Written by Lawrence Bouvier, CMRP, Vice President – Fuss & O’Neill Manufacturing Solutions

Is equipment downtime holding you back from achieving Lean Manufacturing success?

We all have heard of the seven wastes addressed in Lean Manufacturing, but did you ever consider that if you applied similar principles to equipment health, you’d want a discipline to create Lean Maintenance?

Overproduction, Inventory and Waiting are three of the seven lean wastes that can come as a result of equipment failures.  A good maintenance process will keep these to minimum levels.  So, how can we achieve this?  The only way is to minimize the amount of maintenance and repair that we perform on machines!

As you plan strategies for launching or revitalizing your lean implementation, don’t forget to include maintenance in the mix.

“Maintenance is a key contributor to a continuous improvement or lean initiative,” said John Kravontka, president of Fuss & O’Neill Manufacturing Solutions. “Many times, they are the last function to receive lean overview training, and they do not fully understand what is happening in their facility. This can lead to confusion and negative thoughts, taking away from the initiative’s progress. Good lean overview training per all personnel, including maintenance, can support a smoother transition.”

Welcome the newest member of the IMEC team, CI specialist serving the Greater Chicagoland area...

Megan Falconer, a Technical Specialist with the Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center, has four years of manufacturing experience as a Product Engineer, Materials Coordinator, Quality Engineer, Manufacturing Engineer, and Process Engineer in both the steel and plastics industries.  APICS certified, Megan has also completed course work and training in Six Sigma Green Belt and lean tools and methodologies.

Welcome the newest member of the IMEC team, Lean Six Sigma Specialist serving northeast Illinois...

John Cosentino, a Technical Specialist with the Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center, has 26 years of manufacturing experience as a Project/Program Manager, Operations Manager, Vice President of Operations, and Continuous Improvement Manager.  A Certified Six Sigma Black Belt and Champion, John has also completed course work in Lean Tools and Methodology, Lean Accounting, and is a Certified Personal and Executive Coach.