5S for TPMers
Description of the essence of the 5s process. We know from the experience of others that if we do not get Sort and Set in Order right then the rest of it falls apart. When asked, long term implementers often acknowledge that the two most important activities of 5S are Sort and Set in Order. These two activities are the foundation for achieving zero defects, cost reductions, safety improvements, and zero accidents. <download>

Backlog Management
<download>

Belt Conveyor Case Study
This is a simple case study on how a supervisor can identify skill gaps for critical equipment and use the information to justify a training program. <download>

Centrifugal Fan Bearing Troubleshooting Check List
This is a checklist of potential problems which would lead to high vibration, noise or damaged bearings. <download>

Centrifugal Pump Troubleshooting Guide
A quick guide to some common centrifugal pump performance issues and the common remedies. <download>

Chain Drive Check Sheet
Chain drive problem descriptions and possible causes. <download>

Cleaning Equipment is Essential
Dirt and contamination at the part level will cause the part to change and malfunction. <download>

Cleaning Opportunity
Cleaning is an excellent opportunity to detect defects. <download>

CMMS Implementation Brochure
A brief description of challenges facing organizations implementing a Computerized Maintenance Management System. <download>

Criteria for Criticality of Equipment
This is an example of how to a weighted calculation based on site metrics can be used to determine the criticality of the equipment. <download>

Diamond in the Rough
An Effective Front-Line Supervision Response to the Skills Gap <download>

Discovering Abnormalities during Cleaning
This is an article which describes how cleaning and sanitation are foundamental elements of World Class Maintenance Program. <download>

EconoBright High Bay LED LIght Brochure
A High Bay LED light brochure for reference to LED lighting technology. A good starting point for researching LED lighting project and their returns. <download>

Gross Profit - Net Margin Calculation
<download>

Habit and Problem Solving
Comparison between changing habits and problem solving methods <download>

Healthy Debate vs Conflict
As manager and cosch, we need to encourage spirited debate and prevent conflict. This article provides some basic concepts on turning disagreement into innovation. <download>

Impact of Minor Stoppages on Your Profit
It is often critically important to address the seemingly trivial, unimportant little things in our factories. <download>

Job Planning Process Flow Sheet
<download>

Maintenance Contribution to Bottom Line
This is two pages of presentation showing the impact on total cost based on the level of Maintenance (reactive, proactive, excessive) <download>

Manufacturing Reliability Institute - Kick Off Bro
Central Illinois, Western Indiana and Eastern Missouri, Met Demand Inc. and Lake Land College- Center for Business and Industry is annoucing the start of a Manufacturing Reliability Institute to help Mid-West businesses sustain, compete and grow through high productivity and reliable capacity. <download>

Manufacturing Reliability Institute Brochure
A comprehensive Brochure on how Lake Land Center for Business and Industry and Met Demand can assist your organization in acheiving reliable performance. <download>

Missed Opportunities in Cleaning
Improving the cleaning and sanitation process by understanding purpose and function of each step performed so a detailed standard procedure can be implemented which includes identifying abnormal situations. <download>

MRO Excellence - Buyer Checklist
A MRO buyer has the responsibility to represent the company as an agent to purchase materials or services. This responsibility includes ensuring all information is accurate and purchase agreement is clear. This document is a checklist to assist in meeting these responsibilities. <download>

MRO Excellence Assessment
MET DEMAND has developed this assessment to assist reliability and storeroom professional in determining performance gaps in their storeroom performance. <download>

MRO Excellence Training
This 3-day training is focused on establishing processes to manage the risk of failures and the cost of inventory management. The knowledge from this training will create a positive impact to cost, productivity and customer service. <download>

MRO Excellence, A Reliable Capacity® Strategy
MRO Excellence brochure <download>

MRO Negotiation Checklist
This is a checklist of objectives which should be considered by any team negotiation team. <download>

Planner Scheduler Time Study
Time Study to help the planner scheduler set priorities. <download>

Planning and Scheduling
Brochure <download>

Planning and Scheduling - Schedule Compliance
A case study on how to calculate schedule compliance. <download>

Planning- Basic Job Plan Valve Check List
List of problems and possible causes for Value failures. <download>

Planning Checklist for Agitators
A checklist of root causes for common agitator and mixer failures. <download>

Planning Checklist for Bag Houses
This is a basic list of failures for bag house systems. Planners can use this list as the assess and troubleshoot specific issues. <download>

