The top priority in equipment management

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1. 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 such movement: 1) the physical movement of the equipment, which includes its research, design, prototyping, production, acquisition, installation, use, maintenance, modification, upgrading, and ultimately disposal ； 2 The value movement patterns of equipment include 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 form 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 life-cycle costs for equipment and the highest overall efficiency of the same. Second, integrate equipment management with production. In modern enterprises, equipment constitutes the material and technical foundation for production and serves as the means to accomplish 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. It is necessary to foster the mindset of placing importance on equipment management and strengthening it to serve production. Key equipment should be determined based on the company’s production tasks, product quality, and the difficulty of equipment maintenance work. Priority is given to five aspects—maintenance, repair, spare parts supply, renovation, and upgrading—for key equipment, to ensure the completion of the company’s production tasks. Figure 1: Daily maintenance of equipment. 3. Combining equipment maintenance with scheduled inspections. Production experience shows that equipment management should follow the principle of \"maintenance as the main approach, with inspections 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 issues with the equipment, it will increase the workload associated with maintenance. Conversely, if maintenance is not carried out carefully, issues are not addressed promptly, and operators fail to adhere strictly to the rules and regulations, it will not only lead to the situation where \"small problems left unfixt lead to bigger problems later,\" but it will also increase the workload associated with repairs, disrupt normal plans, and even result in serious consequences. 4. Combine equipment maintenance with technological upgrades: For a considerable period to come, efforts should be focused on upgrading the equipment and implementing technological improvements in existing enterprises. Only by properly carrying out the updating and renovation of equipment can the shortcomings of existing enterprises, such as high costs, high energy consumption, and low efficiency, be overcome. Furthermore, the updating and renovation 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 increasingly outdated, energy and raw material consumption keeps rising, repair costs keep getting higher, and the repair cycles are getting shorter and shorter. According to statistics, for an ordinary lathe with a depreciation period of 22 years, the total operating costs incurred over those 22 years amount to six 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 together. 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 with little value left for further repair is scrapped in accordance with the proper procedures, and advanced equipment is installed in its place. V. Formulate comprehensive management systems for equipment. When developing various management systems for equipment, it is necessary to assemble technical experts from the equipment department, workshops, maintenance teams, and front-line production teams to conduct investigations, identify patterns, and carry out experiments. Based on this, management systems for equipment maintenance, preliminary equipment management, equipment spare parts management, equipment technical upgrading, and specialized equipment management should be established, along with standards for equipment operation, cleaning, inspection, maintenance, and lubrication. Work processes should be defined, and scientific and reasonable guidelines should be created. Figure 2: Equipment maintenance. The operating specifications for equipment should be documented and made actionable; it is advisable to use visual boards and diagrams to convey these specifications and provide relevant reminders. By establishing fixed personnel, locations, tasks, times, standards, shifts, and routes, this approach is extended to the management process of all machines in the enterprise, ultimately ensuring that every piece of equipment follows established guidelines and that all stages of operation are regulated. Among them: 01 Designate responsible persons: Assign responsibilities clearly for each piece of equipment at the production site (including power pipelines), specifying the duties of operators, inspectors, and maintenance teams (mechanics, electricians, instrument technicians, etc.), to ensure that every piece of equipment on site has someone in charge of it ； 02 Designated points: Identify on the equipment the items (points) that require attention, namely those that need to be cleaned, inspected, lubricated, or maintained ； 03 Task determination: Based on the characteristics of the selected \"point\", select several of the four tasks—cleaning, inspection, lubrication, and maintenance—that need to be carried out ； 04 Scheduling: Based on the characteristics of the equipment and its operating instructions, determine appropriate intervals for cleaning and inspection, and carry out these checks at regular intervals. 05 Scaling: For each operation performed at each point, determine the corresponding target state or standard to be achieved ； 06 Standardization: Each operation should have designated tools, methods, and auxiliary materials ； 07 Schedule assignment: Determine the shift to be responsible for. In production sites with multiple shifts, day shift workers are full of energy, those on the middle shift are fairly energetic, while night shift workers suffer from poor energy levels and limited lighting at the work site. Therefore, the operation points on the field equipment should be allocated unevenly according to the actual conditions of each shift; generally, the day shift is assigned the most operations, followed by the middle shift, with the night shift having the fewest. 08 Route Planning: Based on the structure of the equipment, especially things such as production lines and power distribution rooms, and using the position of the operator as a reference, the selected operation points are arranged following strategies such as from low to high, from inside to outside, and from near to far, in order to create a shorter, easier, and less labor-intensive operation path that avoids confusion and omissions. The equipment management system strives to be similar to ISO-standardized control documents, ensuring that throughout the entire lifecycle of the equipment, all aspects of its management are standardized, processes are closed-looped, controls are stringent, and management is meticulous. Ensure that every step has established procedures to follow, rules to adhere to, and processes to be implemented. Eliminate the practice of doing things casually without any rules ； With rules in place, cheating and failing to abide by them occurs ； And the phenomenon of following rules yet failing to do so properly. Avoid fluctuations in equipment management levels following staff changes, which can result from each person having their own way of working and each leader having their own approach. 