11 minute read
Maintenance 101
REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE DURING COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly changed the maintenance landscape. BY PETER PHILLIPS
Some manufacturing facilities have suffered shutdowns or cut backs because of the virus. Permanent closures have occurred in some industries due to the lack of demand, and owners not being able to hold on with falling sales and profits. Industries such as the airline industry have been hit hard, and have laid of thousands of pilots, flight a endants, and support staff.
Sales of building materials hit a very low point early in the pandemic, even though they were classified as an essential service and remained open for business. Luckily, this sector has recovered well over the past couple months, driven by home owners staying home and spending money on home improvements.
The food industry has been strong during COVID-19, but have suffered staff storage with breaks outs of the disease at some plants, and have reduced production output due to social distancing in the workplace. Public institutions like universities are preparing to conduct their classes online for the fall semester and some expect only a fraction of students to be on campus. This will dramatically affect the number of staff needed to maintain the campus.
The cutbacks and closures have had a trickle-down effect on many support services as well. Maintenance contractors depend upon on repair and maintenance contracts with factories to keep their businesses alive as well. Some high security facilities, dependent on contractors to perform equipment maintenance, are still closed to outside contractors and vendors, unless absolutely essential to the business.
This many changes in a short period of time will have long term effects, both good and bad, on how equipment is maintained. Repair and maintenance relies heavily on interpersonal contact. The majority of maintenance activities requires more than one person working in isolation. Maintenance generally takes people working in close proximity to each other. Changing a large drive assembly for example may take two to four people, working within inches of each other.
Therefore, it is understandable that there will be increasing numbers of COVID-19 infections at manufacturing facilities. Maintenance offices and workshops are not all designed for six-feet of social distancing, many plants have reduced staff and people working from home to help reduce the spread, and to protect people’s health. However, the maintenance on equipment must be completed to keep the plant running. Wearing the appropriate PPE to protect people from the spread of the virus creates challenges. Wearing face masks and shields are not normal PPE for maintenance personnel, and in plants that are hot and humid, face shields and safety
glasses fog up from breath escaping the face mask; adding to the time of maintenance repairs and discomfort for the workers. In turn, additional work time must be added to allow for these safety precautions.
The way equipment is serviced and maintained has changed, and it doesn’t look like it returning to normal is anywhere in sight. The cost of doing maintenance has increased, just like producing and selling products in stores. Take in consideration the extra cost of security to screen employees, contractors, and customers. Rolling in the added cost of special PPE and sanitation means the difference between staying in business, or closing the doors.
Industries are rethinking how to conduct maintenance with less people while performing the same maintenance routines. Many staff are working from home, for example, maintenance planners are organizing and remotely communicating work orders to maintenance staff. This is not ideal; however, it keeps the maintenance staff executing repairs and maintenance. Changes like these have created a big technology challenge as people work from home, and need laptops linked to the plant’s secure networks to access maintenance programs and files. Infrastructures have been developed so people can work remotely, a end online meetings, and doing their best to keep the plant running during these pandemic times.
Projects that companies started before the pandemic or have scheduled, must still be carried out in order to meet deadlines and budgets. New so¨ware and business applications still need to be installed, trained out, and implemented. In the past, these projects were led by teams that went from plant-to-plant, province-to-province and country-to-country to assist in the implementation. Now provincial, state, and country borders are closed or restricted, and many companies have COVID-19 polices restricting travel until the threat has passed or under control; however, projects must be completed.
Project teams along with plant staff have been asked to come up with alternatives, and figure out how to complete projects without on-site support staff they had in the past. Corporate teams have been formed, and work behind the scenes developing alternative plans to support their facilities. They are busy developing videos and support documentation, to train people at the facilities to implement new systems and how to operate new equipment.
Although it takes a great deal of work to develop alternative methods to support plant projects, plant staff actually face the biggest challenge. They are already in a situation of reduced staff and resources, facing reduced maintenance budgets due to financial losses. Now, plant maintenance staff must take on the added responsibility, and take the lead role of site project manager. They have become the plant expert and trainer to teach staff new technology and equipment while still carrying their full work responsibilities at the plant.
Repairs and maintenance during this time have added new innovation, and people are asked to think out of the box and develop new ways of doing maintenance activities. For years maintenance routines have been done “the same old way” without a second thought, now with social distancing, fewer staff, and less operating capital in the maintenance budget, the need for smarter ways of doing maintenance have been developed. Ge ing the job done with the added COVID-19 challenges, maintenance staff have had to examine what really needs to be done, to be more specific on what to inspect, and how to inspect it to ensure the reliability of the equipment.
There will be benefits a¨er this is over. Maintenance activities will look different because we have found be er ways to perform them. More specific preventive maintenance inspections, will reduce time needed to complete work orders, thus reducing work order backlogs. There will be a cost reduction in plant-to-plant travel as technology has replaced the need for face-to-face meetings.
Indeed, maintenance departments have faced this challenge head on, and have adapted quickly to perform their essential repairs and maintenance. New ideas, new ways of doing things, COVID-19 has demanded innovation and maintenance departments should feel proud of their accomplishments. MRO
Peter Phillips is the owner of Trailwalk Holdings Ltd., a Nova Scotia-based maintenance consulting and training company. Peter has over 40 years of industrial maintenance experience. He travels throughout North America working with maintenance departments and speaking at conferences. Reach him at 902-798-3601 or peter@trailwalk.ca.
