But companies that adopt this approach are missing the point. Using an all-singing, all-dancing maintenance information system, for example, might enable you to respond extremely quickly to breakdowns, but that does nothing to prevent machines from malfunctioning in the first place.
There is a clear distinction between mending something (only for it to break down again soon after) and fixing it (so that the likelihood of breakdown is vanishingly small).
Maintenance, by definition, means keeping things the way they are; on the face of it, it has nothing to do with improvement. In fact, as several speakers at our conference affirmed, this is far from the truth – maintenance is ripe for continuous improvement.
Aspirations to be world class depend on things like lean production, just-in-time operation, single piece flow and cellular manufacture. And these are only as good as your ability to take care of your assets. Being world class means maintaining the integrity of production which relies on a progressive maintenance approach to keep the machines running.
There are, of course, huge cost implications to this, but the true cost of maintenance is seven-eighths hidden. Direct costs (fitters, electricians, the spares they consume, using outside contractors on shutdowns, and so on) are easy to measure, but have a low impact on profit. It's the losses below the surface that really hit profitability. These include changeovers and breakdowns (which relate to availability), minor stoppages and running at reduced speed (to do with performance rate), and rework and start-up losses (associated with quality). These submerged losses are where the focus needs to be.
So let's all follow the example of those enlightened few who recognise that maintenance – and making it better – are central to a manufacturer's competitiveness.
Maintenance improvement isn't a contradiction in terms. It really is achievable. But, like most things in life, success only comes by following a considered, carefully crafted and coherent plan. We will look into this in more detail in next month's issue.
Ian Vallely Editor
