With spring finally here, it is the perfect time to think about spring cleaning and maintenance. A time to look at machines, tooling, and maintenance areas and what we can do to make sure they are in perfectly clean, running order.
Here’s the nitty-gritty:
Dirty machines are unpleasant to look at and can leave a negative impression on guests to your shop. Clean, well-maintained machines will leave guests with the right impression–that you care about your business, your product, and your customers as well.
Clean machines are also easier to work with–metal chips and dirt don’t stick to them as easily, and employees aren’t covered in grease by touching them. The cleanliness and organization of a shop can also have a great effect on employee morale. It’s also easier to spot maintenance issues on a clean machine.
Accumulated metal shavings and dirt in form areas can lead to improperly formed parts. These shavings are often sharp as well and can cut those working in the shop. Lubrication is a part of maintaining machinery and is necessary in order for a machine to run smoothly. Lubricated surfaces, however, attract dust, dirt, and metal shavings. They absolutely need to be cleaned as they will accumulate debris. Dirt and debris contribute to premature and misalignment leading to burring of parts and out of tolerance bends and forms.
Some wise words, in closing:
The old adage: “A place for everything and everything in its place” would be ideal for a maintenance area–however, it is rarely ever seen in practice. Think of your maintenance area. If there is free space on a wall, lay out a shadow board, so each tool has a home that is easily identified.
Are there several incomplete projects scattered about? Oftentimes, in today’s shop, this is the case. There is so much going on that we don’t take the time to organize our workspaces–however, how much easier would it be and how much time could be saved if the work area was clean and organized? Let’s think about how maintenance and organization can improve our business in the next year. Set aside some time at the end of each shift to tidy up around the production machinery as well as the maintenance area.