Page 411 - Intro Predictive Maintenance

402 An Introduction to Predictive Maintenance

equipment conditions can help modify the program to meet the changing needs of the
equipment.

Asecond difference is that world-class maintenance involves all employees, from shop
floor to top floor. The operator may be required to perform basic inspecting, cleaning,
and lubricating of the equipment, which is really the front-line defense against prob-
lems. Upper managers may be required to ensure that maintenance gets enough time
and budget to properly provide any service or repairs required to keep the equipment
in good condition so that it can run at design ratings. Requiring the support of all
departments involved in the use of the equipment or facility will ensure full cooper-
ation and understanding of affected departments. For example, including maintenance
in equipment design/purchase decisions ensures that equipment standardization will
be considered. The issues surrounding this topic alone can contribute significant cost
savings to the company. Standardization reduces inventory levels, training require-
ments, and startup times. Proper support from stores and purchasing can help reduce
downtime, but more important, it will aid in optimizing spare parts inventory levels,
thus reducing on-hand inventory.

Soliciting input from employees at all levels of the company allows employees to con-
tribute to the process. In most companies, this step takes the form of a suggestion
program, but it needs to go beyond that; it should include an open-door management
policy. This indicates that managers, from the front line to the top, must be open and
available to listen to and consider employee suggestions. A step further is the response
that should be given to each discussion. It is no longer sufficient to say “That won’t
work” or “We are not considering that now.” To keep communication flowing freely,
reasons must be given. It is just a matter of developing and using good communica-
tion and management skills. Without these skills, employee input will be destroyed at
the outset, and the ability to capitalize on the greatest savings generator in the company
will be lost.

The more open management is to the ideas of the workforce, the easier it is for teams
to function. Areas, departments, lines, process, or equipment can form these teams.
They will involve the operators, maintenance, and management personnel. Depend-
ing on the needs, they will involve other personnel on an as-needed basis, such as
engineering, purchasing, or stores. These teams will provide answers to problems that
some companies have tried to solve independently for years.

18.6 OVERALL EQUIPMENT EFFECTIVENESS

Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) is the benchmark used for world-class main-
tenance programs. The OEE benchmark is established by measuring equipment per-
formance. Measuring equipment effectiveness must go beyond just the availability or
machine uptime. It must factor in all issues related to equipment performance. The
formula for equipment effectiveness must look at the availability, the rate of perfor-