FEATURE PACKAGING
WHY DO AUTOMATED MACHINES FAIL, AND HOW CAN YOU PREVENT IT?
Three experts from Morrisons, Brillopak and Omron share their tips on how to maximise Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) on food production pick and pack lines
W
hy do automated machines fail? Deterioration caused by not
maintaining basic standards and lack of operative training, stress as a result of poor design at the outset, and weaknesses, such as poor quality parts, tend to be the main factors say the three automation experts. Representing the end user viewpoint is
Geoff Hann (MIET), engineering manager at Morrisons Thrapston manufacturing site, while David Jahn, director at Brillopak looks at maintenance from a machine build perspective, and Dan Rossek, from Omron, reviews the latest technology that’s helping to streamline and implement a strategy of predictive maintenance. Over the last decade, food producers and
packhouses have realised the productivity benefits that can be gained by being less reactive to maintenance tasks and adopting a proactive approach to asset care. “From an end-user’s perspective, a key driver behind this change has been the growing acceptance of OEE as a measure for a company’s productivity,” said Omron’s Dan Rossek.
EATING INTO PROFITS Brillopak’s David Jahn agrees. He said: “Machine technology is just one aspect of automation. In a marginal business like fresh produce packing, if a production line stops or slows down to accommodate a hold up further up the line, that eats into productivity and therefore profits. The whole process, from weighing and flow- wrapping produce to loading it into a case for palletising must run seamlessly in order to optimise OEE. Operatives need to feel confident and familiar with equipment. Chaotic layouts, factory clutter and workforce hostility towards automation are probably the most common reasons that production gets disrupted.” For Geoff Hann, greater productivity and
machine availability starts with getting the entire workforce, from machine operatives to managers, engaged with 5S. The Kaizen-inspired 5S pillars creates a sense of ownership and empowerment
16 APRIL 2019 | PROCESS & CONTROL
among the workforce while introducing better housekeeping standards. Hann said: “Being orderly, clean and standardised in your approach to automated machinery care is the foundation of a good asset care and maintenance programme.” The lifespan of automated equipment
will vary by application and depends how hard each machine is worked and how well it’s looked after, noted Jahn. “Maintained correctly, and providing flexibility has been built into the initial design, an automated packing system could last over 20 years.” Plant that’s poorly maintained will likely
breakdown more frequently and impact quality, as well as productivity and OEE. Breaking the cycle of reacting to emergency maintenance tasks starts with changing the mindset of your workforce. Hann shares his tips on how to engage
with engineers and machine operatives. “Always start by sorting the area. Get the team to red tag all the stuff you don’t need and create a space for spares and change parts, lubricants and tools. So much time is wasted searching for a specific spanner or hex key during scheduled and emergency maintenance. Simple actions like returning tools to the shadow board alleviates frustration and saves on valuable machine downtime.” Next, identify the equipment
maintenance task that can be performed by non-maintenance personnel. “By increasing their mechanical knowledge operatives start to take ownership of their machine and feel empowered.” Hann also advises measuring each line’s
OEE at the start of training, although he recommends holding off divulging this data to trainees. “Hearing a poor OEE score at the start is disheartening and can switch people off,” he said. “Reward and recognise the improvements, using initial data such as running time, products packed per hour and how many can be sold. This is your quality gauge and a true benchmark to measure improvements against. Releasing the earlier data in comparison to the new data emphasises the significant change that has been achieved.” Don’t try to engage your entire factory
All three spokespeople conclude that regardless of the size of a production and packing plant, the journey to Industry 4.0 starts and ends with enforcing rigour in asset care combined with a comprehensive grasp of all the potential maintenance issues that could disrupt production
workforce at once. Instead, pick your middle production line. Hann said: “People on either side become part of the halo effect and that’s how you gain wider enthusiasm for asset care. They see what colleagues are doing, see the positive results they have achieved and want some of the action.” Hann also believes a tidy, uncluttered
workspace and clean, looked-after machines promotes a positive visual standard which passes from shift to shift. Scoring and auditing each line at the start and end of each shift is also a good habit to get into, ensuring consistent standards, once introduced, are maintained. Failure to resolve a machinery fault or
production bottleneck issue swiftly can set an automation project up to fail, claims Jahn. “It’s psychological. If operatives fear that their jobs are on the line and then see that a machine isn’t functioning properly, it almost certainly creates a sense that it’s doomed to fail. So they won’t even try and resolve an issue. In order to curtail this, it’s imperative that operatives feel involved at the outset of scoping out the specifications for a new automated installation.”
A QUICK FIX Fact is, machines do go down. What matters is how easy and quickly it can be fixed and put back on line. That’s the ultimate measure of OEE. And it’s where quality of design thought and component selection comes in. When a machine goes wrong, the first
intervention is usually by an operator, who will most certainly be under pressure to get the line up and running again. Jahn said: “The need to do something often overrides the long term implications of poking at the problem until it disappears. The answer is to provide a simple operator interface which clearly identifies the source and cause of the problem, a clear and simple way to stop and restart the system and full training in what can go wrong and how to fix it easily under pressure.” The investment in OEE starts way before
the machine build, said Jahn. “Because operatives see the day-to-day production issues they are a great source when it comes to pre-empting common issues. Leveraging this insight, such as all the SKUs, sizes and layer patterns at the outset is important as it factors in all the glitches that may interrupt production, plus engages with the frontline teams. Rather than being automation adversaries, they become your OEE champions.” Hann concurs, saying that for production
workforce engagement and asset care to be sustainable, it requires a holistic approach. “We have to consider the entire automation picture, including the impact on people’s jobs, changing mindsets, investing in skilled operatives who take
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