Despite all of the Technology, the Basics are Still Important
By Dick DeFazio, President & CEO
As I look back across my career in maintenance and MRO materials, it seems that the things people hire us for really have not changed. Even after 47 years, companies still need the basics. There are a lot more systems in place that streamline some of the work processes, but the roles and skills are still the same. Maintenance best practices still require the right people, with the right tools and parts at the equipment at the right time.
My first job was with a power company, where I was responsible for going through paper copies of work orders and assigning them to general ledger codes. There were five or six of us in a room all doing the same thing. Soon computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) came along and streamlined the accounting side considerably. Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) systems extended a consistent version of the CMMS across plants, and some tied it directly to the company Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.
Most organizations have been through a CMMS/EAM implementation, and many have been through several. However, by itself, software does not impart best practices to an organization. It is just a tool. They still need to be configured for the right codes, tables, priorities and workflow, and set up with accurate equipment and spare parts master data. People still need to be trained on how to use these new systems and in why it is so important to properly maintain the software itself.
Forgive me if I am skeptical when I hear claims that digital transformation and artificial intelligence are going to transform maintenance. In my experience, support systems have streamlined maintenance work processes, but they did not change the physical aspects of making a repair. I understand how powerful information and analysis can be and perhaps better analytics can make diagnostics more precise. Even so, I fail to see how another layer of tools is going to change the need for disciplined teamwork and coordination of roles and responsibilities. After all, proper maintenance will still require the right people, with the right tools and parts at the asset at the right time. I feel pretty comfortable with the idea that people will still need help with the basics for many years to come!
If you are struggling to meet production goals because of unplanned downtime, here are a few areas to look for easy improvements:
- Planning and scheduling are just as important today as when I started. Make sure that your planners have been through training in scoping and estimating work. In our experience, we find that ninety percent of the maintenance jobs are highly repetitious. Consider creating good, detailed job planning packages and put them into your EAM/CMMS. Even modest improvements in planning capabilities can have a dramatic impact on maintenance efficiency and effectiveness. Technology will find many hidden failures, but that can overload an ineffective or inefficient maintenance organization and will deliver little business benefit.
- First line supervision is really important. No amount of technology will improve supervisory effectiveness. Make sure that first line supervisors have proper training and understand their roles in coordination and quality assurance.
- The relationship between operations people and maintenance people is often a deep cultural divide. If production and maintenance teams in your plant do not share a common goal of keeping assets running, there is no technology that will bridge that cultural gap. Implementing rules of engagement that clarify roles and responsibilities of these organizations as they individually and mutually relate to assets is a huge step towards higher asset availability.
These are just a few suggestions that barely scratch the surface of all the potential issues, but they have occurred fairly frequently in my experience working with thousands of people across hundreds of organizations and plants. I am looking forward to sharing a few more insights that I hope you will find useful in the next few months.