ABSTRACT
When factory workers and managers use equipment without properly maintaining it, they eventually run into a bigger problem: breakdowns and line stoppages. Factory workers and managers should understand the practice of preventive maintenance, so they can support maintenance efforts to identify and fix minor problems in critical equipment before they cause breakdowns. At level-one factories, production personnel typically use machines until they break. Thinking that their only responsibility is to turn out products, operators leave all equipment maintenance to the maintenance technicians. Generally, the people who use equipment are the first ones to notice equipment malfunctions and breakdowns. They know the equipment and therefore are best able to detect when something is odd and needs attention. Post "Focused Improvement Completed" signs on equipment that has been improved. Focused improvement needs to permeate the factory and be managed comprehensively as part of the effort to promote effective equipment management.
