Global Powerhouse

Global Powerhouse

How can we transform our company to become the Competitive Global Powerhouse that we will be proud to be associated with?

If that is our objective, then we need to take control of our current situation and initiate a project to move away from a Reactive situation towards a Proactive Maintenance Initiative through the use of a Maintenance Management System.   

It will prove to be a Vital Tool for Plant Improvement Efforts and will assist in the release of under-utilized capacity.

It will give us improved control:

• with our organisational and procedure requirements,
• it will provide activity tracking and information relating to our assets,
• it will enable us to get better control over our resource allocation,
• we will experience improved inventory stock levels,
• we will see an improvement in our product quality,
• we will see a reduction of long term costs,
• there will be improved communication between the factory and maintenance.

Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS)

To move out of the Reactive crisis maintenance mode, we need to move to be Proactive, and to do this there will need to be a maintenance management system in place. This could be a manual or preferably a computerized system, often referred to as a CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System).

This type of system takes time to set up and will involve an implementation project, to assemble all the required information and to structure it correctly such as:

• An asset register,
• Maintenance schedules and inspections,
• Technical specifications,
• Employee and skill lists,
• Costing codes,
• Machine diagrams and pictures.

The above will enable us to start the process of becoming proactive and to be able to plan ahead.

Components

This is a typical selection of components that you should find that come with any credible CMMS system.

Let’s go through them quickly to give you an overview of content and use.

• Asset Register – This is one of the most vital components of a CMMS. It is critical to have a comprehensive list of all the plant assets as well as a lot of supporting information such as:
  • Locations, safety notes, critical spares, attachments, financials, BOM structures.
  • Without an accurate asset register you will struggle to get any system off the ground.
• PM Tasks – Calendar and meter based schedules with instructions and parts required if necessary
• Skills and resources – Employee lists showing skill levels with a training planner for scheduling ‘upliftment’ training for workers.
• Work orders and Requests – the ability for all employees to request maintenance activity and for work orders to control events. Also should include root cause analysis to identify major areas and equipment of concern
• Planning Calendar – to schedule activities preferably with drag and drop features
• Inventory Spares – Must monitor spare usage and costs spares and have lists of critical spares.
• Purchasing – This may be either a standalone course within the CMMS or many industries use the Purchasing course from their main ERP system.
• Statistical Predictive Maintenance (SPM) – Back to Condition Monitoring. If readings are being taken, by a specific technology device, this is the course that would provide for the capture and recording of those readings.

Manufacturers and Suppliers – Listings with contact details of important Manufacturers and Suppliers.

Benefits of a CMMS

Here we see a list of some of the benefits of running a successful CMMS system:

• Accurate Asset Register – Easily identified assets, to track locations and usage
• Central Information Base – Everything relating to your plant and equipment will held within one central repository for all to access. No private spreadsheets or duplicated data
• Improved Financial Control – Accurate costings for labour, contractors and parts used
• Best Practices and Compliances – Will help to enforce necessary disciplines to meet targets and move towards WCM recognition
• Improved Efficiencies – This will be evidenced in reduced time and costs for Manpower, spares, planning and will also enable call outs to be minimised
• Road Map for World Class Maintenance – A plan to follow and monitor with responsibilities and accountabilities
• PM Schedules – Regular inspections and maintenance with full details of work activity undertaken.
• Safety and Environment – Electronic permits and safety notes
• Extended Plant Life – Well maintained = better production, smoother running and longer life

Summary

To achieve our goal of becoming a Competitive Global Powerhouse, we need to get that CMMS project on board quickly and move the emphasis away from a reactive maintenance mindset to a proactive maintenance initiative and start to reap the huge benefits that will follow.

Strobe Academy of Learning has been designed to provide easy-to-use video-based training courses.

You determine your own pace of learning in your own time. Dream big, study well, be smart and become successful. You will never know how much you can achieve until you commit to pushing your limits.

The courses are available either:

• On-Line
• In House

For more information email us at info@strobe-al.co.za or visit www.strobe-al.co.za