Keeping your equipment in optimal condition is vital for your manufacturing engineering projects. You want to avoid downtime, defects, and accidents that can affect your productivity, quality, and safety. But how can you ensure your equipment is operating at peak performance? Here are some tips to help you maintain your machines and systems effectively.
The first step to ensure your equipment is operating at peak performance is to plan and schedule your maintenance activities. You need to identify the critical components, the frequency and type of inspections, the preventive and corrective actions, and the resources and tools required. You also need to coordinate with your operators, technicians, and suppliers to avoid conflicts and delays. A well-planned and scheduled maintenance program can help you reduce costs, improve reliability, and extend the life of your equipment.
A robust preventive maintenance program is absolutely key to ensuring peak performance, maximum equipment availability, and investment longevity. TPM plans that include a concept of “This is my machine” give operators and machinists the primary responsibility for daily checks, cleanliness, light lubrication, and etc. Early warning of issues from the operator prevent longer downtimes. And the ability to plan your maintenance activities in advance allows heavy checks and refurbishments without sacrificing production schedules. As the old saying goes, if you don’t schedule maintenance for your equipment, at some point your equipment will schedule it for you. That will inevitably happen at the worst possible time.
Advance plan of keeping the safety stock for the critical spares with longer lead time of A & B class machines will always helps to reduce the down time. Owning my machine concept is always provides better engagement. Weekly / Monthly Kaizen meetings in Gemba by empowering respective employees with timely R&R will produce excellent results to increase overall success for the organization!
very early in my career, my boss told me to "listen to your machinery". Depending on nature of your equipment, you should know what it eats, breaths and the sound, heat etc it creates. Off course you have user manuals and running logs, but "getting to know" your equipment is beyond that. After 25 years, I can say that "it may sound philosophical but it works"
plant Equipment's are design to produce or function with a specific capacity. To ensure peak performance, considering it on production and maintenance perspective. Firstly, the requisite operational and safety trainings must be given to the equipment users. This will guarantee the safe use of the equipment and eliminate operational errors. Secondly, A reasonable production target must be set and monitor the efficiency of the equipment. Looking at the equipment maintenance perspective, the equipment reliability must assured and this can be achieved by conducting failure risk analysis. Develop and implement preventive maintenance plan, develop and implement daily condition monitoring plan, train maintenance team and resource them.
-> Know your equipment and feel it. -> Have dedicated (Maintenance) time at a frequency (daily 15 mins, weekly 30 mins, monthly an hour, etc.) without fail - care your Equipment (A Family Member) Then follow the Points (1 to 6) and more.
The second step to ensure your equipment is operating at peak performance is to implement condition monitoring. Condition monitoring is the process of collecting and analyzing data from your equipment to detect signs of deterioration, malfunction, or failure. You can use various sensors, indicators, and software to measure parameters such as vibration, temperature, pressure, and noise. Condition monitoring can help you identify problems early, prevent breakdowns, and optimize your maintenance decisions.
-Mantenimiento predictivo -TPM -Auditoria diaria por el usuario de la maquinaria Seleccionando para empezar con un equipo, ejercitar la practica , depurarla, mejorla, presentarla y mostrar los resultados de como se puede reducir la variacion en proceso. Tener mediciones antes y despues de cualquier implementacion en los cambio de un equipo y proceso es clave para saber si vamos por la ruta correcta
TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) is the key. Using TPM methodology, operators own the machines and keep checking for early warning signs
Monitoring it’s important just be careful of too much data leading to not to much action. A good set of well measured parameters will give you what you are looking for. Example where you have excesive friction theres heat.
Realizar checklist para obter informa??es de funcionamento e vida útil para ser realizadas manuten??es programas para otimiza??o do trabalho
The technology is well advanced and it can be used for condition monitoring. This area of study will definitely provide an insight of issues with the machinery. It is very important to make sure that the input data received from the sensors to measure the data is correct. As we schedule maintenance there must be a schedule for calibration of the same.
The third step to ensure your equipment is operating at peak performance is to follow safety and quality standards. You need to comply with the regulations and guidelines that apply to your industry and equipment. You also need to train your staff on the proper use, handling, and maintenance of your equipment. You should also implement quality control measures to ensure your equipment meets the specifications and requirements of your customers and stakeholders. Following safety and quality standards can help you avoid risks, errors, and complaints.
