Reliability Radio EP 329: IBM Predictive Maintenance misinterpreted -Tom Woginrich
Release Date: 07/31/2025
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On this episode of Reliability Radio, hosts Jonathan Guiney and Brendon Russ speak with JLL's Bryce Steffens about the most important asset in the age of AI: People. While many workers are "running scared" that AI will take their jobs, Bryce shares a revolutionary mindset shift: What if you eliminate your own job first? Drawing from his presentation at TRC 2025, Bryce focuses on the People and Culture at Work domain of the Uptime Elements, emphasizing Opportunity for Growth and Mattering at Work. Key Takeaways & Concepts: The Glug Effect: Bryce introduces the hilarious and highly relatable...
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On this episode of Reliability Radio, hosts Jonathan Guiney and Brendan Russ welcome Michael Bigelow, Systems Engineering, Energy and Water Efficiency lead at Seattle Children’s Hospital, to discuss the extreme measures taken to ensure the reliability of critical assets, specifically patient transport elevators. In a facility where vertical transportation is essential for safety, accessibility, and the core mission, Michael details their holistic strategy: Defining Criticality: How a deep survey of patient experience, including the helicopter landing pad and emergency department access,...
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Join Hosts Jonathan Guiney and Brendon Russ on Reliability Radio as they welcome Matt Vilardebo from JLL. Drawing on four decades of experience—starting with his father's early work in vibration analysis—Matt discusses the surprising persistence of reactive maintenance. He explores the "million dollar question": Why do maintenance teams still walk by known asset failures? Matt shares real-world stories from power plants to the Middle East, highlighting the constant battle against the mentality of running assets to failure and the critical need for maintenance professionals to communicate...
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On this episode of Reliability Radio, hosts Jonathan Guiney and Brendan Russ welcome Bill Kilbey, Chief Reliability Officer from Weight Sensor Technology, to discuss the ongoing tension between AI hype and the human element in condition monitoring. Drawing on his background from the U.S. Navy's nuclear submarines, Bill emphasizes that sound and vibration analysis is a detective game that requires deep human expertise. He argues that while AI is necessary to process 5 billion readings a day, a human analyst must always be in the loop to provide curated, in-context data and prevent inaccurate,...
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On this episode of Reliability Radio, hosts Jonathan Guiney and Brendan Russ welcome Candi Robinson from IFS Ultimo to confront the biggest misconception in Enterprise Asset Management (EAM): that AI is an "easy button" that will magically fix every operational problem. With two decades of EAM experience, Candi argues that technology cannot solve a foundational problem. She reveals that many organizations are still stuck using antiquated practices, like printing work orders, while expecting to jump straight to Industry 4.0. This candid session covers: The Data Reality Check: Why 20 years of...
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On this episode of Reliability Radio, hosts Jonathan Guiney and Brendon Russ welcome Allen Rienstra from SDT Ultrasound Solutions to discuss the biggest mistake companies make after purchasing new technology: undervaluing training. Allen reveals that the failure rate for new monitoring programs that neglect continuous, hands-on training aligns perfectly with the 70% program failure statistic. The core problem is the confusion between certification training (learning physics and theory) and implementation training (learning the software, making real-life decisions, and applying it to your...
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On this episode of Reliability Radio, hosts Jonathan Guiney and Brendan Russ (JLL) welcome Robert Skeirik from i-care, the largest independent vibration service company globally, to discuss the limitations of traditional monitoring and the future of Maximo Predict. Robert reveals the critical flaw in using a single "overall" vibration number, explaining through a compelling "radio dial" analogy why minor but critical signals—like a looming bearing defect—are drowned out by louder faults (unbalance, misalignment). This session details: The Vibration Lie: Why rolling element bearing...
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Jonathan and Brendon welcome Jon Mortensen from IFS on Reliability Radio for a discussion that defines the future of enterprise asset management. Jon reveals IFS's commitment to the full Asset Lifecycle Management (ALM) journey, which they call the "Must to Dust" cycle. The key focus is on solving the universal problem of capital constraint. Learn how the strategic acquisition of a leading Asset Investment Planning (AIP) company allows IFS to optimize capital expenditure, evaluating repair vs. replace decisions, and leveling financial peaks and troughs over a 20-year horizon. This episode...
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Join Jonathan Guiney and Brendon Russ on Reliability Radio as they speak with Sheldon Roper, a CRL Black Belt and Reliability Engineer at JLL. Sheldon shares his unique career path from working on offshore rigs to becoming a reliability engineer and achieving his Black Belt in a remarkably short two and a half years. This conversation demystifies the prestigious Black Belt certification, explaining that it's not about new, complex projects, but about providing a "proof of concept" by documenting the valuable work you do every day. Sheldon offers practical advice for anyone on the fence about...
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Join Jonathan Guiney and Brendon Russ on Reliability Radio as they welcome Jeremy Frank, CEO of KCF Technologies. Jeremy shares his company's fascinating journey, which began 25 years ago with niche, high-tech work for the Department of Defense on applications for submarines and helicopters. He explains how KCF successfully transitioned this "exotic" technology to the industrial world, applying it to solve complex machine health problems. Jeremy reveals their key technical differentiator—a proprietary wireless protocol that provides high data throughput on a low power budget, enabling them...
info_outlineJoin Jonathan Guiney and Brendon Russ on Reliability Radio for a controversial debate with Tom Woginrich from IBM on "predictive maintenance vs. condition-based maintenance." Tom challenges the traditional view, defining the "predictive maintenance" of old as limited "univariate analytics" (single variables like vibration), often leading to frustration and missed failures.
He then unveils the true power of multivariate analytics: high-frequency data from dozens of variables (amps, temperature, load, even time of day) analyzed by machine learning to predict problems long before they become potential failures. Tom shares a fascinating anecdote of how a simple window shade caused a multi-million dollar recall for an automotive manufacturer, a problem only uncovered through disparate data analysis. Learn how IBM Maximo's capabilities, including multivariable health scores, are building the foundation for this next-level prediction. The discussion culminates with a glimpse into the future, where AI-powered systems automatically suggest actions without human prompting. This episode is a must-listen for anyone ready to move beyond guesswork and unlock the true predictive power of their asset data.