Total Productive Maintenance

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In any modern manufacturing facility the equipment used requires a level of maintenance to ensure that the manufacturing process is not disrupted and the production plan can be achieved. In some industries, especially those using continuous production, the plant would shut down for annual maintenance, where equipment is repaired and critical components replaced. World class organizations spend time and resources on maintaining their equipment as it is more effective to have a preventative maintenance plan than repair or replace equipment when it fails. There are a number of plant maintenance processes that are employed by successful organizations. Corrective Procedures This type of maintenance procedure is used in companies that do not employ a preventative maintenance program. In its simplest form, a company will not perform maintenance on a piece of equipment until a failure occurs. When this happens the plant maintenance department will then perform work on the item to either repair it so that it can be placed back into service or replace the piece of equipment if it cannot be repaired or requires maintenance that would cause significant delays to the production schedule. Preventive Maintenance Companies that use a preventative maintenance will plan regular maintenance inspections so that any issues that may occur with a piece of equipment can be identified before a critical failure occurs. Preventative maintenance also ensures that critical parts are replaced before they fail and consumable items, such as oil and lubricants, are changed regularly. Predictive Procedures Some companies use predictive maintenance to maintain their equipment. Predictive maintenance helps companies determine the condition of their equipment so that they can predict when maintenance should be performed. This method can be a considerable cost saving over preventive

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