Planning Scheduling and Coordination
Planning and Scheduling is a key foundational element to a proactive maintenance culture. Planners cannot do it alone but must be supported by the organization. MET DEMAND offers a three day training which teaches the planner their job responsibilities and duties as well as, the roles and responsibilities of operation, engineering and storeroom responsibilities <download>

Planning Scheduling Assessment
This is a non-validated self assessment of an Organization's ability to support an effective and efficient Maintenance Planning and Scheduling process <download>

Planning-Scheduling Workshop
This is a hands on work shop working with planners and other site personnel to develop procedures for managing maintenance planning and scheduling function. <download>

Profile of Successful Project Manager
Too often it is assumed that anyone with an engineering degree has the skills to be a successful project manager. If this is the case, why has one study found that only 28% of all projects were successful? Where success is defined as, completed on time and on budget, with all of the features and functions originally specified. Here is a list of the most identified skills associated with a successful project manager. <download>

Project Management Overview
<download>

Quality Maintenance Checklist
Autonomous maintenance is about eliminating all defects: quality, accidents and unplanned downtime. This checklist will help guide a team in developing an improvement plan to eliminate quality defects and increase equipment capability. <download>

Quality, Reliable Equipment and TPM
Why is Quality so important? Generally, improved quality lowers costs, can improve market share, reduces product liability and therefore makes us more competitive. In addition it can uphold our reputation to our customers <download>

Recommended Measures for Getting Started
<download>

Reliability, Maintenance and Food Safety
Key points of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points(HACCP) for the Reliability Professional <download>

Reliability, Maintenance and Food Safety
Brochure <download>

Reliable Capacity at Start-up Training
The purpose of this training is focus an organization on designing, installing, maintaining and operating new equipment to acheive the lowest possible life cycle cost. This can only occur when organization focuses on the developing and establishing world class business processes. <download>

Reliable Capacity Strategy- Brochure July 2008
Brochure for July 2008 Reliable Capacity Strategy class at Lake Land Community College <download>

Response to University Seniors
Responses to questions submitted by Chemical Engineering University Seniors April 2009. <download>

Roles of Maintenance
Descriptions of the different roles in Maintenance i.e. Planner, Scheduler, etc. <download>

Root Cause Analysis
<download>

Root Cause Analysis- A Reliable Capacity® Strategy
Root Cause Analysis 2 day seminar brochure <download>

Root Cause Failure Analysis
High Impact training which delivers immediate business results. Root Cause Analysis training is based on the scientific method which can be applied by any and all functions to improve performance and productivity of an organization. <download>

Steps to Essential Equipment Care
8 steps to equipment care. <download>

Successful Project Management
This article tries to answer some simple and basic questions. Is there a recipe for project success? How can the odds for successfully delivering a project be dramatically improved? How do the "Best of the the Best" view capital projects? <download>

Technical Training Needs Assessment
MET DEMAND offers a two day training course on how to develop an effective technical skills training program. <download>

Technical Training Readiness Assessment
This document decribes an assessment process used to evaluate how efficient and effective local industry and community colleges are working together to develop technical skills for a local work force. <download>

Ten Commandments of Brainstorming
Team norms which should be employed when conducting a brain storming exercise. <download>

The Law of Unintended Consequences
Management institutes certain policies designed to achieve a desirable outcome like increased production without additional personnel. Occasionally these take the form of an incentive program focused on the number of pieces an individual can produce in a certain time frame. While such programs are not bad or wrong headed as such, organizations must guard against the unintended consequence. Many incentive programs are well designed and work very well. However some do not work well at all. How does this relate to Maintenance Excellence and Reliability? <download>

Value of the 5 Why Technique
The 5 why methodology is a superb tool to use in conjunction with problem solving as it can help gather accurate information very quickly. It is particularly important that the skilled maintenance technicians understand how to use it. It can help find the true root cause and prevent repeated fixes of the same problem. This will free them to spend time on refining the PM program to keep the factory running smoothly. Note that there are certain times when it is appropriate to bypass the 5 why technique until later. If the bridge is burning, it is not relevant as to why. Wait until the fire is out so you can safely try to determine why it started in the first place. <download>

Valve Packing Gland Troubleshooting Guide
A set of actions taken to repair valves with packing gland leaks. <download>

Visual Control Checklist
Types of visual controls used to indicate equipment condition and performance at a glance. <download>

