How can innovation be introduced into equipment inspection, maintenance, and repair?

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The inspection and maintenance system is a planned, comprehensive maintenance approach that focuses on preventive maintenance and involves all employees; it represents the main model for equipment management in enterprises. The inspection and maintenance system is a dynamic equipment management method. It involves inspectors conducting periodic inspections of equipment at specified times, along designated routes, using specialized equipment and their personal experience. The results of these inspections are analyzed and compared to determine the condition of the equipment, allowing appropriate measures to be taken to maintain and improve its performance. The inspection and maintenance system is currently the main method used by enterprises in China to manage equipment dynamically, repair those with reduced technical performance, and thereby extend the lifespan of the equipment. In 2004, Anyang Iron and Steel Group Company began to implement the TnPM management model for equipment. Over the past two years, building on the fundamentals of the previous equipment inspection and maintenance management practices, the company has carried out various useful explorations and initiatives, achieving good results. 01 Innovate and improve the inspection mechanism to establish a device inspection assurance network with a “five-layer protection system”. Inspection is the foundation of preventive maintenance and the core of equipment operation management; it plays an important role in both equipment maintenance plan management and equipment condition management as well as technical management, as well as in maintenance cost and equipment information systems. The plant’s equipment management philosophy is: “Perfection, striving for excellence”” ； Implement \"zero\" target management: zero accidents with equipment, zero errors in work, zero tolerance for safety issues, and zero violations in operations. By vigorously adopting the TnPM \"predictive and preventive\" management approach, it is possible to comprehensively enhance the equipment support capabilities. They improved the inspection mechanisms at all levels based on their own circumstances, gradually establishing a device inspection network involving all employees. To further strengthen the equipment inspection process, in accordance with the \"Implementation Plan for Promoting the TnPM Management Model in the First Rolling Mill\", an equipment inspection system was first established across the entire plant. Each workshop revised its inspection standards based on the specific conditions of its equipment, establishing clear rules regarding inspection timing, personnel responsible for inspections, inspection items, inspection routes, and the use of inspection tools such as vibration meters and infrared thermometers. Routine inspections, specialized inspections, and patrol inspections are all carried out strictly in accordance with these revised standards ； At the same time, a system was established for the processing of inspection information, thereby further standardizing the collection, feedback, analysis, and handling of such information. Supervise and inspect the classification of inspection-related accidents, and incorporate it into the economic responsibility system for assessment. Regional engineers are responsible for managing, inspecting, and evaluating equipment inspections within their respective areas. They also use high-precision technical instruments to conduct inspections and diagnostics of complex issues. This has enabled engineering and technical personnel to shift from being mere operators of inspection processes to playing roles in management and technical guidance, thereby allowing operators and production electricians to carry out their own inspections at their posts ； Professional inspections carried out by specialized inspectors ； Inspections carried out by middle-level key personnel ； Precise inspection carried out by the expert inspection team ； Furthermore, a \"five-layer protection line\" equipment inspection system for expert analysis of line inspections upon the commissioning of key equipment has been established to ensure network reliability. Shift inspection involves carrying out inspections of the equipment within one’s assigned area in accordance with the inspection standards, as well as the specified inspection routes, start and end times, and areas responsible for each type of equipment. At least three inspections are to be conducted per shift, with an interval of 2.5 to 3 hours between each inspection. The findings related to potential equipment issues, along with any problems reported by the operators on duty, are recorded in the shift inspection form and the hazard records on the third-level inspection form. When abnormal conditions are detected in the equipment, they should be recorded in the shift inspection form. Those requiring urgent handling should communicate with the on-duty shift leader promptly to arrange immediate action ； Those who are unable to handle it should report the issue promptly at each level, so that it can be addressed during shift handovers or scheduled maintenance. Special inspections involve professional inspectors conducting checks on the main machines and key auxiliary equipment they are responsible for every morning before taking over their shifts. A thorough and detailed inspection of all equipment along the line is carried out each morning, and by referring to the shift-handover records, instructions for rectifying any potential problems that can be addressed during the shift handover are issued promptly. By the end of the shift, it is ensured that these instructions have been implemented. For any equipment issues or accidents that occur, root cause analyses are conducted, and suggestions for repair and prevention are put forward. Check the shift inspection records daily, guide the routine inspection work, identify the causes of any issues that arise and arrange for their resolution, while keeping proper records. Additionally, responsible for evaluating, assessing, and overseeing the shift inspection process. Inspection personnel conduct routine inspections of all equipment along the line once per working day. When encountering difficult issues during these inspections, they should organize an expert team from the factory to conduct on-site consultations, and report the outcomes of those consultations to the relevant supervisors promptly. After the inspection is completed, the regional engineer fills out the inspection report based on the findings, while the dedicated inspection staff issues instructions for corrections to be made on the same day. The equipment supervisor and team leader are responsible for arranging these corrections, and the status of these corrections is checked during the inspection on the following day. At the same time, the inspection personnel are responsible for guiding and supervising all equipment inspections, including routine inspections and specialized inspections. They check the implementation of these inspections on a daily basis, evaluate them, and can hold relevant personnel accountable in case of non-compliance such as inadequate inspections or irregular records. The inspection expert review team is responsible for effectively confirming on a weekly basis the equipment hazards identified through routine inspections, specialized inspections, and patrol inspections in each production workshop, keeping proper records of these findings. It also evaluates and summarizes the results of such inspections conducted in each workshop on a monthly basis. Additionally, this team handles the assessment and compilation of major equipment hazards within the factory, formulating final solutions to address these hazards. An online equipment monitoring and expert analysis system has been implemented for the main equipment across