Recently, I worked with an organization and found the following:
• The department had a high turnover ratio and no formal engineering group.
• Supervisors functioned as the maintenance planners, and scheduling was done the afternoon prior to the following day.
• Supervisors were actually not planning any work, which meant the technicians were repairing assets on the fly with no documentation of work performed.
• The department was not prioritizing corrective maintenance. As a result, 81 percent of corrective work orders were marked as needing to be completed within 48 hours, while 13 percent of work orders were marked as needing to be completed within 24 hours.
• A work management assessment determined that the utilization rate was below 12 percent.
• Inventories were bloated. As a result, fees for expedited orders outpaced the actual cost of the materials.
The report to senior leadership on the situation recommended the following actions to shore up the deficiencies:
Asset management framework. This step focuses on a holistic reliability-based optimization strategy for assets — failure mode, effects and criticality analysis, maintenance strategies, PMs, etc.
Work management process guide. This recommendation refers to the entire work management process to identify, plan, execute, close out and analyze.
Material management process guide. This recommended set of processes is designed to identify material requirements, procurement and provisions for the materials to be available at the right time at the right place.
Data management process guide. This recommendation provides a process with roles and responsibilities in order to manage critical data related to, for example, hardware breakdown structures and bills of material, as well as to manage and maintain data quality.
Clearly defined roles and responsibilities. This recommendation involves restructuring the entire maintenance department. Supervisors supervise and establish a formal planning department that includes schedulers. They also re-assign identified resources to predictive maintenance strategies and development.
Technician Productivity: Strategies for Success
Defining Roles and Responsibilities To Increase Productivity
Putting Plans into Action to Increase Technician Productivity
