Why does the equipment keep breaking down?

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As domestic manufacturing companies grow stronger, many factories have begun to invest heavily in better equipment for production. However, some factories do not achieve ideal performance when using these devices, and in some cases the equipment starts to malfunction within a short period of time. An equipment operator complained, \"The machines in our factory keep breaking down every day. Whenever they break, we have to report it for repair, and it costs a lot of money. The boss doesn’t even think about how to maintain them!\" ”It is precisely due to the serious negligence in the management of our production sites regarding equipment that the equipment often develops \"symptoms\". First-class factories maintain their equipment constantly, while third-rate factories repair it on a daily basis; just a difference of one word, yet the efficiency differs by several times. 01 What’s the difference? The problem lies in the lack of understanding of modern management, in the inadequate implementation of management systems, and in using the most advanced equipment with outdated concepts. Modern team production increasingly relies on various processing and auxiliary equipment; without equipment that operates reliably, a team cannot have a solid foundation for its operations. On the other hand, in our surroundings, the equipment frequently goes against our wishes: it malfunctions often, there are power outages, oil leaks, defective spare parts, and loss of functionality – all these problems caused by the equipment constantly disrupt normal operations, leaving production activities in a state of disruption. Over time, team leaders evolved from the \"combat elites\" responsible for organizing production to the \"firefighting elites\" tasked with carrying out emergency repairs and submitting reports. Similarly, faced with frequent equipment failures, the equipment management department and professional maintenance staff are constantly busy dealing with these issues, rushing around to fix problems, yet they still cannot escape being complained about by those on the front line. As a result, both the team leaders on the front line and the equipment maintenance staff end up exhausted and helpless. 02 How to achieve zero failures. Some may ask that, according to the zero-failure concept, can equipment not be used indefinitely? Here we need to distinguish between two different concepts: natural aging and forced deterioration. Natural aging refers to the situation where, despite proper use, the equipment undergoes physical and chemical changes over time, resulting in a gradual decline in its initial performance. The so-called forced deterioration refers to the artificial induction of deterioration by failing to operate in the proper manner. For example, fuel is not added where it should be, or if it is added, the amount is insufficient or the interval between refueling is too long. There is also the failure to carry out proper equipment cleaning, and other such things – in other words, failing to do what needs to be done – all of which contribute to the deterioration of the equipment. As a result, the equipment’s service life is shorter than what it should be, **shorter than the lifespan resulting from natural aging. Therefore, the significance of the zero-failure concept lies in guiding us to correctly understand failures and take the necessary actions to prevent their progression and delay natural aging. So far, the reason for many ongoing failures is often that the true cause of those failures has not been identified. Before a failure occurs, there are usually some minor, hidden defects. If, before a failure occurs, attention is paid to such subtle underlying defects that ultimately lead to failures and they are addressed in a timely manner, the failures can be prevented. It can be seen that addressing apparent potential defects is the principle of \"no failures\". To actually advance this work, we identified the potential causes of failures and derived five key strategies to achieve zero failures: first, meeting the basic requirements, which refer to tasks such as cleaning, refueling, and tightening. Failures are caused by the degradation of the equipment, but most degradation is due to the absence of the three basic conditions. Second, strictly adhere to the operating conditions – the machine equipment has its operating conditions specified at the time of design. If used strictly in accordance with the operating conditions, the equipment will malfunction very rarely. Factors such as voltage, speed, temperature, and installation conditions are all determined based on the characteristics of the equipment. To restore equipment to normal operation, even if a device meets the basic requirements and has the necessary conditions for use, it is difficult to achieve perfection; as a result, the equipment still deteriorates and malfunctions. Thus, the implied degradation is brought to light and restored to a normal state. This means we should regularly carry out proper inspections and preventive repairs on the equipment. Fourth, to address shortcomings in the design: Some faults cannot be eliminated even after applying the above three solutions, and they are often caused by deficiencies or errors during the design, manufacturing, and installation of the equipment. Such failures should be carefully analyzed, and these defects should be improved. 5. Improving human qualities: All measures must be implemented by people; in the process of achieving zero failures, people are the most fundamental element. Firstly, everyone must have a serious attitude and a professional spirit. Secondly, there needs to be a correct understanding of faults. Lastly, it is necessary to improve the professional skills of operators and maintenance personnel. 　In general, in our daily work, we need to focus on the following aspects: activities to prevent degradation: proper operation, preparation, adjustment, cleaning, refueling, tightening, etc ； Activities to detect deterioration: Checking usage conditions and conducting daily and periodic inspections of equipment to detect potential faults at an early stage ； Activities to restore degraded conditions: Promptly eliminate potential hazards and degradation to bring the equipment back to normal operation. 03 Conduct autonomous maintenance in a step-by-step manner. Everyone hopes that equipment operates with high efficiency. In terms of equipment, its efficiency depends on two groups of people: those who use it in production and those who are responsible for its maintenance. If the people on both sides consider themselves as separate groups – we as producers who only focus on using the equipment, and you as those responsible for maintenance, with you being accountable for its condition – then of course this will not lead to any good results. It should be understood that production, use, and maintenance are two aspects of a whole, just like the two wheels of a bicycle; only when both are present and work together can the equipment achieve its full potential. The production and usage department is not merely responsible for production and use; it must also undertake the basic tasks of equipment maintenance, that is, \"activities to prevent deterioration.