Prevention is better than cure

Whether the saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” can be traced back to the Roman poet Persius in A.D. 58 or Henry de Bracton's 'De Legibus' (c. 1240), the fact remains that the proverb has always been relevant to all aspects of our lives.

We know it to be true, yet we tend to wait until it’s too late and the damage is done. I have a leaking faucet at home, but I know that if I close it in a certain way it stops leaking. It has been “working” this way for the last year or so. I've made notes to get it fixed, but nothing has come of it. I could ask my wife to get a washer, but I haven't had time to explain to her what she should look for.

When the faucet eventually goes, and I know it will, the possibility exists that nobody would be home. The house could be flooded, wasting thousands of litres of water and cause tens of thousands of rands worth of damage. It may not be that dramatic, but there will be damage and it will happen at an inconvenient time when we least expect it.

So what is it going to take me to drive to the local hardware store and spend a couple of bucks to replace the washer? Up until the first paragraph of this article, not really anything. After considering the possible ramifications of not getting that faucet fixed I will be doing it after writing this blog.

Are you running your factory the same way? What if your factory is too big to even know which “faucets” are about to break? What will happen if something goes wrong?


Consider for a second Q-CMMS. This computerised maintenance management system is the ultimate software tool for your plant. It has a central repository of your assets or equipment with all the aspects required to maintain them. All you need to do is add someone that takes responsibility of your assets and understands the effects of not maintaining them. Prevention is always better than cure. That is a fact.

Written by Johan Mostert on behalf of QBCon.

Vist the QBCon home page for more information.

QBCon implements a root cause analysis module for West Rand Engineering

West Rand Engineering enhanced its plant maintenance and safety-related activities by replacing their outdated computerised maintenance management system (CMMS).

QBCon’s Q-CMMS ensures that maintenance and engineering managers can examine repair history, identify trends and improve the reliability of their machinery.

West Rand Engineering recently requested that QBCon add a reason field on breakdown job cards to enable them to analyze why their machines were breaking down. QBCon suggested adding in a root cause analysis module.

The root cause analysis is a structured investigation module that aims to identify the underlying cause of a defect or problem. It also suggests counter-measures to eliminate it. This concept is used throughout the manufacturing industry worldwide.

This process has been accepted, computerised and successfully implemented on the Q-CMMS application at West Rand Engineering.

Read more CMMS news on the QBCon home page.