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Maintenance, Repair & Operations

Nitrous for Maintenance

July 21, 2020

You have a secret weapon when it comes to performing maintenance.

Funny cars and other kinds of drag racers use “blower in a bottle,” which means they have a nitrous oxide bottle (or bottles) in the trunk and delivery system at the intake manifold.

One manufacturer’s Cheater II system will double the horsepower of most engine configurations, taking a 500-hp engine to an astounding 1,000. hp What if you had something that did that trick for your maintenance department?

In fact, you do, and here is how to find it:

Create a “failure-by-cause” Pareto chart of all equipment failure reports for the past year.
Sort from most common failure mode to least common.
Starting with the most common failure mode, identify the top three that were reactive maintenance situations. Most likely, it will be the first three.

Reactive maintenance is hugely expensive compared to preventive maintenance. Solve for these three comprehensive rather than partial solutions, and the total cost of equipment failures should be about half of what it is now. Condition monitoring and predictive maintenance are essential.

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.