Machine Maintenance Planning for Pelletizing Processes using FMEA Technique, A Case Study of the Pellet Biomass Factory

Abstract

The objective of this research is to study the risk factors of machines by applying the FMEA technique and propose guidelines for maintenance of machine parts, beginning with the analysis of problems, faults and effects. After that evaluate and make plans according to the guidelines for preventive maintenance of machines. The results show that the RPN value of the pellet bearing and shredding machine blade has the highest value of 36, which is considered as a high-risk level, it shows that when the machine parts fail, causing the production process to stop and waste of time, which has been repaired for a long time. Sometimes, the repair technician is unable to repair by themselves and affects the delivery of the product to the customer. The researcher analyzed the root cause of the problem by using the cause and effect diagram to analyze the cause of the machine causing the failure. It was found that the lack of maintenance plan for the machine and the staff lack the consistency in checking the machine before production. Next, use the risk level of the machine parts and the manual of the machine inspection sheet to plan the preventive maintenance of the machine before the failure. And assign the engineering department to inspect the machines on a daily, weekly, and monthly, respectively on risk level. It was found mean time to repair (MTTR) of pellet machines, crushers, coarse crushers and grinding machines decreased by 2.74, 2.92, 3.07 and 5.96 percent, respectively, mean time before failure (MTBF) increased by 30.00, 15.97, 18.92 and 18.75 percent, respectively and availability factor (AF) increased by 9.25, 14.55, 28.93 and 25.72 percent respectively.