AM Step 3 — Set CIL Standards

By the time a team reaches AM Step 3, they know their equipment in a way they did not before.

They know where the contamination comes from. They know which components are prone to wear. They know what the equipment looks like when it is in good condition, and they know what it looks like when it is not. They have found things, fixed things, and changed things. The equipment is in better condition than it has been in years.

The question AM Step 3 answers is: how do we keep it this way?

Not by relying on the team's memory. Not by hoping the next shift does what this shift did. By writing it down. By agreeing on the standard. By building the routine that maintains the condition the team has worked to achieve — and by putting that routine into the management system so it is confirmed, not assumed.

The CIL standard, Cleaning, Inspection, and Lubrication, is that routine. It is not a procedure written by an engineer and handed to the team. It is written by the team, based on what they have learned in AM Steps 1 and 2, and validated with maintenance. It specifies what is cleaned, what is inspected, and what is lubricated, by whom, how often, and to what standard. And it is designed to be completed in the time available, because a standard that cannot be completed in the shift will not be completed at all.

AM Step 3 is the end of the Restoration phase. Everything that follows, the General Inspection of Step 4, the Autonomous Inspection of Step 5, the self directed management of Steps 6 and 7, is built on the foundation this step creates.

If the CIL standard is weak, or not followed, or not confirmed, the whole Prevention phase is built on sand.

Autonomous Maintenance is built in sequence, step by step, using a structured development process confirmed by audit at each stage. If you are new to the system, the AM Pillar page explains how it works before you begin.

AM Phase 1 — Restoration

AM Step 3 is the third and final step in the Restoration phase. The goal of this phase is to bring the equipment back to a known, clean, properly maintained condition, and to put the standards in place to keep it there.

The three steps build on each other in sequence:

• AM Step 1 — Initial Cleaning to Inspect. The team cleans the equipment thoroughly for the first time, exposes hidden abnormalities, and begins to understand what good condition looks like.
• AM Step 2 — Address Sources of Problems. The team addresses the root causes of the problem areas found in AM Step 1, makes the equipment easier to maintain, and begins to eliminate losses.
• AM Step 3 — Set CIL Standards. The team establishes the Cleaning, Inspection, and Lubrication standards that will maintain the equipment condition going forward. CIL becomes a Hypercare Process, reviewed through the Tiered Accountability Meeting at every tier.

You cannot set meaningful CIL standards in AM Step 3 without having addressed the problem areas in AM Step 2. A standard written before the contamination sources are controlled, or before the hard-to-reach areas are improved, is a standard that describes a problem, not a solution. The sequence is the logic.

Working with the Maintenance function

AM Step 3 requires detailed preparation with the Maintenance function and the Planned Maintenance Pillar before the standard-writing begins. This is not a review at the end, it is a collaboration from the start.

The reason is lubrication. Lubrication is the most technically demanding part of the CIL standard. The operating team knows what is practical in the time available. The Planned Maintenance function knows what the equipment actually requires, the correct lubricant type, the correct quantity, and the correct frequency for each point. Neither team has the full picture alone.

Five things must be prepared before the team begins writing the standard:

Purpose

The purpose of AM Step 3 is to define, document, and embed the standards that will maintain the equipment condition the team has worked to achieve, and to introduce the confirmation system that ensures those standards are followed.

Two things happen together, and neither is optional.

The first is the standard itself. The CIL standard specifies what the team does, how they do it, how often, and to what level. It is the answer to the question: what does maintaining this equipment correctly actually look like?

The second is the confirmation. A standard that nobody checks is not a standard. It is a suggestion. AM Step 3 introduces Process Confirmation as the mechanism by which the frontline leader verifies that the CIL standard is being followed, not by reviewing a completed checklist, but by going to the equipment and observing. This is the moment the AM system connects directly to the Leadership pillar.

CIL also becomes a Hypercare Process at this step, a standing item reviewed through the Tiered Accountability Meeting at every tier. At the line level, the daily review covers whether CIL was completed, what was found, and what has been fixed or escalated. The routine does not just maintain the equipment. It feeds the management system.

Objectives

AM Step 3 has two sets of objectives running in parallel. One is about the equipment. The other is about the people. Both matter. Neither is optional.

