Sawan Jasoliya

More inventory does not always mean better availability of spares. In fact, the more unnecessary inventory you have, the less likely you are to find the exact spare you need when a breakdown happens. This thought crossed my mind when I heard about the breakdown of a bucket elevator gearbox at Sebit, West Pokot plant —a place where I worked for a short time. The plant was shut down for 12 days due to the unavailability of a spare gearbox. Unfortunately, this is a recurring issue there. There was no scientific approach to procurement—just blind purchasing to save their skins. But in reality, no one can escape the consequences of poor planning. And then there’s the bigger issue: it was an old Chinese plant. After running its full life in China and being exploited to the maximum, it was sold to Devki Group, Kenya. Imagine the situation for a mechanical maintenance engineer in a plant like this—no proper manuals, no part lists, and no structured systems. Every day and every night...

Important Note: This SOP applies to all maintenance jobs except Preventive Maintenance. For complete SOP:  Click here

1. Efficiency (Fundamental Formula) Efficiency = Output Input \text{Efficiency} = \frac{\text{Output}}{\text{Input}} This is the base formula, where "output" and "input" can be anything—energy, time, raw materials, or resources. 2. Productivity (Material-Based Efficiency) Productivity = Output Quantity Input Quantity (Material) \text{Productivity} = \frac{\text{Output Quantity}}{\text{Input Quantity (Material)}} Measures how much product is made from a given amount of raw material. Higher productivity means better utilization of raw materials. 3. Availability (Time-Based Efficiency) Availability = Actual Operating Time Total Scheduled Time \text{Availability} = \frac{\text{Actual Operating Time}}{\text{Total Scheduled Time}} Reflects how much time a machine or system is available for operation versus planned time. If a machine is down for maintenance, availability decreases. 4. Utilization (Machine Usage Efficiency) Utilization = Operating Time To...

Everyone Talks About Efficiency, But What Is It Really? Everyone wants efficiency. Everyone talks about efficiency. But if you ask ten people what efficiency really means, you’ll probably get ten different answers. For me, the definition is simple: Efficiency = Output ÷ Input It’s as basic as that. If the formula is so simple, then why do we often make efficiency improvement exercises so complicated? They don’t need to be. If you think as a layman and ask yourself: "How do I make something more efficient?" the answer is straightforward: 1️⃣ Remove existing inefficiencies. 2️⃣ Don’t allow new inefficiencies to enter your system. That’s it. Do these two things, and the major part of efficiency improvement is done. Where Do Inefficiencies Come From? Now, ask yourself: Why were these inefficiencies in your plant or systems in the first place? How did they enter? How did they build up over time? Do a basic root cause analysis , and you’ll find the answers. You...