Tube and Pipe Training: Taking it to the Next Level

You have just completed an in house tube and pipe seminar there at your plant covering the important areas of mill integrity, alignment, tooling design, proper set up, mill operation and tooling maintenance.



The participation of the attendees was outstanding throughout the presentation as they brought up questions and concerns of their everyday experiences out there on the mills.

The seminar evaluation summaries are full of positive comments of quality content, and the eagerness to bring this learning experience to mills at their plant.

So where do we go from here?  How to we keep this momentum going to make a positive influence out on the mills?  The answer is:

 “Participation and Accountability”!

Most firms send a wide variety of personnel to the seminar, which normally consists of maintenance, engineering, management, supervision, and operators.  That is the key; it’s everyone’s responsibility to the success of any tube, pipe or roll form operation.  Everyone plays a part, and everyone needs to participate, and be held accountable to the standards that are set forth for repeatable efficient performance.

Here are some of the key action points to: “Taking It To The Next Level”.

• Have a meeting after the training program and outline the needs, wants, and shortcomings brought out from the seminar presentation and prioritize them.

• Develop a “Corrective Action Plan” from this list that puts all these key points into place and into a workable time table.

• Develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) to cover the areas of preventive maintenance, set-up, and tooling maintenance of your operation.

• Hold everyone accountable to stick to the standards of the SOP’s you set in place.   In today’s world, there is no room for a day shift way, night shift way, Joe’s way, or Fred’s way, but rather the “Right Way”, which is working with the proven “standardized” practices of the industry that lead to repeatable, higher quality/production, with less down time and scrap. The equipment and tooling must be maintained, set-up, and operated within the “window” they were originally designed to work and perform from.

To maintain all of this, conduct timely audits of your SOP’s and have refresher classroom programs and/or on line training on a regular basis to keep this new and improved process alive!  Discipline is the key to the continued success in any organization!  Never allow anyone to become complacent or let their guard down on any part of the standards that are set in place.

Written by:
Robert A. Sladky
Vice President Tube Mill Engineering
Roll-Kraft

Need help developing your own SOP’s?
Contact Roll-Kraft by using our Quick Contact form (select “Training and Support” from the drop down list). Roll-Kraft has helped many companies develop or amend their SOP’s and can help you greatly improve your organization’s mill operations.