Maintenance, Repair & Operations

Temporary Repairs

Sept. 3, 2019

Four ways to keep temporary repairs from becoming permanent

Temporary repairs, sometimes referred to using the famous brand name of an adhesive bandage product, are a fact of life in production facilities. Temporary repairs are typically made for business-driven reasons, such as delivery pressures and resource utilization (e.g., not having operators idle).

The repairs may involve using bypass jumpers, the wrong type fuse or breaker, a custom-machined (“jury rigged”) part, or some other means. In a Midwestern plastics plant, a failed E-stop was replaced with a normal stop switch until a new E-stop could be obtained later that day.

The main problem with temporary repairs is they tend to become permanent. To prevent this, you need a special process for them. It should include:

A form that Operations must sign before the temporary repair will be made. They agree to provide downtime as soon as you have what you need to affect the correct repair.
Local notice (e.g., a sticker) identifying equipment with a temporary repair.
CMMS work order for the proper repair. It should provide an alert periodically (e.g., twice a day) until the repair is completed. The response to the alert is to check the progress on obtaining the parts or whatever else is needed.
A means of ordering the needed parts/services/materials on an expedited basis.

About the Author

Mark Lamendola

Mark is an expert in maintenance management, having racked up an impressive track record during his time working in the field. He also has extensive knowledge of, and practical expertise with, the National Electrical Code (NEC). Through his consulting business, he provides articles and training materials on electrical topics, specializing in making difficult subjects easy to understand and focusing on the practical aspects of electrical work.

Prior to starting his own business, Mark served as the Technical Editor on EC&M for six years, worked three years in nuclear maintenance, six years as a contract project engineer/project manager, three years as a systems engineer, and three years in plant maintenance management.

Mark earned an AAS degree from Rock Valley College, a BSEET from Columbia Pacific University, and an MBA from Lake Erie College. He’s also completed several related certifications over the years and even was formerly licensed as a Master Electrician. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and past Chairman of the Kansas City Chapters of both the IEEE and the IEEE Computer Society. Mark also served as the program director for, a board member of, and webmaster of, the Midwest Chapter of the 7x24 Exchange. He has also held memberships with the following organizations: NETA, NFPA, International Association of Webmasters, and Institute of Certified Professional Managers.