White Paper – Lean Series – by Productivity.Inc
By Marty Tauber, Maintenance/Production Trainer, AdvancePierre Foods (Portland, Maine)
In this article Marty Tauber shares some tips on how to document maintenance procedures.
When maintenance procedures that have been customized for your processes and equipment are effectively documented, taught, reinforced, used, and updated, they help drive standard work, support the pillars of TPM, and foster true culture change.
To Marty’s advice we would add a few pointers from our own experience:
- Most adults are visual learners, so in addition to ensuring that procedures are clearly written, keep them as concise and visual as possible. Say it with pictures, drawings, and diagrams whenever possible, and consider using the “one-point lesson format” (see the examples we have included at the end of the article).
- In addition to involving your most qualified technicians in the documentation process, include a team of people that will actually be using the procedure. Including end users helps them take ownership and ensures better adherence.
- When it comes to actually performing maintenance procedures, we strongly advise that all necessary parts, tools, equipment, and permits be kitted in advance by planners, as Marty suggests, rather than by the mechanic performing the work. Planners should also preschedule any and all needed resources. Make it easy for the mechanics to get right to the job at hand and use their time effectively.
One thing to keep in mind: doing it perfectly the first time is not the point. But doing something lays the groundwork for learning and making things better. We encourage clients to engage process owners in the development of standard procedures that are simple and easy to follow, and then continually work to improve them.
Soon improvement starts to become part of daily work—and that’s what’s critical to a culture of TPM and operational excellence.