\" Only when the production and usage departments carry out effective \"activities to prevent degradation\" can the maintenance department fully utilize the power of its specialized maintenance methods, thereby ensuring truly effective equipment maintenance. We refer to the maintenance activities carried out by the production and operation departments, with a focus on \"preventing equipment degradation,\" as \"voluntary maintenance activities involving all employees,\" which are commonly simply called voluntary maintenance. During the self-maintenance activities. To fully utilize the capabilities of the equipment, it is necessary to practice \"managing one’s own equipment oneself\" and become someone who can handle it effectively. Therefore, in addition to the ability to manufacture products, operators must also possess four types of skills: first, the ability to detect abnormalities. The “ability to detect abnormalities” refers not merely to identifying issues only when a fault or defect has already occurred, but rather to being able to recognize potential faults or defects as soon as they seem likely to arise. Only in this way can it be considered a true “ability to detect abnormalities”. Second, the ability to correctly and quickly handle abnormalities (recovery capability) is essential; for any detected abnormality, it is necessary to restore the equipment to its normal state in order for it to function as intended. Moreover, one must be able to determine, based on the severity of the abnormality, whether to report it to higher authorities and maintenance teams and how to deal with it. Third, the ability to detect anomalies in condition setting often depends on an individual’s skills and experience; variations in these skills and experience can affect the ability to identify anomalies. To prevent this phenomenon, a definite value should be established to determine whether the equipment is functioning properly. The criteria for judgment should be quantitative; taking temperature as an example, it should be specified as \"it must be below XX degrees,\" rather than being described vaguely as \"there should be no abnormal heating.\" It should be emphasized here that rather than delaying execution by focusing on the accuracy of the judgment criteria, it is more practical to establish a temporary standard first and then make multiple adjustments to arrive at a more suitable one. 4. When maintenance equipment fails, repairing it afterward is never as good as taking preventive measures in advance. Therefore, it is essential to strictly adhere to established standards such as \"cleaning and lubrication standards\" and \"self-inspection standards\". Capabilities are developed through continuous learning and accumulation in one’s work; therefore, work itself is a form of learning. As capabilities improve, it becomes possible to achieve more results at work, and there is a mutually dependent and reinforcing relationship among these three elements. To train operators who can manage the equipment and to establish a system for routine maintenance, it is necessary to focus on talent development on one hand, and to improve work performance based on their actual capabilities on the other, in order to achieve real results that can be sustained. When carrying out self-maintenance, one should not expect to resolve many problems at once; therefore, the goals and tasks are organized into 7 steps, which is known as \"step-by-step self-maintenance\". The ideal approach is to thoroughly complete each step; once a certain level is achieved, then proceed to the next step. Complete self-maintenance in seven steps – Initial cleaning. Initial cleaning involves thoroughly cleaning dust, debris, and other impurities around the equipment. We need to turn cleaning into inspection; inspection enables us to identify problems and potential defects in the equipment, allowing us to address them promptly. At the same time, cleaning can help operators develop a sense of care for the equipment. 2. Sources of generation and countermeasures for difficult areas: To maintain and improve the results of the initial cleaning in the first phase, it is necessary to eliminate the sources of dust, contamination, etc. To this end, countermeasures such as removal, covering, or sealing can be taken. Effective measures should also be taken for areas that are difficult to maintain, such as refueling, cleaning, and decontamination, in order to improve the maintainability of the equipment. Step 3: Compile cleaning and lubrication guidelines. Based on the insights gained from the first and second steps, compile temporary guidelines for maintaining the equipment under one’s responsibility, covering basic procedures such as cleaning, lubrication, and tightening. The comprehensive inspection aims to fully utilize the inherent functions of equipment by learning about its structure, functions, and evaluation criteria, examining the appearance of its various main components, identifying any defects and correcting them, and simultaneously enabling one to acquire the necessary inspection skills. Furthermore, the benchmarks previously developed can be continuously improved to facilitate verification. The self-inspection standards are established in the third step based on the cleaning standards, refueling standards, and inspection standards that have been formulated; by adding in the elements learned in the fourth step and adhering to them strictly, the self-inspection standards are finalized. During the learning and implementation process, it is also necessary to continuously learn and become familiar with the operation and functions of the equipment, as well as the relationships between quality and the equipment, in order to have the ability to operate the equipment correctly and detect abnormalities early. Sixth, organize and streamline the activities by expanding their scope from those centered on equipment to peripheral equipment and the entire workshop. On the basis of mastering the capabilities outlined in the previous 5 steps, strive to achieve and maintain the desired image for the entire workshop. The organization referred to in this step involves identifying the tools, fixtures, semi-finished products, defective items, etc., within the workshop, and establishing management standards; it is necessary to drastically reduce the number of management objects such as materials and tasks, and to simplify things as much as possible. The so-called thorough rectification means adhering to (maintaining) established standards and gradually improving them to make it easier for operators to comply. The workshop implements visual management, and management is standardized. Through the previous six steps of activities, considerable results have been achieved in fully implementing self-management, and personnel have also undergone significant training. Therefore, this seventh step involves fostering a mindset of continuous improvement and constantly carrying out the PDCA cycle. In line with the company’s policies and objectives, new goals for group activities should be set to suit each team, thereby ensuring the full realization of self-management.