This newsletter helps plant professionals stay up to date on industry developments.

ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS: WHERE IS MAINTENANCE & RELIABILITY HEADING? | NEMA UPDATES COULD SAVE YOUR BEARINGS

After reading a few of my blogs last week, my long-suffering bride Trish came away with a question. "You mostly blog," she asked, "about how factories ought to run, rather than the way they actually do, don't you?"

"Well," I replied, assuming my most deeply knowledgeable posture, "most of the blogs are designed to suggest improvements to our readers' factories, so I guess they're more about the ideal than the typical plant."

This year, in my capacity as grandfather to a posse of 12, I spent a fair amount of holiday time reading aloud about Grinches and reindeer and lights in the sky. Being a bit of a Grinch, myself, I also spent time getting caught up on material from the Plant Services web site. There I found a link to a remarkable report on the subject of the manufacturing skill shortage in the United States.

There's a wonderful atmosphere in a big plant when not much equipment is running. You can hear yourself think. You can savor the smells and sounds of the plant, itself. The place feels almost alive, even when it's resting.

Downtime gives us an opportunity to savor the plant as it is and to consider what it could be. If we use the time wisely, we can set the direction we should travel, as individuals and as organizations. Later we will work to build the energy that will drive our plants to the next level.

Klaus M. Blache, Ph.D., MBA, CPE, is research professor at the University of Tennessee College of Engineering.

This newsletter helps plant professionals stay up to date on industry developments.

ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS: ROTOR BALANCING FOR BEARING RELIABILITY | IN THE TRENCHES

This newsletter focuses exclusively on electrical systems.

ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS: ELECTRICAL SAFETY AND RELIABILITY | ELECTRICAL ENERGY AUDITS

Since the "Zombie-land in the Maintenance Department?" was such a popular blog post, I expanded the topic into a conference session. The attendees at the Greater Philadelphia Facilities Management Show gave me rave reviews.

So if you can join me at the Capital Building & Facility Maintenance Show near DC, come as my guest. I guarantee that you will not have to endure death by powerpoint or be bored. This session will be provocative, entertaining, yet very practical and informative.

Register online at http://www.cb-fm.com/sessions.html

Session 5

Few things are worth a 20-year wait. A single-malt scotch, yes. French fries at the McDonald's drive-thru, no. Retirement pension, yes. Tickets to see Katy Perry, no. The SMRP annual conference, yes.

Maintenance performance upgrades are becoming common these days. The improvements may come from several directions: Reliability is becoming better understood and respected. Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is driving some of the efforts by raising expectations of equipment performance. Popularization of leading maintenance indicators and easy-to-use condition based tools are also making it clear that new levels of reliability and equipment life are attainable.