the plant, enabling real-time monitoring and partial implementation of predictive and preventive management for such equipment. It provides strong support for maintenance personnel at all levels in analyzing, diagnosing, and resolving faults, helps to better understand the equipment’s life cycle, and offers solid technical backing for scientific and economical maintenance efforts; as a result, equipment failures can be effectively controlled. While effectively implementing the \"five-level\" inspection network mechanism, they actively carried out exploratory efforts to address the issues that arose within this mechanism, and subsequently introduced static equipment inspections as well as quantitative equipment inspections as part of it. The \"quantitative inspection\" for equipment is a new approach that involves carrying out quantitative temperature checks on the main equipment throughout the plant. Necessary portable inspection instruments are provided, and an implementation plan for these quantitative inspections is developed, along with corresponding inspection forms. This makes the inspection standards more precise and quantitative, thereby providing a framework to ensure the quality of these inspections and effectively preventing sudden failures in the main equipment. The factory has a fast production pace, and there is limited time available for equipment repair and maintenance. As the potential of the equipment is further utilized, potential hidden defects in the equipment cannot be detected or controlled merely through routine inspections. Therefore, they innovatively implemented static equipment inspections. Focusing on the main machines and key auxiliary equipment, they established the scope, standards, frequency for such inspections, as well as corresponding management and assessment systems. Taking advantage of scheduled maintenance periods and various production breaks, and using inspection instruments, they carried out thorough static equipment inspections. These inspections were also included in the overall assessment framework for equipment maintenance. By combining dynamic and static inspection methods, they further strengthened the long-term preventive mechanism for equipment maintenance. It is equally important to establish a performance evaluation system for equipment inspections; to this end, they have implemented and continued to carry out the “Equipment Inspection Competition” activity. In order to further strengthen equipment inspection work, establish a solid long-term preventive mechanism for such inspections, and improve the overall quality of equipment management as well as its capacity for dynamic support, competition activities for equipment inspection have been carried out in the three production units of the equipment system since January 2005; the factory allocates 150 yuan per month as special awards for these competitions. A competition organizing committee was established, and on its basis, an expert group for equipment inspection was formed to oversee and inspect the equipment inspection work in various workshops, ensuring the thorough and effective conduct of this competition. So far this year, an average of 253 various types of potential hazards have been identified each month, all of which were addressed promptly. As a result, the operational quality of the plant’s equipment has improved significantly; in April, the equipment achieved its best ever performance time of 2 hours and 57 minutes. 02 Establish a detailed strategy for equipment maintenance in order to continuously improve the quality of equipment maintenance management. The scheduled maintenance system is based on the point inspection system, and follows the management principle of giving priority to preventive maintenance, with predictive maintenance, corrective maintenance, and reactive maintenance playing supplementary roles. A method of equipment maintenance that is carried out based on the actual condition of the equipment, while balancing production, energy, logistics, and maintenance resources, with the goal of improving the overall efficiency of the equipment. In 2004, they began to implement a scheduled equipment maintenance management system across all units in the plant, adopting a maintenance approach that combined regular daily maintenance with centralized repairs at the end of each month, and utilized the two off-peak periods to carry out small-scale system repairs every six months along with annual repairs. Strengthen the management of equipment maintenance plans, enhance control over the maintenance process, improve the accuracy of these plans, pay attention to the quality of static equipment maintenance, and leverage the advantages of system integration. With the goal of maximizing overall efficiency, targeted repairs and improvement actions should be carried out. It is necessary to ensure the implementation in daily maintenance activities of a quality system aimed at achieving \"zero defects\" in maintenance quality, safety measures aimed at ensuring \"zero violations\" in maintenance processes, and cost management strategies based on maintenance budgets, so as to make full use of human resources, technical resources, material resources, and time resources across the entire plant. Taking into account the fact that the plant has a large number of units, it makes full use of the advantage of having specialized personnel available, implements an incentive system that encourages multiple skills among employees, optimizes human resources, and develops cooperative approaches for maintenance tasks across different units, thereby saving significant amounts of labor costs; the number of collaborative workdays completed each year exceeds 2,000. During maintenance work, taking into account the actual level of equipment maintenance skills possessed by the operators in the production areas, some production workers are able to handle multiple mechanical maintenance tasks. Some of the tasks related to managing the “six sources of hazard” are assigned to the production operators to carry out independently. This not only leads to a significant improvement in the environment surrounding the equipment and effective control of those “six sources of hazard,” but also ensures that maintenance resources are utilized in an efficient manner. At the same time, a responsibility system based on “safety, quality, and schedule” is implemented, along with a three-tier management structure comprising supervisors, regional engineers, and section leaders. In accordance with ISO9000 standards, a quality control system for equipment maintenance is established and put into practice, enabling full-process management. Strict controls are applied at every stage, from the planning phase before maintenance begins, through the establishment of maintenance standards, component inspection, process quality control, and safety management during the maintenance process. Moreover, based on the records of process quality, strict evaluations are conducted on various indicators such as safety, quality, and environmental protection progress, thereby ensuring the quality of maintenance work for all projects. Over the past few years, the mechanical and electrical equipment of the three units has achieved a total of 12 months of fault-free operation. In 2004, the time spent and the number of equipment accidents across the plant decreased by 39.28% and 30.92% respectively compared to the previous year. In 2005, a historic record was set with zero accidents related to mechanical and electrical equipment over a period of four hours; the best operating time for the equipment in the three production units across the plant was 2 hours and 57 minutes. The duration and frequency of equipment accidents across the plant decreased by 30.41% and 31.83%, respectively, which laid the foundation for rapid development in the plant’s production activities, and the contribution of the equipment management department improved significantly.