The typical maintenance organization performs preventive and predictive maintenance, and responds to equipment breakdowns. In this modality, preventive and predictive maintenance are seen as necessary evils. They are overhead. The game played at budget time often revolves around balancing this cost against the cost of breakdowns.
Typically, maintenance managers try to tune existing preventive and predictive maintenance to fit within budget while also lobbying for more budget so they can do more of these functions to prevent breakdowns.
In this scenario, the maintenance function drives the maintenance managers. It needs to be the other way around.
Begin by identifying specific goals that will form the basis for driving maintenance. Here are some examples to get you started:
- Identify and correct all high-impedance connections in critical equipment.
Solution: Develop a comprehensive thermography program. - Reduce response time to critical equipment by 80%.
Solution: Provide “priority 1” radios to critical equipment operators. - Identify impending failures of bearings in motors and gearboxes enough months ahead of time to permit scheduling repairs during normal shutdown.
Solution: Develop a comprehensive ultrasonics program. - Reduce PM downtime on Line Four by 30% so it can fit within changeout window.
Solution: Create PM cart for this line, complete with tools, supplies, written procedures, and spare parts. Provide in-depth training on the PM to two techs.