Tag Archives: Maintenance

Technology is crucial in most industries to advance safety and efficiency. The automotive sector is an excellent example of how advanced technology transforms products and, thus, the world. Big data and analytics have become an integral part of it all. So, how exactly has the automotive industry taken advantage of analytics, especially with maintenance and predictive diagnostics? How can using it benefit manufacturers? Let’s find out…

How Did Big Data Analytics Emerge in the Automotive Industry?

Big data is a relatively new concept, but its modern adaptations originated in the 1960s. For example, in 1964, IBM introduced the System/360, offering processors 100 times more potent than their predecessors. This technology is primitive in retrospect, but it was an essential first step for data processing. In the 1970s and 1980s, tech companies improved this technology to include the automotive industry.

By the 1990s, automotive technology producers began using big data analytics for vehicles. For example, global positioning systems (GPS) became more prominent this decade. These devices allowed consumers to use navigation technology well-known in the U.S. military. Many luxury cars came with this feature installed to entice consumers.

While GPS devices are still prominent, big data has improved cars enough to where they can be self-reliant. Soon, automakers will remove GPS devices once autonomous vehicles become widespread. These vehicles know where they’re going and do not need a GPS for navigation.

What Role Does Big Data Analytics Play in Automotive Maintenance and Predictive Diagnostics?

The last two decades have seen incredible growth for big data and its role in the automotive industry. Automotive professionals have used advanced technology for maintenance and predictive diagnostics. Using data helps technicians know precisely what the problem is and the necessary methods for mitigation.

Automakers primarily take advantage of big data analytics through embedded sensors in their vehicles. These devices allow the manufacturers to track cars anywhere in the world and detect where the problems lie. With this information, the automaker can notify the consumer of issues, find trends and develop solutions for widespread problems. Then, they know what issues to correct for future models of the same vehicle.

What software and technologies do automotive professionals use? These examples demonstrate how industry experts use big data for predictive maintenance and predictive diagnostics.

Machine Learning

Machine learning (ML) has become a critical part of the automotive industry because it solves complex problems and creates algorithms. For auto manufacturers, ML has helped technicians predict equipment failures.

For example, automakers use ML to analyze historical data from their vehicles. Their computers use sensor data to detect trends and see what abnormalities led to the issues. Therefore, manufacturers can catch what problems may arise when they see a particular pattern occurring in a vehicle.

Another use for ML is creating maintenance schedules for vehicles. Historical data indicate when owners of a particular model should bring their cars for routine maintenance. The algorithm is intelligent enough to combine the data with driver performance to alert when service is necessary for the vehicle.

Telematics

Telematics is one of the earliest examples of big data in the automotive industry, and it’s become vital for car owners and fleet managers worldwide. Research shows about 80% of Class 8 trucks in North America use telematics for safety and efficiency.

Telematics is essential for maintenance because it monitors vehicle health. These devices often detect problems earlier than the operator can, allowing companies to act swiftly on their machines. Early detection and mitigation save money and improve safety by not putting drivers in harmful situations.

What Are the Benefits of Big Data in Automobiles?

Big data analytics is a win-win for manufacturers and consumers. All parties can have peace of mind knowing their machines are safe and efficient. The following three benefits demonstrate how automotive professionals benefit from big data.

Improving Safety

Cars are essential for daily travel, but they can be dangerous. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) says nearly 43,000 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2022. Reasons for accidents vary, but they can originate from fixable mechanical failures.

Big data analytics decreases the likelihood of these failures by scheduling preventive maintenance and alerting when serious problems arise. Users can know if their brakes, steering wheel or battery needs attention before a catastrophe happens.

Decreasing Downtime

Big data analytics has become invaluable for fleet managers worldwide. The average fleet manager may have 10, 100 or 1,000 vehicles under their wing, making it difficult to track all of them simultaneously. However, advanced data allows them to monitor all the cars and detect trends.

Warning systems send information to the fleet manager, allowing them to act immediately. The modern supply chain demands maximum productivity from fleets, so taking advantage of big data analytics is essential.

Supporting Sustainability

Sustainability has become a significant focus for auto manufacturers. The push for more renewable energy and less waste has led to innovation across the industry. How are they achieving sustainability standards? Big data analytics is helping automakers care for the environment.