A lot of people will say safety first, preventative maintenance and daily check. Correct that it all about right. Not really. Planning is the first step in all areas of safety, maintenance. Collecting data and understanding the output and input, example let say have forecast of 5000 parts and you have 1 week to do these parts. This is were you start. Plan the production, plan the tool readiness, plan the daily check and plan the service after production. During production do regular checks on safety precautions and all the compliance. Also make sure the employees are skilled in all areas to check for any hidden contributions to wear and tear of tooling, production and the parts. Defects of production can be seen on the part. That my view.
Yes, quality should be first priority. And quality means not a only product quality as well as maintenance quality and machine quality should be maintained as zero condition methods If you do quality maintenance it is reduced risk of failure and increase the machine life. And safety is a not priorit, it is a must to follow because priority can change
All our equipment is inspected by 2 people before it is operated, to make sure that the machine is ok to operate. No machine will be operated unless it passes this inspection, this also includes complying with the regulations and guidelines that apply to our industry. All new members to our team are trained with competent trainers that will show them the inspection process, and the trainer will not sign off on the new member until the trainer is certain that the new member is ready. Not only do we inspect our equipment thoroughly, and train our new members thoroughly, we have quarterly inspections performed by MSHA, this is a very strict inspection that makes sure all aspects of our operation are up to standards.
Me ha resultado útil seguir los protocolos de calidad para la aceptación de piezas y optimizar las cantidades de producción, bajando los tiempos muertos y manteniendo los equipos con las verificaciones de control de calidad siempre encendidas ante cualquier error que se pudiera cometer.
Je ne partage pas cet avis, c'est sans aucun doute et cela devrait être une certitude pour tout le monde : LA PREMIERE PRIORITE D UN éQUIPEMENT DOIT ET DOIT RESTER CO?TE QUE CO?TE LA SECURITE DES PERSONNES. La qualité des produits est une priorité d'un point de vue du respect des clients (c"est en antagonisme avec les 3,4PPM que j'ai évoqué dans un autre point..). Un produit défectueux en interne (les rebuts) ou les pièces défectueuses ne peuvent plus être produites. Il semblerait que l'humanité ne saisit pas que nous vivons dans un monde fini. Une piéce défectueuse produite revient à prendre des ressources de la planète pour produire RIEN. Ceci ne peut étre une seconde priorité. L'IA pourrait nous aider à traiter les priorités
The fourth step to ensure your equipment is operating at peak performance is to update and upgrade your equipment. You need to keep up with the technological changes and innovations that can improve your equipment's functionality, efficiency, and performance. You should also consider replacing or upgrading your equipment when it becomes obsolete, inefficient, or incompatible with your processes and goals. Updating and upgrading your equipment can help you enhance your competitiveness, productivity, and profitability.
Unfortunately, many companies do not want to reinvest the capital or fund their maintenance departments expense budgets to do updates and upgrades. Sorry to say in my experience, expense budgets are barely enough to keep up with the three essentials; keeping your plant running, keeping your crib stocked and finally keeping your plant and people safe and compliant with safety and environmental regulations and standards. Capital is never assured even when it is part of an approved budget for the year. It can become the victim of a bad first and/or second quarter showing. Worse, companies are very reluctant to approve a capital project they know will not be finished in the current planning year. Even worse, OEM’s cannot deliver in that year.
After P.M. is perform check equípement oportunities by checking cpk capabilities Also ppm are key how many defects per millions of parts are being produced
Once again this stage involves capital investment that a lot of companies tend to avoid because of internal cost reduction politics/requirements. However, in the long term, obsolescence and inefficiency will be more expensive than upgrading equipment as required. On the other hand a good assestment of the equipments that will require upgrades is equally important. Don't waste money when is not needed at all, but invest when (after a proper analysis) is needed.
The lifespan of manufacturing equipment is measured in years or sometimes decades. It typically does not fit in with the modern consumer market/ electronics pace of change. Equipment should be upgraded where practicable however the fundamentals of the equipment are unlikely to be changed so careful selection of the equipment is critical to it being useable for the long term.
The lifespan of manufacturing equipment is measured in years or sometimes decades. It typically does not fit in with the modern consumer market/ electronics pace of change. Equipment should be upgraded where practicable however the fundamentals of the equipment are unlikely to be changed so careful selection of the equipment is critical to it being useable for the long term.
The fifth step to ensure your equipment is operating at peak performance is to seek feedback and improvement. You need to monitor and evaluate the performance of your equipment regularly and compare it with your expectations and benchmarks. You should also solicit feedback from your operators, technicians, customers, and suppliers on the performance and satisfaction of your equipment. You should also identify the gaps, issues, and opportunities for improvement and implement the necessary changes and actions. Seeking feedback and improvement can help you maintain your equipment's excellence and continuous improvement.
