Optimisation of preventive maintenance practices with CMMS

Preventive maintenance practices prevent breakdowns and unplanned downtime from occurring and keep your machinery and equipment in good working order. Find out how using a CMMS to plan and track preventive maintenance activities will help you maximise machine performance and reduce overall production costs!

Execution of a preventive maintenance order using the CMMS system

Preventive maintenance is all the work that needs to be done to avoid future machine breakdowns. This will therefore include all cyclical inspections carried out by the maintenance department – quarterly, monthly, daily or shift-based. To optimise preventive maintenance processes, it is worth using a CMMS system integrated with MES. This solution improves the execution of maintenance tasks thanks to real data collected from machines.

One of the biggest advantages of such a solution is the ability to create cyclical events, i.e. orders for man-cycles and machine man-hours. Thanks to communication with the machine, it is possible to accurately calculate the machine’s man-hours and then schedule a new maintenance order on this basis. It can be assumed, for example, that every 10,000 man-hours of operation of the machine, a specific order is to be carried out, whereby a set number of selected activities are to be performed, specific parts are to be replaced and documents are to be displayed.

It is also possible to create work orders for work cycles – these, however, make most sense for tool events that can run on multiple machines, thus completing tens of thousands of cycles. The integration of CMMS and MES systems makes it possible to obtain detailed data on the number of cycles for a given tool on different machines. On this basis, its next overhaul can be determined. Tool reconditioning is also an event that is indirectly linked to preventive maintenance practices. For example, for a tool with a service life of 100,000 man-cycles, an order can be created which, when 85,000 man-cycles are reached, informs of an upcoming tool reconditioning event.

Controlling the execution of orders using digital forms

The CMMS system developed by ANT offers the ability to create digital forms, or templates, with the TO DO list necessary for the correct execution of preventive maintenance orders. The drag & drop forms are created by the maintenance manager and then forwarded to the technicians performing the maintenance work on the shop floor.

The form may include tasks such as:

• • OK/NOK (e.g. clean filter, replace filter, check valve),

• • enter a value (e.g. as part of calibration, measure the value and check that it is within limits),

• • take a picture,

• • select from the list.

Optimisation of preventive maintenance practices using the CMMS and KPIs

The execution of preventive maintenance orders with the ANT CMMS has a direct impact on the optimisation of maintenance-related KPI values.

• • MTTF – performing regular maintenance keeps machines in good working order. The effect is to increase the time to the next breakdown by an average of 25%.

• • MTBF – tracking machine health also translates into an average of 25% more time between failures.

• • MTTR – preventive action planning avoids major breakdowns and maintenance work is carried out efficiently and quickly. The result is a reduction in time to repair of up to 55%.

Optimising preventive maintenance with the CMMS – additional benefits

Using the CMMS to perform preventive maintenance tasks streamlines the stock management process. In the case of component replacement work, one of the tasks on the TO DO list is to scan a new component taken from the spare parts warehouse. On this basis, a cost analysis related to preventive maintenance activities can then be carried out. The reports show the cost in terms of man hours, spare parts and service, i.e. third-party invoices. 

The use of an integrated system also improves communication between the maintenance and planning departments – both see the fields responsible for production and scheduled repair work on the same timeline. By jointly establishing optimum time windows within which maintenance and repair work can be carried out, it is possible to achieve the KPIs set – both OEE, which is responsible for production efficiency, and MTTF, MTTR and MTBF, which the maintenance department is accountable for.