IMPQI212 – Contribute to the improvement of maintenance in food operations

Overview 

This standard is about the skills and knowledge needed for you to contribute to the improvement of maintenance, to support your organisation's drive to improve food operations. This is typically informed by performance measures, plant effectiveness information and outcomes like the six hidden losses, assessment of potential and priorities for loss reduction. This is important to increasing productivity and success of manufacture, processing and supply within the food supply chain. Contribution is typically provided through working in a team, although this does not exclude individual contributions from outside of close working teams.

You will need to show and understand how you can carry out maintenance improvement measures to prevent recurring machine, tool, equipment and utility problems, which can cause serious down time issues in food operations. You also need to show and understand you can assess the condition of plant or equipment and account for the process needed to optimise plant condition. This standard accommodates opportunities to apply proactive approaches to maintenance arrangements where these are required to support improvement.

This standard is for you if you contribute to the improvement of maintenance working in food or drink operations including, manufacturing, processing, packing or supply chain activities. You may have responsibilities for maintaining and improving quality or maintenance in the workplace, with either autonomous or operationally restricted responsibilities.

Performance criteria

You must be able to:

Identify opportunities for improvement to maintenance activities

  1. identify and make positive suggestions about improvement to maintenance activity or proactive approaches to the relevant personnel
  2. gather information and data in accordance with procedures
  3. assess plant or equipment condition and check that your suggestions can be justified and are realistic in accordance with the improvement plan
  4. secure approval for improvement to maintenance activity or proactive approaches from the relevant personnel

Plan the implementation of maintenance improvements

  1. use information and data effectively in accordance with procedures
  2. support the improvement activity or proactive maintenance using planned techniques
  3. use relevant measures of plant effectiveness and other reliable information sources to inform improvement
  4. work with others to agree an action plan for improving plant effectiveness

Support the implementation of improvement activity or proactive maintenance

  1. make a positive contribution to putting improvement plans into action
  2. work with others to support implementation in accordance with procedures
  3. contribute to completing the action plan and obtain signed off from the relevant personnel

Knowledge and understanding

You need to know and understand

  1. the health, safety and hygiene requirements of the area in which you are improving maintenance
  2. the purpose and objectives of improving maintenance
  3. how proactive maintenance can form part of organisational Total Productive Maintenance systems
  4. how improving maintenance can produce performance benefits and support and/or sustain food organisational standards
  5. how plant or equipment are chosen to improve maintenance activities
  6. what the organisational procedures are for improving maintenance or proactive maintenance
  7. how proactive maintenance activities and improvements are communicated or presented in your work area
  8. why it is necessary to calculate and interpret plant effectiveness measures
  9. how proactive maintenance interacts with plant effectiveness measures and workplace organisation activities
  10. what the six losses are and what they contribute to proactive maintenance
  11. the value of identifying chronic and sporadic loss and the difference between these types of losses
  12. what part standard operating procedures, food safety management procedures and other food operational procedures play in improving maintenance activities
  13. what part process improvement techniques/activities and team working play in improving maintenance activities
  14. how information and data play an important role in improving maintenance
  15. how opportunities for improvement are typically identified in food operations
  16. how to identify likely physical and chemical contaminants/foreign bodies and their sources
  17. how your knowledge and experience can add value to improvements in maintenance
  18. the limits of your own authority, and reporting arrangements in the event of problems that you cannot resolve
  19. the formal and informal communication channels used

Keywords: Food operations; Manufacturing; Excellence; Improvement; Plant; Maintenance