Plant Services - September 2007 - (Page 54) H o w to D o you feel that every equipment maintenance article you read is pushing you to spend more money on overhead and more time pampering machines instead of running them? If so, here’s your lucky break. Go FISHing. Functional interface stress hardening (FISH) is a methodology developed that is proven normally to eliminate: • 50% of mechanical downtime • 80% of hydraulic systems downtime and expense • 92% of electronics, microprocessor and computer equipment downtime in most manufacturing facilities. Equipment life and availability go up, while drastically cutting maintenance pampering and overhead expense. If your machines take unscheduled breaks and unannounced days off (malfunctions and downtime), that’s not lean. That’s losing. Are lean machines required for lean success? Absolutely? Usually? No? Is it the people and the process that count? The correct answer depends on your product and the type of machines, computers, process controls, machine tools and telecom equipment required to order, process, pack, ship and invoice for your product or service. Ask yourself these two questions: • Which computers, machine tools, motion controls or other equipment would affect my lean operation or my ability to deliver if they were taken out of service today for the next week? • How much work would my operation deliver or process today if the power went out, leaving me without machines? Most facilities have automated during the past 20 years to 30 years to a point that leaves them completely dependant on machines. You often hear about employee appreciation, employee training, employee development and building a productive employee www.PLANTSERVICES.com Reliability Automation environment but, we often overlook that our computers and automated machine tools have become our most valuable employees. We pay far more per hour for these semi-intelligent mechanical employees than for any human (the boss included). So, what are we doing to provide these digital marvels with a productive work environment? The answer lies within your FISHing expertise. Why FISH? FISH is based on a fact of nature – things most frequently wear out, malfunction or fail at an interface. Think about it: • Tree limbs break off at the joint where they interface to the tree. • Sidewalks usually crack and crumble along the edges. • Doctors replace more knee and hip joints than bones because the body wears at the joint, an interface. • Car suspension parts, machine gears and the like wear out at the point or surface of interface. • Desks and chairs get worn or damaged where you interfaced with them. If you can find ways to protect the joint or interface from the root-cause stress, wear or damage can be eliminated or greatly reduced. FISHing in the factory It’s a strategy for maxImIzIng automated machInery avaIlabIlIty whIle cuttIng overhead expense 54 These days, the design community is giving a lot of attention to design for Six Sigma, design for reliability, robust engineering and reliability engineering. Normally, the focus is on making individual components or modules (circuit boards, gears, crank-shafts, etc.) more reliable or robust. Failure mode effects analysis and highly accelerated life testing help discover ways to make the module more robust. September 2007 http://www.PLANTSERVICES.com
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