6. Standards for on-site equipment operation: The most essential, important, and fundamental tasks for a company take place at the work site. It is necessary to maintain good environmental hygiene and ensure civilized production practices. Attention should also be paid to the management of static seals in order to eliminate leaks, thereby striving to reduce the leakage rate. Implement effective “6S” management (seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu, shitsuke, and safety), deepen on-site management, improve the working environment, enhance work efficiency, raise employee competence, ensure safe production, and guarantee product quality. From the perspective of on-site management, equipment can be categorized as part of the “6 sources of problems” (sources of pollution, sources that make cleaning difficult, sources of failures, sources of waste, sources of defects, and sources of danger). In “6S” management, equipment management goes beyond simply cleaning the equipment to keep its appearance clean; at a deeper level, it involves preventing, reducing, and eliminating these “6 sources of problems” associated with equipment. Through the involvement of all employees, regular maintenance is carried out alongside cleaning tasks, with inspections and maintenance performed according to specific standards, at regular intervals, and on specific parts of the equipment. This allows for early detection of potential problems, enabling timely action to address them. By standardizing daily maintenance activities at the equipment site, establishing proper management systems for equipment, improving the skills of employees, and putting in place evaluation systems, it is possible to extend the equipment’s operational time and ultimately maximize its efficiency. Image, Figure 3: Equipment maintenance. First, standardize the working environment of the equipment. Based on the characteristics of the equipment and its operational requirements, environmental facilities that meet the specific process conditions needed are established and set up to ensure compliance with requirements regarding temperature, cleanliness, etc. The working environment for the equipment as well as its accessories are organized properly, with a careful distinction made between the items that are necessary and those that are not in the work area. By taking decisive action to get rid of unnecessary items, the production and work areas can be made more transparent, working space can be expanded, collision accidents can be reduced, and work efficiency can be improved. And the useful items that remain are placed in fixed locations; they are arranged reasonably based on their frequency of use and visual guidelines, ensuring standardization, color coding, and fixed positioning. Second, identify the “6 sources” related to the device and take corresponding measures. 01 Identify pollution sources refers to dust, oil residues, waste, etc. caused by equipment. Deeper forms include pollution from harmful gases, toxic liquids, electromagnetic radiation, light radiation, and noise. After identifying and gathering information on these sources of pollution, they are addressed through source control and measures to prevent their spread. 02 Sources of difficult cleaning refer to areas of the equipment that are hard to clean, including spaces that are too tight, areas where no one works, and parts deep inside the equipment where cleaning tools cannot reach ； Areas that are frequently polluted and cannot be cleaned at any time ； Areas that are difficult for people to access, such as high altitudes, high temperatures, and parts of equipment that are in fast operation. To address the sources of cleaning difficulties, one approach is to control them at the source (by taking measures to prevent contamination), and another is to design and develop specialized cleaning tools. 03 Identify hazard sources. Hazard sources refer to the origins of safety accidents related to equipment. As equipment evolves toward larger and more continuous formats, an accident could cause harm to businesses and even society as a whole. Safety work must adhere to the principle of \"prevention first, addressing issues at an early stage, and preventing accidents before they occur.\" It is necessary to eliminate any accidents or potential accident risks that could arise from equipment; in addition, it is important to ensure that the components used in the equipment comply with relevant regulations, and that the standards for using, maintaining, and repairing the equipment meet safety requirements. For special equipment such as power transmission and transformation equipment, lifting equipment, etc., regular inspections and repairs must be carried out by qualified units in strict accordance with the relevant regulations and technical standards. 04 Identify sources of waste refers to various energy wastages related to equipment. The first type of waste is \"leaks, spills, drips, and seeps\", including leaks of water, oil, electricity, gas, as well as various materials used in production (these leaks can also pollute the environment) ； The second category is waste related to \"switches,\" such as lights remaining on after people have left, machines running idle, and energy waste in fans and other devices. Various technical measures must be employed to prevent and fix leaks, through warnings at switches as well as by encouraging employees to develop good habits. 05 Identify the source of the fault, referring to faults within the device itself. Through regular statistical analysis, it is possible to gradually understand the causes and patterns of equipment failures, and to devise appropriate measures to extend the time during which the equipment operates properly. If a failure occurs due to poor lubrication, enhance and modify the lubrication system ； Faults caused by high temperatures and poor heat dissipation can be resolved by enhancing the cooling fans or cooling water, among other measures. 06 Defect sources refer to the aspects where existing equipment fails to meet production requirements. Focusing on ensuring and improving production capacity, identify the influencing factors, and achieve this through technical upgrades and modernizations of existing equipment. 7. Improving the quality of workers. Improving the quality of workers refers to both their mindset and skills. In addition to regulating the daily operations of equipment, effective equipment management also requires improving the competence of personnel through ideological and technical training. First and foremost, in the mindset of employees, it is necessary to break away from the notion that operators are only responsible for operating equipment and not for its maintenance ； The mechanic only focuses on repairs, not on operation”*habit ； Operators should take the initiative to clean the equipment and participate in troubleshooting, combining equipment inspection, maintenance, and lubrication; while carrying out cleaning, they should also actively inspect and maintain the equipment to improve its condition. Equipment maintenance and repair personnel carefully supervise, inspect, and guide users in using the equipment properly as well as maintaining it properly. Proper employee training should be provided, and special equipment must be trained by **qualified labor departments ； Internal corporate training enables each equipment operator to truly achieve “three goods, four abilities, and four understandings” (three goods – proper management, proper use, and proper maintenance ； Four skills – knowing how to use, maintain, inspect, and troubleshoot ； Four understandings – understanding the structure, understanding the principles, understanding the performance, and understanding the applications). In factory enterprises, it is the large number of production workers and maintenance workers who directly operate and repair the equipment. They know best about 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 leveraged. In equipment management, the human factor must be emphasized, and the enthusiasm of production workers and maintenance workers should be fully mobilized.