Using big data analytics extends the life of cars and reduces the need for customers to consume resources by purchasing cars. Instead, they can keep the same vehicle longer and spend less time at the mechanic.

When cars reach their end of life, many head to the scrapyard. While recycling has improved, parts and pieces still go to waste. For example, the European Union scrapped 5.4 million passenger cars in 2020. Installing telematics devices and using big data would extend their time on the road and reduce waste.

Big Data Analytics in the Automotive Industry

Automotive technology has come a long way and only improves yearly. Modern software allows auto manufacturers to utilize big data analytics with maintenance and predictive diagnostics. With this technology, manufacturers lower the cost for themselves and consumers and make their processes more efficient.

*This article is written by Jack Shaw. Jack is a seasoned automotive industry writer with over six years of experience. As the senior writer for Modded, he combines his passion for vehicles, manufacturing and technology with his expertise to deliver engaging content that resonates with enthusiasts worldwide.

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With Halloween just around the corner, we started thinking about nightmares that can occur to manufacturers. Is something bedeviling your productivity leading to more tricks than treats? Is there a ghost in the machine? Here are some of the most common “monsters” that haunt manufacturing managers, and ways to banish them from your operation for good.

Things that go bump in the night (or day). Every manufacturing plant on the planet has experienced an “unexpected shutdown” that seemingly comes out of nowhere. Something broke, wore out, went awry or otherwise seized up, causing production to grind to a halt. These unexpected dark periods, whether they last an hour, a day or longer until the problem is resolved, are extremely costly in lost productivity and revenue, delays in shipments and deliveries, and more.

Banish it! Regular shutdowns for maintenance need to be an essential part of your yearly calendar. Yes, these planned maintenance periods still mean downtime, but the point is, you build them into your schedule and plan accordingly for shift scheduling, delivery and other variables.

Zombies on the line. Unmotivated teams can bedevil companies in any industry. From the Great Resignation to Quiet Quitting, employee morale has taken a tumble since the pandemic. People are just going through the motions out there. Couple that with some spooky stats: According to a Gallup survey, only 36% of U.S. employees are engaged at work and 74% say they are actively looking for new jobs. Low morale costs companies in just about every way possible — increased absenteeism, dips in quality and efficiency, and rock-bottom motivation levels among them.

Banish it! There are many spells you can cast to break that zombie curse. Invest in training and development for your employees. Hold listening sessions to get ideas for improvements on the job. Walk the floor and talk to your people regularly, something management just doesn’t do enough. Build a promotion pipeline from your front lines. All of these will help increase employee engagement and get their heads back in the game.

Process poltergeists. Are you constantly putting out fires that seem to combust without warning? Human errors, unforeseen backups, supply chain bottlenecks, inventory imbalances (too much or too little), glitches on the line. It can feel like you have a firefighting mentality, and it’s counterproductive to, well, productivity. When you’re in a constant state of troubleshooting, you’re not efficient at doing the job today or laying the groundwork for tomorrow.

Banish it! A solid Management Operating System, which is a structured approach to your operations, will help stop trouble before it starts. This allows you to make adjustments and otherwise pivot so your operations aren’t adversely impacted. The best management operating systems focus on processes, systems, roles and structures to map out how the job gets done, and by whom. To learn about MOS in more detail, watch our short (and dare we say fun) video, Stop the Firefighting Mentality.

“20% of each dollar is wasted in manufacturing due to inefficient processes each year”

Wasting disease. Waste can hide on your shop floor like a monster under the bed. It hides where you least expect it, like time, energy, employee talent, productivity and more. Here’s a figure that will keep you up at night: 20% of each dollar is wasted in manufacturing due to inefficient processes each year, adding up to $8 trillion globally.

Banish it! Waste is such an enormous problem in manufacturing, Toyota (or Henry Ford, depending on who you ask) created a process methodology about it. Lean is all about identifying and eliminating waste in manufacturing operations. The classic Seven Deadly Wastes (we think it’s eight, but let’s not split hairs) include overproduction, waiting, transporting, processing, inventory, motion and defects. (People is our eighth.) Lean is the process to minimize or eliminate those, boosting your bottom line. Read more about it by downloading our eBook, “Lean Six Sigma: Do You Really Know These Methodologies?”

