Autonomous Maintenance can be a strong driver for the improvement of asset performance and business value. The practice entails sharing responsibility for the maintenance of assets between the Operations and Maintenance departments; Machine operators perform smaller maintenance tasks such as lubrication, cleaning and safety checks whereas maintenance teams focus on more complicated maintenance tasks and on effectiveness improvements. Production output can significantly benefit from implementing this strategy. Additionally, if you are ready to take the next steps in Digital Transformation, Autonomous Maintenance could be a valuable part of your strategy.  

Introduction to Autonomous Maintenance

Autonomous maintenance is a vital component of total productive maintenance (TPM) that empowers machine operators to perform routine maintenance tasks, thereby increasing equipment effectiveness and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). By implementing autonomous maintenance, organizations can reduce labor costs, increase equipment availability, and improve team cohesiveness. Autonomous maintenance fosters a culture of proactive maintenance, where machine operators take ownership of their equipment and perform basic maintenance tasks, such as cleaning, lubricating, and inspecting. This approach enables maintenance teams to focus on more complex tasks, reducing equipment downtime and improving operational excellence.

The benefits of Autonomous Maintenance

First-line maintenance, as Autonomous Maintenance is also called, can increase the effectiveness of the equipment (or: Overall Equipment Effectiveness – OEE) in several ways. Our consultants name these benefits based on their deployment experience at asset heavy companies around the world:

  • The autonomous maintenance team plays a crucial role in monitoring equipment for deviations and anomalies, suggesting solutions to enhance equipment performance. The maintenance team has time to focus on more complicated maintenance and asset management activities. This includes longer-term strategy enhancements which helps with improving production output and realizing sustainable asset performance.

  • Another benefit of having maintenance workers being able to focus on complex work means that the company does not have to revert that work to suppliers. Knowledge and expertise will stay (and grow further) in-house. This allows maintenance technicians to focus on more critical tasks, fostering a collaborative environment between operators and maintenance technicians.

  • Operators feel a higher sense of ownership over the condition of assets which helps to avoid failure and safety risks.

  • Because less people are needed on the shop floor, the risk of contamination is lower. This increases the level of production output.

  • Operators are trained to perform minor maintenance tasks, which empowers them to take ownership of their equipment and enhances overall equipment effectiveness. Operators are able to perform basic maintenance tasks regularly and more often (if needed), achieving a better or optimal level of operations for the machines.

  • Sharing ownership and responsibility promotes collaboration and unity. This benefits the organizational culture, collaborative efforts and, in the end, the business objectives.

  • With this setup, both the maintenance and operations teams get the opportunity to develop skills and experience. Maintenance can focus on improving knowledge of more complex jobs while operators deepen their expertise as they will learn more about how equipment works and how to handle it.

Six Critical Success Factors

If Autonomous Maintenance is new to the organization then this brings a great change with it. Increasing operator knowledge is essential for effective autonomous maintenance, as it equips operators with the skills needed to manage and care for machinery. Operators need to be trained to perform specific tasks that were previously done by maintenance technicians. This training should include understanding the equipment, identifying problems, and maintaining quality.

Training should also include autonomous inspection techniques, enabling operators to proactively identify and address potential issues. This not only helps in maintaining the equipment but also enhances overall equipment effectiveness. By mastering inspection techniques and understanding their equipment, operators can ensure that the machinery runs smoothly and efficiently.

1: Formulate goals

First determine the reason of implementing a significant change in approach such as autonomous maintenance. How will it contribute to your business success? Effective autonomous maintenance is crucial for ensuring operational efficiency through regular inspection and monitoring. Outline how this way of working can benefit the organization and be another step in your Digital Transformation journey. When will implementing this be regarded a success? What are the KPIs?

2: Get commitment across the organization

Ensuring that the management team is on board is important. Not only because you ask a lot of time, effort and budget from the organization but also simply because it is a big change for everyone. In fact, make sure you have buy in upfront not only from management but from all levels and departments and especially from front-line operators. Emphasize what's in it for them and have them become the owners of the project. Answer their questions: Is this work on top of their usual workload? Why should they change their day-to-day work? What will they get in return?

3: Keep it clear and simple

If Operations and Maintenance departments are responsible for different aspects of maintaining the assets, clear communications and guidelines are key. Using visual aids, such as color-coded tags and clear signage, can assist operators in maintaining equipment effectively. It is important to have procedures and standards in place so everyone works in the same way. A Connected Frontline Worker app can play a role as these platforms have the possibility of including before/after images of assets, checklists and for example instruction videos. The simpler the better as this will avoid uncertainty, interpretational differences and errors.

4: Train and coach

Operators need to learn new capabilities and expand their knowledge of the equipment. They have to dive into the maintenance perspective; How do the components of the assets work, technical specifications, safety protocols and much more. Be aware that your operators have different levels of knowledge and speed of learning. Set up training and coaching. If possible let it be a joint effort of Maintenance and Operations; field workers can also provide their knowledge and insights of equipment. Doing this will also help with promoting collaboration and sharing learnings and best practices later on.

5: Ensure technical readiness

All assets which are suitable and selected for autonomous maintenance should be labeled. You should also have all asset data available and connected to other systems. Don't forget to carve out time, effort and budget for this. It is a challenging task that requires an investment from more than one or two different departments and disciplines. A well-integrated production system is essential for achieving high quality, flexibility, and low costs through strategies like Autonomous Maintenance and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM). Obviously, you also have to provide the team with solutions and technology to be able to perform autonomous maintenance. Connected Frontline Worker (CFW) platforms are used by both maintenance and operations. A CFW app will enhance engagement of all involved teams because they can more easily collaborate and contribute to a common goal and continuous improvement.

6: Start small

Ease the maintenance and operations into the new way of working by starting with a limited scope. Choose for example one production line or installation. Don't choose complex or difficult equipment but consider selecting assets that are critical to production. Effective plant maintenance involves the collective effort of all employees to minimize losses and improve operational performance. This will give autonomous maintenance the opportunity to show its added value early on in the project which will encourage internal adoption.

Conclusion

In conclusion, autonomous maintenance is a powerful strategy for improving equipment effectiveness, reducing downtime, and increasing operational excellence. By empowering machine operators to perform routine maintenance tasks, organizations can reduce labor costs, improve team cohesiveness, and increase equipment availability. Implementing autonomous maintenance requires a structured approach, including training operators, establishing standardized procedures, and promoting a culture of continuous improvement. The numerous benefits of autonomous maintenance, including reduced downtime, improved equipment performance, and increased productivity, make it an essential component of any organization's maintenance strategy. By successfully implementing autonomous maintenance, organizations can achieve operational excellence, improve asset availability, and reduce maintenance costs, ultimately leading to significant benefits and a competitive advantage in the market.

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