Month: August 2014

Bearing in Mind the Importance of Metal

Metal-image

Guest blog by Barton Henderson, Manager at Statewide Bearings

All machine elements are subject to damage and malfunction. To minimize these damages, choosing the right part for the right job is essential. Every metal has its own specific properties and comes in many different grades of quality. Leaving out the difference between one type of material and another can lead to significant damages to both the material and the machine in which it functions.

Manufactured for a Function

It’s obvious that if you intend to use structural components and mechanisms in strenuous conditions, the part must be constructed with the capacity to endure these conditions. Working in high temperatures is very different than with high speeds. A machine built to handle heavy loads needs very different components than a machine built to run underwater.

Some bearings, for instance, are specifically shaped to handle the severe vibrations of high speeds. On the other hand, others are built to resist softening and deformation under high temperatures. If you are using a component for a task it is not adequately suited for, the consequences can be dangerous and awfully costly. Even components made out of other materials, such as plastics and different grades of rubber must be used for their specific purpose. For example, a flat belt meant specifically for durability in extremely low temperatures will not work well when used in a normal temperature and high tension environment.
Continue reading “Bearing in Mind the Importance of Metal”

Can Pay-for-Performance Increase Equipment ROI?

Check

On the surface, pay-for-performance programs seem to offer a straightforward way to boost output and other performance metrics. After all, nobody is going to pass up an opportunity to make more money, right?

After years of pay-for-performance experiments in a wide range of industries, the answer has come back: it depends. Some companies claim to have seen improvements, while others insist that performance incentives not only have no impact, but can actually undermine company harmony by fostering a climate of cutthroat competition.

Whether they’re for or against pay-for-performance schemes, however, most companies do share at least one thing in common: they often lack concrete metrics for defining rewards, and therefore often have difficulty determining whether productivity has, in fact, increased.

Outside of manufacturing, where output is relatively straightforward, many companies struggle to find basic measures of productivity that reliably reflect changes in employee performance. This is where maintenance software systems come in.

Output at the employee level can be difficult to ascertain, but the performance of a company’s assets is relatively easy to track with the right tools.  Since asset performance is linked closely to overall company performance, it can serve as a solid baseline for measuring improvement, and create a work environment in which it is the shared responsibility of all employees to take good care of equipment, report problems early, and evaluate the performance of maintenance personnel.

A recent article in IndustryWeek tackles the pay-for-performance debate (also referred to as P4P in the article) with a series of questions that managers should ask when considering such a program. A closer look at a few of these key questions reveals the specific ways in which maintenance software could be used to address them:

+ “Have you been on the continuous improvement journey for at least five years?” Continue reading “Can Pay-for-Performance Increase Equipment ROI?”

Benefits of Maintenance Software: Ditch Your Paper Work Orders Now

Debates over the effectiveness and necessity of government regulations have long been a fixture of political debates. The question is usually whether, or to what extent, government agencies should intervene in the economy to protect citizens from the costs or “externalities” associated with commercial enterprise. Continue reading “Benefits of Maintenance Software: Ditch Your Paper Work Orders Now”