For the equipment

Define what correct condition means

The team has spent two steps learning what their equipment needs. AM Step 3 is where that knowledge is made explicit. For each component, each lubrication point, each inspection check, the team defines what correct condition looks like, what the acceptable range is, and what the signal is that something has moved outside that range.

This is not a theoretical exercise. It is drawn directly from what the team found and fixed in Steps 1 and 2. The standard reflects the equipment as it actually is, not as it was designed to be on paper.

Produce the CIL standard

The CIL standard is the documented routine that specifies:

• What is cleaned, inspected, and lubricated
• How each task is performed, the method, the tool, the material
• Who is responsible for each task
• How often each task is performed, the frequency
• To what standard, what does done correctly look like?
• How long it takes, the time required for each task and the total cycle time

That last point is critical. The standard must be completable in the time available. If the CIL cycle takes longer than the window the team has, it will not be completed. Not because the team is unwilling, but because the system does not allow it. Designing the standard to fit the available time is not a compromise, it is the discipline that makes the standard real.

Introduce CIL as a Hypercare Process

CIL compliance becomes a Hypercare Process from AM Step 3. A Hypercare Process is one that is actively reviewed at every tier of the Tiered Accountability Meeting until it is stable and performing to standard.

At the line level, the daily review covers: was CIL completed? What was found? What was fixed, and what was escalated? At the area level, the review covers compliance trends across lines and any barriers preventing completion. At the site level, the review covers whether the CIL system is producing the equipment condition results it was designed to produce.

Defect Handling and Problem Area Elimination continue from Steps 1 and 2. CIL Compliance joins them. All three run in parallel through the Tiered Accountability Meeting.

Maintain the work done in Steps 1 and 2

The equipment condition established in Steps 1 and 2 must be maintained throughout Step 3. The daily cleaning and inspection cycle continues. Abnormalities are still tagged, recorded, and escalated. Problem areas that were not fully resolved in Step 2 continue to be worked on.

This is not optional. The CIL standard being developed in Step 3 is built on the condition established in Steps 1 and 2. If that condition drifts while the team focuses on standard-writing, the standard will describe a condition that no longer exists.

For our people

Develop ownership through authorship

The CIL standard is written by the team. Not handed to them. Not written by an engineer and presented for sign-off. Written by the people who clean, inspect, and lubricate the equipment every shift, based on what they have learned by doing it.

This matters for two reasons. First, the team's knowledge of the equipment is the most accurate source of information about what the standard should contain. They know which lubrication points are hard to reach, which components need more frequent attention, and which cleaning sequences actually work. An engineer writing the standard from a drawing does not know these things.

Second, ownership follows authorship. A team that writes the standard is a team that understands it, believes in it, and is more likely to follow it. A team that is handed a standard is a team that follows it until something more urgent arrives.

Develop the ability to confirm

AM Step 3 introduces Process Confirmation as a leadership practice. The frontline leader learns to confirm that the CIL standard is being followed, not by asking, not by reviewing a checklist, but by going to the equipment and observing.

This is a different skill from coaching the team to find abnormalities, which was the leader's primary role in AM Steps 1 and 2. Confirmation requires the leader to know the standard well enough to recognise when it is and is not being followed, and to respond correctly to what they find.

The four possible outcomes of a Process Confirmation, standard followed and result achieved, standard followed but result wrong, standard not followed but result acceptable, standard not followed and result wrong, each require a different response. AM Step 3 is where the leader develops the habit of asking both questions, every time.

Develop the connection between CIL and performance

By AM Step 3, the team has seen the connection between equipment condition and performance results. They have watched minor stops reduce as abnormalities were addressed. They have seen cleaning time fall as problem areas were eliminated.

AM Step 3 makes that connection explicit and permanent. The CIL standard is not a maintenance routine. It is the mechanism by which the team maintains the equipment condition that produces the performance results they have been tracking. When CIL compliance falls, performance follows. When CIL compliance is high, the equipment runs closer to its design capability.

Understanding that connection is what makes the team care about the standard, not as a task to complete, but as a system that works.

Measures of success

AM Step 3 uses the same measurement framework as AM Steps 1 and 2, with the focus now shifting from finding and fixing to holding and confirming.

Baseline measures, carried forward from AM Steps 1 and 2

These three measures were established in AM Step 1 and have been tracked throughout. By AM Step 3, the trends should be clear.

