Lean operations require maintenance that is responsive and reliable. When we have isolated operations that are adding value to pieces in a batch that eventually gets passed on to another operation, one machine going down does not present itself as a critical event.
If we have many operations organized in a cell and one piece of equipment breaks down, the entire cell goes down. We require equipment that does not go down very often – ideally not at all – and when it does go down we need to get it up and running as quickly as possible. This imposes requirements on the maintenance system. The maintenance system is not limited to the maintenance function. The system includes standard procedures that are followed by the operators and equipment that does not breakdown and/or can be repaired quickly.
A good way to begin to improve the maintenance system starts with a workshop focused on a single piece of equipment that is or will be critical to a lean, one-piece-at-a-time operation. The workshop team goes through a process of detailing the machine.
