15 replies to this topic

[jaina_c]

Hi all,

 

I am trying to put together a form for our maintenance staff to fill out in regards to PM.

 

Here's what I have so far - basically a checklist stating that gear oil was checked, scales were calibrated and bearings were greased. Above that I list the line name and the equipment numbers. Underneath a space for notes in case there are any NC's.

 

What else would you guys include?

 

I think about adding things like loose wires, leaking oil etc but those are covered on my daily pre-op forms.

 

What do you do for PM? What do your sheets look like? Are they specific to each machine/line or a general one you fill out for anything?

 

Thank you!

[Irun4fun]

Good Jaina,

 

We have a general form that is used across all of our equipment and PM's.  However, the content of the PM will vary by equipment as different pieces of equipment will have different PM requirements and tasks to perform at different frequencies.  For example, one piece of equipment may have a weekly PM task of changing the oil, but a quarterly task of changing a seal or bearing.  Generally speaking, in most of PM's we will also typically include check points of a food safety nature as well.  These might include: sanitizing tools prior to use, ensuring tools and parts accounted for and removed, and whether or not equipment needs to be cleaned prior to use (we issue "dirty tags" once a PM is completed).

 

Best Regards,

Michael

 

[chrcia]

We use a maintenance request form to track facility and or equipment repairs I will attach our form. Also scale calibrations are performed by myself on a daily basis using a simple excel spreadsheet following the identification numbers assigned by our scale company.

 

 

Attached Files

•  Maintenance Request.docx   2.03MB   828 downloads

[Hoosiersmoker]

Good start. We use the attached sheets. Need dates, initials, verification, machine information, specifications to work to, product descriptions if possible save steps looking up items (ISO grades etc.). All PMs are taken directly from the machine manufacturer at the intervals given and by the person responsible then we add items that help efficiency or problem items we historically faced. As far as building and grounds PMs, we use a maintenance software that stores closed PMs in a cloud database with a report function so we can look at trending and other historical data. Hope this helps.

Attached Files

•  PM Example.xls   74.5KB   890 downloads

[Scampi]

Depending on the size or complexity of the facility, you may want the maintenance department to prepare these.......there may be budgeting issues that should also be tracked (hours/job, who did the work etc etc)

 

Also include that all maintenance materials were removed and that the piece of equipment was cleaned/sanitized prior to use or put on hold until that could occur

[SQFconsultant]

Wow, great community, some really wonderful attachments, thanks.

[Hoosiersmoker]

Scampi, We chose to separate the tool accountability portion as most of our machine PMs use tools stored at the machine but you definitely want to account for that somewhere. My motto is if I can cram it all on one checklist with a place to sign off on completion, a place to verify and it flies with the auditor, all the better!

[jaina_c]

Wow thank you everyone for your replies! These are very helpful!

 

So it seems like you all use a general sheet to record your PM's then, there is no special PM sheet.

How did you all determine your PM's? I have been spending time looking at the manufacturers recommendations for PM on our machines and they're just not do-able (intricate PM's in a facility with 200+ machines and only 3 maintenance personal) nor are they related to food safety per say.

What does your schedule for PM look like?

[Hoosiersmoker]

jaina_c

 

I think it depends on the machinery and the operator's level of involvement. Our machine manufacturers name the operator as the primary people to perform PM. They are responsible for daily, weekly, monthly and portions of the extended PM.

 

You stated that the machine manufacturer PM schedules were "just not do-able"? Not only is proper PM a requirement for food safety (for our specific module 13.2.8 Food Packaging Manufacturer) but PM on multi-million dollar machines should be a high priority business-wise. We schedule time for extended PM so we determine when that machine is down, not when it breaks down.

 

I don't know anything about your operation but I would lay money that you can't afford downtime and food safety or quality risks associated with lack of proper maintenance. Some historical investigation might be in order comparing new machinery efficiency with efficiency from the same 3 or 4 year old machines. The efficiency loss alone involved with not performing PM over the days, weeks, months and years will likely shock you. We have machines that are 10+ years old that still operate at 98 to 100% of their original performance with little unscheduled down-time.

 

In case you couldn't guess, I have been both a Plant Manager and Maintenance Supervisor in previous lives. :)

[jaina_c]

Hoosiersmoker-- thanks for your reply!

I guess when I say "not do-able" I mean that its not do-able to do every single PM for every single machine. For example, one of our baggers has about 20 PM's recommended, and 15 of them are on a weekly/monthly basis. That's just 10 out of the 200 pieces of equipment here.

 

And I would maybe budge on that line of thinking if we had significant down time due to machine malfunctions -- but we don't. We are a packed but small facility where the staff gets around everyday and really knows the machines inside and out (both have been here 15 years +) and generally catch things before they happen anyways just by observing. We also have machines that are 10+ years old running highly efficiently.

