Lean Maintenance: Can I do it?

Some time ago, I chatted with a friend in LinkedIn about maintenance, my friend claimed if maintenance is a Non-Value Added group of tasks we mustn’t provide it resources because they will be wastes.

I agree the maintenance is a Non-Value Added group of tasks, but it is not a waste, maintenance is required for the process because if you don’t perform maintenance you stop the process or you produce defect. What can we do? Lean gives us the solution: to perform the maintenance tasks as fast and effectively as possible.

And Lean provides us the tools to perform tasks in a fast and effective way.

 5S, Poka Yoke, Spaghetti Chart and 5 Why must walk with a good TPM plan. But also we can add creative solutions to reduce wastes, e.g. we can install a camera or a webcam in front of a machine while the maintainers are working, the task is to optimize when they don’t need to go out of the camera lens during the task.

What about SMED? I know is a tool of Lean Manufacturing but we can use SMED to optimize repair time in regular tasks.

And Visual Management, Can we use it to manage the maintenance function? The car workshops already use it, Visual Management is an excellent tool for a real-time management of our maintenance team.

Do you use any other Lean tools in your maintenance tasks? Please, tell us and we comment it.

Esta es la versión en inglés del artículo publicado en osenseis.com, puedes encontrar el artículo original en http://www.osenseis.com/mantenimiento-lean-es-posible-hacerlo/

Lean Maintenance

 I had wanted to write about the development of Lean Maintenance programs to remove all the tasks that give No value to the equipment.

 That's Lean Maintenance means, to provide the right maintenance with minimum wastes, so the equipment does their functions with the minimum cost; summarizing, to remove process that gives no value and simplifies the process that gives value.

 But, Can we save in maintenance and increase the reliability of our equipment together?

 Yes, Lean Maintenance does it, applying the Toyota Production System (TPS) basics as remove wastes, standardized tasks, schedule just-in-time actions and focus on quality.

 Generally, through the TPS application, we will improve maintenance while minimizing inputs as Labor, Management effort, Parts and materials, Contractors and service contracts, Equipment rental, Raw materials, Energy, Capital...

  A good way to start a Lean Maintenance program is with a 7 Wastes analysis, these wastes are:

• Overproduction, too many maintenance tasks.
• Excessive Inventory, too many spare parts.
• Waiting, among maintenance tasks.
• Material and Information Movement.
• Motion, movements of people or equipment.
• Defects reworks from a poorly maintenance process.
• Unnecessary processing, efforts which add no value and consume resources.

 Once the wastes are identified and removed, we can implant a TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) program based in Autonomous Maintenance, that's maintenance based in operator, with the maintenance department support. This program use tools as 5S, Poka Yoke, JIT (Just-In-Time) or SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die), and can be completed with RCM (Reliability Centered Maintenance) or RBM (Risk Based Maintenance) analysis.

 The Lean Maintenance full implantation process is difficult because it requires to involve all the people and process, indefinitely, and provide them training and expertise.

 The best way to obtain these goals is through Lean games and activities, that help to improve motivation by providing both knowledge and experience in an enjoyable and effective way.