Written procedure ISO 9001 6.3

Why?

ISO 9001 does not require you to have a procedure for this topic. A generic written procedure is likely to cause more problems than it solves.

Is your equipment maintenance adequate now? If so, it ain't broken and there's no need to fix it with a procedure.

If not, find out why it isn't adequate and correct the situation causing the inadequate maintenance.

During our latest audit we were informed that our machine shop needed a PM procedure. I think they are just looking for a procedure to outline our program. We only have two critical machines and 9 non-critical machines and most of these are once a year PMs'.

Any advise would be great.

Ron.

Do not go generic but do not get too specific. Reference the owners manual as the guiding document for your equipment's maintenance and state in the docuument that if performance data indicates extending or decreasing the PM interval a written justification will be submitted to the file of that equipment. I would document the PM on a generic sheet to include what was done and how the equipment's pieces and parts looked. The better you document what is done the less difficulty you will have during future audits. Just be careful not to over do it as this can bring about different issues. I have seen some comments by maintenance personnel that did not belong in the maintenance log and could raise a red flag in an audit. So train your people well.

All you really need is a brief checklist to remind people what to check for / adjust in a preventive maintenance situation. No procedure required. Rob Kantner / www.9sg.com