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Autonomous maintenance 90-day model area plan

An autonomous maintenance model area plan takes one machine, the model area, through the first steps of autonomous maintenance with its own operators before the method spreads to other machines. The team proves on that machine that operators can keep it in its basic condition: step 0 preparation, step 1 initial cleaning and inspection, step 2 sources of contamination and hard-to-access areas, and step 3 provisional cleaning, inspection and lubrication standards. This template has the 13-week plan as a Gantt chart in three phases, with the owner, deliverable and done-when for each activity, a scoring table to choose the model machine from loss data, the team, a KPI board, the day-90 gate, and the expansion plan for months 4 to 12 in three waves, with a worked example.

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Page 1 of the autonomous maintenance 90-day model area plan: a 13-week Gantt chart in three phases with the owner, deliverable and done-when of each activity, from step 0 preparation to the day-90 gate.
13-week Gantt planAM steps 0 to 3Model machine scoringTeam rolesKPI boardDay-90 gateExpansion wavesWorked example

When to use it

When to use an autonomous maintenance 90-day plan

  • When a plant starts autonomous maintenance and wants to prove it on one machine before asking every team to do it.
  • When autonomous maintenance was started everywhere at once and stalled, and the plant wants to restart it properly in one place.
  • When a new line or a new machine type comes in and its operators need to learn it from the first week.
  • When leaders want a plan they can review every week: who does what, by when, and what done looks like.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Choose the model machine from loss data

    Score up to three candidate machines (five in Excel) on loss data, visibility, team willingness and repeatability, from 1 to 3. Pick the highest total; on a tie, the higher loss data score wins. Avoid the easiest machine: results there do not convince anyone.

  2. 2

    Name the team and write day 1

    Sponsor, pillar lead, the area supervisor and operators, a maintenance technician and the planner. In Excel, day 1 and the status date set the dates of every week and the status of every activity.

  3. 3

    Set the baseline and the day-90 targets

    Measure breakdowns, minor stops, tags, cleaning time and how well the standard is followed before the first cleaning. Write a target for day 90 next to each baseline.

  4. 4

    Run the 13 weeks and update the plan every week

    Move a bar if your machine needs it, write the week each activity really finished, and add one actual per KPI each week. Late activities turn red in the Excel version.

  5. 5

    Pass the day-90 gate

    The sponsor and pillar lead check the six gate items with evidence. If one is not met, fix it before any other machine starts.

  6. 6

    Plan the expansion waves

    Wave 1 goes to the machines most like the model machine, with a model area operator coaching each one. Each new machine runs its own 13 weeks against its own baseline and passes the wave gate before the next wave starts.

The 90-day plan

Week by week: autonomous maintenance steps 0 to 3

The standard plan printed on page 1 and in the Excel version. Days 1 to 30 are weeks 1 to 4, days 31 to 60 weeks 5 to 9 and days 61 to 90 weeks 10 to 13. Move the weeks to fit your machine.

  • 1

    Activity
    Choose the model machine and form the team (Step 0)
    Owner
    Pillar lead
    Deliverable
    Team list; machine chosen with the selection table
    Done when
    Team named, sponsor agreed, first meeting held
  • 1 to 2

    Activity
    Measure the baseline (Step 0)
    Owner
    Area supervisor
    Deliverable
    Breakdowns, minor stops, OEE and cleaning time; photos of the machine
    Done when
    Every KPI on the board has a baseline
  • 2

    Activity
    Train the team: machine basics, tags and lockout (Step 0)
    Owner
    Maintenance technician
    Deliverable
    One point lessons on the main units, the tag types and the lockout points
    Done when
    Each operator can name the units and use the tags
  • 3 to 4

    Activity
    Initial cleaning: clean to inspect, tag every abnormality (Step 1)
    Owner
    Model area team
    Deliverable
    Tag log with photos
    Done when
    Machine cleaned inside safe covers, every abnormality tagged
  • 4 to 9

    Activity
    Close the tags (Step 1)
    Owner
    Maintenance planner
    Deliverable
    Tag log with an owner and a date on each tag
    Done when
    Every tag closed, or planned with an owner and a date
  • 5 to 7

    Activity
    Find and fix sources of contamination (Step 2)
    Owner
    Model area team
    Deliverable
    Sources (leaks, spills, chips, dust) with a countermeasure each
    Done when
    Each source has a countermeasure fitted or scheduled
  • 6 to 8

    Activity
    Improve hard-to-access areas (Step 2)
    Owner
    Maintenance technician
    Deliverable
    Before and after photos of the new access points
    Done when
    Cleaning and inspection time measured again and lower than the baseline
  • 7 to 9

