Problem statement
Greasing of the air handling units (AHU) was time consuming, difficult to complete effectively, and involved physical hazards for the technical team. Bearings were wearing out faster than they should resulting in risk of unit failure and resultant temperature fluctuations in the building.
Objective
Reduce the H&S risks. Increase bearing life cycle and reduce and the risk of AHU downtime. Reduce effort in the greasing work & standardise the procedure.
Lean Ireland consulting/training work
This project was completed by certified lean six sigma green belt (CLSSGB) candidates who undertook a customised in-house 8-day online training programme facilitated by Lean Ireland. The training involved interactive webinars, academic assignments and team-based project work within the organisation. The DMAIC (define, measure, analyse, improve and control) project framework, plus a varied toolset for each phase enabled the CLSSGB lead and the cross functional team to work through the project phases. The Lean Ireland facilitator, a certified black belt, provided project mentoring on a regular basis throughout the project lifecycle. Certification was achieved by completing the two academic assignments, and presenting the completed project to a certification review board comprising organisation managers, certified green belts and the Lean Ireland black belt assessor.
The certified lean six sigma green belt (CLSSGB) training course is facilitated by Lean Ireland to ISO 13053-1 standards. Courses may contain additional content in line with client preferences. The total consultant involvement was approximately 15 days, including onsite training, online project mentoring and certification for a CLSSGB cohort of 12 candidates.
Detailed results of the client work
The GB team used the lean six sigma DMAIC process and toolset to undertake a number or radical and highly successful initiatives to improve the AHU greasing process. These included
- Running grease line to the AHU, which
- Removed the need to rotate the AHUs offline, and
- As a result the technical team members were no longer required to AHU to perform greasing
- Greasing time was reduced from an average of 51 minutes per event, to zero minutes.
The mechanism and control were such that the greasing was performed to a better standard than previously. Best of all significant H&S risk was removed. Team training was carried out and the updated procedure drafted and ratified by change control. The initiative represented significant time/cost savings for the organisation.