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Equipment Management Procedure, Log, and Labeling

Discussion in 'ISO 9001:2015 - Quality Management Systems' started by Chemist Bob, Jun 10, 2020.

  1. Chemist Bob

    Chemist Bob Member

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    Hello all,

    My supervisor has tasked me with creating a new Disaster Recovery Procedure for our QMS, we have grown in leaps and bounds since it was updated last and is almost not applicable anymore. Anyways what I've decided to start with is identifying the equipment which is critical to maintaining our manufacturing operations, and the problem is that no one has kept a list of what equipment we have added or lost since the original writing of the DRP. What I've also found is there is no uniform way the equipment has been labeled in the past. Somethings are labeled with simple letter/number code, others have names named after basketball players of past and others are named after movie characters. Now these are fun for chatting in the manufacturing facility, "Hey guys I'm going to be running with Shaq today," but when referencing a procedure, recording Shaq as the piece of equipment used just doesn't sit right in my head. But when trying to explain to management why I want to change the labeling to something more systematic like XXX-0000 I can't find the exact reasoning to make the change other than knowing what the next thing to label the new piece of equipment should be.

    I guess what I'm looking for is what reason would there be to change the labeling of all the equipment to a standardized numbering scheme and does anyone have any guidance in how to write and implement a proper Equipment Management Procedure. We don't have one that I can seem to locate.
     
    Chemist Bob, Jun 10, 2020
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  2. Mike S.

    Mike S. Member

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    Shaq, LOL. I have seen companies that name their equipment after various adult beverages and names of important women in their life. A little fun in the workplace can be good. Why not compromise and use both terms in a simple little database i.e

    Equipment Name: "Shaq"

    Make/Model: "Acme Products Model XYZPDQ123".

    Location: Building 2 Widget Line

    etc.

    A search by either "Shaq" or "Acme" will take you to the info you need.
     
    Mike S., Jun 11, 2020
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  3. Chemist Bob

    Chemist Bob Member

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    I could do that, I was in discussions about having it have two ID's, a numerical ID and a historical ID so that technically both would be correct. Does anyone have any advice on implementing an Equipment Management Program/Procedure?
     
    Chemist Bob, Jun 11, 2020
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  4. John C. Abnet

    John C. Abnet Well-Known Member

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    Good day @Chemist Bob ;
    The financial department in most organizations assigns asset management identification (numbers, tags, etc....)

    This same/common identification may be a good option for you.

    Hope this helps.
    Be well.
     
    John C. Abnet, Jun 11, 2020
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  5. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    Good advice from @John C. Abnet - asset management is a subject many organizations don't have a good handle on and often has a significant impact on profitability. A good place to start, not simply from equipment identification p.o.v, is the asset utilization perspective: Is the $20M machine actually working optimally or does the work load go on a creaking $5000 legacy machine for which there's no "Plan B". Effective equipment management identified "Key Equipment" as a priority, too. Key equipment - I'm assuming it's not be considered before - is equipment which, if it breaks down, there's no viable work around. Check to see if you have a business contingency plan (there may be one, but no-one knows about it!) which often deals with the non-availability of key items of equipment.

    Key equipment drives the need for planned preventive maintenance - the oils, filters, greases, chains, bearings, fuses, specialist tools etc which should be kept to ensure the maintenance is done on time, to keep the machine running in spec.

    I'd map the process: Equipment need identified > Specified > Procured > Received > Installed > Commissioned > Qualified > Maintained > Overhauled > Decommissioned and so on (for example) Existing equipment is simply "grandfathered" into the maintenance part of the process and you get to decide on, things like whether it's Key Equipment, or not and whether you have the need for predictive vs preventive vs reactive maintenance, and what plans/processes are followed. Those things can be a "drill down" - how to schedule maintenance, how to perform maintenance, ties to spares procurement and storage, tool maintenance etc. And don't overlook measurement of the process. Was it done on time? Was it completed? Was there a call back for follow up because the maintenance call wasn't fully effective? Your (new car) maintenance program isn't far off a model to adopt.

    I trust this gives some frame work to consider what to do.
     
    Andy Nichols, Jun 11, 2020
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  6. BradM

    BradM Moderator Staff Member

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    Good morning!

    A few questions.... do you have a need to maintain specific traceability? Do you need to know that somebody used a specific tool or would a general model reference work?

    Do you have a maintenance calibration program for these items?
     
    BradM, Jun 12, 2020
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  7. Chemist Bob

    Chemist Bob Member

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    Thank you Andy, that is a useful way to think about things and I'm going to take that into consideration. ATM the problem is that things like maintenance and calibration schedules have been kept by 1 person just doing it his way without writing anything out. I was brought up the help shim up our procedures, mostly as just an extra hand to review how we do things and then write them into procedures so we don't loose any "tribal knowledge". So we do have a maintenance calibration program inside this guys head...
     
    Chemist Bob, Jun 19, 2020
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    Andy Nichols likes this.
  8. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    Indeed, it represents a risk.
     
    Andy Nichols, Jun 19, 2020
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