The role of Maintenance
Its not a bad idea for any manager to ask the question “What is my department really here for?” every now and then. The answer should not be hard to find, and it
The purpose of Maintenance Management
The work that is done by Maintenance managers, supervisors, planners and other staff has no value until a tradesperson has completed a job and returned the equipment back to Operations and it is
The Operations-Maintenance relationship
It goes without saying that every department in every organization exists to support the overall goals of the enterprise, whether that is to manufacture products or to provide a service. However, in a
The Maintenance cost-reduction conundrum
Here’s a situation that’s not uncommon. You, as Maintenance Manager or Plant Manager know there’s something wrong with maintenance. You see two or three tradespeople doing work that needs only one, people are
The (very) high cost of restrictive practices
What Are Restrictive Practices? Restrictive practices of various kinds are often found in Maintenance organizations. Their cost is much higher than is generally recognized, as explained here, and too often they are accepted
The danger of ignoring hidden costs
Some costs in Maintenance are easy to measure, but some of the most important results of changes, such as the impact on “maintenance effectiveness” or productivity are notoriously difficult to quantify. When making
Successfully implementing change
There are many books on change management, most of which boil down to the Golden Rule – “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. If you are contemplating a
Spare parts lists – making them really work for you
Spare parts lists – making them really work Related articles: – Asset ID and numbering – The “Zero-stock” catalogue and its power – What parts should be in your Maintenance Stores? – Naming parts – Equipment criticality ratings
Setting maintenance work priorities
One objective in Maintenance is to always be working on the maintenance activities that have the highest value at any time. This means that, for all the work orders that are in
Selecting and using a maintenance computer system – Part 5
Improving existing systems Because replacing a maintenance computer system is a major, and somewhat disruptive project, if your existing system is not providing the value you require it is worth looking at alternatives.