Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/359954
30 July - August 2014 | www.machinerylubrication.com mAINteNANCe ANd relIABIlItY By Daniel c. carroll anD ronalD F. reimer, eli lilly anD co. L Like many organizations, pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly has been in pursuit of reliability for many years. Pinpointing when the journey started is difficult, since manufacturing is always asking for increased performance or throughput. However, usually the improvements are achieved through brute force: longer hours, faster response, stocking many spare parts, etc. The desire to improve manufacturing output created the need to look for ideas to help reduce the risk of interruptions. Since the 1990s, several programs have been implemented at various manufacturing sites with variable success. A few examples of the programs include: • Vibration routes and analysis to determine bearing health and to plan corrective actions before failure. • Infrared routes and analysis to determine electrical distribu- tion equipment health and corrective actions before failure. • A lubrication program for correct lubricant handling and equipment lubrication. • Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA)/reliability- centered maintenance (RCM) on critical systems to deter- mine appropriate maintenance strategies for equipment. • Root cause failure analysis (RCFA) to determine how and why failure occurred along with actions implemented to prevent recurrence. • Precision maintenance training to improve craft understanding and practices for the assembly and installation of equipment. • Computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) to capture equipment information and manage maintenance activity. • Planning and scheduling to improve the eff iciency of maintenance activities. These programs have impacted Eli Lilly's manufacturing busi- ness in various degrees. In some areas, the value generated by the program has been very high. In other areas, less value was created. Two critical attributes of successful implementations were determined. The first was the implementer of the program. These individuals had to be passionate in their belief that the program truly added value and that not implementing it would be a mistake. The second was if the receiving organization recognized the benefit of the program and required the benefits from the program. Unsuccessful implementations were missing one or both of these attributes. As a corporation, overall reliability was not improving at the rate required for the changing business climate. Senior leader- ship recognized that a few manufacturing areas were delivering consistent reliability improvements while other areas were not. They started believing in the importance of improving reliability. Eventually, the manufacturing units that did not have reliability wanted to get it, and the areas that had some success wanted more. This was a significant change. The organization began to ask for a reliability program. Typically, reliability professionals were "pushing" programs into the organization. Now, manufac- turing had created the desire for improved reliability by establishing a reliability philosophy and implementing the appropriate programs. In 2011, a small reliability steering team was commissioned to develop the next-generation reliability process for Eli Lilly. The team was composed of successful reliability engineers and managers. The team's goal was to define and document reliability as well as the governing principles and tools, prove concepts were valid through demonstration projects, and form a recipe for implementation. Early in 2013, a "reliability book" was written, training was established, three demonstration projects were providing signif icant results, and a f lexible rollout plan was developed. how to Create a Global reliability Program