Maintaining new machines

CMMS platforms keep records of all maintenance activities, reconcile MRO inventories, allocate workloads among technicians, and conduct remote technician training. Milos Dimic/Getty Images

Machine maintenance is an investment that complements business operations by ensuring the availability, efficiency, and safety of production assets. Manufacturing companies adopt different maintenance strategies depending on the scale of their operations, asset criticality, and financial capabilities.

Companies perform diverse maintenance tasks—either scheduled or emergency. Scheduled/routine maintenance tasks are proactive measures meant to avert failures, while emergency maintenance involves corrective measures implemented after asset or process failure.

The acquisition of new advanced machine tools is a byproduct of smart business expansion. The addition of these assets, however, disrupts workflows and alters established maintenance schedules. Also, warranties associated with these new machine tools complicates the execution of some maintenance tasks.

With additional production assets, maintenance departments face challenges such as:

• Heavier workloads
• Shortage of maintenance personnel
• Expanded maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) inventory
• Lack of adequate skills and tools to manage the maintenance of advanced machine tools

Incorporating new machine tools into established maintenance schedules is a delicate process that takes time. Poorly implemented integration disrupts routine maintenance schedules with far-reaching consequences to the continuity of business operations. The following tips facilitate the seamless integration of new machine tools to existing maintenance schedules.

1. Always adhere to the recommended maintenance intervals.

Machine tool builders provide comprehensive operation and maintenance manuals for every piece of a machine. The manuals contain vital information on their care and operation. Manuals also provide information regarding mandatory maintenance activities and their intervals to guarantee the continued, smooth operation of assets.

The equipment supplier provides warranties for new machinery covering repairs, replacements, and after-sales services for a specified time after acquisition. These recommended maintenance schedules may overlap with your existing programs. It is prudent to strictly adhere to the warranty conditions and the recommended maintenance schedules.

Failure rates for machine tools may be higher at the initial stages and may prompt you to modify the maintenance schedules. Such variations jeopardize the validity of the warranty, causing you to lose valuable support from vendors. This includes free component replacements, maintenance, and staff training.

Leveraging these after-sales services is one way of reducing maintenance-related expenditures because machine tool builders can distance themselves from liabilities arising from premature machine failures.

Use the machine’s “warranty window” to learn the ins and outs of new equipment. This includes gaining an understanding on how failures occur and propagate while receiving expert guidance from vendors.

Technicians should also use this time to collect necessary maintenance data as they acquaint themselves with the reliability of new machine tools. They then develop a draft maintenance plan that caters to every new asset. The draft maintenance plan borrows a lot from the equipment manuals. After the initial trials, you should optimize the draft maintenance plan to match facility-wide maintenance schedules.

2. Systematically add new machinery to your computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) program.

The impact of technology on machine maintenance is immeasurable. Companies are relying on CMMS to streamline the maintenance of multiple machine tools in one go. These platforms keep records of all maintenance activities, reconcile MRO inventories, allocate workloads among technicians, and conduct remote technician training.

CMMS tools allow you to strategically update maintenance schedules, monitor their effectiveness, and communicate workload changes at the tap of a finger on mobile devices. You’ll learn how much time is needed to maintain specific machine tools, spare parts, tools, and workforce requirements. These software platforms also hold digital records of original equipment manufacturer manuals from which technicians can make references when undertaking the maintenance.

Given the robustness of data held by CMMSs, you can gain insight into crucial maintenance metrics to assist with long-term maintenance planning.

These programs even generate reminders to prevent the postponement of critical maintenance tasks. With time, you will understand the maintenance patterns of new machine tools and find a way to fit them into established schedules.

3. Assign dedicated maintenance staff to manage the maintenance of new machine tools.

The addition of new machine tools further stretches maintenance workforces amid a shortage of skilled labour. Even so, assign a dedicated team to monitor the operations of these machines.

Dedicated teams identify maintenance needs for each asset, evaluate the frequency and severity of equipment defects, and conduct failure-mode and root-cause analysis. They liaise with suppliers and advise management on the best practices for handling new machine tools.

The team also is responsible for identifying vendors that can supply replacement parts. These teams collect as much information as possible from the initial machine tool operation. They then use the information to draw up viable maintenance budgets and plans. The dedicated team also advises whether it is necessary to implement data-driven maintenance strategies or utilize preventive measures. They also are responsible for updating maintenance plans to accommodate new machine tools.

4. Train maintenance employees.

New machine tools come with advanced technologies and diverse requirements for maintenance. It implies that you must focus on upgrading the skills of the technicians and operators and purchase new tools and technology to support the maintenance of modern machinery. There may be an increase in the scale of activities and alteration of schedules, requiring employees to work extra shifts and respond to more emergencies.

When introducing new machine tools, it is prudent to engage technicians. Prepare them psychologically for the anticipated workload changes, introduce them to the latest maintenance tools, and collect feedback on how to streamline operations. The training period provides an opportunity for management to communicate safety policies for handling newer machinery and the approvals needed for their maintenance. Settle on an all-inclusive maintenance plan only if it receives buy-in from your skilled technicians.

Introducing new machine tools to an established maintenance schedule is not a simple plug-and-play process. It is a process that requires consultations, the collection of sufficient maintenance data, and steady implementation.

Haphazard implementation not only hinders the new machine tool maintenance, it also renders existing maintenance programs ineffective.

Bryan Christiansen is the founder/CEO of Limble CMMS, 3290 W. Mayflower Ave., Lehi, Utah 84043, 801-851-1218, www.limblecmms.com.