The invisible man (or woman). The loss of institutional knowledge happens when your best workers vanish (retire or quit) and take all their hard-earned, on-the-job know-how with them. It’s the tips, tricks and tactics that aren’t in the employee manual. The loss of this irreplaceable knowledge is a growing issue for manufacturing, because the workforce is aging, and there is a lack of skilled younger workers to take their place.

Banish it! Capture that knowledge before your seasoned pros retire or otherwise leave the workforce. Create mentorship programs pairing older workers with younger ones, ask those older employees to participate in roundtable sessions that can focus on “what’s not in the manual” knowledge, and solicit their advice on how to do the job better.

While this is a lighthearted look at manufacturing problems, these issues are no joke. They can seriously hamper your efficiency, productivity and ultimately, your bottom line. At USC Consulting Group, we’re the experts in helping companies reach operational excellence. If you’d like to learn more, please give us a call.

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The 2024 forecasts for the oil and gas industry include some conflicting speculation about supply and demand. It’s leading to confusion for U.S. companies… not to mention dismay as people everywhere scowl at the gas pump when they’re filling up.

Reuters reported in August that OPEC+ expects to see supply cuts that impact oil inventories, which will drive prices potentially higher than the $88 per barrel of crude in August 2023, the highest price since January. OPEC+ is confident, however, that demand will rise markedly.

But… the International Energy Association (IEA) doesn’t quite agree with those numbers, noting that the fluctuating economy will impact manufacturing businesses, and coupled with the tsunami of electric vehicles, will shake out in the form of falling demand.

Those clear-as-mud speculations boil down to one thing: Uncertainty is ahead for an industry that has already had its fair share.

All industries have been weathering uncertainty for the past few years, starting with the pandemic and, once we thought we had that handled, continuing with a shaky economy, a cried-wolf recession and ever-rising interest rates, putting consumer confidence on shifting sands.

At USC Consulting Group, we specialize in helping companies through uncertain times by optimizing their processes, becoming as efficient as possible and positioning themselves on solid ground to handle whatever is coming down the pike.

Preparing the Oil & Gas industry for an uncertain 2024

Here are seven ways the oil and gas industry can shore up for an uncertain 2024. Though separate goals, all work together to make companies as efficient and productive as they can be.

1. Reducing costs

Is there ever a year when companies in any industry shouldn’t focus on reducing costs? That’s a given, 24/7/365. But, it’s especially important for oil and gas going into 2024, when the economy continues to be volatile and uncertain. Buttoning up costs is a good strategy for the industry to get through that storm. It’s about optimizing production processes in the field and reducing extraction costs in order to offset costs involved in finding new sites.

2. Managing supply chain risks

After the supply chain bottlenecks most every industry experienced during the pandemic, it’s vital to mitigate supply chain risks. It’s a burr under the saddle of the entire industry. Fluctuating costs and supply uncertainty can impact the entire operation. Oil and gas companies need a little breathing room, predictable lead times and a more secure footing going into next year. Securing your supply chain is one way to achieve that. It can help avoid the market roller coaster we’ve seen in the recent past and may help ease pressure from inflation as well. The bonus here is, it can save about 15% on costs.

Developing a solid risk assessment plan that takes into consideration what’s happening at the supplier level will secure your supply chain and prevent any surprise shortages.

3. Focusing on yield

Maximizing yield, like reducing costs and managing supply chain risks, brings solid benefits in any economy, but especially now. It means making sure extraction techniques are as efficient as possible, utilizing methods like Enhanced Oil Recovery to extract more oil from reservoirs that may have been underutilized, managing those reservoirs carefully and by the numbers, and making sure employees across all facilities are on the same page.

4. Closing the how-why gap

In an organization the front line often does not understand the “why,” and the executives don’t understand the “how.” It means, the top brass do not fully understand how the job gets done and the frontline workers don’t fully understand why the job needs to be done. Closing that “how-why gap” is critical for optimal performance all the way up and down the organizational food chain.

5. Standardizing daily and weekly instructions for front-line managers

Going hand in hand with closing that how-why gap is increased training for managers. Many industries like oil and gas rely on frontline training, but some people would say that supervisors need even more. Training trickles down, but efficiency does, too. And the key to that is making sure everyone, across all departments and facilities, is on the same page, doing the job the same way, with a standard set of operating procedures. It’s a vital component for optimal efficiency.

