ASSET MANAGEMENT'

How one manufacturer's positive approach to plant maintenance slashed costs while boosting production

CHICAGO-Is predictive maintenance cost effective? Here at S&C Electric Co., an affirmative answer is clear. Repair work orders are down 90%; production machinery uptime has increased from 90% to 97%. Those improvements are estimated to save at least $4 million annually.

In marked contrast to the drain of manufacturing jobs and the decline of familiar industries throughout this area, S&C Electric continues to grow as a world leader in the manufacture of high-power electrical switching and control apparatus. Located on nearly a square mile of industrial property in an otherwise largely residential neighborhood, and still privately held, the firm occupies 1.1 million square feet under roof in 20 separate buildings. Strong demand for the firm's products poses a serious challenge for the maintenance functions here.

The 1,600 plant employees are on a "two plus" shift work schedule, with maintenance workers on a three-shift basis. Other than a Christmas shutdown period, no scheduled downtime is available except for periodic "project weekends" from Saturday afternoon to Monday morning. During such periods, scheduled maintenance that takes more than one work shift to complete includes servicing of circuit breakers in power distribution panels, software upgrades for control systems, lighting upgrades and bulb/ballast replacements, upgrading or replacing PLC's, and any motor replacements or repairs.