Implementation plan

1. Time a compressor at a meal break

One short reading shows whether the lines leak and whether the pressure can come down.

Action	With the presses stopped, count how many of the twenty minutes a compressor pumps air, which its panel shows as loaded. Write down the pressure on its panel, and the highest pressure set at any press. If the presses run through breaks, take the reading after the last shift of the week.
Owner	Maintenance lead
Purchases	None: twenty minutes of staff time
Decision	Does a compressor pump for more than about two of the twenty minutes, or is its pressure well above the highest set at any press?
Fallback	If neither, stop here: nothing has been bought.

Each leak is found, tagged and fixed, largest first, and the leak walk is repeated each quarter.

Action	Walk every air line, hose and coupling with the detector, starting at the presses. Hang a numbered tag on each leak and add it to a list. Fix the largest first: a new coupling, a length of hose or fresh thread tape. Take the reading of step 1 again, to see what the repairs saved. Repeat the leak walk each quarter.
Owner	One named maintenance person
Purchases	An ultrasonic leak detector, about $1,500, and about sixteen hours of staff time for the first leak walk. Then hose, couplings and thread tape, about $160 per year
Decision	After the repairs, does a compressor pump for fewer minutes than at the first reading?
Fallback	If a large leak cannot be reached while the plant runs, tag it and fix it at the next planned stop.

The pressure comes down only as far as every press still runs as before.

Action	Lower the compressors' pressure setting by two psi. Run a full shift and watch the press farthest from the compressors. If every press runs as before, lower it again. Stop one step above the first sign of trouble, and write the setting down.
Owner	Maintenance lead, with the shift supervisor
Purchases	None: about four hours of staff time
Decision	Did every press run a full shift as before at the lower setting?
Fallback	If any press runs short of air, raise the setting two psi and leave it there.

Illustrative sample. The plant, the walk and the footage are synthetic. Figures from our analysis are estimates made with AI, not guarantees.