AM Step 4 — General Inspection

There is a difference between a team that follows a CIL standard and a team that understands one.

A team that follows a standard can tell you what they checked. A team that understands it can tell you why it matters, what happens to the equipment, and to the product, if that check is skipped. They can tell you what the early sign of a failing bearing looks like. They can tell you why a pneumatic system loses pressure and what that does to the machine's cycle time. They can tell you which setting, if it drifts, will produce a quality defect before it produces a breakdown.

That knowledge does not come from cleaning. It comes from structured learning, delivered at the equipment, on the team's own machines, by people who know how those machines work.

AM Step 4 is where that learning happens. The Maintenance function and Planned Maintenance Pillar deliver it. The operating team receives it, applies it, and builds it into an inspection routine that they own and run independently.

By the end of AM Step 4, the team is not just co-maintaining their equipment. They understand it. And a team that understands their equipment is a team that can prevent failures, not just respond to them.

Autonomous Maintenance is built in sequence, step by step, using a structured development process confirmed by audit at each stage. AM Step 4 begins the Prevention phase. If you are new to the system, the AM Pillar page explains how it works before you begin.

AM Phase 2 — Prevention

AM Step 4 is the first of two steps in the Prevention phase. The goal of this phase is to build the structured knowledge and inspection routines that stop deterioration from returning.

The two steps build on each other in sequence:

• AM Step 4 — General Inspection. The team receives structured training on the components of their equipment, how each part functions, what it is designed to do, and what the early signs of failure look like. Centreline is introduced: the team learns what the correct operating settings are and begins to monitor them as part of daily work.
• AM Step 5 — Autonomous Inspection. The team consolidates the CIL standard and the general inspection findings into a single, efficient inspection routine that they run independently. Centreline monitoring becomes part of that routine.

The Restoration phase established the condition. The Prevention phase builds the knowledge to keep it.

Working with the Maintenance function

AM Step 4 is where the relationship between the operating team and the Maintenance function becomes most visible to the team. In AM Steps 1 through 3, the Maintenance function provided technical knowledge in the background, equipment history, lubrication specifications, boundary agreements. In AM Step 4, they step forward and deliver structured training directly to the operating team.

This is deliberate knowledge transfer. The Maintenance function and Planned Maintenance Pillar hold the technical understanding of how the equipment works, the function of each component, the failure modes that affect it, the early signs that something is deteriorating. That knowledge needs to move to the operating team. AM Step 4 is the mechanism.

The training is delivered in four categories, in sequence:

Each category follows the same pattern: the Planned Maintenance function delivers the training at the equipment, the team applies it to their own machines, abnormalities are found and addressed, and a tentative inspection standard is developed. The standard is tentative because it will be refined as the team's knowledge deepens. It becomes the foundation for the autonomous inspection routine in AM Step 5.

The Planned Maintenance function does not hand over a document and leave. They work alongside the team through each category, answering questions, demonstrating what abnormal looks like, and confirming that the team's inspection approach is correct. This is the most intensive period of knowledge transfer in the AM journey.

Purpose

The purpose of AM Step 4 is to build the structured knowledge that allows the operating team to inspect their equipment with understanding, not just with a checklist.

To acomplish this, two things must happen together.

The first is building knowledge. The team learns how their equipment works, the function of each component category, the failure modes that affect it, and the early signs that something is deteriorating. This knowledge changes how the team looks at their equipment. They are no longer checking boxes. They are reading the machine.

The second is Centreline. AM Step 4 introduces the concept of correct operating settings, the speeds, temperatures, pressures, clearances, and other parameters that define how the equipment should run when it is in good condition. The team learns what these settings are, what the acceptable range is, and what happens to the equipment and the product when a setting drifts outside that range.

Centreline becomes a Hypercare Process from this step, a standing item reviewed through the Tiered Accountability Meeting alongside CIL. The team does not just maintain the equipment's physical condition. They monitor its operating condition. Both are required to prevent failures.

Objectives

AM Step 4 follows the same structure as the other steps, with two sets of objectives running in parallel. One is about the equipment. The other is about the people.

For the equipment

Complete structured inspection training by component category

The team works through the four inspection categories, fasteners, drive systems, pneumatic and hydraulic systems, electrical and control systems, in sequence. For each category, the Maintenance function delivers training at the equipment. The team applies that training to their own machines, finds abnormalities, addresses them, and develops a tentative inspection standard.

