During his 40+ year career with two paper companies and an energy company, Bob Anderson, now a PCA Consulting professional, implemented system-wide changes that eliminated equipment failures and set the stage for a more proactive approach to maintenance.  

Bob would typically start with a comprehensive assessment to uncover the causes of a facility’s reliability challenges. What he found was that most of the hurdles were linked to maintenance workflow issues and a lack of standard processes, while a handful of challenges could be traced to the equipment itself. 

One example was a mill that was contending with frequent blackouts, which drastically impeded productivity and caused the facility to miss its output goals. The blackouts were not just an inconvenience; they were becoming a safety hazard. 

A Flashlight in Every Pocket  

During Bob’s first year at the mill, there were nine total-mill blackouts. As a 1400-ton-per-day facility, these blackouts caused huge productivity shortfalls and negatively impacted the company’s bottom line.  

The power infrastructure had become so unreliable that every employee carried a flashlight in their pocket, as they never knew when another blackout would happen. 

Additionally, the mill’s maintenance team was taking a “firefighting” approach to equipment care. They would respond to problems as they happened rather than using an RCFA process to proactively identify the root cause to prevent equipment failures.  

The mill produced most of its power from two large steam turbine generators. One of the turbines would shut down unexpectedly (trip) multiple times causing several mill blackouts. By conducting a root cause analysis, Bob discovered that a specific control board for these systems kept failing, causing the trips.  

Naturally, he asked the electrical superintendent if he had ever had a bad board inspected to determine why they kept failing. The superintendent had not.  

Bob asked the superintendent to send the board to the manufacturer for a failure evaluation. The manufacturer determined the board failed due to overheating. The control board was only designed for a maximum operating temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit, while the location where it was installed on the turbine reached temperatures of 150-180 degrees Fahrenheit.  

Putting an End to Blackouts 

Upon identifying the problem, Bob recommended moving the control board to a panel in the control room. After making the move, the mill did not have any blackouts due to turbine trips.  

The change management process didn’t stop there. After eliminating the root cause of turbine trips, Bob and his team worked to implement a proactive maintenance strategy, which prioritized reliability and equipment lifespan optimization.  

At the end of Bob’s ten years at the mill, there were no more blackouts, and many other causes of equipment downtime were eliminated. The mill became far more efficient and consistently met and exceeded production goals.