Letter From the Editor: Data for Decision-Making

In this ever-evolving industry, teams on the concrete and on the carpet consistently rely on one key component – data. Data is at the heart of everything we do and every decision we make, and if we don’t have the best quality information possible, we can never hope to become top performing facilities.

For example, traditional pen and paper methods leave room for miscommunication, data entry delays, and faulty information. But, by adding a mobile solution to your team’s toolbelt, they become more productive and efficient in their daily maintenance activities, leading to increased profitability and sustainability for the entire facility. Other benefits of connected worker technology include increased insight into the frontlines and a continuous improvement of maintenance processes.

But the data process doesn’t stop with the tools that we give our teams. It also involves the data centers that are responsible for transmitting this essential data, which can present unique maintenance and reliability challenges. But by understanding where these troubles may lie, we can successfully implement a process to circumvent them. In part, this involves making sure we are choosing the right maintenance strategy, both for our data centers and our entire facility. It’s important that you choose a strategy that coincides with facility goals.

Not only does this method guide the way for the effective collection and transfer of data, but it also influences your equipment troubleshooting efforts. Without the right strategy, your efforts may not be aligned with the needs of the critical assets, thereby decreasing plant productivity and hindering proactive progress. Once a strategy has been thoughtfully chosen, you can begin to implement other tools that advance the efforts of your team as they work towards plant reliability and reduced unplanned downtime, such as machine learning,

Improving our plant’s maintenance and reliability practices can only happen through the combined efforts of our teams and their data. By having systems in place that not only enhance these efforts, but push us to evolve and rethink the way we operate, we can develop sustainable world-class systems built on quality and efficiency.

If you or someone you know would like to be considered to contribute content for future issues of Reliable Plant Digital Magazine, email our editor at bmoll@noria.com.