Free template
Autonomous maintenance step audit
An autonomous maintenance step audit checks whether a team has really finished a step of the seven-step autonomous maintenance program in TPM before it moves on to the next. The classic steps are: 1 initial cleaning and inspection, 2 sources of contamination and hard-to-reach areas, 3 cleaning, inspection and lubrication standards, 4 general inspection, 5 autonomous inspection, 6 standardization and 7 autonomous management. Each step has criteria, and the audit is done at the machine, with the team, looking at evidence. This template has four criteria per step, 28 in all, each scored 0 (not in place), 1 (partly) or 2 (in place and holding), with space for the evidence seen, a score per step, a result table, the decision and the actions before a re-audit. The criteria are a general guide; write your own site's pass criteria. The Excel version adds up each step, shows pass when every criterion scores 2, and gives the decision for the step audited, with an actions log.
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
When to use it
When to use an autonomous maintenance step audit
- When a team says it has finished a step and wants to move to the next.
- As a self-audit by the team before asking for a leader or manager audit.
- Now and then on earlier steps, to check they still hold.
- To compare progress across machines and teams using the same criteria.
How to fill it in
- 1
Agree the criteria
Use the criteria on the sheet or write your own for each step. Keep them the same for every team.
- 2
Audit at the machine
With the team, looking at the machine, the tags, the standards and the records, not at a presentation.
- 3
Score each criterion
0 not in place, 1 partly, 2 in place and holding. Write the evidence you saw for each score.
- 4
Spot-check earlier steps
A team on step 4 whose machine is dirty again has not held step 1. Check a few earlier criteria too.
- 5
Decide
Pass when every criterion of the step scores 2: the team moves on. Otherwise agree the gaps and a date to re-audit.
- 6
Act and re-audit
Give each gap an owner and a date. Re-audit on the agreed date, and recognize the team when it passes.
What's on the audit
The 28 criteria on the autonomous maintenance step audit
Four criteria for each of the seven steps, a general guide to write your own from. On the sheet each one is scored 0 (not in place), 1 (partly) or 2 (in place and holding), with space for the evidence seen.
Step 1: Initial cleaning and inspection
Cleaning is inspection
- 1The machine has been cleaned thoroughly, inside guards and covers where it is safe to open them
- 2Every abnormality found during cleaning was tagged, and the tags are logged
- 3Tags from the cleaning are closed, or have an owner and a date
- 4Operators can name the main units of the machine and what each one does
Step 2: Sources of contamination and hard-to-reach areas
Stop the dirt, make access easy
- 5Sources of contamination (leaks, spills, chips, dust) are listed, each with a countermeasure
- 6Points that are hard to clean, inspect or lubricate are listed and improved
- 7Cleaning time has been measured and has come down since step 1
- 8Before and after photos show the improvements
Step 3: Cleaning, inspection and lubrication standards
Tentative standards
- 9A written standard lists each point, the method, tool, time and frequency
- 10Lubrication points are marked with the lubricant and the amount or level
- 11The standard fits in the time the operators have for it
- 12Operators follow the standard without help, and the check sheet is filled in
Step 4: General inspection
Operators learn the machine's systems
- 13Operators are trained on the machine's systems (lubrication, hydraulics, pneumatics, electrics, drives, fasteners)
- 14Inspection points from that training are added to the standard
- 15Visual controls are in place: gauge ranges, match marks, flow directions, labels
- 16Abnormalities found by operators are logged and fixed, some by the operators themselves
Step 5: Autonomous inspection
One routine, operator and maintenance tasks split
- 17The cleaning, inspection and lubrication standards are merged into one routine and trimmed
- 18Operator and maintenance tasks are split clearly, with no gaps and no overlaps
- 19Operators run the routine in the planned time
- 20Breakdowns and minor stops on the machine are tracked and reviewed with maintenance
Step 6: Standardization
Beyond machine care
- 21Tools, spares and materials around the machine have a marked place
- 22Standards cover changeovers, quality checks and data recording, not only machine care
- 23Operators update the standards themselves when they find a better way
- 24The area passes its 5S audit
Step 7: Autonomous management
The team runs and improves its own standards
- 25The team sets and tracks its own goals for the machine (breakdowns, quality, OEE)
- 26The team starts improvement work without being asked
- 27Results hold between audits
- 28Operators coach new team members on the standards
A filled-in example
Illustrative, not a benchmarkAn example: a step 2 audit on a molding machine (illustrative).
- Sources of contamination listed with countermeasures: 2. Hard-to-reach points improved: 2.
- Cleaning time measured: 1. It was measured in step 1 but not again after the improvements.
- Before and after photos: 2.
- Score 7 of 8. A spot-check on step 1 found all cleaning tags closed.
Not yet: the team timed the cleaning the next week (down from 45 to 20 minutes), passed the re-audit and started writing its step 3 standards.
Common mistakes
Auditing in a meeting room
Slides about a clean machine prove nothing. Audit at the machine.
Passing on effort
A team that worked hard but has gaps has not passed. Be clear and give the gaps and a date.
Different rules for different teams
If one auditor passes what another fails, a pass means nothing. Use the same written criteria everywhere.
Moving on and never looking back
Earlier steps slide. Spot-check them at every audit.
Download the template
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
Run this template in LeanSuite
LeanSuite runs autonomous maintenance with visual CILR checklists, abnormality tags routed to maintenance, and the LMS and Skills Matrix to certify operators on each task.
In the lean glossary
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FAQ
Autonomous maintenance step audit: common questions
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