How can equipment management be done well?

Thread Content

Currently, many enterprises are adopting modern equipment management theories and methods—comprehensive equipment management. Comprehensive equipment management involves adopting a long-term, comprehensive, and systematic approach, as well as a range of technical, economic, and organizational measures, in order to minimize the costs throughout the equipment’s life cycle and maximize its overall efficiency, thereby achieving the best economic benefits. Characteristics of comprehensive equipment management: First, it involves management throughout the entire process (the entire life cycle) ； Second is full participation in management (from corporate leaders to production workers) ； Third is value management. Full-process management is the foundation, full participation by all employees is the means, and value management is the goal. To carry out effective equipment management, it is necessary to act in accordance with the regulations and systems issued by ** and various ministries, commissions, and the head office. Adhere to a combination of specialized management and collective management ； Combining technical management with economic management ； Integration of equipment management and production ； Integration of design, manufacturing, and use ； Combining equipment maintenance with scheduled inspections ； Combining equipment maintenance with technical upgrades ； Combining equipment management with technology development and intellectual development ； Ideological and political work is combined with material incentives. The above principles are specified as follows: 1. Combination of specialized management and collective management. Each enterprise should, in accordance with relevant regulations set by higher authorities, establish a robust specialized equipment management system based on its own production scale and actual needs. Establish an optimally structured organizational framework and a professional equipment management team, and formulate practical management systems. Key leaders such as company managers and production directors must include equipment management on their main agenda and make decisions regarding its policies and objectives. There should be a deputy manager (deputy plant director) in charge of equipment matters, and as needed, a chief mechanic can be appointed, or separate chief mechanics for machinery and power systems can be assigned. Under the leadership of the supervising manager (plant manager) and the chief engineer, the chief mechanical engineer and chief power engineer are responsible for the technical management of equipment. The workshop is supervised by an associate director in charge of the equipment, and is staffed with full-time engineering technicians for equipment management ； There are also part-time equipment officers in work sections and teams ； Form a device management network. And establish corresponding management systems and procedures to ensure that work is carried out in an orderly manner. In factory enterprises, it is the large number of production workers and maintenance workers who directly operate and repair the equipment. They are most familiar with the performance, operating status, and existing problems of the equipment. They are the owners of the equipment, and they bear specific responsibility for the daily maintenance of the devices they operate. Therefore, their enthusiasm for managing equipment should be fully utilized. In equipment management, the human factor must be emphasized, and the enthusiasm of production workers and maintenance workers should be fully mobilized. In its \"Equipment Technology Management System (Trial)\\", Sinopec requires that equipment maintenance be carried out under a system of designated personnel for specific tasks or through a contracting mechanism. It is required that every piece of equipment, every pipeline, every valve, and every instrument have someone responsible for them. Operators must have a thorough understanding of the equipment they use: they should know its structure, principles, performance, and purposes, and they should be able to operate it, maintain it, and troubleshoot any issues that arise. Ensure proper equipment lubrication by adhering to the \"five fixings\" and \"three-stage filtration\" principle (that is, fixing the person in charge, the location, the quality, the quantity, and the timing) ； “\"Three-stage filtration\" refers to the process from the large oil storage tank to the on-site oil storage tank, from the on-site oil storage tank to the oil jug, and from the oil jug to the fueling point). Operators should keep the equipment, pipelines, control panels, paint, and insulation in their respective areas in good condition, and ensure that the floors are clean. Management of static sealing points should be strengthened to eliminate leaks, spills, drips, and seepages, and efforts should be made to reduce the leakage rate. It is necessary to maintain good environmental hygiene and practice civilized production. In April 1990, Sinopec inspected a circulating water pump room at a certain petrochemical plant: 14 pumps, all of them in good condition ； All 14 lubrication points are kept well-lubricated at all times ； There are 7,692 static sealing points, with only one showing a slight leakage; the leakage rate is merely 0.13%. ； 37 lighting fixtures are in good condition ； 774 pieces of glass, each one bright and flawless ； The tools in the toolbox are neatly arranged, with each tool in its designated place ； The spare equipment is rotated in each shift, with marks on the idler wheels. Every screw on the pump body shines, and each screw rod of the valve is visible. They have truly achieved \"the same inside as outside, the same at high altitudes as on the ground, the same in the backyard as in the front yard, and the same for systems and devices.\" 2. Integration of technical management and economic management: Comprehensive equipment management refers to broad-scale equipment management, that is, the overall technical and economic management of equipment, aiming to achieve both technological advancement and economic rationality. Equipment management is essentially the management of the movement process of equipment. There are two forms of motion for equipment: one is the physical motion of the equipment, which includes its research, design, prototyping, production, acquisition, installation, use, maintenance, modification, upgrading, and ultimately disposal ； The second is the value movement pattern of equipment, which includes investment in equipment, depreciation, expenditures and accounting for maintenance costs, financing for renewal and upgrading, as well as economic effect analysis. The management of the former type of movement is called technical management, while the latter is called economic management. They are governed by technical laws and economic laws respectively. Therefore, equipment management must ultimately achieve two outcomes: technical outcomes and economic outcomes. That is, on the one hand, it requires maintaining the equipment in good technical condition at all