6. Consolidation and acquisition = increased need for communication

New talent, ideas and perspectives can breathe life into a company. Mergers and acquisitions in the oil and gas industry exploded in Q2 2023, according to Enverus Intelligence Research. After $8 billion M&A in Q1 2023 (nothing to sneeze at) we saw $24b in Q2. It’s in line with increased consolidations, as reported by Forbes, with the goal of lowering costs, raising inventory and in the end, boosting investor returns.

All of that M&A activity can put a strain on employees of affected companies. Especially during this flurry of M&A, it’s important to find solutions to help them with the complexities of combining two “legacy” groups, which have their unique set of standards. Finding ways to combine both schools of thought into one set of “best practices” after a merger is paramount to its success. To learn more about it, read our recent case study: “Creating Harmony When Merging Two Companies.”

7. Performing scheduled maintenance

The goal is zero unplanned downtime. Pros in the industry know that’s not so easy to achieve. It starts with asset monitoring, including wells but also pipelines, processing facilities and other equipment to maximize operational efficiency. Scheduling downtime for maintenance ensures a shutdown, but it also ensures you’ll know when it’s coming and can plan accordingly. Unplanned failures or glitches can be costly problems at best but dangerous threats to workers at worst.

At USC Consulting Group, we’ve been working with the oil and gas industry for decades. If you’re interested in optimizing your company’s efficiency in this uncertain economy, give us a call.

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Warehouses are bustling hubs of activity where precision and speed are key to meeting customer demands. While efficiency has always been a top priority in these environments, safety should not be overlooked. In fact, the relationship between efficiency and safety is tightly intertwined. Implementing safety procedures not only protects your workforce but also ensures your warehouse operates at optimal efficiency. Let’s explore how safety measures are pivotal in shaping warehouse operations.

The relationship between efficiency and safety

Although there is great emphasis on efficient operational practices, ensuring good health and safety practices goes hand in hand with these, too. This is especially relevant in the following areas.

Fewer Items Going Missing

One of the immediate benefits of a safety-conscious environment is a reduction in missing items. When your warehouse is organized and secure, it becomes much harder for equipment, products, or tools to disappear. This means fewer disruptions in operations caused by the frantic search for lost items.

Improved Awareness of Storage

Safety procedures often include guidelines for organizing and labelling storage areas. This enhanced organization ensures that employees are more aware of where items are stored, reducing the time wasted searching for goods. When everything has its place, it’s easier to locate, access, and move products efficiently. Good safety practices also mean that emergency items and personal protective equipment can be easily accessed when needed. This level of organization also helps to improve the overall operational efficiency in warehouses.

Neater Space Equals More Efficiency

A clean and orderly workspace is not just aesthetically pleasing; it also leads to greater efficiency. Cluttered or disorganized spaces can slow down operations, increase the risk of accidents, and impede the smooth flow of goods. A safe, tidy warehouse promotes productivity and minimizes disruptions.

Enhanced Inventory Practices

Efficiency in warehouse operations hinges on accurate inventory management. Safety policies often necessitate tracking and documenting the usage of certain items, like fuel for warehouse vehicles. By implementing these practices, you not only ensure that you never run out of critical supplies, but you also prevent unexpected delays due to equipment shortages.

The importance of safe equipment handling

Staff Safety

The safety of your warehouse staff should always be the top priority. Training employees in safe equipment handling not only reduces the risk of accidents but also promotes a culture of vigilance and responsibility. When workers know how to use equipment correctly, the chances of something going wrong decrease significantly, reducing the need for costly maintenance and repairs.

Correct Use of Specialized Equipment

Warehouses often rely on specialized equipment, such as forklifts, for various operations. Different types of forklifts are designed for specific tasks, and using them correctly is essential for safety and efficiency. Employees should receive training and regular refresher courses on warehouse safety handling to ensure they can operate equipment safely and effectively. Take forklifts, for example. There are many different kinds of forklifts on the market, each fulfilling a specific purpose. The incorrect use of equipment such as these can be costly for repairs and hinder the efficiency level at which certain operations happen.

Implementing safety policies for warehouses

One of the best ways that safety and efficiency can be ensured is through effective policy writing and implementation. Policies are essential for consistency in warehouse operations and provide a platform for the health and safety standards you want to maintain.

