Pythia Industries

Sample Plant

Implementation plan

1. Time the compressors at a meal break

One short reading shows whether the lines leak and whether pressure is spare.

Action	With the presses stopped, count how many of twenty minutes a compressor is pumping air, which its panel shows as loaded. Write down the pressure on its panel, and the highest pressure set at any press. Keep the figures on one sheet, with the date. If the presses run through breaks, take the reading right after the last shift of the week.
Owner	Maintenance lead
Purchases	None: twenty minutes of staff time
Decision	Is a compressor loaded for over about two of the twenty minutes, or is its pressure well above the highest press setting?
Fallback	If neither, the work ends here and nothing has been bought.

2. Walk the lines and fix the largest leaks

Each leak is found, tagged and fixed, the largest first, and the walk is repeated.

Action	Walk every air line, hose and coupling with the detector, starting at the presses. Hang a numbered tag on each leak and write it on a list. Fix the largest first: a new coupling, a length of hose or fresh thread tape. Take the reading of step 1 again, to see what the repairs took off. Repeat the walk each quarter, and keep every reading on the same sheet.
Owner	One named maintenance person
Purchases	An ultrasonic leak detector, about $1,500, and about sixteen hours of staff time for the first walk. Then hose, couplings and thread tape, about $160 per year
Decision	After the repairs, is a compressor loaded for fewer minutes than at the first reading?
Fallback	If a large leak cannot be reached while the plant runs, tag it and fix it at the next planned stop.

3. Bring the setting down two psi at a time

The setting comes down only as far as every press still runs as before.

Action	Lower the compressors' setting by two psi. Run a normal shift and watch the press farthest from the compressor room. If every press runs as before, lower it again. Stop one step above the first sign of trouble, and write the setting down.
Owner	Maintenance lead, with the shift supervisor
Purchases	None: about four hours of staff time
Decision	Did every press run a full shift as before at the lower setting?
Fallback	If any press starves for air, raise the setting by two psi again and leave it there.

Illustrative sample. The plant, the walk and the footage are synthetic.