Original Date: 08/26/1996
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

In 1991, as part of the Hot Strip Mill modernization program, a pilot group of employees was formed to do maintenance planning. Two years later this pilot group, along with some new members, were reassigned to cover the remainder of the plant. The first new area to be formed was in the Tin Mill plater section. An area team, consisting of an operator, a mechanical and electrical maintenance person, and a maintenance planner, was assigned to the plater section. The team has complete responsibility of the plater section and meets daily to discuss issues such as safety, quality, delays, projects, and cost.

The maintenance planner keeps track of all predictive and preventive maintenance, plans downturn work, maintains records on completed work, and helps coordinate outside crafts that come to the area. Hartford Steam Boiler Reliability Technologies (HSBRT) administers the maintenance records maintained through the preventive maintenance system. Predictive maintenance measurements, taken by Computational Systems, Inc., are filtered back to the areas through the maintenance planner. In addition, the maintenance planner handles all special requests for tools and materials.

Weirton Steel Corporation (WSC) employees have benefited from the area team concept by more easily identifying what work needs to be done, more efficiently planning how to do the work, and more effectively solving problems together.

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.