Zero Stoppage

Zero stoppage.

Interruptions and stoppages will hamper the output and productivity of any establishment. But it is possible to reduce / minimize interruptions with the combined efforts of the operators, management, maintenance team and other support people.  Fire fighting maintenance activities can not achieve zero stoppage. The first set of people to be involved in this task is the machine operators. This is because:

·         The machine running and performance depend on them and

·         Their ability to sense problems before serious breakdown occurs.

But interestingly, most of the operators generally think the machine breakdowns are not their responsibility. In order to achieve 100% machine running, operators should be educated to detect abnormal conditions. They should be trained to understand:

• basic machine structure,
• function,
• adjustment methods,
• appropriate operational procedures,
• daily check points, etc.

People let machines break down. The following table shows the major contributors of machine break down.

Machine / equipment	Operator	Maintenance person
Dirty machine. Vibration. Difficult to inspect. Unnecessary goods on the machine. Lack of organisation. Motor problems.	Not concerned about machine condition. Wrong operation. No knowledge on inspection. Lack of knowledge. Do not ask for help. Do not have control over the     machine. Considers production more Important than machine    maintenance.	Does the repair, but does not    ask why the trouble    occurred. Does not communicate effectively with operators Thinks machine deterioration is unavoidable. Focuses on urgent troubles    and not on    routine maintenance. Look for solutions in new    machine or technology.

Zero stoppage. Zero stoppage means zero unplanned stoppage. The target is to achieve the machine performance with planned maintenance stoppages only. To achieve zero stoppage, it is essential to create an understanding and full co-operation between the operators and maintenance team.

Educate the operators to consider and monitor the machine conditions, encourage them to give the feedback to the maintenance team whenever they observe any abnormality. Value their feedback and take immediate action on them. Let them also take charge of the basic maintenance activities.

Maintenance strategy. Work out two different strategies for sudden break downs and chronic break downs.

The following is an approach to minimise sudden breakdowns.

To work out strategy for chronic problems, we need to look at all potential problem areas, which are given below.

1. Failure to fulfill the basic machine requirements. (House keeping, routine inspection, maintenance, etc)
2. Failure to maintain correct operating conditions. (Temperature, vibration, speed, pressure, speed, etc)
3. Lack of skills. (Operator, maintenance team, etc)
4. Deterioration. (Bearing, gear, etc)
5. Design deficiency. (Material, dimension, etc)