buying new equipment or a new production line

The word production technology refers to all the main and auxiliary equipment, methods and methods of operation required to produce a specific product

Possession of technological knowledge is considered an important and necessary entry point to achieve a competitive advantage for industrial enterprises, especially if this knowledge can be employed in the manufacture and development of production technology, as this leads to a clear decrease in operating costs, enhancing its efficiency and effectiveness, and thus ensuring product quality and reducing its cost.
Manufacturing production technology does not mean the possibility or necessity of manufacturing everything, but some components and tools from the local market can be used to perform specific operations or make some modifications to suit these operations.

Therefore, the thought of lean manufacturing is based on considering workers as a major partner in the work of continuous development and improvement. Institutions are interested in improving the psychological work climate, developing appropriate training programs, and paying attention to the concept of small work groups, project teams, and other teamwork mechanisms. And specialized and trained who are able to study and understand the current reality in each activity and are able to solve its problems and even develop it for the better, in contrast to the traditional manufacturing that relies on experienced workers.

Classification of production technology

Production technology can be divided into two main types:

1- Basic equipment that produces and forms the product or its main parts, such as plastic injection machines, metal molding machines, welding machines, robots, electronic components assembly machines and other specialized equipment that must be purchased from their producers and ensure their maintenance and even spare parts. This type of equipment needs a good study before purchasing (Studying the purchase of new equipment).

2- Auxiliary equipment, which is all types of equipment that work in cooperation with the basic equipment to complete the required operations, in addition to other facilities (including air, water and energy lines, etc.).

Equipment often represents the most valuable investment in industrial activities, and the optimal selection of equipment and its optimal operation achieves the desired productivity rates and level of quality for the facility. Therefore, appropriate studies must be conducted before making a purchase decision and sufficient attention is directed to achieve the best benefit from it.

The results are always sparse.

It is known that we cannot always produce the same thing if the same raw material and the same equipment are used and the same worker works with the same production method, and this means that the results are usually dispersed.
This means that the currently produced equipment is not necessarily completely identical to the equipment that was produced before it or that will be produced after it.
This is because the equipment often consists of a very large number of metal (structural), mechanical, hydraulic, thermal and electrical components, in addition to control and computer systems, and the producer may deal with different suppliers to supply the same item sometimes.
Therefore, each new equipment, when installed, needs many adjustments at the start of its operation, and may sometimes need to change some of its components that may cause problems at the start of operation.

Dealing with the new stomach

Therefore, the installation period represents a great opportunity for practical training for the work team involved in the installation and initial operation, as this period represents an opportunity to understand the equipment well, gain confidence in dealing with it, understand many of its problems, and even understand many of the schedules for following up on the ground.
The companies producing the equipment also develop manuals for follow-up of the faults periodically according to the results of installing the new equipment, and sometimes even develop the designs of some components (for the same model) to improve the performance if some problems are repeated.
· The program for dealing with the new equipment may include making some improvements to the equipment, and these improvements are carried out by specialized maintenance engineers from the producing company.
The new equipment is often exposed to problems, even if it seems that the design, manufacturing and installation work went smoothly, but in reality it may need some improvements before the start of normal operation, such as some inspection, connection, lubrication, cleaning and adjusting sensors until normal operation stabilizes. This program usually takes about three months.
· This initial program is considered as a positive means to measure the performance efficiency of the new equipment and to increase its effectiveness. It is one of the activities of the comprehensive production maintenance program.
The installation period and the problems that occur in it for some parts of the equipment and how to solve them or problems related to the control work and how to deal with them or any technical discussions with the supplier is considered a very important reference for the institution that must be recorded and documented, because some problems that may appear with the equipment in the future may have a direct link The problems of the installation period, which makes it easier to discover and solve them, so the period of installations and tests is considered a golden period for the work teams that must be paid attention to and followed up by the senior management.

Product specifications and equipment specifications

The equipment is the main investment in industrial projects, and this requires conducting adequate studies before the purchase decision
Among the important elements in these studies is a clear identification of the technical specifications of the new equipment and their relationship to the specifications of the product expected to be produced.
· However, some establishments make a big mistake when they base their purchase decision on the specifications of the product to be produced without considering the possibility of producing a product with greater specifications, even after a while.
Studies of comprehensive production maintenance also indicate that increasing the efficiency of the equipment is closely related to many elements of the technical specifications of the equipment, such as the speed of the equipment (which is the time required to produce a unit of the product).
Therefore, when conducting comparison studies between more than

Equipment The equipment with slightly higher specifications (with the ability to produce a product with greater specifications or with faster speed) should be preferred if the price difference is limited.

Examples of technical specifications

Surface Mounters

These are the machines that perform the superficial assembly of tiny electronic components (resistors, capacitors, and semiconductors) on printed boards, as is the case in mobile devices and other electronic boards, where some elements must be taken into account, such as:
§ The number of different components that can be assembled on one board.
§ The time required to assemble each component.
§ The maximum dimensions of the printed board that can be dealt with.

Plastic injection machines

Where the plastic material is injected after its transformation into the liquid form into the mold of the required product, and the material is injected with an appropriate injection pressure, and the mold is closed with an appropriate mechanical pressure, as some elements can also be taken into account such as:
§ The speed of opening and closing the mold (necessary to increase the efficiency of the equipment). Some equipment is provided with an accumulator that retains an amount of pressurized oil that is used to increase the speed of opening and closing.
§ The maximum dimensions of the mold that can be handled (necessary to produce a variety of products).
§ The amount of substance that can be injected in one cycle.
§ The mechanical closing system for molds (some systems are simple and others cause problems and malfunctions, and it is preferable to seek the assistance of expertise in this field).
Therefore, there must be a good understanding of the equipment’s function and technical specifications before purchasing.

