Efficient Plant June 2022 - 22

department | tech horizons
An ongoing look into the
technologies and trends
that will shape your
manufacturing future
Learn Best
Practices
From Pit
Stops
Dr. Klaus M. Blache
Univ. of Tennessee Reliability
and Maintainability Center
(RMC)
F
OR TECHNOLOGIES
and/or any high-tech equipment
to reach its full potential,
your entire team needs to foster a
culture of discipline and display a tenacious
desire to improve the outcome.
It's Sunday, May 8, 2022, (air
temperature is 86 F but feels like 97
according to the weather and me). The
crowds are getting loud, engines are
roaring, and you can feel the excitement.
I'm sitting in front of the start/finish line
and in perfect view of many of the pit
crews. It's the first Miami Grand Prix at
the Miami International Autodrome in
Miami Gardens, FL, and the fifth of 23
races in the 2022 Formula One World
Championship.
Historically, the average pit-stop
times in the past 55 years have decreased
from 45 sec. in 1965 to 20 sec. in 1970, 8
sec. in 1985, 4.2 sec. in 2010, and 2.5 sec.
in 2020 (The Red Bulletin, May 7, 2022,
distributed at the race). Noted also, was
that Red Bull holds nine out of the ten
records for fastest pit stop. The eventual
winner of today's race, Max Verstappen
(driving for Red Bull), has the current
record for the fastest pit stop at 1.82 sec.
I've lectured for decades on engaged
teams, planned maintenance, precision
maintenance, standardized work, lean
principles (including standardized
processes, visual aids, reducing waste),
and design for reliability and maintainability.
Watching the numerous pit stops
in the span of about two hours made
all of these concepts come to mind. The
winding racing course was set up around
the Hard Rock Stadium specifically for
this race. It was 3.636 mi. long, requiring
57 laps to complete the prescribed
207-mi. race. The speed of pit stops often
determines the winner.
As stated in The Red Bulletin, " When
an F1 driver wheels into the pit lane, a
high stakes and dangerous dance begins.
Success is measured in millimeters and
milliseconds. The goal: Remove and replace
all four tires in the time it takes to
read this sentence. " Second place driver
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) finished only
3.786 sec. behind Verstappen and third
place driver Carlos Sainz Jr. (Ferrari)
trailed Leclerc by a mere 0.657 sec.
Applying motor-racing pit-stop practices to
plant maintenance can improve efficiency
and reduce errors and costs.
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Efficient Plant June 2022

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