Components of a Warehouse Equipment Safety Policy

• Equipment Usage Guidelines: Clearly define how each piece of equipment should be used, including safety procedures, maintenance requirements, and any special precautions.
• Training Programs: Establish comprehensive training programs that cover equipment handling, safety protocols, and emergency procedures.
• Maintenance and Inspection Procedures: Specify regular maintenance schedules and inspection routines to ensure equipment remains in optimal condition.

Ensuring Adherence to Safety Policies

To guarantee that safety policies are adhered to, you can:

• Conduct regular safety audits and inspections.
• Encourage open communication channels for employees to report safety concerns.
• Recognize and reward safe practices to promote a safety-oriented culture.
• Ensure that all staff are trained in the use of warehouse equipment
• Ensure staff are up to date with the current policy and any changes that may follow

Regular Updates to Safety Policies

Safety policies should evolve with changing technologies and regulations. Regularly review and update your safe equipment handling policy to stay current with best practices and legal requirements. It’s, therefore, imperative that safety policies are updated regularly and that the state of warehouse equipment is assessed as often as necessary.

Consistency in all warehouse operations

Stringent safety policies are essential for maintaining consistency in warehouse operations. They have a profound impact on various aspects:

Inventory Reporting

Accurate inventory reporting is essential for meeting customer demands. Safety policies help ensure that inventory is stored, handled, and recorded correctly, reducing discrepancies and errors in reporting.

Safety Standards Maintenance

By implementing safety policies consistently, you ensure that safety standards are maintained across all aspects of your warehouse operations. This consistency minimizes the risk of accidents and injuries.

Legal Compliance

Compliance with safety regulations is not just a moral imperative; it’s also a legal requirement. Consistently following safety policies helps your warehouse meet legal obligations, protecting your business from potential liabilities.

The supplier’s role in safe equipment handling

Suppliers play a crucial role in ensuring safe equipment handling in your warehouse:

• Equipment Guidance: Suppliers can advise on how to use equipment correctly, recommend upgrades when necessary, and provide maintenance plans to extend the lifespan of your machinery.
• Renting Safely: Companies like Alto Handling ensure safety when renting out forklifts to customers. They perform thorough inspections, maintenance, and safety checks to guarantee that the equipment they supply is in optimal condition.

Efficiency and safety go hand in hand in warehouse operations. By prioritizing safety through policies, training, and equipment handling, you not only protect your workforce but also optimize the efficiency of your warehouse. Consistency and supplier collaboration further enhance safety, ensuring a smooth and secure warehouse environment. Equipment leased from suppliers like Alto Handling has a comprehensive training and equipment maintenance guide, helping you operate as efficiently as possible and ensuring best practices.

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Given that powerful equipment and trucks frequently operate close to one another, warehousing is one of the riskier industries. Rapid growth in e-commerce is driving an ever-increasing demand for the delivery of products in shorter time frames. Industrial and commercial warehouses must meet this demand while maintaining the present standards for safety.

There are thousands of reports of injuries, illnesses, and deaths in the warehousing industry annually. Many of those are the result of industrial mishaps such as slips and falls, exposure to dangerous products, and defective equipment. Warehouse safety should be the employers’ utmost priority to keep employees safe, ensure efficient operation, maximize productivity, and minimize injury or damage.

Best Practices for an Efficient Warehouse

Preventive Maintenance

The majority of occupational dangers can be avoided by taking the following precautions:

• Recruitment & Training
• Safety Equipment & Precautions
• Hygiene & Pest Control

Planned Maintenance

Periodic maintenance can minimize equipment downtime and reduce maintenance costs. The fundamental maintenance advice listed below should be adhered to in order to maintain your warehouse operating at maximum capacity:

• Have A Maintenance Plan
• Stay Vigilant
• Ask Employees For Their Opinion

By regularly monitoring your warehouse equipment, spares, and procedures, and promoting the well-being of your personnel, you’ll not only increase the productivity of your warehouse, but you’ll also cut your losses if there’s an emergency or an accident. Make sure your warehouse is as secure as it can be by working with your staff.

The infographic below by 2Flow takes a look at ‘Creating A Safe & Efficient Warehouse’.

[click to enlarge]

If you need help with creating a safe and efficient warehouse in your facility, contact us today.

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With a potential recession looming, inflation and interest rates rising, and the post-pandemic surge in consumer confidence slowing, productivity is stepping into the spotlight. Amid all of this economic uncertainty, manufacturers are turning their focus toward their own operations and processes, making sure everything is running like the proverbial well-oiled machine. Lean and mean. As efficient as possible.

