Outage Preparation - Assess It First!

In Illinois, we are slowly starting to come out of the stay-at-home order and move into the next phase of social-distancing. My kids are officially on summer break but it doesn't feel like it since we're still staying home basically doing what we 've been doing for the last three months.

Rearranging Our New Normal

As we gradually adjust to a "new normal," we're altering some constants in our lives.  Summer vacation is one as my family and I normally travel somewhere that provides:

• water 🌊
• a fun park 🎢
• an educational experience 📓

This year, we are not travelling anywhere so we have to do things differently and make the most of it. I have a pool so the water category is taken care of (✔️), I purchased a digital projector to create a "dive-in" theater (fun park ✔️), I worked with my family to figure out what additional tools were needed to make the theater functional (educational experience ✔️).

My colleague, Mike, approached this year's vacation plans with the same mindset. He decided to stick close to home and enjoy the canal nearby. He modified a trolling motor to fit on his kayak (talk about innovative - that is why we're glad he works at Martin). 

Applying New Normal in the Workforce

This same mindset can also be used when you are returning your operations back to normal. There is a good chance outages/maintenance plans have changed. I get it and I want to support you. Assessing your air cannon systems prior to an outage is very beneficial. You want to be ready to go and hit the ground running on the first day of your outage. I have seen several customers not have the right parts on hand, delaying their outage. 

Steps You Can Take

There are things you can be doing or looking for to make the most of your upcoming outage. Check to make sure air cannons are turned on and functional. You might not be aware that someone turned off the air cannons. I've been on calls where this exact thing happened and it was a simple fix. You can also have an offical pre-outage assessment done. Regardless of industry (pulp and paper, cement, limestone, power generation, sand, aggregate, and more), a pre-outage assessment can save you time and money.

I like to think of what me and my team can help provide - as far as assessing your operation for an outage - as the Rule of 3: Education, Training, Assessment.

Education: Education on the application and ways to enhance it

Training: Training on our products and how can they can help your operation

Assessment: Assessing what you need and how we can help you be ready for the outage. Our assessment also links in the education and training to make it as worthwhile as possible for all parties involved. 

We want to SUPPORT you. 

We Are Looking Ahead

My team and I were recently talking about what we are looking forward to and how we will handle getting back out in the field and doing assessments. This list is our takeaways:

• We are all excited about things getting back to a normal routine

• We will be as patient and flexible as possible to accommodate everyone

• Communication is KEY. As long as the customer is open and upfront about their goals, we can make sure they are totally prepared for outages and or capital project
• Knowing what will be executed at the outage is essential to help prepare the operation. And to work ahead, what their focus for 2021 outages will be. 

Top 5 reasons to get an assessment:

• Understand the equipment's purpose & make sure it is working at full performance
• Justify return on investment
• Get a reference point of where you stand for production intention for the coming year
• Awareness of hopper/bin capacity
• Maintain and even increase safety

You are busy, and I value your time. If you would like to schedule a FREE, NO-OBLIGATION phone call to discuss further, click below.

So unless I am booked solid for assessments, I will be in the pool enjoying movie nights! Yeah, Baby!