Two recent Wall Street Journal articles cite examples of how many aspects of maintenance costs are not noted in standard accounting procedures (see Figure 17.4 and related discussion in your Heizer/Render/Munson text). Preventive maintenance involves monitoring equipment and facilities, along with performing routine inspections, to keep them reliable.
Here is the first (from WSJ, Aug.26-27, 2022): Across the country, transmission lines are among the oldest parts of the electrical grid, Many were constructed in the years after World War II as Americans moved from cities to suburbs, built homes wired with wall sockets, and bought electric appliances. Some transmission lines are even older, developed shortly after the turn of the 20th century to replace gas lamps and candles at a time when electricity was still something of an experiment. For example, PG&E Corp.’s transmission line was built in 1921 in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
On Nov. 8, 2018, just before sunrise, strong winds pummeled a power line scaling those mountains north of Sacramento, Calif. A hook hanging from a century-old transmission tower broke, dropping a high-voltage wire that spit a shower of sparks setting dry brush aflame. The Camp Fire, named for the road near its place of origin, burned for 17 days, destroying 150,000 acres and 19,000 structures. It killed 84 people. PG&E pled guilty in 2020 to involuntary manslaughter charges. It said that inspections revealed the need for more than 250,000 repairs across the system. But they had not taken place. PG&E’s lack of preventive maintenance cost lives.
The second article (from WSJ, Sept. 2, 2022) involves the U.S. Army: The Army said its maintenance personnel installed the wrong parts on some of its 400 Chinook helicopters, prompting military officials to ground the entire fleet. The Army experienced at least seven incidents of fuel leaks, four of which involved engine fires. The parts in question, types of seals known as O-rings, weren’t faulty, just not the ones that were supposed to be installed. The Army has taken steps to correct the maintenance error and inspect helicopters suspected of having the incorrect O-rings, which the U.S. government purchased for 11 cents each.
The helicopters have ferried American soldiers and equipment on battlefields since the helicopter’s debut in 1961. The military had no estimate for when the aircraft would begin to return to service.
Classroom discussion questions:
- Who in the PG&E organization is responsible for this maintenance failure?
- As an Army Officer in change of Chinook helicopter maintenance, what changes would you make?