultants involved in implementing SAP-PM. No doubt, given the popularity of SAP, and its complexity, there is a market for a good book on SAP-PM. However, this is not a good book. Unfortunately, it completely misses its intended audience - consultants wishing to learn more about SAP-PM would be better advised to save their money, and attend a course on SAP-PM, and SAP users will find little in this book that will be useful to them. To read the full review of this book, click here. Recommended BooksHere are ten Maintenance-related books that we have reviewed recently, and strongly recommend:
Get more information on these and other books at http://www.plant-maintenance.com/maintenance_books.shtml. On the Lighter Side - Engineering HumorEngineers vs. Executives Theorem: Engineers and scientists will never make as much money as business executives. Proof:
Postulate 1: Knowledge is Power.
As every engineer knows, Work = Power/Time
Thus, as Knowledge approaches zero, Money approaches infinity regardless of the Work done. Conclusion: The Less you Know, the More you Make. I hope you have enjoyed this newsletter. All feedback, comments and contributions to future editions are very welcome (as are enquiries about contributions to, and sponsorship of, this newsletter). Alexander (Sandy) Dunn
Copyright 1996-2009, The Plant Maintenance Resource Center . All Rights Reserved.
|
|