• Output Measure: Number of unplanned stoppages. Should be showing a sustained downward trend from the AM Step 1 baseline. The CIL standard, once embedded, is the mechanism that holds this improvement.
• Efficiency Measure: Routine cleaning and inspection time. Should be at or near the target set in AM Step 2. The CIL standard formalises this time and makes it the expected cycle time going forward.
• In Process Measure: Number of defects identified. Should be stabilising. A team that has completed AM Steps 1 and 2 properly is finding fewer new abnormalities because the conditions that generated them have been addressed.

Pillar progress measures, track as you go

These measures track the progress of the step and the development of the team.

• CIL standard development progress. How many equipment areas or sections have a completed, timed, and trained CIL standard? Track completion as a percentage of the total scope.
• CIL compliance rate. From the moment the first CIL standard is in use, track the percentage of shifts where it is completed in full. The target is 90% or above. Anything below 90% requires investigation, is the standard wrong, or is it not being followed?
• Defects found during CIL. The number of abnormalities identified during the CIL routine each shift. A count that is falling steadily is a sign the equipment condition is improving. A count that spikes is a sign something has changed.
• Defect close-out rate. Are defects found during CIL being closed at the rate they are being found? A growing backlog during AM Step 3 means the system is not keeping up.
• Lubrication standards confirmed by Maintenance. Track the number of lubrication points with a confirmed specification, lubricant type, quantity, and frequency, validated by the Maintenance function.
• One Point Lessons developed and taught. Count of OPLs developed from CIL development work and the number of people trained on each.
• Operator skill and knowledge level. Tracked against the capability matrix. Can the team member follow the CIL standard correctly and explain why each task matters?

By the time the AM Step 3 audit is conducted, the team should be able to demonstrate:

• CIL standard documented for all equipment areas, specifying what is cleaned, inspected, and lubricated, by whom, how often, and to what standard
• CIL standard timed and confirmed to fit within the available window
• CIL standard trained to every team member, including the reasoning behind each task
• Lubrication standards confirmed by the Maintenance function, correct lubricant, quantity, and frequency for every lubrication point
• Visual controls in place, lubrication points labelled, gauges marked, inspection points identified
• CIL compliance rate at 90% or above
• Defects found during CIL being tagged, recorded, and escalated through the Tiered Accountability Meeting
• AM Steps 1 and 2 conditions maintained throughout
• One Point Lessons developed from CIL development work and taught to the team
• CIL Compliance on the Tiered Accountability Meeting agenda at every tier and being reviewed daily
• Process Confirmation of CIL in place and being conducted by the frontline leader on a defined schedule

Systems required before you start

All systems from AM Steps 1 and 2 must be sustained. The defect handling process, the data collection and review system, the improvement tracking system, the One Point Lesson process, the capability matrix, and the step audit process are all still running. AM Step 3 adds to them, it does not replace them.

Hypercare Process: CIL Compliance

A Hypercare Process is one that is actively reviewed at every tier of the Tiered Accountability Meeting until it is stable and performing to standard. In AM Step 3, CIL Compliance joins Defect Handling and Problem Area Elimination on the Tiered Accountability Meeting agenda. All three run in parallel.

Defect Handling continues from AM Step 1, abnormalities are still being found, tagged, escalated, and closed. Problem Area Elimination continues from AM Step 2, the backlog of problem areas is still being worked through. CIL Compliance is the new focus: is the standard being followed? Is the equipment in the condition the standard requires? Is the confirmation system working?

The process owner is the AM Pillar leader, who is accountable for the system design and its health. The frontline leader is accountable for daily execution and confirmation.

The specific measures tracked for CIL Compliance, in-process and output, are part of the Measures of success section above.

What happens at each level

Tier 1 Prep | Daily

Before the Tier 1 meeting, the frontline leader walks the unit board. They check whether CIL was completed on the previous shifts, what was found, and whether every open tag has an owner and a close-out date. They check the CIL time result, is it within the target window? They review the outcome of their most recent Process Confirmation. They arrive at the Tier 1 meeting already knowing the picture.

Questions the frontline leader is asking at the board:

• Was CIL completed last shift? If not, why not?
• Is the CIL time within the target window?
• What was found during CIL, and has it been acted on?
• What did my last Process Confirmation find?