This is not a classroom exercise. The training happens at the machine, using the actual components as the teaching tool. An abnormality found during training is an abnormality that is addressed during training. The learning and the improvement happen together.

Develop tentative inspection standards for each category

For each component category, the team produces a tentative inspection standard, a documented set of checks that specifies what is inspected, what the correct condition is, what an out-of-range condition looks like, and what to do when one is found.

These standards are tentative because the team's knowledge is still developing. They will be refined as the team gains experience and as the inspection routine is consolidated in AM Step 5. But they must exist before AM Step 4 is complete. A team that has been trained but has not documented what they learned has not yet embedded the knowledge.

Introduce Centreline as a Hypercare Process

Centreline is the set of correct operating settings for the equipment, the parameters that define how it should run when it is in good condition. AM Step 4 introduces Centreline monitoring as a formal part of the team's daily work.

For each critical setting, the team documents, or establishes, what the correct value is, what the acceptable range is, how the setting is checked, and what to do when it has drifted. Visual controls are added so that a setting that is within range is immediately obvious, and a setting that has drifted is immediately visible.

Centreline compliance joins CIL compliance on the Tiered Accountability Meeting agenda. At the line level, the daily review covers whether settings are within standard, what has drifted, and what action has been taken. At the area level, the review covers trends across lines. At the site level, the review covers whether Centreline monitoring is producing the quality and performance results it was designed to produce.

Maintain the work done in AM Steps 1, 2, and 3

The CIL standard continues to be followed throughout AM Step 4. The equipment condition established in the Restoration phase must be maintained while the Prevention phase is built. Abnormalities are still tagged, recorded, and escalated. CIL compliance is still tracked and reviewed at every tier.

This is not optional. The General Inspection training in AM Step 4 is built on the equipment condition established in AM Steps 1 through 3. If that condition drifts while the team focuses on training, the inspection standards they develop will not reflect the equipment's actual state.

For our people

Build understanding, not just skill

AM Steps 1 through 3 built the team's skill, the ability to clean, inspect, and lubricate to a standard. AM Step 4 builds their understanding, the knowledge of why those tasks matter and what the equipment is doing while they perform them.

A team member who understands why a bearing needs lubrication at a specific frequency, and what happens to the bearing if that frequency is missed, is a team member who will not skip the task when the shift is busy. Understanding is what makes a standard resilient. Skill alone is not enough.

Develop the ability to detect failure before it occurs

The inspection training in AM Step 4 is specifically designed to teach the team what early deterioration looks like, before it becomes a failure. A bearing that is beginning to fail sounds different from one that is running correctly. A belt that is wearing unevenly shows it before it breaks. A pneumatic system that is losing pressure shows it in the cycle time before it shows it in a breakdown.

The team learns to read these signals. That is the capability that makes the Prevention phase meaningful. Without it, the team is still reactive, they are just reacting faster. With it, they are genuinely preventing.

Develop the connection between equipment condition and product quality

AM Step 4 introduces the relationship between equipment operating settings and product quality. A setting that has drifted does not always produce a breakdown. Sometimes it produces a quality defect, a product that is out of specification, a process that is running outside its correct parameters, a result that varies from shift to shift without an obvious cause.

The team learns to see this connection. When a quality defect is investigated, the first question is: what was the equipment condition? What were the settings? Were they within the Centreline standard? This is the question that AM Step 4 teaches the team to ask, and to answer.

Measures of success

AM Step 4 uses the same measurement framework as AM Steps 1 through 3, with two new measures added. Centreline compliance and inspection standard development progress.

Baseline measures — carried forward from AM Steps 1, 2, and 3

These three measures were established in AM Step 1 and have been tracked throughout. By AM Step 4, the trends should be well established.

• Output Measure: Number of unplanned stoppages. Should be showing a sustained downward trend. The target by the end of AM Step 4 is 85% reduction from the AM Step 1 baseline. The combination of CIL compliance and Centreline monitoring is the mechanism.
• Efficiency Measure: Routine cleaning and inspection time. Should be stable at or below the target set in AM Step 2. The General Inspection training may identify additional inspection tasks — these are incorporated into the standard and the cycle time is re-confirmed.
• In Process Measure: Number of defects identified. Should be low and stable. New abnormalities found during General Inspection training are addressed as they are found.

