How to resolve the conflict between production management and equipment management?

Thread Content

1 The contradiction between production management and equipment management: This contradiction is prevalent in many manufacturing enterprises. Generally speaking, equipment management is a fundamental aspect of a company’s production and operation management, with its main goal being to serve production. Between the two, why is there a contradiction? The fundamental reason is that corporate managers (including those in decision-making positions) prioritize production over equipment. Because what enterprises care about are economic benefits, and production emphasizes direct economic benefits ； As for equipment management, what stands out most is the increase in costs. The following two points are highlighted: 1. Whenever a equipment accident or failure occurs, it affects production. It seems that everyone is blaming the technical department for not doing its job properly. Production hasn’t been going well, mainly due to equipment issues. Moreover, in many aspects of management, we have to make concessions for the sake of production; essentially, all our work revolves around serving production. If company leaders (including employees) consistently adopt an attitude of emphasizing production over equipment, then equipment management will certainly become much more difficult. 2. The company has not clearly defined the management tasks and responsibilities of the two departments. When there is insufficient coordination or conflicts between two departments, management loopholes may occur. Whenever a problem arises, they shift blame and pass the buck to each other. For example: raw material control, production volume setting, parameter modification and control, operating under faulty conditions, changes to automated instruments, and supervision of operators’ procedures. Both functional departments still need to be communicated with and clarified. Suggestions: 1. The company should instill the concept that “equipment is just as important as production”; only then will frontline employees place importance on equipment and proactively carry out its maintenance and routine inspections as required. As long as regular maintenance and upkeep of the equipment are carried out, it will surely **reduce unexpected equipment failures** and **extend the equipment’s service life**. It has invisibly generated tremendous economic benefits for the company. 2. Company leaders should conduct a comprehensive analysis of the gaps and conflicts between production management and equipment management, and clarify the supervision tasks and responsibility allocations for relevant areas. In particular, clear requirements are set regarding factors prone to causing equipment accidents and weak links in management. 3. Production management and equipment management must strengthen communication and coordination more closely, including coordination of work between departments, communication among managers, coordination among company leaders, as well as coordination between workshop operators and maintenance workers, etc. 2. The contradiction between extensive management and refined management: In various industries, the “refined management” model is widely adopted in equipment management. Despite the endless array of management models and theories, their fundamental objective remains the same: to maximize a company’s economic benefits. In many companies, equipment management is merely \"extensive management\"; the technical department focuses on \"repairing\" rather than on \"management\". Equipment managers (including those in the technical department, workshop mechanics, inspection staff, etc.) have gradually become passive and lost enthusiasm for equipment management. The work is exhausting and yields no results; as long as there are no problems, everything is fine. Most of the time at work one just has to wait passively for the equipment to break down, and when problems do occur, one has to act as a \"firefighter\" to fix them. This creates a vicious cycle, leading to even more device problems. Suggestions: 1. It is necessary to strengthen the ideological education of equipment management personnel, enhance their sense of responsibility and initiative, and strive to build teams that are motivated and capable, passionate about equipment, and have a correct understanding of equipment management. 2. It is possible to specifically learn from and draw on the management models of peer companies or advanced enterprises. Management is a discipline; one must not remain stagnant, and theoretical discussions or unrealistic plans are to be avoided at all costs. 3. The definition of management is human-centered coordination activities aimed at achieving desired goals. Therefore, the company has demonstrated the direct benefits of equipment management in aspects such as labor protection, wage distribution, and performance evaluation, thereby boosting everyone’s work motivation. September 22–24 [Suzhou] 2023 Training Course on Continuous Process Development, Pilot-Scale Process Scale-Up, and Industrialization. 3 The contradiction between management and being managed. As a functional department centered around equipment management, the Technical Department exercises unified management and leadership over all equipment-related tasks in the workshop. 1. Regarding the managed side: The work in the Technology Department is generally varied and extensive. Most of the work is done according to the instructions given by superior leaders. When other departments encounter problems, they always turn to the Technology Department first. The Technology Department also handles many tasks that have nothing to do with equipment management. It is a privilege for the Technical Department to handle various emergency tasks, as well as all kinds of temporary or unexpected work for the company. However, if a company has a limited current workforce structure, then doing so isn’t very appropriate. Additionally, in carrying out their duties, the Technical Department’s leadership and decision-making abilities are more or less somewhat restricted. 2. In terms of proactive management: The technical department is on an equal footing with other workshops and departments; each department has its own set of value priorities. However, since the technical department performs service-oriented tasks, it is easy to be overlooked, and its value is not readily apparent. In many such cases, the technical department may find itself in a somewhat awkward position. The technical department and the workshop work together to manage the equipment; as the direct managers of the equipment, the workshop oversees the daily tasks of mechanics, inspectors, and operators. For example: if a problem is detected with the equipment, it is hoped that the workshop will make corrections; however, if the workshop fails to do so in a timely manner or does not pay enough attention to it ； If equipment evaluations are strictly enforced, the relationship with the workshop will naturally become strained; such strain can lead to more problems arising. Suggestions: 1. Supervisors should make more reasonable arrangements when assigning tasks. The technical department should focus more of its efforts on equipment management and try to avoid other matters. 2. Other departments should share the same value orientation as the Technology Department, attach importance to its work, enhance its leadership and flexibility, and establish an effective assessment and evaluation system. 4 Factors Affecting the Improvement of Equipment Management Equipment management is a systematic and long-term process that requires coordinated efforts; it is also a tedious and complex task that emphasizes a people-centered approach. Of course, over the past few years, the following issues have become apparent in equipment management within the technical department: 1. A lack of understanding regarding equipment management, insufficient motivation, and a high degree of inertia. On one hand, this is due to a willingness to settle for the status quo and a lack of sense of responsibility, which results in a lack of motivation, aversion to complexity, and fear of hard work. Much of the work is mainly aimed at passing inspections and completing tasks. On the other hand, since personal value is not reflected, people end up with an unbalanced mindset; gradually, those who are willing to work hard become exhausted, and even those who are capable of doing a good job lose the desire to continue. Suggestion: Strengthen education on the spirit of teamwork, and also consider implementing appropriate incentive mechanisms to boost employees’ enthusiasm. 2. The ability to solve problems still needs improvement; my own professional capabilities are not yet strong enough. To manage equipment effectively, one must possess sufficient understanding of the relevant business aspects as well as ample experience. Suggestion: Strengthen your own learning ability. It’s not necessary for everyone to delve into every issue, but everyone must have a deeper understanding of some aspect. In this process, the company also needs to provide certain resources to transform technology into productive forces, enabling the technical department to conduct in-depth research in specific areas of technology, so as to achieve certain breakthroughs and results. 3. The equipment management system is not yet fully developed. A equipment management system encompasses many aspects, and neglecting any of them prevents the formation of a complete system. The current status of equipment management in some companies is as follows: 1. \"Emphasis on repairs over maintenance.\" 2. Many management systems are incomplete and not implemented. 3. Basic tasks such as equipment plans are not yet complete. 4. The economic benefits of spare parts management are not reflected.