This course introduces the Federation of Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) MCE-5 (Manufacturing Core Exercise) for machine reliability. Students will learn how to use the process of Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) to drive for zero downtime and reach for maximum Heijunka. Students will be given an in depth understanding of Heijunka (Japanese for “leveling”), as a process that maintains a balanced relationship between predictability by leveling demand, flexibility by decreasing changeover time and stability by averaging production volume and type, over the long-term. The RCM process will be clearly defined with experiential exercises reinforcing comprehension and application of the following core questions:
- What are the functions of the equipment?
- How does it fail?
- What causes it to fail?
- Does it matter if it fails?
- What can be done to predict or prevent each failure?
- What if the failure cannot be prevented?