Are anomaly tags important for Autonomous Maintenance?

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Although anomaly labels seem like retro things that could be replaced by notes in the system, they still play an important role in TPM.

The labels are fundamental for visual management and have numerous purposes, which we highlight:

• The first and one of the most important purposes is the re-education process of autonomous groups - GAs, which have the label as a tool for identifying anomalies (7 items of inconveniences in the equipment);

• They serve the visual management of the GAs' activities, highlighting the equipment's status at a glance (important for the gemba walk), preventing duplication in identifying anomalies among group members and locating the parts of the equipment that require more attention;

• Still within the GAs, a stratification of the labels in terms of priority (high, medium, and low) allows awareness of the risks of equipment downtime; the more high-priority labels, the greater the risk. This way, the group can direct management efforts towards more effective and swift actions to eliminate their problems;

• The labels help to narrow down communication between maintenance (mentors) and operators, teaching them, correcting placement and prioritization errors;

• The resolved labels are an inexhaustible source of information, showing what the major types of anomalies are, their location, recurrence, standardization needs, etc.;

• The labels can also show the greatest deficiencies in the operators' knowledge, generating invaluable training opportunities;

• The labels provide information for managers, who, when faced with the equipment, can detect each member's performance, identifying individual commitment and working on the team's motivation process;

• For maintenance, it is vital within the preventive process of breakages; the greater the number of labels placed and resolved, related to its function, the lower the probability of a breakdown occurring;

• The red labels, designated for problem resolution through maintenance, also focus on re-educating the maintainer, as the priority given by the operation, confirmed by them, becomes part of their activities routine to eliminate the equipment's anomalies.

• Just as a reminder of the colors: blue labels represent anomalies identified and solved by the operators, while red labels represent anomalies identified by the operators but resolved by the maintainers.