Concepts of Total Productive Maintenance - Topic - 6 : Steps of Jishu- Hozen (JH Pillar) -Part 2

Jishu-Hozen Pillar Step 0: Preparatory Step or initial preparation

As already mentioned in my last blog post (Link : Steps of Jishu-Hozen (Part-1)) that there are seven steps in totality along with a preparatory stage which is also called "Step -0 : Preliminary step or preparatory step. So, including this step the total number of steps to have complete implementation of JH (Jishu-Hozen) or autonomous maintenance  is eight.  So let me begin with the first step.

Step -0 : Preliminary step or preparatory step of Jishu -Hozen (commonly known as JH Pillar):

Fig. 1. Preparation for JH Implementation

This is a preparatory step for the production operators who has to takeover maintenance activities of their own machines form maintenance team members. The operators needs to understand all aspects of Jishu Hozen or autonomous maintenance. They need to be clear about forced and natural deterioration aspects of their machine / equipment. They also need to be made aware of the safety aspects of the machines while running the machine and doing JH. Such trained operators are called expert equipment operators.

 Fig. 2. Improvement through stronger Human-Machine interaction

Before going to the Step 1 of JH, the machine operators need to be psychologically framed and practically trained on the aspects as detailed below do demonstrate excellence in their performance: 

1. The operator needs to have through understanding on the importance of JH.
2. They should be clear about natural and forced deterioration phenomenon of machine / equipment. They must be clear about the adverse effect of forced deterioration (explained in my previous post : Steps of Jishu Hozen (JH Pillar) - Part 1) and they should also understand what will happen if the machines are poorly operated and maintained.
3. They should have a clear understanding normal and abnormal conditions. They are expected to have the capability of firmly setting the condition and criteria for normalities and abnormalities.
4. The operators should have the understanding of losses, failures and defects, with clarity of corresponding responsibilities to repair and rectify them. A details of maintenance history (SQPDCM based) may be prepared and operators may be given an illustrative training on that.
5. The operators should be given safety trainings and education on prediction of injuries and potential hazard, electrical shocks, dropping of articles and related injuries, slippery surface, fall-down injury, skin and eye irritation etc and they should also know about the first aids for minor injuries. (Detailed safety awareness and training being taken care under SHE pillar of TPM, but safety is an integral part of TPM and hence appears in all the pillars).
6. The operators should know to draw a simple illustration of equipment to identify different units and components of the equipment, their usage, functionality and performance standard. 
7. The operators should have complete awareness of basic equipment condition, and ideal equipment condition (details of "Basic equipment condition" and "Ideal equipment condition" is given below under * section at the end of the post), and they should have the capability of  finding and improving machine malfunctions.
8. The operators needs to understand the importance of tags (Red and white tags), they should also know tag details, abnormality matrix and tag register. An "Abnormality Tag Matrix" is shown below for reference. (for details please click the link : Under preparation)

Fig. 3. An example of abnormality tag matrix

         

       9.   The operator needs to know how and what to dis-cover (open up or dismantle) to discover the cause families that may be or that are responsible for performance related abnormalities of the machine / equipment.

       10. The production operators must be give hands on training on 1S and 2S (1S-means "Serie" a japanese term which means segregation and 2S - means "Seiton", again a japanese term which means systematic arrangement) so that they are able to effectively accomplish production along with maintaining the machine / equipment.

       11. The operators needs to understand and work as per clear schedule of activities on activity boards. To maintain discipline activity boards are very essential and they need to be updated regularly as per the decided frequency (mostly by hand) to have a correct set of data trend, which will enable them to take quick and correct decisions. An example of working with activity board is shown below. The sheets on the activity boards are dynamic document and should be reviewed on regular basis.

