To raise global awareness about the looming Maintenance Crisis, Joel Leonard—known in industry circles as the Maintenance Evangelist—partnered with renowned Piedmont Blues artists Terry VunCannon and Steve Cain of 2 CAN. Together, they produced authentic blues and reggae renditions of Leonard’s 2002

Todays manufacturers aim to improve the performance and reliability of their equipment to boost productivity and stay competitive. “Lean Machines for World-Class Manufacturing and Maintenance” offers proven visual tools and simple tweaks that elevate operability and maintainability.Author Robert Wil

In a recent survey of 101 automotive manufacturing executives—spanning parts suppliers, engine makers, and OEMs—majority respondents highlighted the staggering cost of production downtime, citing an average of $22,000 per minute, with some estimating costs up to $50,000 per minute. Given these figur

Modern maintenance is increasingly recognized as a strategic business function that safeguards asset value and drives plant productivity. When integrated at the top‑management level, it delivers measurable returns and aligns with production schedules and operational excellence.The 18th EUROMAINTENAN

Incentives and Goals When outsourcing maintenance, design a contract that rewards continuous improvement. A performance‑based incentive aligns the contractor’s interests with your long‑term operational goals. Service‑Only Contracts If the contract pays only for hours worked, the contractor has littl

Cut Maintenance Time by 50%: How Optimizing Spray Systems Drives Cost Savings By Jon Barber, Director, Spraying Systems Co. Imagine slashing the maintenance hours for your critical spray system by half or more—and being able to quantify the savings. It’s not just a possibility; recent advances in sp

On April 25, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) honored Alaska Airlines with a Diamond Award, including a Special Recognition distinction, for its outstanding training program for maintenance technicians. This marks the airline’s fifth consecutive Diamond Award and its second award with Speci

Ryder System Inc. honored 28 of its maintenance managers with the company’s Maintenance Excellence Award (MEA), the highest recognition for exceptional customer service, maintenance, and safety performance. The ceremony, held near Ryder’s headquarters in Miami, celebrated these leaders who received

Equipment failures can cost millions, jeopardize safety, and trigger regulatory penalties. Unplanned downtime, missed deadlines, and costly replacements are just the beginning. Integrating a comprehensive predictive maintenance (PdM) program with condition monitoring (CM) transforms asset management

A University of Tennessee professor helped a team win the Franz Edelman Award for delivering $49.8 million in annual revenue gains by dramatically accelerating the maintenance of the U.S. Air Force’s largest transport aircraft, the C‑5.The work took only eight months and cost less than $1 million.UT

A cornerstone of effective maintenance planning is accurately estimating labor hours. In practice, the seasoned technician’s judgment often outperforms complex approaches such as industrial‑engineering standards or simple averages of past work. Estimating labor hours is a critical, time‑consuming t

Chrysler’s Belvidere plant is leading the charge in transforming U.S. automotive manufacturing. By adopting lean‑manufacturing tools—flexible tooling, visual controls, Andon systems, and a focus on eliminating the “seven deadly wastes”—the plant is becoming a living laboratory of Toyota‑style contin

During routine performance monitoring, the CHDA (1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid) plant I oversee reported a marked drop in reactor conversion efficiency. Analysis of spent catalyst revealed oil contamination originating from the pneumatic convey blower. Investigations traced the contamination to o

In the Reliability Forum section of Reliable Plant magazine, industry suppliers respond to questions posed by editor Paul V. Arnold. This issue’s call was directed at manufacturers of hand tools, asking: “End‑users frequently misuse hand tools for tasks they weren’t designed to perform. What is your

Maintenance Leadership: Final Insights for Reliability Success In the first three articles of this series, we explored the foundations of effective maintenance leadership. If you haven’t read them yet, visit Reliable Plant for the complete discussion. From Systems to Human Motivation Building robus

Reliability programs often fall short not because of a lack of condition‑monitoring technology, but because of a deeper issue: culture. In many organizations, the tech is considered the easy part. The real challenge lies in transforming people’s attitudes and behaviors—a human‑centric shift that dri

The “bathtub curve” has long been cited as the benchmark for understanding machine failure over time. While the basic premise is sound, the conventional depiction can mislead if taken as a literal life‑cycle model. A clearer grasp of how failure rates actually evolve enables more effective reliabili

Maintenance and reliability teams can transform production, delivering more finished goods—whether soft drinks, motorcycles, or life‑saving medicines. At Eli Lilly’s biosynthetic human insulin (BHI) plant in Indianapolis, that transformation carries extra weight. Since its 1992 opening, the site has

Recent industry seminars reveal a clear shift toward empowering plant operators with machine lubrication responsibilities. In many plants, lubrication has traditionally been left exclusively to mechanics and specialists, yet this practice is increasingly challenged by changing workforce dynamics and

Fairfield (Ala.) Works of United States Steel Corporation celebrated the opening of its new maintenance training center on June 21. The 11,000‑square‑foot facility, located in the renovated Flintridge Building, features modern classrooms, labs, and an expanded in‑plant welding lab. “Fairfield Works