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| Browse the . . . |
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| where you'll find books on
predictive maintenance. |
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| Why pick high-level people? Because they can
detect potentially damaging conditions before those conditions arise. Your
best tear-down mechanic is not necessarily your best PM inspector. |
| A great PM inspector can work alone without
close supervision, is interested and trained in new advanced predictive-maintenance
technology, knows how to review a unit history and its class history, is
proactive ? acts on predictions rather than reacts to situations ? detects
deficiencies early, is not interrupted and (while in the PM role) is segregated,
if practical, from the rest of the maintenance crew. |
| Step two: motivate your people to do the tasks
as specified when the tasks are required. Most people find PM tasks boring
and mind numbing. The challenge for leaders is to inspire the troops to
want to do the tasks well. |
| The inspector mentioned in this section can
be a regular part-time mechanic (or helper, if appropriate) or a full-time
PM mechanic. Here are some steps you can take to help ensure compliance. |
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Make sure the inspector knows how PM fits in with
the overall scheme. Inspectors for nuclear power plants or airlines know
full well the impact of missing a PM ? and even then, it happens.
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Take your top managers down to the bowels of your
plant and have them address maintenance crews about the criticalness of
PM and output or safety. (You might have to write the speech.) People attend
to what they think management thinks is important. Let them hear it from
the horse's mouth.
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Present the job as important. If people feel that
PM is stupid, boring, and low priority fill-in work, they are less likely
to put themselves out.
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Let your PM mechanics themselves design the system
and tasks. Train them in reliability, TPM, and general maintenance management.
Then let go of the reins.
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Be explicitly certain that your PM people are
fully trained. Someone with the title maintenance person, electrician,
or millwright must have the skill to perform the PM task. A test for PM
certification might be appropriate.
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Improve the relationship between the mechanic
and the maintenance user. Where there is an operator such as a driver,
machine operator, or building contact person, instruct the mechanic to
make personal contact. Some PM task lists include "talk to operator and
determine whether equipment has operated normally since the most recent
visit."
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Make it easy to do tasks. Simplify paperwork,
reengineer equipment to simplify the tasks, and route people to minimize
travel.
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Improve accountability by mounting a sign-in sheet
inside the door to the equipment. Be sure the people who do the tasks sign
a form and are included in discussions about the equipment. When people
know they might be quizzed about an asset, they are more likely to complete
their PM tasks. When people know that an inquiry is conducted after a breakdown
and that the PM sheets are reviewed, they have motivation to complete their
tasks.
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Make PM a game. One supervisor got up a bit of
money and bought 50-cent gift certificates at a local fast-food restaurant.
Each week he hid eight 3-by-5 cards (which said, "see me") inside equipment
to undergo PM. He traded the cards for the certificates. So when a card
wasn't found, he knew PM hadn't been done. His comment: "What people will
do for 50 cents they wouldn't do for $17.50 an hour!"
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Give your PM professionals new, better toys (sorry
? better tools, not toys). Technology has opened up the field for sophisticated,
relatively low cost PM tools. They might include $700 for a pen-size vibration
monitor, $500 for a cigarette-pack-size infrared scanner, or $1,500 for
an ultrasonic detection headset and transducer. If appropriate to the size
and type of equipment, these tools motivate the troops and increase the
probability that they will detect deterioration before failure.
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Stave off boredom. In any repetitive job, boredom
sets in. To improve morale, consider job rotation, reassignment, project
work, and office work such as planning, design, and analysis.
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| The last key to success is to ensure that the mechanic has the information,
tools, and materials to complete the job: |
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Actual task list, with space for readings, reports, and observations.
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Equipment manual (or ready access to the manual).
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Standard tools and materials for short repairs.
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Specialized tools or gauges to perform inspection.
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Standardized PM parts kits.
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| People tend to wait till something goes wrong
before acting. PM is diametrically opposite to human nature ? it doesn't
happen organically. In this article you?ll find some ways you may not have
thought of to help PM survive. |
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© 1998 Springfield Resources, Inc.
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