Weighted Pareto Analysis
<download>

Why Train?
Equipment Reliability, TPM, and The Importance of Training or finding better employees. <download>

MRO

Cycle Count Sheet
This sheet can be used make assignments for cycle counting and record the results to measure inventory accuracy. <download>

Maintenance Storeroom Key Performance Indicators
Measures used to manage a maintenance storeroom. <download>

MRO Excellence Article
Why do companies have MRO Storerooms? Is it to service maintenance? Operation? Support Engineering in Project work? None of the above, companies have MRO storerooms and all the costs associated with them because they are a good investment. A good investment you might ask. Yes a good investment!!! MRO Storerooms are managing spare part inventory to ensure our customer service levels remain high and cost of goods sold are low. This is done by partnering with Commercial, Maintenance and Operation to produce the correct product, at the correct time, in the correct quantity and at the correct location. The objectives of the storeroom are to store parts, which minimize the risk of unplanned downtime at the lowest total cost to the business. This is done by balancing the cost of downtime against inventory carrying cost to ensure the life cycle cost for an asset are minimized. What are the steps to improve your current performance? <download>

MRO Excellence is for the Customer- EAM 2006
A poorly operated maintenance or MRO storeroom can contribute up to 25% of the unplanned downtime in a factory. This downtime and cost can be eliminated with proper management of the storeroom. This short training course will set a foundation of business basics, define the roles and responsibilities of different business functions, explain the MRO supply chain, provide some specific tools to improve storeroom performance and present a plan to implement sustained change in a storeroom. <download>

Surplus Material Decision Tree
This is a simple visual aid to assist in the management of surplus, obsolete or slow turning maintenance stores inventory. <download>

Planning and Scheduling

Backlog Calculation Sheet
An spreadsheet to calculate backlog for a maintenance department. <download>

Job Plan Estimating Sheet
This is a form to be used by a planner scheduler as a pre check list when preparing a job plan. Instructions are for the planner to make a copy of the form fill out the information from work order and take the form to field to review the job and make notes. Please provide your feedback after using the form. This can be done through our website. <download>

Planner Scheduler Job Description
This is a comprehensive job description which can be used if you are hiring your first planner/ scheduler or to compare to your current job description. <download>

Planning and Scheduling Metrics
Metrics used to measure the performance of the planning and scheduling role. <download>

Planning is the Foundation for Lean Maintenance
How does Maintenance planning and scheduling benefit initiatives, such as, Lean Manufacturing, Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and Lean Maintenance? This paper will review the development of these philosophies and the role of Maintenance planning and scheduling in achieving them. <download>

Technician Feedback for Job Plans
When a planner prepares a job plan, they do not have the ability to stop the machine, take it apart and inspect it. This limitation will lead to inaccuracy in the job plan. To eliminate these omissions, the professional craft person performing the work must provide feedback on the job plan. This document summarizes the information which should be collected and communicated to the planner. <download>

Weekly Planning and Scheduling Meeting
This is an agenda for a weekly meeting planning and scheduling meeting with Maintenance, Operations and all interested parties. <download>

Work Order Example
This is an example of a paper work order form. The fields demonstrate the data that needs to be managed through the life of work a order. <download>

Start-Up

Equipment Data Sheet
This sheet can be used to record equipment, warranty and technician data to start the equipment Master file. <download>

Lubrication PM Checklist
The purpose of this form is to ensure the proper lubrication program is set up for new equipment. This is a general form which can be easly duplicated and modified to meet your requirements. <download>

Planning for a Start up - EAM 2006
The objective of a reliability program is to maximize availability, performance and output quality of the existing assets. This objective is not met when the equipment is down and not producing. Maintenance planning and scheduling role is to script and choreograph activities during planned downtime so they are minimized. A shutdown is not one simple task but a combination of tasks involving the whole organization working together to complete all of work safely, efficiently and effectively. Why? To ensure the equipment starts-up well, is reliable, has minimal ramp up time, and produces product to meet our customers needs. This paper is intended to help anyone who is involved with organizing, planning, or executing shutdown work at a facility. The topics which will be discussed are the five phases of a planned outage: Preliminary Work and Business Requirements, Final Planning and engineering, Execution of work, Commissioning and Validation and Continuous Improvement. <download>

Spare Part Information Sheet
This document can be used to track and document spare part stocking decisions. <download>

SWI Process Development
An example of a process which can be used to develop Standard Work Instructions. <download>