Welcome to the Maintenance Blog!
My name is Andrew, and I have spent the last 27 years managing industrial maintenance departments. I’m a lifelong learner who also likes to mentor and teach others with a willingness to listen and learn.
I have a natural curiosity about “how things work” and have a strong desire to “make things better.” In 2020 I decided to leave the comfort of a Maintenance Manager and Director of Information Technology position that I held for many years for the challenges of a new position at a company that needed a lot of help.
I accepted this new position without a functionally accurate title and position. The purpose on my part was to get to know the equipment, the process, and, most importantly, the people. I didn’t want to walk in the door with a cookie-cutter approach to maintenance management. About 6 months into the job, I had become the go-to guy for the technical requests from the maintenance team, sales, engineering, and management. Shortly after that, the maintenance team began reporting to me.
The new position is filled with challenges from many directions. Many machines are outdated and poorly maintained, while import machines are of poor design and require excessive maintenance and attention. The existing maintenance team is a couple of great guys, but they lack all the necessary technical skills required for the facility. Compounding these things is business nearly doubled in 2021.
This new position has me very hands-on, meaning that I am turning wrenches, troubleshooting controls, and interacting with new technologies for the first time in many years.
My goals in this new position are as follows:
- Bring structure and accountability to the maintenance department.
- Properly staff the department with the best talent.
- Change the culture of the maintenance department, which includes their interaction with machine operators and office staff.
- Provide the team with the best tools from a mental and physical standpoint
- Implement an effective predictive/preventive maintenance program
- Develop and implement a spare parts program
- Standardize on quality hardware from reliable brands and suppliers
- Improve the quality of the capital equipment brought into the facility
- Reduce equipment downtime and increase productivity with meaningful repairs and upgrades
The Maintenance Blog
If you made it this far down the page, you are probably wondering, “what the heck does all this have to do with this website?” The answer is simple, I’m excited. This new position is filled with many exciting opportunities, and I noticed there aren’t many personal blogs devoted to industrial maintenance and industrial maintenance management. I’m here to change that.
This blog provides me with the opportunity to write about the trials and tribulations of a maintenance manager. I will write about:
- Maintenance Management
- Tools
- Tool Reviews
- Maintenance Management and Industrial Controls related Books
- Interesting Hardware
- New Technologies
- Tip, Tricks, and Tutorials
- and content I’m sure I haven’t even considered yet.
If you would like to contribute content send a message
Visit my other websites: My personal blog, Pixel Hiker, Solved That!, more coming soon!