times, and on the other hand, it demands cost savings in terms of equipment maintenance and management expenses. Technical management and economic management must be closely integrated in order to achieve the lowest lifecycle costs for equipment and the highest overall efficiency of the same. From the planning stage to the design and manufacturing phases, the costs of the equipment increase ； Costs start to decline after the installation phase ； The costs during the operation phase remain relatively stable and last for a long time ； If the costs rise further, it indicates that the equipment has reached the stage where it needs to be repaired, modified, or replaced. For the users, when purchasing new equipment, they need to consider not only the purchase cost at the time of acquisition (i.e., the production cost) but also the operating cost (or maintenance cost) during the equipment’s usage period. The task of comprehensive equipment management in economic management is to take various measures to minimize the costs associated with the use of enterprise equipment. It does not focus on just one particular stage of the equipment; rather, it aims to minimize the costs throughout the entire life cycle of the equipment – namely, its planning, design, manufacturing, acquisition, installation, operation, maintenance, renovation, upgrading, and eventual disposal – so as to make the life-cycle cost of the equipment as low as possible. Life cycle cost includes the production cost and usage cost of the equipment. Production costs are the expenses incurred in activities such as research, design, prototyping, manufacturing, storage, and transportation prior to the formation of the equipment; they generally correspond to the selling price of the product. Operating costs (also known as maintenance costs) are the expenses incurred during the use of equipment, including costs for energy, wages, repairs, depreciation, insurance, training, etc. During the design phase, it is not sufficient to focus solely on reducing manufacturing costs while ignoring factors such as the reliability, durability, and energy efficiency of the equipment; long-term considerations regarding maintenance and operational costs during use must also be taken into account. During the usage phase, it is not sufficient to focus solely on the good technical condition of the equipment; rather, the labor, resources, and financial costs invested should be compared with the production outcomes achieved, in order to obtain the best economic benefits. Traditional equipment management focuses primarily on the technical aspects of equipment. The evaluation criteria for equipment management also emphasize the technical specifications of the equipment, focusing on ensuring that the equipment is well managed, utilized effectively, and maintained properly, with less emphasis placed on economic benefits. By applying the concept of periodic equipment costs, we can overcome the tendency in equipment management to focus only on technical outcomes while ignoring cost expenditures ； The phenomenon of focusing solely on the process requirements when using equipment, without paying attention to its proper use or maximizing its potential. To facilitate the assessment of economic benefits in equipment management, economic benefit indicators should be appropriately increased. As companies have generally implemented assessments for items such as equipment maintenance costs, a significant amount of money has been saved on maintenance expenses. 3. Integration of equipment management and production: In modern chemical enterprises, equipment constitutes the material and technical foundation for production and serves as the means to carry out production tasks. The level of equipment management and the condition of the equipment are closely related to the successful completion of production tasks. Equipment management must adapt to changes in the company’s business direction and serve production. As the product structure of enterprises changes, market demands evolve, and users have different requirements at various times, the focus of a company’s business strategies also shifts from one period to another. When a company changes its business direction, its equipment management practices must also be adjusted, improved, and enhanced in a timely manner to meet the new requirements imposed by that changed direction on equipment management. It is necessary to foster a mindset that emphasizes and strengthens equipment management to serve production. Key equipment should be determined based on the company’s production tasks, product quality, and the difficulty of equipment maintenance work. For key equipment, priority is given to five aspects: maintenance, repair, spare parts supply, renovation, and upgrading, to ensure the completion of the company’s production tasks. 4. Integration of design, manufacturing, and use: The design and manufacturing processes of the equipment are managed by the design and manufacturing departments ； The use of the equipment is managed by the entity that utilizes it. The two should be closely integrated and exchange information with each other. The design and manufacturing departments should not focus solely on reducing equipment costs at the expense of factors such as reliability, durability, maintainability, environmental friendliness, safety, and energy efficiency. It is necessary to be familiar with the process requirements and operating conditions of the user, as well as to take into account the management and maintenance costs during the equipment’s operation period, so that the developed equipment meets the user’s requirements. After the equipment is manufactured and shipped, the developers are required to participate in its installation, commissioning, and operation, as well as to provide technical support. Users should promptly provide feedback to the design and manufacturing departments regarding any issues encountered during installation, debugging, or use, so as to improve the design of the equipment. 5. Combine equipment maintenance with planned repairs. Production experience shows that equipment management should follow the principle of \"repairing as the main approach, with repairs as a supplementary measure.\" Without proper maintenance, thorough planned inspections are impossible. There are often conflicts between equipment maintenance and scheduled repairs. If maintenance is planned merely to meet deadlines, ignoring the quality of the work and thus leaving potential problems in the equipment, it will increase the workload for maintenance. Conversely, if maintenance is not carried out carefully, issues are not addressed in a timely manner, and operators fail to adhere strictly to the rules and regulations, it will not only lead to the situation where \"small problems left unfixed result in bigger problems later,\" but it will also increase the workload related to repairs, disrupt normal plans, and even cause serious consequences. 