Expert Q&A: Addressing downtime to increase production without adding new equipment

444 words. 3 minute read

This Q&A shares insights from Mukesh Jha, experienced Operational Excellence leader in the plastics industry with companies including Sabert Corporation, Berry Global, Johnson Controls / Rolls Royce, and Saint-Gobain.

Q: How do you think about getting more out of existing equipment?

A:

I’ve found that addressing unplanned downtime is the best way to get more out of existing equipment. Our target was always limiting unplanned downtime to 8%, which means 92% availability. So we diligently looked at any machine that has less than 92% uptime.

For example, in one plant we saw that the extruder was always the highest cause of downtime. So we started by focusing on that machine and analyzing the causes of downtime. We conducted this process across our operations and by addressing the top causes of downtime, we cut overall downtime for our factory in half: from 25% to 12-14%. 

Addressing downtime in this way represents a big financial opportunity. Especially when you compare the full cost of the alternative of adding in new machines, we have always found that upgrading our process has had a much faster payback period.

Q: 

How do you track and analyze that downtime across your plants?

A:

Once we identify which pieces of equipment cause the most downtime, we analyze the causes of that downtime. We dissect our downtime data into different buckets, for example: 

  • Planned downtime 

  • Unplanned downtime: 

    • Tooling-related

    • Machine-related

      • Maintenance - mechanical 

      • Maintenance - electrical 

Then we do Pareto analysis to see which pieces of equipment cause the most downtime. We review as a team, take action to address the top cause of downtime, assess the results, and repeat. 

Q:

How should the different roles in a plant work together in the best way to address that bucket of unplanned downtime? 

A:

Ultimately, everything in that bucket of unplanned downtime boils down to operations issues or maintenance issues. For that reason, for best results we recommend each location have two main champions: the Operations Manager and the Maintenance Manager. 

That structure creates clear ownership. Every operations person reports into the Operations Manager and every maintenance person reports into the Maintenance Manager. The Maintenance Manager is responsible for all issues relating to maintenance and the Operations Manager is responsible for all issues related to operations. So the finger pointing goes away and you can just focus on fixing the problem. 

I’ve found that 2/3 of the results come just from ensuring there’s ownership and then the rest is empowering your managers with data so they can make the case for their solutions. This approach brings all the issues to the surface and then it’s all about making the business case to justify the solution. 


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