Outra maneira importante, é fazer networking, conhecer outras empresas, mesmo que n?o seja do mesmo segmento, mas aumentar o leque de conhecimento de técnicas e equipamentos existentes. Buscar novidades, visitar fabricantes para estar sempre se atualizando.
Get your team engaged with ownership of the process. Have enough staff so everyone can become an expert and know what is out of the normal. A seasoned instrument tech with 5 years of experience on a process is far more valuable to you than an Engineer out of school. Empower your tradesman to perform with their full skillset and you will be successful.
PDCA serves as a paramount management method essential for every continuous improvement initiative in processes, products, or services. After the aforementioned recommendations are put into action, a continuous cycle of checking and acting is imperative. This iterative process ensures ongoing refinement, potentially requiring an extra push or specific requirements to optimize efficiency and harness the full potential of the accomplished improvements.
Nesse processo de feedback é possível consultar empresas especializadas em manuten??es mais avan?adas, para efetuar um mapeamento melhor da condi??o de seus equipamentos, pois as mesmas possuem ferramentas que muitas vezes n?o s?o utilizadas no dia a dia da manuten??o, exemplos, Termografia, Análise de Vibra??o, Estudo de Lubrifica??o, Análises de óleo entre outros.
Os feedback e benchmarks s?o essenciais para busca da melhoria continua do processo de manuten??o, pois cada operador conseguirá contribuir para o avan?o do processo. Métricas e KPI's bem direcionados orienta a equipe e a Qualidade da Manuten??o ( QM ) será eficiente
The sixth and final step to ensure your equipment is operating at peak performance is to learn from best practices. You need to research and benchmark the best practices and standards in your industry and equipment. You should also network and collaborate with other manufacturing engineers, experts, and organizations that can share their insights, experiences, and solutions. You should also attend seminars, workshops, and courses that can update your knowledge and skills on equipment maintenance and performance. Learning from best practices can help you adopt the most effective and efficient methods and strategies for your equipment.
el benchmark es uno de los caminos para la mejora continua, ya que aprendemos de las lecciones por las que otros han pasado y como han solucionado sus problemas, un buen networking de colegas siempre nos da la oportunidad de ver más allá de nuestro conocimiento .
Best practices allow one to eliminate unnecessary PMs, reduce PMs to increase efficiency and increase PMs for things that impact efficiency.
Benchmarking and Best Practices Replication is a cooperative approach to improving operations with several advantages: - provides quick boost - teams get more empowered checking at first person how they can perform as well as best in class. - creates collaborative networks between professionals to keep a spinning flywheel for future improvements.
Best practices always help to improve maintenance plan and activities to reduce maintenance time. Also it is increasing knowledge of employees specifically maintenance performer for get best quality maintenance with less time spent
Many companies use only a small percentage of the technology in which they invest. The latest tech usually involves internal change, and we know this can be difficult. When companies push their resources they are usually rewarded with increased market share.
Define, validate, and monitor key process performance drivers and indicators. Catch process variation before it drives product variation.
Implement Computerized Maintenace Management Systems like EAM or SAP to optimize spare parts inventory and easy planning and scheduling
Housekeeping practices are paramount. If you do not have sufficiant lighting or routine cleaning of your operation spaces, you will not be able to identify issues before they become a problem. An example would be a small oil leak that you can't see from something until the gearbox fails or air filter systems covered in dust so you are unable to see that a filter was missed on a route and it has caused you to loose pressure, aka loss of valve control.
A simple thing to do is implement TPM approach. Total productive maintenance(TPM) is a method of managing assets for its maximum efficiency and effectiveness there by optimize the operating costs and enhance operational excellence. The key outcomes you can expect are 1. Increased OEE(which is an essential KPI for the manufacturing operations) as it contributes to all the 3 factors of Availability of equipment/asset, performance efficiency and quality of the parts/outputs. I have successfully implemented this in multiple manufacturing organizations. It does wonders. The beauty is, it all start with ownership from the operating people(my machine mindset). Even I have deployed in offices. To learn more, read out 8 pillars of TPM.
Make sure you’ve planned for enough redundancy and available capacity for upgrades. Workhorse assets can become obsolete ticking time bombs when they’re too valuable to be shut down for an upgrade