The primary reason candidates accept other offers, or drop out of an interview process, is not the length of time from interview to offer. Candidates know, pending various logistics, the process can be lengthy. The true reason is that they do not know the next step in the process, and they lose confidence they are being managed properly through the very important process that has a profound impact on their career.

Who likes being sold to? Not many people like the feeling of being pressured to make a decision. It is no different when contacting candidates in the job market. Some are “passive” job seekers and are somewhat testing the current job market. When contacting a candidate, take the time, and truly get to know this person’s background, interests, and talents.

Ensuring equipment reliability is one of the great challenges for industrial operations, from plants to mining companies. Many organizations do not have the staff expertise to develop and effectively run an asset management system, including such core functions as reliability-focused maintenance. Often, they have no idea where to start.

Equipment operation is, at its core, a business activity, and proactive maintenance is an investment in that activity. Unlike reactive, or break-fix maintenance, proactive maintenance involves vigilant asset management and a dedicated strategy that plans not only for component replacement on a recommended schedule (e.g. preventive maintenance) but also equipment analysis to identify root failure origins—excessive vibrations, part contamination, and other issues—and take action to avoid impending part and machinery failures (predictive maintenance).

The goal of the storeroom is to have: The right quantity of, the right parts at, the right place at, the right time. The key to accomplishing that goal is complete accountability and traceability of everything that goes into and comes out of the storeroom. At PCA we find that because of logistics and staffing restraints, many clients split receiving and issuing duties between stores, and shipping & receiving personnel, as well as maintenance and operations personnel.

Carrying a spare part within the facility’s storeroom seems like a simple strategy not requiring much thought. But a second look at internal stocking options reveals there is much to consider in setting optimal stocking levels. Several strategies need to be considered. The use of free issue stock, vending machines, and vendor managed inventory are potential strategies that control cost, reduce transaction work load, and reduce consumption, while ensuring spare parts availability.

It is true, you cannot manage what you do not measure. But Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can be detrimental to an operation if not properly established. KPIs need to be top-down driven. First and foremost are enterprise KPIs that support an organizations mission. All facility, functional, departmental, and individual KPIs need to support those enterprise KPIs. Too often, departmental or functional KPIs can work against each other. A PCA consultant once encountered a situation where the plant manager had two conflicting KPIs ...

The question is often asked, “What makes the perfect storeroom?” Is it brick and mortar? Is it the correct financial ratio of storeroom inventory to facility asset value? Is it a certain measurement of inventory turns? Is it a certain ratio of personnel to inventory value? While it can be argued that any one of, a combination of several, or all of the above are important, the perfect storeroom consists of a combination of strategies working together to assure the operations have ...