What does CILR stand for?

CILR stands for clean, inspect, lubricate and retighten: the four basic equipment care tasks operators carry out as part of autonomous maintenance. Each machine gets a CILR standard that says which points to check, how and how often, which catches loose fasteners, leaks, contamination and wear before they turn into breakdowns.

How often should CILR checks be done?

It depends on the machine and the task: some points need a check every shift, others weekly, and each machine's CILR standard sets the frequency. In LeanSuite you set that frequency as a repeat rule in Daily Standard Work.

What is Daily Standard Work in LeanSuite?

Daily Standard Work shows, schedules and tracks the checklists, audits, SOPs and OPLs assigned to each person, role or machine. Operators see their checks on a calendar or Kanban board, and missed items show in red.

Can we assign a CILR check to a machine instead of a person?

Yes. Assign the checklist to an asset, and whoever runs that machine sees it on their calendar. You can also assign it to a role, for everyone in it or for any one person to complete.

Is CIL the same as CILR?

Nearly. CIL stands for clean, inspect and lubricate; CILR adds retighten, for the bolts and fittings that work loose. Both name the same operator routine in autonomous maintenance, and LeanSuite schedules either one the same way.

Can operators provide feedback if a CILR task is incorrect?

Yes. Operators can comment on any step of a CILR checklist, which captures frontline knowledge and improves the standard over time.

How does this connect to our professional maintenance activities?

CILR is the first check. When an operator flags an issue during a CILR check, it can raise a tag or work request for your maintenance team in Daily Issue Management.

Is there a free CILR checklist template?

Yes. The autonomous maintenance (CILR) checklist at theleansuite.com/templates/autonomous-maintenance-checklist and the lubrication schedule at theleansuite.com/templates/lubrication-schedule-template are free as PDF and Excel.

Digital CILR Checklists: Turn daily equipment care into your first line of defense

Digital CILR checklists put each machine's clean, inspect, lubricate and retighten routine on the operator's Daily Standard Work in LeanSuite, so small problems are caught before they become breakdowns.

By clicking "Schedule Demo," you agree to the use of your data in accordance with LeanSuite's Privacy Notice, including for marketing purposes.

CILR, explained

What a CILR routine contains

CILR is short for clean, inspect, lubricate and retighten: the basic care operators give their own machines in TPM autonomous maintenance. Some plants say CIL or CILT instead. In the usual seven steps of autonomous maintenance, step 3 is where operators write provisional standards for this care: which points to clean, check, lubricate and tighten, how, how often and who does it, within a time the shift can afford.

Illustrative CILR standard for a case erector: six points with method, OK condition, interval and time
Point	Task	Method	OK condition	Interval	Time
Glue nozzle guard	Clean	Wipe with a lint-free cloth, machine stopped and locked out	No glue build-up on the guard	Every shift	2 min
Vacuum gauge	Inspect	Read the gauge while the machine runs	Needle in the green band	Every shift	0.5 min
Gearbox sight glass	Inspect	Look at the oil level, machine stopped	Oil between the two marks	Daily	0.5 min
Sensor bracket bolts	Retighten	Check the match marks; if a mark has moved, retighten and tag the bracket	Match marks line up	Daily	1 min
Drive belt	Inspect	Press at mid-span, machine stopped and locked out	Deflection within the marks on the tension label	Weekly	2 min
Chain drive	Lubricate	The lubricant and amount on the point's label, machine stopped and locked out	Label present, thin film on the chain, no fling-off	Weekly	3 min

Illustrative, not a standard for any real machine: the points, limits, lubricants and intervals come from the machine's manual and your maintenance team, and checks with the machine stopped follow its lockout procedure.

Add up the time to see the operator's load: here 2.5 minutes every shift, 1.5 minutes a day and 5 minutes a week. Anything abnormal gets a tag, and goes to maintenance when the fix is beyond what the standard lets the operator do. In step 5 the provisional standard becomes the machine's final standard once the team knows which checks matter. Start from the 20 checks in the free autonomous maintenance (CILR) checklist and the lubrication schedule.

THE OLD WAY VS. THE LEANSUITE WAY

Are your CILR checklists actually getting done?

The old way

The paper trail problem
Paper checks get done unevenly, nobody sees them until the end of the shift, and small problems grow into breakdowns.

The LeanSuite way

A pillar of reliability
Daily equipment care becomes part of each operator's standard work, with live completion, so problems are caught at the source.

HOW IT WORKS

From your CILR standard to the operator's daily checks

Digitize the CILR standards you already have and get them to operators in four steps.

DAILY STANDARD WORK

Schedule CILR checks the way your plant runs

Daily Standard Work is where LeanSuite schedules and tracks the checklists, audits, SOPs and OPLs assigned to each person, role or machine.

