Improving reliability in manufacturing requires more than just fixing machines—it takes strategy, leadership, and grit. John Ramirez, Reliability Manager at Rehrig Pacific’s Orlando plant, shares how structured reliability improvements can transform an operation from constant downtime to a culture of continuous improvement.

John’s practical, step-by-step approach offers a roadmap for any manufacturing leader looking to drive real, sustainable change.

Quick Overview (TL;DR)

• John Ramirez shares a three-stage turnaround strategy: fix the basics, attack top issues weekly, then implement planning and scheduling.
• Success starts with technical excellence: fixing oil leaks, misalignments, and using CMMS and Power BI for tracking and insights.
• Real-world RCA efforts led to eliminating costly recurring failures.
• Key advice: master technical fundamentals first, then learn how to drive strategy.

Table of Contents

• John Ramirez’s Career Journey in Reliability
• Key Insights into Manufacturing Reliability Improvements
• Real-World Challenges and Lessons in Reliability
• Advice for Future Reliability Engineers

John Ramirez’s Career Journey in Reliability

John Ramirez began his career in Colombia working in a large sugar mill, where he developed his foundational maintenance and reliability skills. After immigrating to the U.S. in 2017, he joined Rehrig Pacific, initially as a Maintenance Manager tasked with turning around the Orlando plant.

His strong technical background and hands-on leadership quickly led him to the role of Reliability Manager. Today, John leads initiatives that drastically reduce downtime and embed reliability into daily operations.

Key Insights into Manufacturing Reliability Improvements

John’s approach to plant transformation follows a clear three-stage process:

Stage 1: Low-Hanging Fruit

• Address obvious issues like oil leaks, misalignments, and improper assembly.
• Establish new maintenance standards to replace bad practices.

Stage 2: Weekly Top 3 Focus

• Identify and solve the three worst problems every week.
• Use quick, practical root cause analysis to drive continuous improvement.

Stage 3: Planning and Scheduling

• Once downtime is reduced, introduce structured planning and scheduling processes to push downtime even lower.

John emphasizes that a successful reliability transformation starts with technical mastery—not flashy software.

Real-World Challenges and Lessons in Reliability

At Rehrig Pacific, John used RCA techniques to eliminate repeated high-cost equipment failures. One standout case involved eliminating a recurring half-million-dollar annual failure through persistent RCA efforts that took weeks, not minutes.

John stresses that:

• Quick RCAs solve everyday problems.
• Deep RCAs are essential for systemic, high-cost issues.
• Iterative analysis—returning to problems until the true root cause is found—is often necessary.

Pairing a strong CMMS with Power BI dashboards enabled John’s team to see problems clearly and track the real impact of their reliability initiatives.

Advice for Future Reliability Engineers

When reflecting on his career, John offers this advice to future reliability professionals: “Get technical first, then learn strategy.”

By mastering mechanical, electrical, and systems fundamentals early on, reliability engineers build credibility. Only then can they effectively drive strategic improvements and lead transformational change.

Elevate Your Reliability Strategy

At Reliability.com, we believe that sustainable reliability improvement starts with technical fundamentals and practical RCA. Whether you’re transforming a manufacturing plant or managing complex operations, learn how EasyRCA can help your team here.

To watch the full podcast episode with John, click here: YouTube

Further Reading:

• Customer-Centric Reliability: How Google SRE Manager Yuri Grinshteyn Transforms Incident Triage and RCA
• Customer-Focused Reliability: Lessons from Liebherr Mining’s Todd Heindselman