GM ditches the 3,000 mile oil change…

… something that IntelliStick did two years ago.

This American car maker may be in trouble, but GM does have at least one thing right. As part of their corporate responsibility “environmental commitment” GM posted this story on their web site about how 3,000 miles isn’t always the best time to change your oil. GM recommends condition-based maintenance — that they happen to provide in their vehicles.Non-GM owners can get the same knowledge from IntelliStick, which lets you know the condition of your oil.

condition-based maintenance at UPS

UPS Freight has joined the growing list of companies that are focusing on condition-based maintenance. According to a recent Transportation Topics article, UPS Freight’s telematics systems “will be upgraded with proprietary firmware and an internally developed algorithm” that will help them better manage their trucks and analyze potential problems.

UPS made the move to cut costs. They know the problems of interval-based maintenace — sometimes you don’t find the problem until it’s already too late. A UPS spokeswoman said that the company is aiming for an effective condition-based maintenace system that can reduce the amount of time that critical equipment is out of service for repairs.

the “real world” of maintenance

We got a chuckle from this list of 34 Signs You’re Living in the Real World of Maintenance from Reliable Plant.

Among our favorites …

We have a couple of machines that vacationed in Hawaii on frequent flier miles built up on parts air-shipped in for them.

We discussed whether it was possible that a machine could need so much ongoing maintenance, that it was theoretically never available for production.

There was a role clarification meeting between operations and maintenance management, and it seems like the outcome was quite clear. It’s definitely their job to break the machines, and our job to fix them.

squeezing every last drop

We’re excited by all developments in hybrid/electric/alternative fuel vehicles. What’s good for the planet is good for all of us. Hopefully the time will soon come when these cars are a viable, economic alternative. We got one step closer this week as the Ford Fusion was driven 1,445 miles on a single tank! We were pleased to read that this was the standard model with no special alterations for the test. We hate it when they get some suped-up version for these tests that’s nothing like the one a consumer can actually buy.

Is that a typo?

Our faithful blog readers know that IntelliStick is on the 3,000 Mile myth bandwagon. With the data we get back from our IntelliStick we can see that it isn’t necessary to change your oil every 3,000 miles. We know it, the state of California knows it, and more and more drivers are catching on, too.

But we thought it was a Monday morning typo when we saw a 30,000 mile oil change headline. 30,000? Even to us, that seems a little out in left field. You’d better be sure that if we put one of those filters in our car and attempted a 30,000 mile oil change that we’d have our IntelliStick telling us what was really going on with our oil. Actually, that might be an interesting experiment for the IntelliStick engineers …

the $10 million oil change

When we first saw this Wall Street Journal article about a Nascar team spending $10 million to develop a new oil for it’s cars, our first thought was “whoa, that’s a lot of money.” Then we saw that they’re claiming it gives them an extra 10 horsepower (which might not sound like much, but these races often come down to a fraction of a second). Plus, just one win at a big race would more than recoup those costs — when you factor in the prize money, sponsorship deals, etc.

All of this begs the question — are expensive oils really better for the average driver? We know people who swear by synthetics and others who claim it’s best to keep what you’ve got and maybe supplement it with an additive package. It’s gratifying to us when we hear back from an IntelliStick customer who has tested out different oils in their car and has been able to determine what oil actually is the best for them, in their car and with the way they drive.

Predictive maintenance at Harley Davidson

“The Harley-Davidson image is the antithesis of predictable. No schedules. No plans. No boundaries. No cares. The unknown lies around the bend. Just strap on the helmet, fire up the engine and ride….
The Harley-Davidson manufacturing image, however, is all about predictability. No surprises. No bottlenecks. No breakdowns. No downtime. What lies ahead is known. Just turn on the production equipment and create.”   read more

This excerpt is from a recent article in Reliable Plant about the impressive predictive maintenance system in place at the Harley plant outside of Milwaukee. We appreciated the comments from the plant’s maintenance manager about reactive maintenance or “fire-fighting” and how this seems to be rewarded in corporate America — but that Harley understands that it’s even better if you can keep those problems from occurring in the first place.

Change your “oil change culture”

At IntelliStick, we try to show people the folly of sticking to the old business-as-usual, interval-based, change-you-oil-every-3,000-mile mindset. We know the dangers — that you’re changing your oil too soon (and wasting oil/not being eco-friendly) or that you’re changing your oil too late (and risking big-time repairs). But people inherently resist change (here’s 10 reasons why).

Change your Lubrication Culture

So even after you’ve found a brilliant new way to manage your engine’s maintenance, you might find resistance in getting everyone onboard. We found an article that we liked in Machinery Lubrication that talks about the 4-step shift to change your “Lubrication Culture”. We think it is helpful to acknowledge that making a change is a process and that it will take time for everyone to make the shift.

nav system

Garmin Nuvi 465T

Another item of interest to come out of the MATS was the Garmin nüvi 465T — a navigation system designed for truckers, RVers and other long-haul drivers. After inputting the specs for your truck/RV/tractor it dials up specific restrictions for height, width, length, weight and hazardous materials.  Plus it’s plugged in to the NTTS directory.

We’d be interested to hear feedback from anyone who already has one or is thinking about getting one.

lubricants

High-speed Train

Today we came across a story about choosing the right lubricant and how it affected the development of high-speed trains in China. We thought it was an interesting story (so we tolerated the PR push by Royal Purple near the end).

We are excited about the prospect of a high-speed train from San Diego to San Francisco. If done properly, we think it could be a huge asset for the state of California. We just hope the bureaucrats can stop bickering, settle on a plan and get to work.

While reading about grease, we also saw this article called “How Grease Kills” from Machinery Lubrication Magazine which gives a breakdown on some of the common mistakes made while regreasing. — We particularly liked the thought near the end that said there may be more than one right way to do things, but there are hundreds of wrongs ways. —