Tier 1 — Frontline leader with the operating team | Daily

Review CIL completion and findings from the previous shift. Confirm that every open tag has a named owner and a close-out date. Identify anything that cannot be closed at line level and escalate it today. Share the outcome of the most recent Process Confirmation with the team. Recognise the team for defects found during CIL, finding something during the routine is the system working correctly.

Key questions:

• Was CIL completed last shift? What did we find?
• What is still open, and does it have an owner and a date?
• Is our CIL time moving in the right direction?
• What do we need from the level above to complete CIL reliably?

Tier 2 — Area or department leader | Daily

Review CIL compliance across all lines. Confirm that every line has a functioning CIL standard and that compliance is being tracked. Remove the barriers that are preventing teams from completing CIL, time, access, materials, maintenance resource. Monitor the compliance trend across lines. If one line's compliance is consistently below target while others are stable, ask why.

Key questions:

• What is the CIL compliance rate across all lines?
• Is there a line that is consistently not completing CIL? What is the barrier?
• Are Process Confirmations being completed by frontline leaders?
• Is the defect close-out rate keeping pace with what is being found?

Tier 3 — Site or function leader | Daily

Review overall CIL compliance health and trend across the site. Identify lines or areas with persistent compliance gaps, these are systemic issues, not line-level problems. Make resourcing or prioritisation decisions that Tier 2 cannot make. Confirm that the CIL Compliance Hypercare is producing the expected equipment condition results, that minor stops are continuing to trend down and that the equipment is being maintained to the standard the team has set.

Key questions:

• What is the overall CIL compliance trend, and is it moving in the right direction?
• Are there lines or areas where compliance is persistently below target? What is the systemic cause?
• Is Tier 2 getting what it needs to remove barriers? If not, what decision do I need to make?
• Is CIL compliance producing the minor stops reduction we expect from AM Step 3?

The AM Step 3 process

AM Step 3 follows a defined sequence. Each stage builds on the one before it. The sequence is not arbitrary, it reflects the logic of what needs to happen and in what order.

Preparation

Train the team on the AM Step 3 process

Before the team begins writing the CIL standard, they need to understand three things: what a CIL standard is and what it is for, how the standard will be validated with maintenance, and what the audit criteria are. These are not things to explain as you go. They are things to establish before you start, so the team knows what they are working toward from day one.

Review the findings from AM Steps 1 and 2

The CIL standard is built from what the team found and fixed in AM Steps 1 and 2. Before writing begins, the team reviews the full picture: the abnormality log, the problem area list, the countermeasures implemented, the One Point Lessons developed, and the current cleaning and inspection approach. This review is the foundation of the standard.

Set the CIL time target

Based on the cleaning and inspection time achieved at the end of AM Step 2, set the target cycle time for the CIL standard. This is the time the standard must be designed to fit within. It is not a ceiling, it is a design constraint. The team knows what is achievable. The standard must be achievable.

Clarify roles and responsibilities

Who is responsible for which tasks in the CIL standard? These assignments should be clear before the standard is written. Every team member should know what they are personally accountable for in the daily routine.

Safety activities

Continue following the risk prediction and safety standards established in AM Steps 1 and 2. If the CIL standard includes tasks in areas not previously assessed, or uses materials not previously reviewed, conduct a new risk assessment before those tasks are included in the standard. Any task in the CIL standard must be safe to perform by the operating team without specialist support.

Maintain AM Steps 1 and 2 work

The daily cleaning and inspection cycle continues throughout AM Step 3. This is not a phase that ends, it runs in parallel with the standard-writing work.

Continue the cleaning cycle

The team follows the cleaning and inspection approach established in AM Step 2. The equipment condition does not drift while the team focuses on writing the standard.

Continue to identify and address abnormalities

Abnormalities found during the daily cycle are still tagged, recorded, and escalated. The defect handling system is still running. New abnormalities found during AM Step 3 are handled through the same process as AM Steps 1 and 2.

Update the activity board

The Line Activity Board is updated for AM Step 3. It shows the current status of CIL development, compliance tracking, and results alongside the continuing defect handling data.

Record questions and learnings

Every question the team asks during AM Step 3 is a learning opportunity. Capture them. Many will become One Point Lessons that explain the reasoning behind a specific CIL task.

