The
Condition Monitoring
PLANNED MAINTENANCE
AND THE JIT FACTOR
Bob Griffiths ofR G
Griffiths Electronic
Services, maintenance
consultants, reviews the
changing role of
maintenance when
companies switch to Just in
Time manufacturing
ince the introduction of modern semi
S conductor devices, process control and
electronic controlled production equip-
ments have become very complex It is now
possible for one machine to handle many products by
re-programming. The technologies developed to
enable these advanced electronic systems to be
produced have brought about much greater reliabiity.
Even so, maintenance is still an important element if
production is not to be interrupted by unnecessary
stoppages due to breakdowns.
More companies are seeing the cost advantages
of the Just in Time manufacturing philosophy, but as
with all good things there are pitfalls. Contracts to
supply goods frequently have penalty clauses for late
delivery and where profit margins are low, due to
competition from home and abroad, Just too Late can
be disastrous in financial terms.
When considering the use of Just in Time
manufacturing, proper attention must be given to the
planning of maintenance not only in terms of what
should be done and when it can be carried out, but
just as important, adequate funding must be
provided. It is no good having detailed maintenance
schedules and time allotted to carrying out these
tasks if there is no money to pay for the technical
skills needed.
It is easy for the inexperienced to under-estimate
the amount of work and the skills involved in
maintaining electronic equipment. There is a strong
temptation to believe that existing staff, perhaps
electricians, should be able to cope. This leads to
insufficient time and funds being allocated to carry
out essential maintenance, a situation that leads to
increased down-time and disruption to production
schedules. To avoid this a life cycle cost analysis
should be carried out before buying new equipment
to determine the true cost of ownership. This analysis
should include the purchase price of the equipment,
interest if applicable, training of operators and
maintenance staff and running costs for the
anticipated useful life of the equipment. Running
costs should include spares holdings, consumables
and the cost of special skills. Other considerations
may be the cost of air conditioning or special clean
areas, as is often the case with large computer
installations, and inflation over the projected period.
In order to calculate the maintenance budget a
fundamental decision has to be made. Is the
maintenance to be put out to contract, carried out
in-house by suitably qualified personnel or a
combination of both. This is perhaps the most
MANUFACTURING ENGINEER 55 MAY 1989
Review
difficult but most important decision to be made if a
long term cost effective solution is to be achieved.
The factors that influence this decision are different
for almost all companies. So much so that very
similar companies in different geographical locations
may arrive at satisfactory but completely different
solutions. By using this approach a meaningful
maintenace budget can be established, not only for
the first year but throughout the life of the
equipment.
It is important to understand that the amount and
frequency of maintenance activity is related to the
nature of the equipment and the environment in
which it has to work. Extremes of temperature, dust
and other contaminants can greatly reduce the time
between maintenance periods. With existing equip-
ment all maintenance schedules and budgets should
be carefully examined to ensure that equipment
availability is in line with the new requirements
imposed by JIT manufacturing. Remember, there will
be only the minimum of finished product in stores to
buffer lost production.
Careful planning is the key to successful
maintenance. If the expertise in this specialised area
is not available to you in-house, then it should be
sought from an outside source, as the penalities for
getting it wrong can at best be expensive but may
well be serious enough to have long term effects.
For those who are about to embark on JIT
manufacturing, this short article should raise
questions that would have otherwise been overlooked
and for those who have already taken the plunge
without addressing this important area, I hope it is
'Just in Time' and not, 'Just too Late'. H