Pillar progress measures — track as you go

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

• Inspection training completed by category. Track the number of team members who have completed each of the four training categories, fasteners, drive systems, pneumatic and hydraulic systems, electrical and control systems. Both the category and the person count matter.
• Tentative inspection standards developed. One standard per category. Track completion by category. A category where training is complete but no standard exists has not been embedded.
• Centreline standards established. The number of critical operating parameters with a confirmed Centreline standard, correct value, acceptable range, visual control, checking frequency, and response. Track as a percentage of the total identified.
• Centreline compliance rate. Tracked daily from the point Centreline monitoring is introduced. Target is 100%. Anything below 90% requires investigation, is the standard wrong, or is it not being checked?
• CIL compliance rate. Continues from AM Step 3. Must remain at 90% or above throughout AM Step 4. If it drops, understand why before continuing with General Inspection training.
• One Point Lessons developed and taught. Count of OPLs developed from inspection training and the number of people trained on each.
• Operator skill and knowledge level. Tracked against the capability matrix. Can the team member inspect by component category and explain what they are looking for?

By the time the AM Step 4 audit is conducted, the team should be able to demonstrate:

• Inspection training completed for all four component categories, fasteners, drive systems, pneumatic and hydraulic systems, electrical and control systems
• Tentative inspection standards documented for all four categories and reviewed by the Planned Maintenance function
• Centreline standards established for all critical operating parameters, correct value, range, visual control, frequency, and response documented
• Visual controls installed and correct for all Centreline parameters
• Centreline compliance rate at 90% or above
• CIL compliance rate maintained at 90% or above throughout AM Step 4
• Updated CIL standard timed and trained to the team
• Centreline Compliance on the Tiered Accountability Meeting agenda at every tier and being reviewed daily
• Process Confirmation of both CIL and Centreline standards in place and being conducted by the frontline leader on a defined schedule
• Minor stops reduced by 85% from the AM Step 1 baseline
• One Point Lessons developed from inspection training and taught to the team

Systems required before you start

All systems from AM Steps 1, 2, and 3 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, the CIL standard, the Process Confirmation schedule, and the step audit process are all still running. AM Step 4 adds to them, it does not replace them.

Hypercare Process: Centreline Compliance

Defect Handling continues from AM Step 1. Problem Area Elimination continues from AM Step 2. CIL Compliance continues from AM Step 3. Centreline Compliance is the new focus: are the operating settings within the standard? When a setting drifts, is it corrected or escalated before it affects the product or the equipment?

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 Centreline 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 Centreline was checked on the previous shift, which settings were in range and which were not, and what action was taken on any out-of-range settings. They check the CIL completion result. 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:

• Were all Centreline settings checked last shift?
• Were any settings out of range? What action was taken?
• Was CIL completed? What was found?
• What did my last Process Confirmation find?

Tier 1 — Frontline leader with the operating team | Daily

Review Centreline results and CIL completion from the previous shift. Confirm that every out-of-range setting has been corrected or escalated with a named owner and a close-out date. Share the outcome of the most recent Process Confirmation with the team. Recognise the team for settings found and corrected, catching a drift before it affects the product is the system working correctly.

Key questions:

• Were all Centreline settings within standard last shift?
• What was out of range, and what did we do about it?
• Was CIL completed? What did we find?
• What do we need from the level above to maintain Centreline reliably?

Tier 2 — Area or department leader | Daily

Review Centreline compliance across all lines. Confirm that every line has Centreline standards in place and that compliance is being tracked. Remove the barriers that are preventing teams from checking and correcting settings, access, tools, 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 Centreline compliance rate across all lines?
• Is there a line where settings are consistently drifting? What is the root cause?
• Are Process Confirmations being completed by frontline leaders?
• Is there a quality trend that traces back to Centreline drift?

Tier 3 — Site or function leader | Daily

Review overall Centreline 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 Centreline monitoring is producing the quality and performance results it was designed to produce.

Key questions:

• What is the overall Centreline 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 there a quality defect pattern that traces back to Centreline drift?
• Is Tier 2 getting what it needs to remove barriers? If not, what decision do I need to make?

The AM Step 4 process

AM Step 4 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

Assess component criticality

Not all components on a piece of equipment carry the same risk. A failed bearing on a critical drive shaft stops the line. A worn indicator light on a panel does not. Before the General Inspection training begins, the team, working with the Maintenance function, does a simple assessment of the components on their equipment to understand which ones matter most.

