Autonomous Maintenance (AM) Pillar

1.	AM is The Culture Change Pillar. Poor AM implementation will inhibit the successful sustained implementation of TPM.
2.	TPM is related to people, not only machines. The fundamental cultural / behavioral change of the TPM AM Pillar requires a real commitment to training and education.
3.	It is useful to conduct a TPM Health check prior to implementing TPM / AM in order to identify the key barriers to achieving the required AM culture change.
4.	Successful AM requires integration with the Training & Education (T&E) Pillar, the Effective Maintenance Pillar (EM), and Focused Improvement (FI) Pillar
5.	The AM Master Plan must be very clear and detailed. Since success of AM is dependent upon T&E, EM and FI Pillars they should have input in to the AM Master Plan.
6.	Follow the TPM methodology and look to integrate AM processes with the overall site management system (convergence).
7.	The entire factory hierarchy should be involved in some fashion with AM implementation.
8.	AM begins with 5 S and LOTO. A site must do 5 S well before it moves to the next AM Step. Do not rush through implementation of the AM steps.
9.	Cleanliness must become a habit and an expectation. Operators must take ownership of their work area and equipment. Via routine cleaning and inspection operators are focused on the basic details and complex issues become easier to focus on.
10.	Since cleaning is one of the principal activities of AM, charts should be developed to track the time required to clean equipment
11.	For equipment in steps 1-3 the ideal is defined as Clean and stays clean. For equipment in later steps, ideal is defined through OPL’s, visual controls, inspection and cleaning standards, etc
12.	Placing operators and maintenance personnel in functioning teams (Autonomous Teams) fosters equipment ownership and teamwork.
13.	AM Teams must be empowered. Empowered teams have the authority to make key decisions on line and team operation including: the authority to shut down lines, and to hire and fire team members.
14.	Create business ownership in the workforce. Invest operators and mechanics in the business through bonus / incentive system based upon plant and business performance
15.	To increase operator sense of business ownership have operators view plant products in stores and have then review consumer complaints.
16.	A long-term plan should be developed to transfer knowledge from maintenance personnel to line operators so that operators can perform, lubrication, adjustments, and simple repairs.
17.	A foundation of AM is solid data collection and loss analysis. At the beginning of AM, a site should develop a reliable data collection system that stratifies loss data by line.
18.	AM is particularly concerned with equipment losses such as minor stops, breakdowns (with EM participation), and other major stops.
19.	Focus on the Loss Tree. It is crucial that the losses drive AM training and the training eliminates losses.
20.	AM and EM must work together to address the issue of equipment breakdowns. Together the operator / maintenance team focuses on the most important breakdowns for each line.
21.	Loss data should be analyzed and used to drive specific Focused Improvements designed to eliminate these losses.
22.	Activity Boards should be used to communicate AM progress and learning. Operators (with support from the TPM Promotion Office) should update line activity boards.
23.	Charts are standardized across lines. This simplifies the training and education requirements and simplifies the data understanding.
24.	AM enables line operators to detect latent and dormant equipment problems. The operators learn how to identify them by careful analysis and observation.
25.	Visual factory techniques can be used to support AM. Stickers can be used to visually indicate what step of AM has been applied to the asset.
26.	Lubrication points can be marked with stickers
27.	Inspection feet marks and arcs can be used to orient the inspector and identify the driver for the inspection (quality, deterioration etc.). The positions on the arc are in the line of site with the inspection point.
28.	AM OPLs can be posted on the line.
29.	Use visual carts, hangers to allow quick access to change parts. Change parts are wrapped in stretch wrap for cleanliness.
30.	Time must be set aside for regular (weekly) AM meetings involving operators and maintenance. Using loss data, identify the problem systems and establish focus groups to address each system.
31.	Time must be devoted to training, training & more training. Goal is to develop operators with knowledge & skill to prevent forced deterioration of equipment & to perform simple maintenance tasks. Consider using scheduled periods of downtime for training, creating a training hours bank…
32.	The organization must be committed to addressing F-tags – red for maintenance, blue for operator, yellow for safety. The F-Tag process evolves over time.
33.	To ensure F-tag completion a sponsor is designated to coordinate F-tags for a primary & a secondary line. F-tags are used to indicate line sponsor activity on the line. The % of completed F-tags for the sponsor’s primary or secondary line relative to all F-tags completed indicates the level of activity on the line.
34.	Over time as operator skills increase the # of operator F-tags should increase and the # maintenance F-tags decrease.
35.	To ensure an on going emphasis on safety there is value in having safety F-tags.
36.	Operators should check the work at the completion of the F-tag in order to confirm that it is what was wanted.
37.	AM steps have a parallel awareness level of the operators, the process cannot be short-circuited. Step 1 Initial Clean: How does the condition compare to the problem? Step 2 SOC: I just cleaned it, it is dirty again- What is the Source of Contamination (the idea that something needs to be done) Step 3 Start inspecting, if it is not as it should be ask for help while keeping it clean. Create basis for comparison and tentative standards.
38.	Conduct periodic (every 6 months) AM self assessments to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT). External resources can be used from time to time to validate self-assessments.
39.	Involve suppliers in problem solving & developing solutions. It is an effective way of developing TPM with suppliers.
40.	Harmonize, before starting any TPM work to ensure everyone is using the same rules and procedures.