Maintenance is a vital activity in the industry. When properly orchestrated and applied, it allows the company to ensure customer satisfaction, since it is able to provide the customer with a quality product. It also helps to preserve its resources by ensuring that production resources remain operational and efficient, in particular by reducing equipment downtime. But effective maintenance inevitably requires the development of efficient maintenance procedures.
Propose content that is relevant and adapted to the context of the use
As with any procedure, the procedure dedicated to a maintenance operation must clearly and completely answer all the questions that may arise both to the technicians responsible for carrying it out and to the persons in charge of supervision and control.
The maintenance procedure must, therefore, answer the questions “who”, “what”, “how” and “when”. In other words, it mentions the person or team assigned to the maintenance operation, the precise nature of the operation, the way it is to be carried out (operating mode) and the date on which it is to be carried out. This last point is very crucial when it comes to preventive maintenance; the procedure specifies the number of working hours, revolutions, repetitions or passages from which the machine or one of its components is likely to fail.
The employee in charge of writing the maintenance procedure is therefore called upon to keep in mind that the content must be adapted to the context of the person who will read and use it.
Focus on visual elements
The textual content of the maintenance procedure is important, but it is not always sufficient to guide the user effectively in his work.
Visual elements provide additional readability and considerably improve the understanding of the information, and thus the performance of the task.
Graphics, photos, explanatory diagrams or even videos provide the maintenance technician with a better understanding of the situation and the actions to be taken. Logigram-like supports, with simple and clear symbols and links, are an important aid, starting, for example, and in the context of curative maintenance, from the request for intervention on entry and leading to the return to service on exit. Such a diagram is intended to be effective and exhaustive by schematizing each step of the maintenance intervention and the different options (what to do if the problem is repairable, what alternative solution, is the part in stock, etc.), as well as the related actions (request to purchase parts if necessary, intervention report at the end of the operation, etc.).
Adapt to mobile terminals
The drafting of a maintenance procedure is also done taking into account the media from which it will be consulted by the user. For the maintenance technician, being able to access the procedure from his mobile device is undeniably an asset, as it allows him to find the information he needs more quickly and easily while keeping his hands free to do his work and benefiting from optimized, even interactive visual elements.
A maintenance procedure accessible from a smartphone considerably facilitates its mission and follow-up. Its elaboration requires taking into account the specificities of such a format: to be concise so as not to force the operator to scroll through the pages indefinitely, not to slow down the display by elements that are too large, etc.
Do not forget the safety instructions
Safety remains paramount in maintenance. The protection of employees and their environment during the performance of their work is also part of the components that the maintenance procedure must include.
This concerns both safety instructions and the recall of PPE, or personal protective equipment (“device or means intended to be worn or held by a person in order to protect him against one or more risks likely to threaten his safety or health mainly at work” – Labor Code, article R. 233-83-3).
Indeed, a maintenance operation can only be carried out if the risk of an accident that could lead to injury, intoxication or deterioration of the workplace is not addressed by appropriate preventive measures.
Picomto is the software solution for creating and consulting visual and digital maintenance procedures from a computer, tablet or smartphone.
Do you have a project to digitize your maintenance procedures? Do not hesitate to contact us so that we can discuss it.
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