The assessment asks one question for each component. If this part deteriorates or fails, what is the impact? The team should considers four questions.

• Safety. Does a failure create a risk to people?
• Availability. Does a failure stop the line or reduce run time?
• Quality. Does deterioration affect the product?
• Maintainability. Is this component difficult or time-consuming to repair?

Components that are a concern across multiple areas are the critical ones. They get the most attention during the General Inspection training, the most thorough inspection, the most detailed tentative standard, and the most robust visual controls.

This is not a complex scoring exercise. A simple high / medium / low assessment for each component is enough. The purpose is focus, not precision. The team that knows which three components on their machine are the most critical is a team that knows where to look first, and where a missed inspection has the most serious consequences.

The Maintenance function brings the technical knowledge to this assessment. They know the failure history, the failure modes, and the consequences of each. The operating team brings the operational knowledge, which failures cause the most disruption, which components are hardest to access, which problems keep coming back. The assessment is the product of both.

Plan the General Inspection training programme

Before AM Step 4 begins, the Planned Maintenance function and the AM Pillar leader plan the four-category training programme. The plan specifies: who delivers each category, when, in what sequence, how long each session takes, and what the expected output of each session is. The plan is communicated to the team before training begins. The team knows what they are working toward from day one.

Review the CIL standard and identify gaps

Before General Inspection training begins, the team reviews the current CIL standard. The training will identify inspection tasks that are not yet in the standard, components that the team has been cleaning and lubricating but not yet inspecting with understanding. These gaps are expected. They are the reason AM Step 4 exists. Identifying them before training begins helps the team focus their attention during the training sessions.

Establish Centreline parameters

Working with the Planned Maintenance function, identify the critical operating settings for the equipment, the parameters that most directly affect equipment reliability and product quality. These are the settings that will be monitored as Centreline from AM Step 4 onwards. The list does not need to be exhaustive at this stage. It needs to cover the settings that matter most. It will be refined as the team's knowledge develops.

Clarify roles and responsibilities

Who is responsible for checking which Centreline settings? Who delivers which training category? These assignments should be clear before AM Step 4 begins. Every team member should know what they are personally accountable for during the step.

Safety activities

Continue following the risk prediction and safety standards established in AM Steps 1, 2, and 3. The General Inspection training will take the team into areas of the equipment they may not have accessed before, drive systems, pneumatic and hydraulic components, electrical panels. A safety review of each area must be completed before the training session for that category begins. Any area that cannot be safely accessed by the operating team is an area that is escalated to the Planned Maintenance function, not included in the team's inspection standard.

Maintain AM Steps 1, 2, and 3 work

The CIL standard continues to be followed throughout AM Step 4. This is not a phase that ends, it runs in parallel with the General Inspection training.

Continue the CIL cycle

The team follows the CIL standard established in AM Step 3. The equipment condition does not drift while the team focuses on General Inspection training. CIL compliance is tracked daily and reviewed at every tier.

Continue to identify and address abnormalities

Abnormalities found during the daily CIL cycle are still tagged, recorded, and escalated. The defect handling system is still running. New abnormalities found during General Inspection training are handled through the same process.

Update the activity board

The Line Activity Board is updated for AM Step 4. It shows the current status of General Inspection training progress, Centreline compliance, and results alongside the continuing CIL compliance data.

Record questions and learnings

Every question the team asks during General Inspection training is a learning opportunity. Capture them. Most will become One Point Lessons that explain the function of a component, the early sign of a failure mode, or the correct method for an inspection task.

Conduct General Inspection training — by category

The General Inspection training follows the same pattern for each of the four categories. The Planned Maintenance function delivers the training at the equipment. The team applies it to their own machines. Abnormalities are found and addressed. A tentative inspection standard is developed.

Introduce and embed Centreline monitoring

Centreline monitoring is introduced as the General Inspection training progresses. As the team learns about each component category, they identify the operating settings that are most critical for that category, the parameters that, if they drift, will affect equipment reliability or product quality.

For each critical setting, the team establishes the Centreline standard: the correct value, the acceptable range, the visual control that makes the range immediately visible, the checking frequency, and the response when the setting is found out of range.

