{"id":4878,"date":"2024-06-04T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hirezdemo.xyz\/preventive-maintenance-plan-how-to-make-it-work\/"},"modified":"2024-10-08T12:51:33","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T16:51:33","slug":"preventive-maintenance-plan-how-to-make-it-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eptura.com\/discover-more\/blog\/preventive-maintenance-plan-how-to-make-it-work\/","title":{"rendered":"How to check and improve your PM program ROI"},"content":{"rendered":"

A preventive maintenance program can help you get ahead of the maintenance curve<\/a>, where there\u2019s more uptime, less unplanned downtime, costs are lower, and work is more predictable. Instead of working reactively, jumping into action on demand and without warning, you can plan and schedule maintenance when it works best for your team. With lots of lead time, you can line up parts and people in ways that minimize costs and operational interruptions.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But implementing preventive maintenance doesn\u2019t guarantee its potential benefits, and even a good program might be delivering less value than it could be.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What are the signs of an underperforming preventive maintenance program?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

At the most basic level, your program should help you deliver more uptime at less cost. Diving deeper, there are some specific signs you are not enjoying the benefits you should be.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Maintenance costs aren\u2019t going down overall<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

One of the main goals of preventive maintenance<\/a> is to cut maintenance costs, so if they aren\u2019t coming down, you need to determine why. Start by looking closely at the numbers, but make sure you\u2019re looking at the right ones.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, are labor costs up in your facility? That might be a concern, but you need to first find out why they\u2019re up. It could be because you\u2019re approving more overtime related to unscheduled downtime. But it might also be part of a larger industry-wide trend. <\/span><\/p>\n

As it\u2019s becoming harder to replace the wave of retiring technicians, wages are moving up. Another example is parts and materials. Are you spending more because you\u2019re using more, or is inflation raising the per-unit costs?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When evaluating your system, only hold it accountable for the costs it can affect.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Look closely at costs associated with downtime and overtime. Is the line down more often than you\u2019d like? Are you spending a lot on overtime, bringing in extra help in the evenings to get everything back up and running before the first shift? These are clear signs your preventive maintenance<\/a> schedule is not working the way it should be.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Inventory levels remain inaccurate<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re dealing with a lot of unscheduled work orders, it\u2019s harder to match inventory levels to unpredictable future needs. The maintenance team goes through parts faster than you can reorder them, overcompensate and order too much, which then sits around taking up room, decaying, and aging out of warranty.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With a good PM schedule, you\u2019ve scheduled about 80% of your work orders at least a week in advance, so you should have plenty of time to have the right parts on hand when you need them. If you\u2019re often pressed for parts, your program is underperforming.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Other departments still see maintenance as a cost center<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

This is one is subjective, but it\u2019s still worth considering. If the maintenance department is seen as being in the way, you\u2019re not making yourself any friends anywhere on the org chart. People are unhappy if the machines you\u2019re supposed to maintain are frequently breaking down or if you must schedule maintenance during peak production hours. <\/span><\/p>\n

When the big monthly meeting becomes unbearable once the AC quits, people quickly forget all the good work the maintenance department does to support all the other departments and instead focus on the times things went wrong.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How to improve your PMs and boost ROI<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Even the best schedule can\u2019t make up for poorly thought-out inspections and tasks (PMs). To see a strong return on investment (ROI) on your program, PMs must be comprehensive, repeatable, organized, and \u201ctimely.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ensure PMs are comprehensive<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Your PMs need to cover a lot, but never too much. Make sure to include all the assets and equipment that best match with this maintenance strategy, while avoiding any that don\u2019t. In some cases, that means relying on run-to-failure maintenance. In others, predictive.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When you do include an asset in your program, aim for total coverage. Assets are collections of many small parts, and ideally your PMs cover all of them. And don\u2019t limit yourself to checking for simple wear and tear. PMs should also include calibration. For example, checking and adjusting drive belt clearances and tensions.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Write PMs so they are easy to follow<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Write your PM so technicians complete them the same way. Here\u2019s the test: If you gave the same PM to three different technicians, they would all do the identical work the same way.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ask yourself, \u201cWhen a technician looks at this work order, do they have what they need to complete the job?\u201d They should see lots of information about the asset, including:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n