Draft the CIL standard

This is the core activity of AM Step 3. The team writes the standard together, drawing on everything they have learned in AM Steps 1 and 2.

Cleaning tasks

For each cleaning task, the team specifies: what is cleaned, the method and materials, the frequency, the time required, and what correct completion looks like. The cleaning tasks in the CIL standard are not a list of surfaces to wipe. They are a detection system. Each task is designed to expose any new contamination or deterioration since the last cycle.

Inspection tasks

For each inspection task, the team specifies: what is inspected, what the correct condition is, what the acceptable range is, what an out-of-range condition looks like, and what to do when one is found. Inspection tasks are the team's early warning system. They are the checks that catch deterioration before it becomes a failure.

Lubrication tasks

For each lubrication task, the team specifies: what is lubricated, the correct lubricant, the correct quantity, the method, and the frequency. Lubrication tasks are validated with maintenance, the maintenance team holds the technical knowledge of what each component needs. The operating team holds the knowledge of what is practical in the time available.

Time the standard

Once the draft is complete, the team times it. Every task is timed individually. The total cycle time is calculated. If the total exceeds the target window, the team reviews the standard and identifies where time can be reduced, through task consolidation, sequence changes, or access improvements that have not yet been made. The standard is revised until it fits.

A standard that takes longer than the available time will not be completed. This is not a failure of discipline. It is a failure of design. The design must change.

Validate with maintenance

Before the CIL standard is trained and implemented, it is reviewed with the maintenance team. The review covers three things.

First, technical accuracy. Are the lubrication specifications correct? Are the inspection criteria aligned with the equipment's design requirements? Are there tasks the operating team has missed that maintenance knows are critical?

Second, boundary clarity. The CIL standard defines what the operating team does. It also explicitly defines what remains with the Maintenance function. The review confirms that the boundary is clear and agreed, that neither team is assuming the other is covering something that neither is.

Third, practicality. Maintenance may identify tasks in the standard that are beyond the operating team's current capability, or that require tools or access that are not available. These are resolved before the standard is finalised.

The output of the validation is a CIL standard that both the operating team and the maintenance team have reviewed and agreed. That agreement is what makes the standard credible.

Train the team on the CIL standard

The CIL standard is trained to every team member before it is implemented. The training is done at the equipment, not in a classroom. Each task is demonstrated, then performed by the team member, then confirmed by the trainer.

The training covers not just how to perform each task, but why. Why this component needs this lubricant. Why this inspection point is checked at this frequency. What happens to the equipment, and to the performance numbers, if this task is skipped. The team needs to understand the standard, not just follow it.

One Point Lessons are the primary training tool. For each key task in the CIL standard, a One Point Lesson captures the what, the how, and the why in a format that can be used to train new team members and to refresh the team's knowledge over time.

Introduce Process Confirmation

Once the CIL standard is trained and implemented, the frontline leader begins Process Confirmation of the standard. This is not a one-off check. It is a scheduled, recurring activity that is part of the leader's standard work.

The leader goes to the equipment at a defined frequency, daily in the early stages of AM Step 3, moving to a sustainable schedule as compliance stabilises, and confirms two things: is the CIL standard being followed, and is the equipment in the condition the standard requires?

The four possible outcomes of a Process Confirmation each require a different response:

• Standard followed, equipment in correct condition. The system is working. Record and confirm.
• Standard followed, equipment not in correct condition. The standard may need to change, or there is an input or condition problem. Investigate and escalate.
• Standard not followed, equipment in correct condition. Understand why the deviation occurred. Is the standard unclear? Is there a barrier? Does the standard need to change? Do not ignore this outcome.
• Standard not followed, equipment not in correct condition. Return to the standard. Confirm again. If the condition does not improve, escalate and problem-solve.

The leader's confirmation findings are shared with the team at the Tier 1 meeting. They are not used to identify individuals who did not follow the standard. They are used to understand whether the standard is working and whether the team has what they need to follow it.

Track results

Results are tracked daily. Not weekly. Not at the end of the step.

Monitor and trend daily results

The team reviews CIL completion, CIL time, defects found, and defects closed at the start of each shift. The trend is visible on the activity board. The team can see whether the system is working.

Track process and output measures

Both types of measures are tracked, the process measures (CIL compliance rate, Process Confirmation completion, OPLs developed) and the output measures (minor stops, cleaning time, defect close-out rate). The process measures tell you whether the team is doing the right things. The output measures tell you whether those things are working.

