“The plants that are consistently winning aren’t necessarily the ones with the best technology.”

In this episode of Reliability 4.0, Matthew Hoffner, Reliability Engineer at Owens Corning, discuss about how root cause analysis revealed lubrication as a recurring contributor to equipment failures at the company’s Jacksonville facility.

Matt shares how the team responded with automatic lubrication systems, technician and operator training, updated PMs, clearer labeling, and better lubrication practices. But the biggest lesson was that tools alone were not enough. Lasting improvement required getting operators, maintenance, engineering, and leadership involved in reliability.

The conversation explores the practical changes behind those results, from calibrating grease guns and strengthening operator care to improving how teams approach root cause analysis and use AI in maintenance.

Key topics include:

🔹 How RCA identified lubrication as a recurring cause of failures

🔹 Reducing bearing-related downtime by more than 36% in 12 months

🔹 Why grease gun calibration can make a significant difference

🔹 Giving operators greater ownership of equipment reliability

🔹 Bringing cross-functional teams together for RCA

🔹 Where AI can help with maintenance data and condition monitoring

This episode is available on:

📺 YouTube

🎧 Apple Music

Or wherever you get your podcasts!

Want to strengthen your RCA process alongside your maintenance data? 👉https://easyrca.com/engage

#Reliability40 #ReliabilityEngineering #Maintenance #Lubrication #RootCauseAnalysis #PreventiveMaintenance