 

I guess what I am saying is where is the line drawn between PM for productivity's sake and PM for food safety's sake? Productivity is something I will discuss with Maintenance (they know the machines better than I do, I'm just learning) but I want to make sure the food safety aspect is what's really covered.

[Hoosiersmoker]

The best answer I can give is, the program needs to be in compliance. You have to define how that compliance is achieved, if you demonstrate your compliance by current PM schedule and historical lack of food safety and / or quality issues, your PM program would seem to be sufficient. You can look at the lack of specific direction in the code as either a hindrance or a freedom. If everything you do now works fine as far as food safety and / or quality issues go with little or no customer complaint or recall, you have the opportunity to just identify what you already do and transfer that to SOP or WI. If you don't mind me asking, have you had any consultation on your system or a gap analysis performed?

[jaina_c]

hoosiersmoker,

 

We have had a consultation on our system -- we passed our first BRC inspection last year! Now I'm just trying to streamline our processes.

The issue is that we do not have a PM schedule at all. The other head on my food safety team has been pushing maintenance to use this very intricate computer software for over 2 years now -- but doesn't take the initiative to explain the program or take the lead on it. He expects 2 older men (our only 2 maintenance staff members!) to take significant time out of their day to learn a complex program when they are already extremely busy. The auditor last year understood we were in the process of learning the program but I cannot show up to the next audit having once again nothing on PM. I have decided to create my own PM policy without a computer system because I know that will actually get done.

[Hoosiersmoker]

That seems like a logical approach considering the circumstances. "The other head on my food safety team" concerns me though. Do you have 2 practitioners? We have 2, one is the QM and I oversee the Food Safety portion. I handle all food safety issues and stay out of the Quality issues. He stays out of food safety issues. I oversee the PM portion as a Food Safety element and he includes it in the Quality elements. If you are handling the audit, he needs to step back otherwise he needs to account for his responsibilities to the program at the next audit. Just make sure if the PM program he wants is not used correctly you don't include it in SOPs or policy.

[jaina_c]

Ah, yes well, unfortunately working with family tends to have its own rules. The other head is my brother and he's difficult to work with to say the least. For the most part we try and split things up -- he does policy / paperwork, I do employees / oversee facility matters. But sometimes the things he wants don't fit the business model and his ego keeps him from seeing and budging. I am going around him with the help of the maintenance team to create a new PM.

[Hoosiersmoker]

Ahhhh, I see now where the issues lie. Family dynamics can be tricky at best. however, GFSI requires you to have a current, accurate Org chart showing responsibility at all management levels. Maybe re-define or re-state the responsibilities and have a meeting and agree to allow complete trust and control over everything under your purview? Stonewalling and roadblocks are just a waste of time and no one can afford that, especially in a smaller company. Going around him might get you a quick solution on this, but the kernel of the issue remains. I don't envy your situation and I wish you the best of luck. Again, if your current PM methods are effective and work for your organization, just document them in the SOP. As long as it reflects what actually happens and you can demonstrate it is adequate you should be good. Document implementing the computerized portion in your Internal Audits as continuous improvements going forward. (Win win for you and your brother!) Effective is effective software or not, as long as it's all documented somehow (I prefer checklists with verification sign offs) and you can show the auditor.

[JohannesTrithemius]

In aviation you have Preventative Maintenance, and you also have Routine Maintenance.

 

Routine Maintenance includes tasks such as lubrication, minor inspections, checking oil, or even chain tensions, whereas Preventative Maintenance is performed when the aircraft is down, and requires more intrusive maintenance. In my opinion, I don't consider greasing and oiling chains as preventative. Preventative maintenance on an aircraft, one takes apart a component from a system (ex: air conditioning clutch) and it is inspected for bad bearings, corrosion, or anything else that exceeds the manufacturer's specifications. Nearly 90% of the time, everything looks good, but it's that 10% of the time you find something worn that needs to be replaced. Ideally, this is something you want to find when the line is down, and not when you are in full production. This is also a good opportunity to clean hard to access areas.  

 

If you are a supervisor or manager, I would highly recommend performing these maintenance sessions once per year, once on each piece of equipment. Basically this would be like taking it apart, then putting it back together again, while looking for anomalies. The benefits includes finding snags, and is a very good opportunity for your maintenance staff to become extremely familiar with the equipment that they are using, quickly. Additionally, I would recommend that they use as much manufacturer literature as possible, including exploded view diagrams, and maintenance procedures.

 

 

[Every small aircraft must, once every year, undergo an annual inspection. This entails the complete inspection of aircraft for security, operation of systems for correctness, and servicing of all aircraft components. Typically, the time investment for an annual inspection ranges from six to eight hours...]

  

This is one of the reasons aircraft almost never break down. Can you recall the last time your equipment failed?