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Lesson one:  Monitor oil cleanliness results. To keep machines up and running, develop a routine schedule for key items like rotational gear (e.g., pumps and motors); replace filters and watch for leaks. If oil is leaking, contaminants can affect performance.

Lesson two:  It may sound self-serving, but always turn first to your OEM for repairs. You might get cheaper repairs from an unauthorized repair house (URH). But that same part will need many more repairs over the next one or two years and will ultimately cost you more. Ron once had a power plant customer call and request a same-day service on a repair. He quickly looked up all the possible parts that could be required and provided a quote. Ron then asked the customer where he was located. The customer told Ron he had already sent his corporate jet with the valves to Moog’s factory. The customer was so time-pressed and frustrated with the URH that they resorted to desperate measures. Moog fixed all the valves the same evening, and the customer’s jet returned with like-new product and got back to business immediately.

Lesson three:  Incorporate root cause analysis into your maintenance. Root cause analysis gets to the root of a technical problem via highly detailed photographs or rigorous elemental analysis. Imagine how a highly magnified photo of a corroded flexure sleeve could be the result of moisture in the hydraulic fluid and the acidity being too high. Or perhaps analysis finds something lodged in the first stage of a valve. At Moog, root cause analysis consists of sending items to its materials lab for extensive analysis using high-tech equipment the likes of which you’ll see in Hollywood t.v. shows and movies.

Maintenance managers are always challenged to do more with less. Keep in mind Ron’s three lessons, and you’ll spend a lot less on maintenance in the years ahead.

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About Moog

Moog Inc. is a worldwide designer, manufacturer and integrator of precision control components and systems. Moog Industrial Group designs and manufactures high performance motion control products, solutions and services combining electric, hydraulic, and hybrid technologies with expert consultative support in a range of applications in energy, industrial machinery, simulation and test markets. Moog Industrial Group, with fiscal year 2014 sales of USD 591 million and over 40 locations worldwide, is part of Moog Inc. (NYSE:MOG.A and MOG.B) which has sales of USD 2.65 billion

For more information, please visit www.moogglobalsupport.com