MRC
began with a week-long TPM event. Folts explained they would
begin by cleaning, inspecting, lubricating, and performing
corrective work on a piece of machinery. Once a machine was
cleaned, it would be painted. At first, people were reluctant
to participate in TPM events. As time went on, people began to
notice what improvements were being accomplished under the TPM
events. "In fact, the same people that were hesitating in
the beginning were suddenly asking when their machine would be
scheduled for a TPM event," Folts said.
| Rick
Staples, an Electrician that has been involved with
TPM since it's inception said, "The physical
changes are easy to see. Our machines are more
reliable, the area is cleaner and a lot more pleasant
atmosphere to work in. Other changes, to those of us
that work here every day, are not as easily detected.
For instance; several people who were totally against
TPM at the start, have now willingly participated in
TPM workouts or equipment improvement teams. |
|
Another individual, who one
told me to keep my TPM away from his machines, now is a fully
trained TPM Coordinator in his area. It's these types of
things that truly amaze me. The culture change is slow, but
it's happening."
MRC formed Equipment Improvement Teams (EITs) to work on
resolving equipment-related issues. Folts credits the EITs
with a success that was critical in their adoption of TPM. He
explained they had a piece of equipment with chronic problems.
It was breaking down monthly requiring three or four days each
time to fix. He explains, "We were really frustrated by
this problem, we kept fixing it only to see it break down
again."
The Equipment Improvement Team took on this problem and
discovered the original manufacturer had used a sub-spec
coupling on a drive unit. The problem was solved by upgrading
to the proper coupling. This fix alone increased the
efficiency on this piece of equipment by sixteen percent.
"By taking the time to find the root of the failures,
rather than just fixing the symptoms, we were able to solve
this problem. In the years following this repair, the problem
was completely eliminated. That success showed a lot of people
in the company that TPM can make everyone's daily life easier
as well as improving productivity," Folts said.
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