The technical elements shown in the previous two examples are only to clarify the picture, because the technical elements that must be studied and compared in each piece of equipment are many and varied, especially with the presence of elements related to protection devices, energy, the environment, and others.

Among the errors that sometimes occur during the period of installations and tests is the failure of the work team to test the performance of the equipment on the basis of the maximum operating capabilities and specifications for all potential products, while the work team is only busy operating the equipment to produce the product for which it was purchased, while when trying to operate the equipment for a product Depending on its maximum capabilities, it may discover problems that may prevent it from operating

Automatic and computer control system.

Since modern production equipment includes multiple electrical, mechanical, and other systems, these equipments are managed by computers and advanced control systems, which necessitates drawing attention to this important issue.
The system usually consists of a specialized computer with one or more processors, a read-only memory, another for reading and writing, input and output units, and special programs to run it.
· The computer controls most of the control circuits in the equipment (but not all of them). It also controls the performance of any robot connected to the equipment, as it receives information from the sensors scattered in the parts of the equipment. By studying this information, it issues orders to the parts of the equipment to perform its various functions through electrical control circuits. It also directs the robot to perform his job.
· The equipment is dealt with through the computer screen of the computer.
The specifications of the product to be produced are entered through lists (video pages) that appear on the computer screen, and each list specifies the necessary data for each part of the equipment to perform its function, for example the distance that this part will move, its direction and speed of movement, or the permissible temperature for each element or pressure required hydraulic and other components.
After completion of the list data, this data is modified according to the initial operating experiences of the required product, and after the operation is stable, the entire file is stored in the equipment’s memory. A copy can also be recorded on an external medium to be used when needed to produce this product after a period of time instead of re-entering the data each time.
Since the equipment consists of a large number of various parts, and these parts have been combined into one system, the computer includes other lists (video pages) that contain information specific to each part related to the technical specifications of this part, and the relationships of the parts to each other. These lists have been entered by the manufacturer of the equipment, and they cannot be summoned and displayed on the computer screen except through a password specified by the producer of the equipment. No modification of this data may be made except by specialized persons, as entering any inaccurate data in these lists will lead to The failure of the equipment or some of its functions, or its inability to perform its function as required, and some of those who deal with equipment are not aware of the existence of this type of list.
· Some buyers do not pay any attention to this issue when purchasing equipment, although they may need to modify some of the data in these lists when changing some parts or need to disassemble and move the equipment.
· The buyer of the equipment can overlook this type of knowledge in the event that there is a maintenance and follow-up contract with the equipment producer.
· This topic is very important and demonstrates the need to pay attention to the automatic control system of the equipment.
It is interesting that most of the modern devices (even home ones such as television) are controlled in their functions through an internal microcomputer and through menus that are set inside the factories. Rather, this matter has become easy and simple for technical workers. Service and maintenance centers are responsible for solving customer problems. As for equipment Factories, this matter is still not given enough attention.
In view of the successive development in control systems, sufficient attention should be given to this element.

Different equipment for one industry.

One of the mistakes that occur in some industrial establishments is that they purchase production equipment with different technologies for one industry, for example, plastic injection machines. Purchasing equipment with different systems leads to

to :
§ The lack of benefit from the acquired maintenance experience and its exchange between equipment because the equipment is different from each other.
§ Increasing the number and types of spare parts used for different equipment systems.
§ Doubling the efforts of the maintenance teams following up the equipment.

Simplify electrical maintenance circuits.

Due to the enormity of the control system in large equipment, it includes a large number of electrical and electronic components and requires a great effort to discover the fault locations in the various circuits. Producer identifies some possible causes for each malfunction, but usually does not accurately determine the locations of possible components of the malfunction except through schematic electrical circuits, and then an effort is made to locate these components on the actual board (on the ground), which opens the door to the efforts and innovations of the teams responsible for maintaining the equipment by preparing Simple drawings linking the different parts of the equipment and the electrical components (for example) associated with them.
As in the drawing shown, a schematic image of the equipment has been placed on top of the board showing the various parts of the equipment, and just below it is a normal (or schematic) image that shows the electrical relay group responsible for operating these parts so that it is possible to directly identify the potential relay location for the malfunction through the arrows between each part and the component his own ..
· This figure shown is only a rough example because the door of innovations in this field is open to all different ideas. Colored circles can also be prepared, and different computer programs can also be employed to prepare guides that facilitate maintenance work and reduce the time of its implementation.

How to benefit from external training.

The points reviewed show the importance of good knowledge of the equipment and the need for intensive training on operating it, maintaining it, and maintaining its faults. In many cases, companies send some employees abroad for training on the equipment in their production factories.
In order to ensure the effectiveness of this training and maximize its utilization, a work team must be selected with sufficient knowledge of the technical elements that will be trained in the equipment so that it can benefit from all the time in understanding the details of these elements in the equipment. The tasks must be divided among the team in an integrated manner, and the success of this training improves the performance of this team during the installation period .

× The previous elements combined represent good planning and a successful start to implement the comprehensive productive maintenance program on this equipment and increase its effectiveness as much as possible.