General Manager's Corner
Summer 2011
By: Tim Hestle
Preventive Medicine
As we age, it seems that the majority of us spend a lot more time in doctors’ offices. With the rising cost of health care, those of us fortunate enough to have decent insurance usually have modest co-payments or deductibles for things like physicals or teeth cleaning. Have you ever wondered why these routine checkups are so inexpensive for the patient?
Insurance companies have found that it is more cost-effective to diagnose and treat illnesses before they become more serious, thus heading off repeated doctor visits, extended hospital stays and additional payouts. Good health oftentimes is a result of preventive medicine.
The same logic applies to other things in our everyday lives, for instance, your car. If you keep the oil changed and the tires rotated and have the vehicle tuned up and serviced at the recommended intervals, chances are you will not have any catastrophic failures. In all likelihood, it will give you years of reliable and dependable service. The cost of an oil change is insignificant compared to the cost of a new engine. The cost of rotating your tires is nothing compared to replacing them. Your car’s health depends on preventive maintenance.
Sometimes things break. If you fall and break your leg stepping off a curb, you will most likely go to the emergency room to have the broken bone reset. Instead of assigning blame to the sidewalk contractor or property owner for your clumsiness, in the future you should be more careful and look for ways to keep this misfortune from recurring. The same thing applies to machinery and equipment. If something critical breaks, repair it, on an emergency basis if necessary. This is known as reactive maintenance. Next, try to figure out why it happened. Then, if possible, take measures to keep it from recurring. With the exception of gross negligence, it has been my experience that trying to assign blame is normally counterproductive.
Sometimes things wear out. We all know people we consider elderly. Regardless of how well they take care of themselves, sometimes things just wear out. They may have to have a hip or knee replaced; otherwise they could become bedridden or confined to a wheelchair. Insurance costs for the latter will more than likely be much greater than the cost of the joint replacement operation, not to mention a person’s quality of life and productiveness in society
After a period of time, worn-out building and equipment parts will have to be replaced. If your roof begins showing signs of wear, it makes sense to replace it before it starts to leak and ruins your ceilings, furniture and floors. If a pump or electric motor starts making noise, it is likely that the bearings need to be replaced before the rotating elements are destroyed and you are forced to purchase a new pump or new motor. This is proactive maintenance.
Equipment maintenance in the Energy Distribution System and Energy Generation Facility requires a high level of attention to ensure continued reliable and dependable service to the Metro Nashville District Energy System customers. As equipment ages, efficiency numbers usually deteriorate. Amazingly, preventive maintenance activities have helped us increase plant efficiencies over the past seven years.
Metro Nashville District Energy System customers, building owners and operators are encouraged to perform preventive maintenance on their buildings and equipment, as well. Building maintenance includes many things; but related to heating and cooling, the heat exchangers and the heating, ventilation and air conditioning coils should be cleaned routinely. Pumps, piping and electrical systems should be inspected, monitored and maintained. Good building maintenance benefits everyone on the system.
Although we cannot purchase a new body, we can prolong its usefulness through preventive, reactive and proactive medicine. Similarly, the usefulness of equipment and machinery can be extended through preventive, reactive and proactive maintenance. These principles can be applied to most things in life.