The Elk River Chemical Spill: A Preventive Maintenance Cautionary Tale

Drinking Water Contaminated, a Company Bankrupted, a Federal Emergency Declared: All Because of One Leaky Tank

Last January, when it was discovered that a single leaky tank had poured some 10,000 gallons of an industrial chemical into the Elk River in West Virginia, contaminating the drinking water of 300,000 residents, Freedom Industries, the company responsible, filed for bankruptcy within eight days.

But they weren’t the only business affected. In the aftermath of the incident, which was declared a federal emergency by president Obama, representatives from a range of industries, including tourism, hospitality, and food services, signed a letter to West Virginia’s government calling for increased regulation and stronger enforcement.

For a state known for its opposition to all forms of government intervention, the letter signaled a remarkable shift in sentiment. But when considered in light of recent history, the reaction among businesses becomes less surprising: the spill was the third such incident in the past five years, and Freedom Industries’ facilities had not been inspected since 1991.

Thus far, these efforts have helped strengthen regulations pertaining to above-ground chemical storage tanks, but it remains to be seen whether more sweeping changes are in store. Thus far, no additional legislation has been proposed, and lawmakers remain wary of provoking backlash from the state’s powerful coal industry. Continue reading “The Elk River Chemical Spill: A Preventive Maintenance Cautionary Tale”

Could This Year’s NBA Championship be Determined by Electrical Maintenance?

LeBron James is, by almost all accounts, the most formidable player in the NBA. But Thursday night, during game 1 of this year’s NBA finals between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs, he proved that even a player of his stature and athleticism is no match for…faulty air conditioning.

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CMMS Survey: What Companies want in CMMS Software?

Thousands of interviews with company owners and managers conducted by Software Advice, a preventive maintenance software evaluation company, on the topic of maintenance management have revealed a puzzling fact: the need for tools like CMMS to streamline maintenance operations and asset tracking is as strong as ever, yet a striking number of companies remain reluctant to transition away from familiar paper or spreadsheet-based manual systems.

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