AndreyPopov/iStock/Thinkstock
Ecmweb 8733 Team Working Operators
Ecmweb 8733 Team Working Operators
Ecmweb 8733 Team Working Operators
Ecmweb 8733 Team Working Operators
Ecmweb 8733 Team Working Operators

Team-Working with Operators

Jan. 17, 2017
It’s all about reducing total downtime using the resources that are available.

At a manufacturing plant in rural Tennessee, when a piece of production equipment goes down the operator stays with it throughout the repair. A supervisor explained that each operator has a specific role to play in assisting with the repair of a given machine.

One machine has a 400 lb arbor that must be lifted out  to permit changing the drive motor. When that task comes up, it’s the operator, not the maintenance tech, who retrieves a sling dedicated to that particular machine for that particular purpose. The operator also obtains the “cherry picker” and gets everything set up while the maintenance electrician conducts lockout/tagout then disconnects the motor leads.

With other situations, operators have other roles. It’s all about reducing total downtime using the resources that are available. The operator can’t operate a machine that’s not running, so is an extra available resource during downtime.

This plant had previously been threatened with closure, based on the cost per unit produced. This cooperation between departments results in more units (because of shorter downtime) and lower costs (because of more fully using available resources).

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