Within the manufacturing industry, maintenance and repair are essential for efficient operation. And while some repairs are inevitable, the goal of any maintenance program should be to reduce downtime and prevent any costly unplanned emergency repair work.
Yet many firms implement reactive maintenance, stepping in to handle issues only when they arise. Dealing with problems only when they occur can be problematic. According to the data, unscheduled downtime mainly occurs due to unsuitable equipment (44%). Additionally, 16% of downtime is attributed to operator error – or not knowing when to perform preventative maintenance.
It doesn’t have to be this way. By scheduling regular preventative maintenance checks, you can proactively identify potential problems before they arise and become costly repairs. This is where a well-crafted preventative maintenance checklist comes in handy.
A well-designed preventative maintenance checklist – and a well-trained maintenance team to implement it – can help you keep your facility or equipment running at peak efficiency and extend its life cycle.
What should preventative maintenance checklists include, and how can you measure the effectiveness of your preventative maintenance program? Let’s take a closer look.
Step 1: Understand Your Equipment
The right preventative maintenance begins with a fully-formed understanding of the equipment you currently have in place. Taking the time to review all of your equipment and document its operation and component parts will make it easier to create a maintenance plan.
Include all relevant details like the manufacturer, model number, specifications, and current condition. You may find that some pieces of equipment need more frequent attention than others – and others need to be replaced rather than maintained.
Step 2: Assess the Impact of Preventative Maintenance
Next, it’s beneficial to set measurable goals (KPIs) by which to measure the success of your preventative maintenance program. A few valuable measures you could track include:
- The total number of breakdowns
- Total downtime and maintenance costs
- Equipment lifespan
- Productivity levels
The more you can measure, the more likely your preventative maintenance program is working and providing value.
Step 3: Identify Essential Maintenance Tasks
For each piece of equipment, identify what maintenance tasks are required and how frequently they must be performed.
You can often find this information in the equipment’s user manual or through consultation with the manufacturer. Include routine tasks such as cleaning and lubrication and more complex tasks such as part replacements.
Step 4: Prioritize Equipment
Not all equipment is of equal importance to your manufacturing process. Some machines might be critical to your operations, while others may be less so.
Your checklist must prioritize equipment based on its importance to your overall operation, the cost of potential downtime, and the likelihood of failure.
This will help you decide how frequently each piece of equipment should be inspected and maintained – and will help you ensure that the most crucial equipment is given the attention it needs.
Step 5: Determine Necessary Skills and Resources
There’s a human element to your preventative maintenance process. Consider the skills, resources, and tools necessary to perform each maintenance task.
This includes the technical skills needed, the estimated time it will take, any parts or tools that will be needed, and the task’s complexity level. This information is essential for planning and scheduling maintenance activities and creating a preventative maintenance plan.
Step 6: Pick The Right Tool
In the digital age, your preventative maintenance checklists should be managed electronically. This makes it easier to organize and track maintenance activities and analyze results over time.
Look for a tool to help you create checklists, assign tasks, track results, and quickly and easily generate reports. With the right tool in place, your preventative maintenance plan can be up and running quickly. Digital work instruction platforms like Azumuta can help streamline this process.
Azumuta allows you to easily create, deliver, and maintain digital checklists for your maintenance tasks. This not only ensures that all tasks are performed correctly and consistently but also allows you to easily track and analyze your maintenance activities.
Azumuta’s platform allows you to create step-by-step instructions with visuals, making it easier for maintenance teams to understand and follow the procedures.
The platform also enables you to record and track any anomalies or issues, ensuring nothing is missed, and any potential problems are identified and dealt with promptly.
Step 7: Create Your Preventative Maintenance Schedule
Using the information gathered in the previous steps, create a maintenance schedule. This should include the frequency of each maintenance task, who is responsible for performing it, and the estimated time it will take.
Be sure to allow for flexibility in your schedule to accommodate unexpected repairs or breakdowns – even the most carefully planned maintenance schedule can be thrown off by an unforeseen problem.
Step 8: Implement, Monitor, & Adapt
After creating your preventative maintenance checklist, it’s time to implement it!
Monitor your program closely, especially in the early stages, to ensure tasks are completed as planned and effectively prevent equipment failures. As you see how your maintenance plan is performing, you can adjust it as needed to ensure maximum efficiency and success.
For example, if you begin to notice a significant decrease in the number of breakdowns, you may be able to reduce the frequency of specific maintenance tasks. On the other hand, if your preventative maintenance program isn’t having its intended effect, don’t hesitate to add additional tasks or increase the frequency of existing ones.