I hear you are having apprehension about embracing Predictive Maintenance (PdM). I am wondering, is it because you view PdM as not a “thinking tool” but a “doing tool”, and tools like RCA and RCM are thinking tools and therefore by extension more exalted activities? If this is the case, then do I assume correctly that you would also put craft skills improvement in the same category as PdM? Pondering over this, I found the following quote:
“The society that scorns excellence in plumbing, because plumbing is a humble activity, and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy, because philosophy is an exalted activity, will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy – neither it’s pipes nor it’s theories will hold water.” John Gardner, Former Secretary of HEW
I certainly agree that we shouldn’t get wrapped around the axle on which brand of tool is used and we shouldn’t tie the success of our program to a given tool manufacturer. We must however focus on the information that flows from those tools and how that information is integrated into the daily management systems.
But what may not be so easy to juxtapose is the idea that implementation of such “tool centric” initiatives like PdM and craft skills along with the more “thought centric” concepts of RCM and RCA. In my mind, both are required to create a successful initiative and if one were to disregard either, they are setting themselves up for failure.
So in the interest of nurturing a more comprehensive approach, get down off of that high horse, grab a data collector and lets go run a route!
Andy Page, CMRP