Identify gaps and take appropriate actions

Where the results are not moving in the right direction, the team identifies why and adjusts. The Tiered Accountability Meeting is the forum for escalating gaps that the team cannot resolve themselves.

Behaviours

AM Step 3 produces a specific set of behaviours in the team and in leadership. These are not aspirational, they are observable. If you walk the line during AM Step 3 and you do not see these behaviours, the step is not running correctly.

AM Step 3 audit

The AM Step 3 audit is a formal confirmation that the expected capability has been achieved. It is not a surprise inspection, the team has known the criteria since the preparation stage. It is the moment where the team's work is recognised and their readiness to move to AM Step 4 is confirmed.

The audit is requested by the team and conducted by a qualified assessor, typically the AM Pillar leader or an external facilitator. It is done with the team present. It covers the equipment condition, the team's capability, and the systems and standards in place.

The AM Step 3 audit is also the gateway to Phase 2 — Prevention. It is the most significant audit gate in the Restoration phase. A team that passes the AM Step 3 audit has established the foundation that all subsequent steps depend on. A team that moves to AM Step 4 without genuinely completing AM Step 3 will find that the General Inspection work of AM Step 4 has nothing solid to build on.

What the audit checks

Equipment condition

• The equipment is in the condition the CIL standard requires. Not approximately. To the standard.
• The AM Step 1 and 2 conditions are being maintained. The equipment is clean, problem areas have been addressed, and the baseline condition has not drifted.
• Before-and-after evidence from AM Steps 1, 2, and 3 is documented and accessible. The team can show what the equipment looked like at the start of Step 1 and what it looks like now.

CIL standard

• The CIL standard is documented in the agreed format.
• The standard has been reviewed and validated by the maintenance team.
• The standard has been timed and fits within the available window.
• The team has been trained on the standard, including the reasoning behind each task.
• One Point Lessons have been developed for the key tasks in the standard.

Team capability

• Team members can perform the CIL standard correctly and can explain why each task matters.
• Team members can identify the difference between a condition that is within the standard and one that is not.
• Team members know what to do when they find something during CIL, how to tag it, record it, and escalate it.
• Team members can explain the CIL compliance trend, what it has been, what it is now, and what they are doing to maintain it.

Systems and standards

• CIL compliance is being tracked daily and is visible on the activity board.
• CIL Compliance is on the Tiered Accountability Meeting agenda at every tier and is being reviewed daily.
• Process Confirmation of the CIL standard is in place and being conducted by the frontline leader on a defined schedule.
• The standard update process is in place and understood by the team.
• Defect Handling and Problem Area Elimination are still running. The backlog is being managed.
• Baseline results for all process and output measures have been updated to reflect the AM Step 3 starting point for AM Step 4.

If the audit passes

Celebrate the success. The team has completed the Restoration phase. They have cleaned the equipment, addressed the sources of problems, and set the standards that will maintain the condition they have worked to achieve. That is a genuine achievement, one that most operating teams never reach. Recognise it publicly.

Then begin AM Step 4 preparation. The Prevention phase starts here.

If the audit does not pass

The audit identifies the specific gaps. The team develops countermeasures for each gap and implements them. When the countermeasures are closed, the audit is repeated. There is no fixed timeline for the re-audit, it happens when the gaps are genuinely addressed, not when a calendar date arrives.

A failed audit is not a failure of the team. It is information. It tells the team and the leader exactly what still needs to be done. The discipline is in addressing it properly, not in moving on before it is ready.

Do not move to AM Step 4 until AM Step 3 is genuinely complete. The General Inspection work of AM Step 4 is built on the CIL standard established in AM Step 3. If the standard is not in place, not followed, or not confirmed, AM Step 4 has no foundation.

What next?

AM Step 3 completes the Restoration phase. The equipment is in a known condition. The team has the standard that maintains it. The confirmation system is in place. The management system is reviewing CIL compliance every day at every tier.

AM Step 4, General Inspection, begins the Prevention phase. The team now builds the structured knowledge of why the equipment works the way it does, the components, their functions, the early signs of failure, and the correct operating settings that define what the equipment should look like when it is running well.

The foundation is set. The next phase builds on it.