Perform maintenance operations with surgical precision by incorporating tool control processes and products

by David R. Thompson

The tension increased with each passing minute. The longer the operation took, a quick recovery appeared less likely. Without a quick recovery, the situation — currently bad — would get worse. As time passed, the team got more irritable.

The head of the team started to smile. He finally found the problem. He asked his assistant for the instrument he needed to complete the operation. He didn’t want to take his hands or eyes off the problem for fear he’d have to search for it again and lose more precious time. There already would be some ramifications from the amount of time he took to fix the problem.

The assistant began to panic as he couldn’t find the required tool in the storage unit. It was supposed to be in the second drawer, but where was it? He rifled through the drawer again and still didn’t find it. He searched the third drawer, then the fourth. Had someone borrowed the tool and not returned it? The head of this operation became more and more irritated with the assistant. Nothing good would happen if the assistant couldn’t find the tool immediately.

If only the team used tool control. The production line would return to operation sooner, and the assistant would avoid his supervisor’s wrath.

An idea from the O.R.
Companies trying to survive and prosper in this recession are rapidly adopting lean manufacturing techniques such as tool control.

Operating rooms at medical facilities have long used this superb technique. Operating room personnel know what tools they have as well as their location. They have specific locations for everything because:

A) They want to find these tools in a hurry. And,
B) They want to know the tools are accounted for when the operation is complete. 

This control concept is getting more notice in manufacturing, and companies implementing it report pretty significant savings.

In its simplest form, MRO professionals utilizing the tool control process have only the necessary tools and organize those tools to make them easily accessible. It’s simple to see if the set is complete. Procedures are then established which maintain the organization of tools over time.

There are several benefits of only having the necessary tools.
1) There are obvious cost savings in only purchasing tools required for the job (and nothing else). 
2) It’s easier to maintain the smaller set of tools, making sure they are in good condition and appropriate for the work.
3) A smaller tool set requires less space and, as a result, allows for mobile stations with a work surface (rather than tall, stacked units).

Lowers tool costs
A mechanic’s productivity benefits as the result of tool organization. Most of us know which drawer something is in. Knowing where in that drawer may be another matter. But what if another person returned the tool to the wrong drawer, or failed to return it at all? Not knowing the exact whereabouts of a tool leads to lost time and productivity.

Tool control also allows you to better monitor tool usage. If tool usage isn’t controlled, it’s easy for them to “wander away” over the course of weeks and months. Needlessly replacing tools costs the company money.

Tool control works for the individual mechanic, but it is more powerful when implemented as part of a total tool control system. Such a system looks at the entire maintenance operation and implements the proper procedures to ensure all the tools in the organization are easy to locate and access. If the entire maintenance staff is part of a tool control system, then its benefits flow quickly and easily to the bottom line.

In a total control system, individual tool boxes are controlled, as are the community tools in the tool room. Larger, specialized tools are controlled with a system that allows quick access and a simple way to document the tool’s user and location. Inexpensive products and procedures are available to control community tools in the tool room.

Lowers blood pressure
Tool control is becoming more important for increasing the productivity of those responsible for maintaining and repairing manufacturing equipment. When there’s a place for everything and everything is in its place, maintenance operations are faster, smoother and less stressful.

David R. Thompson is president of Kennedy Manufacturing Company, a maker of a wide range of tool storage units. For more information, call and visit www.kennedymfg.com.

This article appeared in the December 2002/January 2003 issue of MRO Today magazine. Copyright, 2002.

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