Deanna Postlethwaite, Sr. Director Program Management STANLEY Industrial
TOOLS
Reducing downtime is one key to a successful preventive maintenance program for tool and equipment use. Ensure the correct tools are in place, plan ahead for replacement parts, and always ensure workers are properly trained.
What are the best practices for tool and equipment preventive maintenance? Reducing or eliminating the risk of unplanned downtime, manufacturing interruptions, and missing repair stock is an issue every manufacturer addresses at some point. One effective way to achieve best practices is to work on implementing a service preventive maintenance (PM) program to maximize manufacturing time and extend product quality and machine life. Gaining a commitment within one’s organization to set up a regular
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PM program is the first step but implementing preventive maintenance in a way that’s flexible and manageable is critical to ensure that downtime and interruption risks are avoided. It’s not just saying it, it’s doing it. What are the key drivers for success? A manufacturer can begin the PM journey by defining what they want to achieve, such as:
December 2021 www.fastenerengineering.com
• Extended tool and equipment lifecycles by eliminating breakdowns or failures • Increased tool and equipment product quality • Decreased high-dollar expediting fees and spare-part costs by planning out PM schedules • Decreased cost of additional workforce required to run or verify backup processes DESIGN WORLD