Fig. 4. Regular monitoring on activity board

       12.  The machine manuals, that comes along the machines / equipments are kept (most of the times) with maintenance personnel. The production supervisors, operators, line leaders and the associates who are working in the shopfloor or with machines must undergo training of the machine / equipment manuals. They must understand the functionality of parts, circuit diagrams, sequence of dismantling and reassembling of the machines, electrical connections etc. These trainings are essential in order to prevent repairing failures, shortening the time of Jishu -Hozen activities, and there by eliminating the potential causes of break down.

       13. The operators must understand the cleaning process, they should understanding purpose of cleaning, cleaning equipments and their usage. They should learn to follow the step by step  standard operating process of dismantling, cleaning, lubricating, inspecting, fixing, tightening of the machine / equipment. They should also be taught about the machine parameter checks such as oil level, sensor fixation, electrical checks, temperature checks, pressure checks and check points of other essential parameters which are responsible for smooth running of the machine.

       14. The operators must be taught about the storage location and issuing process of essential cleaning equipments, replaceable parts (in case of occurrence of damage), and consumables such as lubricants, machine oils etc. This will help the operators to have quick and speedy restoration of basic condition in case of an abnormal situation or machine stoppage.

       15. With the introduction of JH pillar in the process, the operators "Role and Responsibility"gets enriched and enhanced. They must be intimated about their additional responsibilities and the added roles they need to perform to make JH initiative a grand success. As already been discussed Jishu- Hozen", pillar calls for a complete shift of mindset from - " I operate and you (i.e. maintenance) maintain", to  "I operate, I own, I maintain" .  

Fig.5. Shift of mindset from " I operate and you (i.e. maintenance) maintain", to  "I operate, I own, I maintain" .  

Before concluding the "Step 0" of Jishu-hozen, we also need to know two aspects, i.e. basic equipment condition, and ideal equipment condition, that has been highlighted in point number 7 with a " * "mark. The details are given below : 

(*)

A. Basic Equipment Condition : Basic condition of the equipment refers to a condition of machine or equipment, where there is no scope left for forced deterioration. (Natural deterioration and forced deterioration is already explained in my previous blog post : Steps of Jishu-Hozen (Part-1)). The potentials  or chances of forced deterioration is eliminated through -

• "Cleaning" activity for complete removal of dust and stains and exposure to potential defects; 
• "Oiling " activity to prevent wear and burning by eliminating oil leakage and oil depletion;
• "Tightening" activity to preclude loosening of the bolts and nuts, to prevent erroneous actions and breakage.

B. Ideal Equipment Condition : The ideal state is a condition in which the equipment / machine performs at its highest level in terms of machine functionality, machine productivity and machine maintainability. These state is achieved when -

• Absolute conditions or necessary conditions for machine to perform are in place with respect to the specifications e.g. machine working temperature, heat, oil levels, voltage, coolant temperature etc. 
• Desirable conditions or condition of sufficiency for the machine is well addressed. These are the conditions that are not indispensable, but non fulfilling of them some time causes failures or defects. e.g. Specific temperature to be maintained in the metrology labs to have most precious readings. 

The ideal equipment condition is achieved when both necessary conditions and desirable conditions are met. Keeping the machine in an ideal situation is not possible always. Some time it is a costly affair also. 

On the other hand by cleaning and inspecting the machine / equipment parts, defects can be identified and by rectifying and improving machine malfunctions losses can be prevented. This is why, importance is always given towards maintaining basic conditions and in case of occurrence abnormality, major focus if given on quick and speedy restoration of the basic condition. This is one of the major objective of Jishu-hozen or Autonomous Maintenance.

With this the Step - 0 i.e. Preliminary step or preparatory step of Jishu -Hozen (commonly known as JH Pillar) is completed from my side. I appreciate all of your focus and attention and I would also like to receive your feedbacks, suggestions and inputs in the comment section below.

The next step is Step - 1 i.e Initial cleaning , inspection (to know more click on the link : Link Under Preparation). Thank you very much for your continuous support and appreciations. Plz continue reading.

... to be continued