Maximize Operational Efficiency with Autonomous Maintenance

Just as athletes have increasingly more resources for their physical preparation, companies today enjoy a wide range of possibilities when choosing solutions that meet their needs. However, are these solutions really able to keep them competitive?

The answer is simple: yes, as long as they boost operational efficiency, which is key to the success of any company. One strategy that has gained importance in recent years is autonomous maintenance, which goes beyond repairing machinery when it breaks down or implementing a preventive maintenance plan.

Autonomous Maintenance (TPM): Understanding the Concept

As a cornerstone of the Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) methodology, autonomous maintenance focuses on proactive maintenance of assets. In other words, it seeks the direct participation of operators in the management and care of their production equipment, with the aim of eliminating losses and increasing efficiency.

To this end, operators must assume specific responsibilities, such as cleaning, inspecting, lubricating, and making basic adjustments to their equipment. When performed regularly, these tasks contribute to identifying and addressing potential problems before they become critical failures, improving asset reliability, reducing downtime, and promoting a culture of continuous improvement in the plant.

Why is it so Important to Record Autonomous Maintenance in an EAM (Enterprise Asset Management) System?

Because if you don’t, it becomes worthless.

For Autonomous Maintenance to be truly effective, it is important to have a robust EAM system that allows you to keep track of and monitor all activities, both those carried out by the maintenance team and those of the production operators in the event that the TPM methodology is implemented.

IFS Ultimo, the EAM powered by Becolve Digital, has a specific module for managing autonomous maintenance (TPM) fully integrated with the rest of the solution’s functionalities, with which operators can work easily and quickly from their tablet or mobile.

Take Advantage of Autonomous Maintenance with IFS Ultimo

• Autonomous maintenance activity log
  The tool is designed to facilitate exemplary usability for operators. Thus, they can plan, manage, and document autonomous maintenance tasks in a couple of steps and directly from their devices.
• Checklist and Verification List Management
  On the other hand, IFS Ultimo allows you to create and manage checklists and verification lists specific to each piece of equipment or type of asset, which are very useful for operators to ensure that all critical tasks are completed.
• Shift Logbooks
  The existence and management of digital Logbooks for the Production department helps to create a more efficient transfer of information between shifts, and that’s not all: it also enables the creation, planning, and management of their maintenance tasks. In relation to the latter, operators also have the possibility of generating work requests for the maintenance department and tasks for the health, safety, and environment department, thanks to the integration of this module with the two in charge of managing work orders and HSE.
• History of activities and performance
  If we mentioned before that IFS Ultimo records all autonomous maintenance activities, now we add the history: a record, detailed at the very least, that allows you to perform trend analysis and evaluate performance over time.
• Monitoring Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
  Once the history has been obtained, the incorporation of key performance indicators specific to Autonomous Maintenance is what leads to an accurate and successful assessment of the effectiveness of the activities.
• Management of documents and manuals
  Because you never know when someone will need the information, and because there are times when every minute lost counts. Prepared for this, the autonomous maintenance module of IFS Ultimo facilitates the storage and easy access to equipment manuals, procedures, and more relevant documentation, so that operators have the necessary information whenever it is needed.Ultimately, IFS Ultimo adds the option to give feedback on tasks, a nod in favor of operator participation: they can, for example, convey whether the instructions or images are not clear, or whether the frequency should be changed. Along the same lines, it is also possible to transfer an incident to the maintenance department directly with the tool.

  The integration of autonomous maintenance with an EAM system, therefore, is not limited to a simple strategic option. It is, without a doubt, a necessity for companies seeking to maximize their operational efficiency. The combination of detailed monitoring, data analysis, and efficient resource management drives the ability of organizations to keep their equipment running optimally, reduce costs, and, ultimately, improve their competitiveness in the market.