Reduce & Manage Unscheduled Downtime
Throughout my years working in systems integration – technician, engineering, management and owner since 1976, I have experienced the many downfalls of downtime and the snowball effect it causes for everybody involved. I have worked extensively in the Life Sciences industry providing validated designs and installations, unscheduled downtime no matter what industry can be frustrating and expensive.
Unscheduled is the key here…as most production systems experience some form of downtime (both scheduled and unscheduled). The big killer in the unscheduled downtime is the reaction time to notice the issue, diagnose the problem and solution and then to mobilize to correct the problem. In scheduled downtime the solution is usually defined and the mobilization is planned before the system goes down, thus the unproductive time is minimized (= less lost revenue).
Whether a downtime tracking program or a manual means of listing the typical downtimes is used, the goal is the same: predict the types and occurrences of unproductive machine time, allowing for the preparation of shorter and less chaotic machine interruptions. This all equates to higher productivity from the same resources and a more consistent quality product.
By: Duane Grob