Fixing Critical Problems

The operators sound the alarm that a critical machine is down. Someone from maintenance arrives. What happens next? It all depends. If that person is the designated (and highly trained) expert on that equipment, he will immediately establish the mode of failure and then make the appropriate response. If that person is just the first maintenance tech an operator could find, he might stand around scratching his head for a while.

This difference is what we referred to in the maintenance tip. But if the equipment is truly critical, don’t stop there. Some other ways to fix critical equipment faster include:

• Develop kits of parts and tools; if possible, lock them in a cabinet near the equipment (only the operations supervisor and the designated expert have keys).
• Stock assemblies. For example, if the repair requires removing a servo motor from an assembly that mounts with four bolts it’s faster to replace the assembly. The original can be repaired “off line”
• Modify fasteners. Can you use quick-releases and flip-levers instead of threaded fittings and bolted connections?