Page 73 - TPM A Route to World-Class Performance

54 TPM-A Route to World-Class Performance

best part about it is that it involves no rocket science; but it does involve me
- the operator of this overhead projector - and my maintenance colleague
here, Joe Wrench. I have known Joe for ten years and he has always been
good at fixing things. In fact, we have jokingly referred to him as ‘Joe’ll Fix-
It’ as he works for the ’GITAFI regime’: get in there and fix it! When I first
joined the company, I remember seeing Joe leaning against a pillar near my
machine one day, and I asked him what his job was. He replied that he was
a ‘coiled spring, waiting to spring into action’!
As I say, things are changing for the better, and Joe and I are encouraged
to work as a team as far as operating and looking after this overhead projector
is concerned. For the first time in twenty years, I have actually been asked my
opinion about the equipment together with Joe’s ideas, and we have come up
with some good ideas. Let me explain them to you.
For a start, you will not thank me if I project this visual aid - the product
- onto the ceiling, or if it is completely out of focus. I have actually been given
a comprehensive training session on the correct operation of the overhead
projector and, in fact, Joe and I have drawn up a simple ten-step start-up,
operation and shutdown procedure for the OHP as a series of ten single-
point lessons (SPLs) which are very easy to follow and highly graphic and
colourful to make the SPLs interesting.
Because we are being encouraged to look after the OHP and are given the
time and support equipment to do it, I actually clean the lens and the projector
base-plate at the start of each shift since it improves the quality of the product
- in this case the presentation of the visual aid - and I make sure I adjust and
focus it correctly before starting the shift. By the way, I also make sure I cover
up the base-plate of the OHP at the end of the shift, as it can easily get
scratched and damaged if I do not do this simple chore. A new base-plate for
this OHP costs €55.00, which is about 15 per cent of the cost of a complete
new OHP. It is also inconvenient, as it takes about three hours to change over
the old one for a new one.
Anyway, as I said, Joe Wrench, my maintenance colleague, and I have been
given the training, time and encouragement to sort out the best way of running
this piece of equipment. Let me tell you what we have decided to do. Not,
you will notice, some clever chap from central planning, but Joe and I. We are
in a team now, and Fred Whitlock, the ex-supervisor, is now our Team Leader.
(You can read his story about TPM later in this chapter.) Since he has been on
a TPM facilitator course he’s changed for the better: he asks our opinion
about things and he actually takes the time out to come down here to listen
and discuss better ways of doing things with Joe and me.
One of the problems with this OHP is that the focus adjuster on this vertical
arm here seems to wear out quite often, and the ratchet won’t hold the lens
head in focus. If this happens during the shift, Joe and I have decided that we
don’t need to actually stop the shift for a major repair. Instead, I can pin the
ratchet with this wedge as a temporary measure whilst I complete the shift.
We can, in effect, run it to failure, and the only thing I make sure I do is to let
Joe know that he will need to change the ratchet focus adjuster as soon as he’s