    Activity
    Add visual controls (Step 2)
    Owner
    Model area team
    Deliverable
    Gauge ranges, match marks, flow arrows, lubrication point labels
    Done when
    Each check point can be read at a glance
  • 9 to 11

    Activity
    Write the provisional cleaning, inspection and lubrication standard (Step 3)
    Owner
    Model area team
    Deliverable
    Standard with point, method, tool, time and frequency, and a check sheet
    Done when
    The standard fits the time the shift has for it
  • 10 to 12

    Activity
    Run the standard every shift and adjust it (Step 3)
    Owner
    Area supervisor
    Deliverable
    Filled-in check sheets and changes to the standard
    Done when
    Operators follow it without help for two weeks in a row
  • 12 to 13

    Activity
    Step audit for steps 1 to 3 (Audit)
    Owner
    Pillar lead
    Deliverable
    Autonomous maintenance step audit result
    Done when
    Steps 1 to 3 pass the audit
  • 13

    Activity
    Day-90 review and decision to expand (Gate)
    Owner
    Sponsor
    Deliverable
    Day-90 gate sheet, KPIs against baseline, lessons
    Done when
    Gate signed by the sponsor and the pillar lead

What's on the gates

The day-90 gate and the wave gate for autonomous maintenance

The day-90 gate decides whether the model area is ready to be copied; the wave gate is checked for each new area before the next wave starts. Both are on page 3 of the PDF and on the Excel version's Day-90 gate and Expansion sheets.

Day-90 gate

All met before the first expansion wave starts

  1. 1Steps 1 to 3 passed the autonomous maintenance step audit
  2. 2Every tag from the initial cleaning is closed, or planned with an owner and a date
  3. 3The provisional standard is posted at the machine and followed every shift
  4. 4Cleaning, inspection and lubrication time is lower than at the baseline
  5. 5The KPI board has 13 weeks of data against the baseline
  6. 6The standard, one point lessons and lessons learned are written up so another team can copy them

Wave gate

For each new area, before the next wave starts

  1. 7The area passed the same day-90 gate as the model area
  2. 8Its KPIs are measured against its own baseline, not the model area's
  3. 9The cleaning, inspection and lubrication standard was copied and adapted to the machine, and the copy is recorded
  4. 10Coaches for the next wave are named and have run a session with the pillar lead watching
  5. 11The model area was audited again and still holds its standard

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example: a food packaging plant (illustrative, with made-up numbers; the same as page 4 of the PDF and the Excel example sheets). Not a benchmark.

  • Model machine choice, loss data, visibility, team willingness and repeatability scored 1 to 3: Filler 3 scored 12, Case packer 1 scored 9 and the Palletizer scored 6. Filler 3 had the most breakdowns and minor stops on the line, and three more fillers of the same model run on the other lines.
  • Breakdowns on the model machine: baseline 5 a week, day-90 target 2, week 13 actual 2, so 100% of the gap closed.
  • Minor stops: baseline 40 a week, target 15, week 13 actual 18, 88% of the gap closed.
  • Tags closed: baseline 0%, target 90%, week 13 actual 88%, 98% of the gap closed.
  • Cleaning, inspection and lubrication time: baseline 45 minutes a shift, target 25, week 13 actual 28, 85% of the gap closed.
  • Standard followed: baseline 0%, target 95%, week 13 actual 94%, 99% of the gap closed.

The team passed the day-90 gate in week 13. Wave 1 (months 4 to 6) went to Fillers 1, 2 and 4, wave 2 (months 7 to 9) to Case packers 1 and 2, and wave 3 (months 10 to 12) to the Palletizer and the compressor room, with a model area operator coaching each wave 1 filler.

Common mistakes

  • Choosing the easiest machine

    A machine that already runs well proves nothing to the rest of the plant. Pick one with real losses that operators and leaders see every day.

  • Cleaning without tagging

    Initial cleaning is inspection. If the team cleans but does not tag what it finds, the machine looks better for a week and nothing is fixed.

  • Leaving maintenance tags open

    Operators stop tagging when their tags sit for weeks. Give every tag an owner and a date, and show the closed count on the board.

  • Writing the standard before step 2

    A cleaning standard written while the leaks and dirty spots are still there sets the time too high. Fix the sources and the access first, then write it.

  • Spreading before the gate

    Starting more machines before the model machine passes its gate copies an unproven routine. Hold the gate, then expand in waves.

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.

FAQ

Autonomous maintenance 90-day model area plan: common questions

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