How to Improve Machine Performance, Reliability and Efficiency of Capital Equipments and Process Machines

1. How to Improve Machine Performance, Reliability and Efficiency of Capital Equipments and Process Machines Life of equipment depends not only on how well it is used but also on how well it is maintained. Various versions of maintenance techniques are in use. Total Productive Maintenance popularized by Japanese is one of the best methodology used worldwide There are 8 pillars of implementing Total Productive Maintenance 1.Focussed improvement 2.Autonomous Maintenance 3.Planned Maintenance 4.Education and training 5.Early Management 6.Quality Maintenance 7.Administration and support department activities 8.Safety, Health, and environment management. Related Article– What Is The Significance Of Doing Step By Step Audit In TPM– Autonomous Maintenance Implementation. In this article, we will discuss more on the Autonomous Maintenance application and implementation steps. Autonomous Maintenance is a very important concept for maintaining a machine at minimum possible cost. It is also called by other names such as Jishu Hozen. Autonomous Maintenance is a concept that emphasizes the involvement of operators/frontline team members to maintain their machines themselves with the support of the Maintenance department & completely own their equipment for ease of operation & Maintenance activity. If it is old machine, they also completely transform the machines as good as a new one. If they operate a brand new machine, it will also help in keeping it as good as new even after years of continuous operation.

2. In many organizations Production & Maintenance department works in isolation and Production operator work with a mindset that his job is only to operate machine & maintaining the machine is the responsibility of maintenance department if Production department will work with such mindset of “I operate youmaintain” then the performance of the machine will deteriorate & maintenance cost will go up no matter how hard the maintenance department works. Operators spend most of their time near machines & they know the behavior of machines very well if any abnormality will occur in the machine then they can detect it immediately & correction can happen on time with minimum possible losses so their participation for maintaining the machine is very important. Autonomous Maintenance changes the Mindset of Production operator from “I operate you maintain” to “We maintain” and production operator Participate in machine maintenance activity with the support of the maintenance department. Also, Read How to implement Autonomous maintenance in Manufacturing, Pharmaceutical, FMCG, Oil fields industries. The autonomous Maintenance concept completely transforms the ability of the Operator where he can maintain his machine himself & he can make changes in the machine for simplified operation and maintenance activity. Abilities of equipment competent Operator Ability to detect abnormalities Ability to correct abnormalities Ability to understand how the equipment works, and identify the causes of any abnormality Ability to understand the impact of any abnormality Ability to operate the equipment as per defined standard Ability to implement appropriate focused Improvements. How to Implement an Autonomous Maintenance concept? There are 7 steps methodology for implementing the Autonomous Maintenance concept. STEP- 0: Preparation This step ensures all the preparation activity for the successful start of Autonomous maintenance activity. Below is the list of major activities of Step- 0 Team formation for implementing Autonomous Maintenance activity Selection of machine for implementing Autonomous maintenance activity. Use Machine ranking format (Focus on the High-ranking machines first) Preparation of activity plan for Autonomous Maintenance Training of Autonomous Maintenance concept to the team Explanation of seven types of abnormalities of machine parts. Explanation regarding abnormality identification tags (Red & white tag) Preparation & training of Safety Do’s and Don’ts which must be followed during Step-1 (Initial cleaning)

3. Detail training of equipment which includes -Working principle of equipment -The function of each part -What to inspect in each part (Preparation of Inspection standard) -Safety precautions to be taken while handling each part Machine History data collection for progress monitoring & target setting. Ensure availability of cleaning tools & Safety PPE STEP- 1: Perform Initial Cleaning The aim of this step is to Establish basic conditions & prevent forced deterioration of equipment parts. Cultivation of the ability of operators to identify equipment abnormalities & understand the importance of cleaning. Below is the list of major activities of Step- 1 Take safety precaution before cleaning as guided in step-0 Bring all cleaning kit near a machine Start cleaning as per the area allocated. Prioritize parts based on problem history Remove all the guards /covers to the extent possible to find out maximum abnormalities. Clean each & every area completely & do an inspection as per the initial cleaning inspection standard for each part. Identify abnormalities while cleaning & tag them. First, identify the abnormalities when the machine is in ON condition then identify abnormalities when the machine is in OFF condition. Take action on the abnormalities. Do Root cause analysis for each abnormality & take action on the root cause. STEP- 2: Address contamination sources & inaccessible places Basic conditions achieved in step-01 cannot be sustained until cleaning, lubrication, inspection & tightening (CLIT) have become so easy that anyone can do them quickly, easily, & safely. The aim of this step is to improve the accessibility of places that are difficult to access for doing Cleaning, Lubrication, Inspection, Tightening (CLIT) & Take action on the source of contamination. Below is the list of major activities of Step-2 Sustain the condition achieved in Step-01 Map the area which is getting contaminated, trace back the source of contamination. Understand the impact of contamination on Safety, quality, and failure to prioritize action. Take countermeasures on the source of contamination. Use the concept of Eliminate, Reduce, Localize.

4. List out parts that are difficult to access for doing Cleaning, Lubrication, Inspection, Tightening (CLIT) make detailed action plan & take action to make them easy to access.  Define the cleaning frequency for parts where the elimination of contamination source is not possible. STEP- 3: Establish Tentative JH Standard For CLIT It is very important that the improvements done in Step-01 & Step-02 must be sustained which can be done by making the tentative inspection standard for CLIT in Step-03. Below is the list of major activities of Step -3 Prepare a Tentative Inspection standard for cleaning, lubricating, inspection & tightening (CLIT). Involve machine operator while making the ‘Tentative Inspection standard’. Preparation of Tentative Inspection check sheet Identification of machine parts & display of Checkpoints on machine parts to the extent possible. Introduce extensive visual controls to make inspection easy. Implement CLIT Station for daily CLIT activity Give training to the operators & implement the ‘Tentative Inspection standard’. STEP- 4: Conduct General Equipment inspection Aim of this step is to develop equipment competent operator Moving from the level of detecting malfunctions by means of 5 senses up to step 3, in step 4, it is to: Sufficiently understand the structure and functions of equipment in a much deeper level & detect abnormality for the internal parts. Understand the relation of abnormalities with failure, defect & accidents based on Logical reasoning.  Read More: https://bit.ly/38VzrFt