Preventative Maintenance Programs
We all know that a good P.M. program is essential to attaining maximum efficiency in plant operations. However some Plants have either not had time or the budget to get one installed or have installed one and it is not performing up to expectations.
Most plants are now striving for SQF Certification, and one of the requirements for SQF Certification is a well-documented and functional P.M. Program.
I installed my first P.M. program in the Flav O Rich Dairy Plant where I was the onsite engineer during the last year of construction and then became the plant engineer. This system used a flip card system. I next worked with 2 programmers in 1981 to create one of the first P.M. programs to run on a desktop computer. This was at the first Publix Dairy Processing Plant where I was the onsite engineer during the last year of construction and then spent the next 25 years as plant engineer.
I have stayed very involved with P.M. Programs throughout my career. After having been involved in the installation of several systems that require the purchase of a program and then having the I.T. department involved to get it up and running, I have found an excellent alternative.
It is now possible to install a Web based system in your plant and have access to it the day you order it. The monthly fee is very reasonable and it requires no I.T. involvement. You can have as many users as you would like. All the information stays on the server and is continuously backed up. Another advantage of this system is that it can be accessed by authorized personnel from any computer so that information is always available. The system has multiple levels of password protection so information can be made available to different levels of authority.
This system can be installed by plant personnel without outside assistance.
Since I have been involved with P.M. programs through the years and this one most recently, I have developed an expansive library of Procedures for most of the equipment located in a dairy processing plant including milk, ice cream, yogurt and cheese.
Depending on the complexity of the facility after the program has been purchased we can normally have the P.M. Program up and running completely in 5 to 8 weeks. This can include a parts inventory and re-order system. Since it is Web based I can perform much of the data entry from my office helping to reduce the cost. I can also continue to maintain or add additional information from afar as needed.
