Page 65 - Intro Predictive Maintenance

56 An Introduction to Predictive Maintenance

be avoided. This is one example of how preventive maintenance done poorly can be
worse than no maintenance at all.

3.3.6 Personnel
Another tactic for ensuring thorough lubrication is to have an oiler who can do all of
the lubrication at the beginning of each shift. This may be better than having the
operators do lubrication if the task is complicated or if the operators are not suffi-
ciently skilled.

Whether operators will do their own equipment lubrication, rather than an oiler, is
determined by the following criteria:

• The complexity of the task
• The motivation and ability of the operator
• The extent of pending failures that might be detected by the oiler but over-
looked by operators

If operators can properly do the lubrication, then it should be made a part of their total
responsibility, just as car drivers ensure that they have adequate gasoline in their vehi-
cles. It is best if the operators are capable of doing their own preventive maintenance.
Like many tasks, preventive maintenance should be delegated to the lowest possible
level consistent with adequate knowledge and ability. If, however, operators may cause
damage through negligence, willful neglect, or lack of ability, then a maintenance spe-
cialist should do lubrication. The tasks should be clearly defined. Operators may be
able to do some items, whereas maintenance personnel will be required for others.
Examples of how the work can be parceled out will be described later.

Preventive tasks are often assigned to the newest maintenance trainee. In most cases,
management is just asking for trouble if maintenance is regarded as low-status, unde-
sirable work. If management believes in preventive maintenance, they should assign
well-qualified personnel. Education and experience make a big difference in mainte-
nance. Most organizations have at least one skilled maintenance person who can step
onto the factory floor and sense—through sight, sound, smell, vibration, and tempera-
ture—the conditions in the factory. This person can tell in an instant that “The feeder
on number 2 is hanging up a little this morning, so we’d better look at it.” This person
should be encouraged to take a walk around the factory floor at the beginning of every
shift to sense what is going on and inspect any questionable events. The human senses
of an experienced person are the best detection systems available today.

3.3.7 Service Teams
A concept that is successfully applied in both factory and field service organizations
is teams of three or four persons. This type of organization can be especially effec-
tive if equipment must have high uptime but requires lengthy maintenance time at