We get it. At USC Consulting Group, we’ve been helping manufacturers become more efficient and productive for 50+ years. Process improvement is our wheelhouse. We can’t do anything about the economy, but we can help our clients increase their productivity so their companies can be at their fighting best to withstand any economic headwinds that come their way.

In the end, it’s about striking that delicate balance between increasing throughput and maintaining quality. Too much speed on the line can indeed increase throughput, but quality could suffer. So, finding that sweet spot between optimal throughput and optimal quality is the key.

Here’s some of the advice we’ve been giving to our clients to do just that.

Focus on the Five M’s

One of the first steps we take when evaluating process improvements in manufacturing companies is to focus on the Five M’s. Many times we find it all starts and ends with this. It’s a tried-and-true management tool — with some debate as to where and when it originated. And now, people put their own spin on the M’s, as they relate to their own operation. At USC, we call them Machines, Methods, Materials, Measurements and Man and Woman power.

1. Machines. Evaluate your machines on the line. Do they need maintenance? Do you perform regular maintenance or wait until something is “broke” before you fix it?
2. Methods. This step involves evaluating the process of getting the job done. Are there any opportunities to make the workflow more efficient?
3. Materials. This is a big headache for manufacturing today — supply chain issues are messing with the ability to have enough material to get the job done when it needs to get done.
4. Measurements. Are your metrics and measurements for success and profitability on target?
5. Man and Woman power. Do you have the right people in the right jobs? That’s the ideal. But increasingly the question is: Do you have enough skilled people to get the job done, or enough people, period?

Focusing on these five elements of your operation can illuminate a host of opportunities for improvement. Let’s look at some of those in more detail.

Schedule regular maintenance

The old adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” does not serve manufacturing very well. We recommend regular maintenance. Yes, it causes a work stoppage, but it doesn’t take you by surprise. You’ll know the line will be stopped for a certain amount of time on a certain day rather than having things grind to a halt unexpectedly because of an unknown problem you’ll have to ferret out and fix. It’s also important to talk to your people on the line about the troubleshooting they’ve been using when things go wrong. It could be they’re on to something.

Look at the 7 Deadly Wastes

It sounds rather dramatic, but this is a concept initially pioneered by the Toyota Lean manufacturing model. It’s aimed at identifying and eliminating waste in manufacturing operations. We’ve added one additional “waste” to that list. Here they are in detail.

• Overproduction. It leaves you with unused product.
• Waiting. Waiting on the shop floor between steps on the line, or waiting on supply or even equipment.
• Transporting. Excessive movement of inventory, causing the possibility of damage, or even excessive movement within the manufacturing process itself.
• Processing. Do you have extra, unnecessary steps in the manufacturing process?
• Inventory. Too much stock on hand.
• Excess motion. Extra walking, lifting, reaching.
• Defects. Defects in product happen to the best of us.
• People. This is the eighth waste we thought was important to add. It is about taking a close look at the untapped potential of your people.

Examining all of these areas of “wastes” in your operation will help you become more efficient and ultimately more profitable.

→ For more information about Lean, download our free eBook, Lean Six Sigma: Do You Really Know These Methodologies?

Upskill Your People

About that eighth “waste.” There may well be hidden potential working on your lines every day that is being underutilized. We see it all the time in talking to frontline workers, who usually know more about the ins-and-outs of the day-to-day than their supervisors do. Is anyone on the line ready to move up? It might take some classes in management training, but so be it. Promotion from within is a powerful motivator for your workforce and in this market, where retaining good people is so difficult, it can be a lifesaver. There’s also another part to this. It’s about not being able to find skilled workers to do the job. This is a big problem for manufacturing industrywide. The solution just might be to invest in training courses for new hires to get them the skills they need.

At USC Consulting Group, we’re committed to helping manufacturing companies improve their processes to become as efficient and productive as possible. In this economy, it’s a must. Give us a call to find out more.

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Minor snags in routine equipment maintenance procedures seem harmless, but can create enormous problems in your operations. Besides slowing down orders and causing havoc on your line, the costs of this unplanned downtime adds up significantly.

How much pain do routine maintenance problems really cause? The numbers are befuddling.

