Gaining a commitment within the organisation to set up a regular preventive maintenance (PM) programme is the first step. But implementing preventive maintenance in a way that is flexible and manageable is critical to ensure that downtime and interruption are avoided.
The manufacturer can begin the PM journey by defining what it wants to achieve. Sample goals include: extending tool and equipment lifecycles by eliminating breakdowns or failures; increasing tool and equipment product quality; decreasing expediting fees and spare parts costs by planning out PM schedules; decreasing cost of additional manpower required to run or verify backup processes.
To create a comprehensive plan:
- Gather tool and equipment manufacturer (OEM) information on the tools and equipment
- Evaluate, with the OEM, the usage and PM guidelines from the factory. Based on your application usage, create a baseline plan for PM and repair
- Plan a preventative maintenance programme. Some areas of the plant may be different based on applications and usage of the tools and equipment
- Ensure proper supplies and spare parts are on hand, and that a re-order plan is in place once the parts are used to ensure the necessary inventory is always on hand
- Establish checklists for each area
- Audit the plan and implement changes based on successes or failures.
The best leader of any PM programme is the maintenance team. In addition to possessing the correct skills, these people are experienced practitioners of the product workflow and are responsible for high-quality output. Engage the service and repair teams (internal and/or external) in planning and feedback. Involve the quality team to implement the process as part of the standard operating procedure. Lean on your OEM and/or your distribution partner that provides sales and servicing support.
Manufacturing and operations teams must be dedicated to the plan. The lack of expertise and acceptance from the team are the primary reason top reasons PM programmes may fail. Accessing the proper assistance, support and knowledge can help develop the correct processes and habits from the start to support the team, and to keep the programme going.
The scale of the PM implementation team will depend on the size and complexity of the facility, but in many cases, the team will be relatively small. Then the focus shifts to roll-out, acceptance, and measuring results of the programme with the extended teams.
Depending on the tools, equipment, and the type of application, performance indicators to measure success include: improved system uptime, reduced system lifecycle costs, planned maintenance percentage (time spent on planned versus unplanned maintenance), preventive maintenance compliance rate (how many scheduled preventive maintenance work orders are completed within a set amount of time), critical scheduled maintenance percentage (the impact of late planned maintenance work), downtime analysis (for root cause and resolution timing).
Digital tools can enhance and supplement the programme with by assisting in data collection, tracking maintenance and repair and providing needed data. The team should identify this when the goals of the programme are created and evaluated.
This article is an edited version of a text first published by Stanley Engineered Fastening and available via www.is.gd/uguyek