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Repairs and Root Cause Analysis
A motor fails, bringing production to a halt. Your team swaps out the bad motor with a new one in what must be record time, and production is humming along once again. But was this a real repair, or simply a parts swap?

A real repair solves the problem. A parts swap doesn't address anything but the apparent cause of production stoppage and the need to get running again. Thus, a parts swap won't prevent another production stoppage. The smoke rolling out of a motor is a good clue that its failure caused the production stoppage. But it doesn't tell you what caused that motor to fail. The real problem might even be in another part of the facility.

Experts recommend root cause analysis, and we know this is the only proven way to solve failures completely. So, why don't we do it every time? One reason is urgency. Production managers want production up now. They don't want to wait while you make wishbone diagrams, conduct extensive testing, and develop a list of likely causes.

So, don't make them wait. Do this "thinking work" now, while the equipment is running -- before you are in the pressure cooker. Develop a repair script for each item of critical equipment. The purpose of this script is to provide a sequence of troubleshooting steps that you can employ quickly when a failure occurs. Your repair script can be in any of several forms. The checklist format is simple, effective, and efficient. The flowchart format is another option. Don't worry about getting this perfect the first time.


Operation
NEC at the Facility
Article 100 defines "energized" as being electrically connected to a source of voltage (or being the source of voltage). This definition fits the scope of the NEC (defined in 90.2). But it falls short when determining energy sources for purposes of safely working on equipment. You may need to isolate non-electrical energy sources, such as flywheels, gas cylinders, gravity-fed devices, hydraulic cylinders, mechanical springs, and pneumatic circuits.

Unsafe Behaviors
Most industrial accidents occur because of what people do, not where they are. Here are three unsafe behaviors your maintenance team should be aware of:

1. Ignoring safety instructions. Signs, labels, checklists, MSDS, and other sources of safety information help prevent injury, but only if heeded.
2. Assuming de-energization. Locking out a supply breaker doesn't guarantee a circuit is de-energized. Trust, but verify (using a meter rated for the power level in question).
3. Hurrying. You've probably heard the expression, "Never enough time to do it right but always enough time to do it over." It's also true that your hurrying-related mistake can result in catastrophic failure, injury, or death. Take the time to do it right.

During a failure, you should be able to use a troubleshooting procedure specific to this motor. Your first step in developing this procedure is to develop a list of every asset (e.g., supply breaker, motor drive, etc.) related to the motor. Note the asset ID and location of each asset. Your next step is to develop the likely failure mode of each of those assets and what tests to conduct for each failure mode. While production is still up, you should walk through this procedure as if you are actually troubleshooting. This will help you find checkpoints not apparent from your asset list.