Stepping back from the day-to- day operation can help managers gain perspective. Probing what has changed over time by asking the right questions can help crystallize the need to take proactive steps to protect the business. Would you answer “Yes” to any of
the following types of questions? • Is production downtime a result of reactionary and unplanned maintenance?
• Has productivity eroded and become unable to meet output demands?
• Is product taking longer to pro- duce or to consistently achieve the desired quality level?
• Are you aware of advances in technology that could enable your process to be faster, more cost effec- tive or better?
• Are any legislative changes on the horizon that should be taken into account (for example, emission or waste disposal regulations)? If the answer to any of these ques-
tions is “Yes,” scrutinize the processes taking place. As an example, let’s look at four steps to keep wheelblast cleaning processes cost effective while delivering the best possible quality to customers. Te principles of these steps can be applied to almost any type of equipment.
Step 1. Understand Your Process To improve productivity and con-
trol operational costs, you first have to fully understand how operations are performing. A process control program can help you do just that, giving you a full picture of cost, productivity, waste and throughput. Most operational issues can be easy to correct with proper train- ing. With a process control program, training occurs from the management level down through maintenance and operations. Tis eliminates costly mistakes or “Band-Aid” fixes and gets to the root of the problem. For example, a common problem occurs when the flow of abrasive is manually adjusted to below process optimums with the intent to reduce cost. In fact, this increases cost due to longer cycle times.
A process control program highlights the current operational inefficiencies of a machine, or its “trouble areas.”
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