TRAINING UPSKILLING YOUR OPERATORS


John Saysell, director of technical training, MCP Consulting Group, explains how training machine operators on maintenance techniques can improve processes and productivity


mainly Minis and Vauxhall Vivas. I’d worked really hard on one car, respraying


I


it Bachelor Blue. Then my dad, much to my horror, told me I needed to give it to my sister who was at university. Caroline needed to take great care of this Vauxhall Viva. I taught her all of the basics such as oil, water and brake fluid checks, tyre pressures etc. She was the driver, not the mechanic, but the car spent less time off the road because she could spot the early warning signs and drop it back at the family home for me or my dad to fix it. The factory floor is no different. Operators


spend days by their machine. They know how it should sound, feel and smell. Many more serious stoppages have been averted because the operator has told the technician about a fluid leak or strange noise. Companies can save many millions of pounds if operators are engaged and carry out routine, low risk maintenance tasks like Cleaning, Inspection, Lubrication and Tightening (CILT). So, does every factory involve the operators


in first line maintenance? Not according to MCP’s AMIS assessment. 80% have no operator involvement in maintenance. 45% have no formal maintenance training programme. Many engineering managers have worries about the age profile of their maintenance workforce and rely on external contractors. Greater operator involvement in high


frequency-low risk maintenance tasks can free up valuable maintenance resource time as can training operators to operate their machines more effectively. In some factories, maintenance technicians spend a lot of time hand-holding operators. If we look at the graphic above (Fig.1), we can


see the contribution of operation, design and maintenance towards operational excellence, optimising operations has the biggest impact.


52 JUNE 2021 | PROCESS & CONTROL


n my late teenage years, I really loved cars and car maintenance. Encouraged by my dad, I had a succession of old bangers,


Some factories have experienced accidents


through staff not having the correct skills and knowledge to carry out tasks competently (this means completing the task safely, in a reasonable length of time and to the right standard). In my recent experience, in separate incidents, staff have lost sight in one eye, have broken teeth and lost the use of a hand. In addition to damaged staff, I have recently witnessed the lid of a £50,000 centrifuge being tightened by being clubbed by a baseball bat sized stainless steel bar, causing significant damage. A simple redesign of the tooling would have been a better solution. As responsible employers, we need to train


staff off line and assess their underpinning knowledge. Then we need to have a structure of coaches and assessors in place to deliver on-job training and then sign them off as being competent to do selected tasks in the workplace. And then robust records need to be kept. There may also need to be an expiration date on the assessed task. Instead of training operators to do


maintenance tasks, some companies have taken a different approach and put skilled technicians on the production line. When there is a problem or planned maintenance then the technician carries out these tasks. The remainder of the time the skilled technician is a


Fig.2


Fig.1


member of the production team. This approach generally works well for a number of years, but then the technician either gets bored and leaves or becomes de-skilled and needs re-training. To embed technical operator training in the


culture of a company we need a strategic approach like Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Autonomous Maintenance (AM) part of TPM), Operator Asset Care or a focused operator apprenticeship scheme. Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) was


originally developed in Japan. It strives to achieve a continuous production cycle without any breakdowns by maintaining and improving the production and quality systems. Engaging all departments in planning, production, quality and maintenance are the main aims. It may lead to major organisational re-alignment. There will be a large investment in training, factory floor resources and support staff. Many companies decide that it’s too much of a challenge. Others choose to work with a consultancy to help guide them. Autonomous Maintenance is a pillar of TPM.


An operator trained in AM will practice: • Efficient machine operation • Initial inspection and cleaning • Removal of cause of contamination and


improvement of access • Against standards for lubrication • Inspection and monitoring of machine


performance • Standardisation of visual maintenance • Continuous improvement The factory floor-based teams become


more autonomous with less supervision. Operations and maintenance share continuous improvement, asset care and maintenance activities. Maintenance moves from reactive through preventive, bringing stability to the manufacturing process. The responsibility for manufacturing output or OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) is


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66