6. Combining equipment maintenance with technical upgrades: For a considerable period to come, it will be necessary to focus efforts on updating the equipment and carrying out technical upgrades in existing enterprises. Only by properly carrying out the updating and renovation of equipment can the existing problems in enterprises such as high costs, high energy consumption, and poor quality be overcome. Furthermore, the updating and upgrading of equipment are also an objective requirement resulting from the rapid development of science and technology. In equipment management, extending the lifespan of equipment and maintaining it in good condition is undoubtedly the right approach. However, the “lifespan” cannot be extended indefinitely, nor can a good technical condition be maintained at great expense. This is because the equipment has been in use for too long, its technical performance is becoming increasingly outdated, energy and raw material consumption is rising steadily, repair costs are getting higher with each repair, and the repair cycles are getting shorter. According to statistics, for a regular lathe with a depreciation period of 22 years, the total cost of using it over those 22 years is 6 times the value of the equipment. Therefore, in equipment maintenance, technical and economic analysis should be employed to properly handle the relationship between maintenance and renovation, integrating the two processes. On the one hand, take the opportunity of maintenance to use new technologies, materials, and processes to replace equipment and components that are outdated, energy-intensive, and inefficient. On the one hand, outdated and obsolete equipment for which further maintenance is not worthwhile is scrapped in accordance with the proper procedures, and advanced equipment is installed in its place. 7. Integration of equipment management with technological development and intellectual development. Equipment is the crystallization of scientific and technological progress. With the advancement of modern science and technology, the level of modernization in production equipment continues to improve, with equipment evolving toward larger sizes, higher speeds, greater degree of mechatronics, and more complex structures. To manage modern equipment effectively, equipment managers and maintenance personnel must possess specialized scientific and technical knowledge as well as modern management theories and methods. Modern equipment management is essentially the combination of modern equipment with modern management theories and methods. Faced with modern production facilities and complex equipment, operators must possess a thorough understanding of the equipment they use and be able to do four things and master three skills. Equipment managers must carry out comprehensive management of equipment throughout its entire lifecycle. As engineering and technical personnel, one must not only carry out technical upgrades to existing equipment but also develop new technologies for advanced foreign equipment by studying it, understanding its principles, and absorbing its features. To achieve these goals, it is necessary to provide organized, planned, long-term, multi-level, multi-channel, and diverse forms of technical education and training in professional skills and management knowledge, as well as to carry out continuing education for all personnel. To improve equipment management, it is necessary to strengthen the study and research of modern equipment management theories and methods, and actively organize the exchange of technical experience both domestically and internationally, as well as between different departments within the organization. Explore, study, introduce, adapt, summarize, and promote advanced foreign technologies, equipment, and management practices, so as to gradually raise the level of enterprises’ technical equipment and management capabilities to international advanced standards. Companies must carry out equipment research work. For key equipment research projects or those with broad application potential, it is necessary to bring together the equipment research capabilities of various enterprises, or collaborate with research institutions and colleges and universities, in order to pool efforts and work together to overcome challenges. The technological achievements developed should be promptly applied and promoted. 8. Combining ideological and political work with material incentives: In the 1960s, the workers and engineering technicians in Daqing, working under conditions of outdated production equipment and extremely difficult living and working conditions, demonstrated the spirit of the \"Iron Men\" – those who were unafraid of hardship or death. They made tremendous contributions to the development of the Daqing oil field and to China’s socialist construction within a short period of time, thus establishing the glorious example of learning from Daqing in industrial development. For over 30 years, the Daqing Oilfield has maintained stable and high production levels, ranking among the best in the world. The equipment management in the Daqing Oilfield is also excellent. The good ideas, good work styles, and valuable experiences that the people of Daqing have developed through their struggles in production – such as the principles of being honest people, telling the truth, and doing honest work, as well as the concepts of strict organization, strict discipline, high standards, and a meticulous work style – are all extremely precious assets. What was the main reason why the people of Daqing were able to create a miracle through hard work under such difficult conditions at that time? The conclusion is clear: they rely on the correct leadership of China* and on the Party’s ideological and political work. Compared to the 1960s, there have indeed been great changes nowadays. Under the new circumstances, China has proposed to strengthen ideological and political work, advance the development of both material and spiritual civilization, promote the spirit of Lei Feng, and learn from **Qing’s experiences. In equipment management, it is first necessary to do a good job in ideological and political work, and to address the aspects related to people. No matter how advanced the equipment is, it is still man-made; no matter how complex its structure, it requires human operation, maintenance, and management. Moreover, a person’s level of awareness and technical skill plays a crucial role in carrying out effective equipment management. It is necessary to educate all employees to take good care of the factory’s equipment. Of course, ideological work alone is not sufficient; only by combining ideological education with material incentives can the enthusiasm of all employees be fully mobilized. Only in this way can equipment management be carried out effectively on a sustainable basis, so as to achieve the desired management objectives. In short, equipment management is a systematic endeavor, and comprehensive equipment management is related to many factors. Judging from many outstanding organizations that have achieved success in equipment management reform and related work, strong leadership support is an important prerequisite and guarantee for effective equipment management – and this is a proven strategy for success.