The checking frequency is determined by how quickly the setting can drift and what the consequence of drift is. A setting that can drift significantly in a single shift is checked at the start of shift, during the shift, and at handover. A setting that is stable over days is checked daily. The frequency is part of the standard, it is not left to the team's judgement.

Once the Centreline standard is in place for a parameter, it is added to the Tiered Accountability Meeting agenda. The daily review covers whether the setting was within standard, what was found out of range, and what action was taken. Centreline compliance is tracked from the day monitoring begins.

Update the CIL standard

As each training category is completed, the tentative inspection standards developed during training are reviewed against the existing CIL standard. Tasks that are already in the CIL standard are confirmed or updated. Tasks that are new are added. Tasks that are no longer relevant are removed.

The updated CIL standard is trained to the team before it is implemented. The team does not work from an updated standard they have not been trained on. The training is done at the equipment, using the same approach as the original CIL training in AM Step 3.

The cycle time of the updated standard is confirmed. If the addition of new inspection tasks has pushed the cycle time above the target window, the team reviews the standard and identifies where time can be reduced, through task consolidation, sequence changes, or access improvements. The standard is revised until it fits.

Track results

Results are documented during the shifts, tracked daily through Tiered Accountability Meetings. Not weekly. Not at the end of the step.

Monitor and trend daily results

The team reviews CIL completion, Centreline compliance, 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 (training categories completed, tentative standards developed, Centreline parameters established, OPLs developed) and the output measures (minor stops, CIL compliance, Centreline compliance, quality defect trend). 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 4 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 4 and you do not see these behaviours, the step is not running correctly.

AM Step 4 audit

The AM Step 4 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 5 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.

What the audit checks

Equipment condition

• The equipment is in the condition the CIL standard requires. CIL compliance has been maintained throughout AM Step 4.
• Centreline standards are in place for all critical operating parameters. Visual controls are installed and correct.
• Abnormalities found during General Inspection training have been addressed. Before-and-after evidence is documented.
• The updated CIL standard reflects the inspection tasks identified during General Inspection training.

Inspection standards

• Tentative inspection standards have been developed for all four component categories: fasteners, drive systems, pneumatic and hydraulic systems, electrical and control systems.
• Each standard has been reviewed by the Planned Maintenance function.
• The updated CIL standard has been timed and fits within the available window.
• The team has been trained on the updated standard, including the reasoning behind each new inspection task.

Team capability

• Team members can explain the function of each component category and the early signs of failure for each one.
• Team members can perform the inspection tasks for each category correctly and can explain what they are looking for.
• Team members can read Centreline visual controls and respond correctly when a setting is found out of range.
• Team members can explain the connection between Centreline compliance and product quality.
• One Point Lessons have been developed from the General Inspection training and the team has been trained on them.

Systems and standards

• Centreline Compliance is on the Tiered Accountability Meeting agenda at every tier and is being reviewed daily.
• CIL Compliance continues to be tracked and reviewed at every tier.
• Process Confirmation of both CIL and Centreline standards is in place and being conducted by the frontline leader on a defined schedule.
• 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 4 starting point for AM Step 5.

If the audit passes

Celebrate the success. The team has completed the first step of the Prevention phase. They understand their equipment in a way that most operating teams never do. They can inspect it with knowledge, not just with a checklist. They can see the early signs of failure before the failure occurs. Recognise that achievement publicly.

Then begin AM Step 5 preparation. The Autonomous Inspection step consolidates everything the team has built across AM Steps 1 through 4 into a single, efficient, team-owned inspection routine.

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 5 until AM Step 4 is genuinely complete. The Autonomous Inspection routine of AM Step 5 is built on the inspection knowledge and Centreline standards established in AM Step 4. If those foundations are not solid, the autonomous routine will not hold.

What next?

AM Step 4 completes the knowledge-building phase of the AM journey. The team understands their equipment. They can inspect it by component category. They know what the early signs of failure look like. They are monitoring the operating settings that matter most and responding when those settings drift.

AM Step 5, Autonomous Inspection, builds on that foundation. The CIL standard and the General Inspection findings are consolidated into a single, efficient inspection routine that the team runs independently. Centreline monitoring becomes a fully integrated part of that routine. The team stops needing to be directed to inspect. They do it because they understand why it matters.

The Prevention phase is nearly complete. The foundation is solid. The next step makes it self-sustaining.