Assign to a machine
Assign a check to an asset instead of a person, and whoever runs that machine sees it on their calendar.
See how it works about Assign to a machine
Roles, repeats and end dates
Assign to a role for everyone in it, or for any one person to complete, with repeat rules and an end date.
Calendar and Kanban views
Operators see overdue, in-progress, upcoming and submitted checks as cards, and missed items stand out in red.
See how it works about Calendar and Kanban views
Answer rules and evidence
Require a photo or comment on an answer, ask a follow-up question, flag it, or raise a tag automatically.
See how it works about Answer rules and evidence
AI checklist drafts
Describe the machine or upload your paper or Excel checklist, and AI drafts the digital version for you to edit.
Flagged-items report
One report lists every flagged answer across checklists, so repeat problems on a machine are easy to see.

A COMPLETE CILR SOLUTION

Go beyond the digital checklist

A CILR program that tracks who did what and improves the standard over time.

CILR completion by asset and shift at 86%, with a missed critical swing-shift check on Press 4 that alerted the supervisor

REAL-TIME ACCOUNTABILITY

Prevent missed checks with real-time alerts

Mark key checks as critical and get an automatic alert when one is missed, so gaps are closed the same shift.

A Conveyor C3 CILR missed for the 3rd time this month, traced by 5 Whys to a check tied to a person instead of the station

SYSTEMIC IMPROVEMENT

Turn missed checks into systemic improvements

When a check is missed, start a root cause analysis from the alert and assign an action plan so it doesn't happen again.

CILR dashboard for 4 weeks: 91% completion, 23 missed checks, 17 issues flagged, with Conveyor C3 needing most attention

DATA-DRIVEN DECISIONS

Turn CILR check data into decisions

Check data feeds dashboards showing completion rates, issue trends and the machines that need the most attention.

A Press 4 re-tighten step that needs Press setup level 3 in the Skill Matrix, so a level 2 operator can't sign it off

ENSURE QUALITY & SAFETY

Connect CILR tasks to your skills matrix

Link critical or complex CILR tasks to competencies in your Skills Matrix, so only certified operators can perform and sign off on them.

An operator asks for a belt tension spec on the Conveyor C3 CILR, and the supervisor adds it as standard revision 5

CLOSE THE LOOP

Turn operator feedback into better standards

Operators know the machines best. They can comment on any checklist step, and those comments feed back into better standards.

A critical hydraulic oil check on Press 4 that needs a QR scan at the unit and a photo of the sight glass to count as done

END "PENCIL-WHIPPING"

Ensure accountability with photo & QR verification

Require a QR scan at the inspection point or a photo as proof, so critical tasks are shown done to standard, not just ticked.

CILR library with a revision and status for each checklist, and the conveyor belt CILR rev 5 update sent to all six conveyors

SINGLE SOURCE OF TRUTH

Keep your standards live and accurate

Keep every CILR checklist in one library. Update a standard once and every machine that uses it gets the new version.

Conveyor C3 history of CILR actions over 30 days, with belt tracking flags rising in the weeks before a 22-minute breakdown

ACCELERATE PROBLEM-SOLVING

A digital audit trail for faster root cause analysis

Every CILR action is saved in a searchable log for each asset, so after a breakdown you can review its history and find the cause faster.

Compare

Guide

TPM software: what to look for across the 8 pillars

Key terms

Lean glossary

Next steps

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

CILR stands for clean, inspect, lubricate and retighten: the four basic equipment care tasks operators carry out as part of autonomous maintenance. Each machine gets a CILR standard that says which points to check, how and how often, which catches loose fasteners, leaks, contamination and wear before they turn into breakdowns.
It depends on the machine and the task: some points need a check every shift, others weekly, and each machine's CILR standard sets the frequency. In LeanSuite you set that frequency as a repeat rule in Daily Standard Work.
Daily Standard Work shows, schedules and tracks the checklists, audits, SOPs and OPLs assigned to each person, role or machine. Operators see their checks on a calendar or Kanban board, and missed items show in red.
Yes. Assign the checklist to an asset, and whoever runs that machine sees it on their calendar. You can also assign it to a role, for everyone in it or for any one person to complete.
Nearly. CIL stands for clean, inspect and lubricate; CILR adds retighten, for the bolts and fittings that work loose. Both name the same operator routine in autonomous maintenance, and LeanSuite schedules either one the same way.
Yes. Operators can comment on any step of a CILR checklist, which captures frontline knowledge and improves the standard over time.
CILR is the first check. When an operator flags an issue during a CILR check, it can raise a tag or work request for your maintenance team in Daily Issue Management.
Yes. The autonomous maintenance (CILR) checklist at theleansuite.com/templates/autonomous-maintenance-checklist and the lubrication schedule at theleansuite.com/templates/lubrication-schedule-template are free as PDF and Excel.

FREE RESOURCES

Free templates, posters and tools

Not ready for software yet? Start with these free resources.

Ready to make every operator an owner of reliability?

See how LeanSuite digitizes daily equipment care and helps your frontline team keep machines running.

Schedule Demo