• $50 billion – The average cost to industrial manufacturers of unplanned downtime
• $2 million – The average cost of each case of unplanned downtime
• 70% – The percentage of companies that DO NOT track unplanned downtime

With these astounding stats, the focus then turns to how do we avoid the unplanned downtime in the first place.

Avoid these 7 routine maintenance problems

Manufacturers would benefit by getting ahead of the issues before they become problematic. Watch out for these routine maintenance hiccups:

1. Preventive Maintenance Gaps
2. Insufficient Operator Training
3. Lack of On-Hand Spare Parts
4. Insufficient Capital Budget
5. Overreliance on Distant Third Parties
6. Paper-Based Reporting
7. Antiquated Controls and Monitoring Capabilities

Kaishan USA has compiled a comprehensive infographic detailing these 7 major maintenance issues to avoid in your daily operations…

Guide created by Kaishan USA

For techniques on how to improve your processes and enhance your maintenance practices, contact USC Consulting Group today. We can help you establish effective predictive and preventive maintenance programs to avoid unplanned downtime.

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Everyday we set out to conquer life in various ways. We conquer fears, objections, and challenges. It is how we overcome these obstacles that defines are character and successes.

There was a famous historical figure with the moniker William the Conqueror  who set out on a conquest which changed the face of history. While we are not conquering nations in the name of our country, we do find victories everyday for ourselves and our companies.

The following is a story illustrating one such victory overcoming operational issues that many others can also achieve themselves…

This is the story of William the Conqueror. No, not the 11^th century figure, but William the VP of Operations at Acme Widget Company. He is under siege with problems that are eating into operational efficiency, causing delays and slowing down his throughput.

There’s trouble on the line. Machinery breakdowns are causing delays. And William is struggling to hire and retain skilled employees to get the job done.

The result of this operational onslaught? Acme Widget Company is not meeting its demand at a critical time. William is getting frustrated. So is his boss.

So William called USC Consulting Group — an operations management consulting firm that has been helping companies identify trouble spots, reduce operating costs, and increase efficiency and throughput for more than 50 years.

Working with William, USC Consulting Group investigated the Five M’s:

1. Machine (Does it need maintenance?)

2. Methods (Can you make processes more efficient?)

3. Materials (Supply chain bottlenecks?)

4. Measurements (Are we measuring the right things?)

5. Man or Woman power (Are your people skilled and trained?)

Focusing on the Five M’s and with USC’s help, William and his team got things running smoothly, with improved efficiency and increased throughput. William’s boss was so pleased with the results that he promoted William to COO*. William had, indeed, conquered his operational issues.

If you are experiencing operational issues like William, give USC Consulting Group a call today and we will put our expertise to work for you, too. *You may not be promoted to COO, but you will increase your operation’s efficiency.

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This is the story of William the Conqueror.

No, not the 11th century figure, but William the Vice President of Operations at Acme Widget Company who becomes the Savior of Operational Improvements. William is under siege with problems that are eating into operational efficiency, causing delays and slowing down his throughput. There’s trouble on the line. Machinery breakdowns are causing delays. William’s supervisors aren’t communicating issues during shift changes. And William is struggling to hire and retain skilled employees to get the job done.

The result of this operational onslaught? Acme Widget Company is not meeting its demand at a critical time. William is getting frustrated with the delays, breakdowns and inefficiencies. So is his boss.

That’s when William called USC Consulting Group — an operations management consulting firm that has been helping companies identify trouble spots, reduce operating costs, and increase efficiency and throughput for more than 50 years.

Working with William, USC Consulting Group investigated the Five M’s:

1. Machine (Does it need maintenance?)
2. Methods (Can you make processes more efficient?)
3. Materials (Supply chain bottlenecks?)
4. Measurements (Are we measuring the right things?)
5. Man or Woman (Are your people skilled and trained?)

Focusing on the five Ms and with USC’s help, William and his team got things running smoothly, with improved efficiency and increased throughput. William’s boss was so pleased with the results that he promoted William to COO*.

William had, indeed, conquered his operational issues.

Moral of the Story: William is not a real person, however, the struggles he and his team were experiencing are a reality for many executives today. Are you experiencing issues like William’s? Would you like to discover operational improvements in your business to increase your throughput and efficiency? Give USC Consulting Group a call at 1-800-888-8872 and we will put our expertise to work for you.

*You may not get promoted to COO, but you will increase your operation’s efficiency.

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