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Gearing Up for Supply Chain Challenges Post-COVID
The COVID-19 outbreak has exposed the vulnerability of every aspect of our society, and that includes supply chains. Even relatively well-prepared businesses have su ered serious problems due to supply shortages. By adopting several key measures to increase the adaptability of your supply chain, you can secure your productivity and maintain your bottom line. By Chris Beaton
Supply Chain Disruptions
The pandemic sent shockwaves through supply chains that had operated without interruption for years. Due to its long-standing reputation as “the world’s factory”, countless businesses sourced essential materials from China. The concentration of manufacturing and supply in one geographical location intensified the eects of widespread factory shutdowns.
Looking ahead, even as many countries return to a semblance of business-as-usual, the potential for further disruption is high.
Reducing Your Risk
Luckily, it’s not too late to take measures to become more agile so your business can react more eectively to protect its supplies. These measures include innovative sourcing strategies for essential motors and parts, leveraging advanced technologies to maximize visibility in your supply chain, and diversification.
1. Local Suppliers
In the face of disruption to shipping and supply lines, companies must look for suppliers that bring product stockpiles closer to home, reducing the risk of supply shortages that interfere with productivity.
2. Data-Driven Supply Chains
As businesses react to disruptions, many have found themselves hampered by a lack of visibility into the supply chains that they rely on. This is a result of the traditional linear supply chain model, where an outdated silo approach drives each part of the chain independently, with limited information-sharing.
Many businesses are moving towards a new supply chain model that leverages advanced technology including analytics, software, automation and artificial intelligence to digitally connect all of their operations. This optimizes the flow of information, enabling them to forecast shortages and rapidly deploy response strategies.
3. Diversify
Across industries, the pandemic has exposed the risks of one-source supply chain practices. Sourcing from one provider encourages consistency when the markets are stable, but they can also create a dependency and power dynamic between the buyer and seller.
By moving to a diversified marketplace model, businesses can maintain relationships with existing providers while incorporating new partnerships and alternative options. Gain negotiating power, enjoy greater cost transparency and be able to decrease the risk of supply shortages.
Summary
By reviewing your current supply chain process, you have the opportunity to position your business to stay productive and profitable during current and future disruptive events. Don’t just prepare your business to ‘survive’ COVID-19 – prepare your supply chain to run more eciently than it ever has before
Chris Beaton, Red Seal Electric Motor Systems Technician, is the CEO and co-founder of eMotors Direct. With over 26 years in motor sales and service, Chris has developed solutions to enhance the motor supply chain. Originating from Edmonton, Alberta, eMotors Direct has access to the largest supply of motors in Canada. Visit eMotorsDirect.ca to browse motors. Anytime, anywhere.
Taking the Plunge
Rail Yard Wake Boarding Park Makes it SEW.
“TALK ABOUT RAPID RESPONSE” Traditionally, wake boarding whizzes us across open water behind a high-powered motor boat using nothing more than a scaled-down surf board, a tether and nerves of steel. The same rules apply at Rail Yard Wake Park and Aqua Park located in Mount Albert ON, but with one little exception: no high-powered motor boat!
Founders Ian Bowie (left), Ross Benns (second from the left), and Christine Benns (second from the right) changed their love of water sports into an innovative and exciting business.
“The idea of enjoying wake boarding without the environmental implications of using a speed boat really intrigued us—we just needed to find the right venue and the right application to do it.”
After years of scouting the GTA for an ideal spot and hurdling through power supply and government regulations, Rail Yard Wake Park and Aqua Park was open for business in the summer of 2013.
“We wanted to capture the true feeling of traditional wake boarding and open it up to the public. You can literally show up here with a set of swim trunks and everything else is taken care of.”
Capturing the true feeling of wake boarding required a drive system that was robust enough to handle a solid 12 to 15 hours of uninterrupted use, along with integrated electronics for ultra-precise speed control and wireless capability.
The zip line application was designed and built by a company based in Germany called Sesitec. Realizing a wake park requires a precise ensemble it came equipped with SEW-EURODRIVE drives and electronics. However, operations managers, Ross and Ian knew that any downtime would result in a big disappoint to their customers.
“We wouldn’t want to see the look on the faces of our guests if one of our two lines went down. An average ride is 7 to 10 minutes, so we need to be sure any problems can be addressed quickly. Sesitec has a great reputation for expedited delivery of critical components, but we needed a service protocol in place specifically for the drive system.”
After a quick chat with a colleague, Ross discovered that SEW-EURODRIVE has several Canadian oces, one being local that could replace or repair the drives and electronics 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
“We got on the phone immediately and talk about rapid response, the Service Manager, Scott Gallop, called us back right away—then he showed up at our park the following week. Scott told us exactly what we wanted to hear and based on his responsiveness, we knew he meant what he said.”
“We really appreciated Scott’s level of interest in what we do and we didn’t even buy anything! This just shows you what type of company Eurodrive really is—they care. When the time comes for servicing our drive system, we will definitely make it SEW.”
