“A well-oiled machine” not only refers to the physical equipment used to make a facility function, but more importantly, it refers to the team and processes put in place to make it function. CFP quickly realized that to make the Dane County Community Digester (DCCD) perform, a ground up evaluation would be needed to find areas of improvement in hopes of making the facility viable for years to come. The first order of business was to implement the principles of 5S. CFP believes this to be the foundation for all good O&M programs.

First, we started with a site cleanup, with the understanding that you can’t properly maintain a facility if you can’t find what you are looking for. Next, we evaluated and updated our tool inventory and organization. The results of this included the purchase of a service truck, making of project specific tool kits, and building an in-shop work bench station.  Once the principles of 5S were implemented, we were able to more effectively develop and implement a maintenance program that included a user-friendly preventative maintenance and inventory system.

Unlike construction, digester operations and maintenance is ongoing, and it is critical to instill a culture of continuous improvement amongst your team to ensure performance objectives are met.