| The roles
of production and maintenance are somewhat reversed
during periods of planned equipment shutdowns.
Just as production strives to be as effective as
possible during scheduled operations, maintenance
strives to be effective with equipment shutdowns. In
each case the total community needs to support and
execute the work plan in a manner of complete
cooperation. Successful plants put together
comprehensive plans for all activities and then make
them happen.
When equipment
shutdowns occur, all other activities should be
subordinated to the shutdown plan. A real ‘win-win’
condition results if all shutdown work is completed as
scheduled and a square start is experienced with
the production start up. This can only happen through
community teamwork and strategic resource planning.
Even with good plans
and perfect execution, shutdowns may be longer than
necessary. As each shutdown is like a separate
project, the principles identified in "The
Critical Chain"¹ should be applied to lever-age
the constraint resources. Certainly many of the
concepts of quick changeover (see section 8.3) apply.
Perhaps every work area should step back and re-assess
their equipment shutdown strategies for maintenance. |
