7 Things Holding Back Your Industrial Maintenance Program
The efficacy of manufacturing operations relies heavily on the efficiency of a well-run maintenance program. But despite the crucial nature of maintenance, many programs suffer from common (critical) failures that can undermine their effectiveness.
From inadequate planning and reactive approaches to poor inventory management and a lack of data-driven decision-making, these failures can cause costly downtime, reduced productivity, and compromised operational efficiency. Understanding and addressing these challenges are essential for organizations seeking to optimize their maintenance programs.
Below are seven of the biggest detractors and ways to remedy them to achieve positive results from your in-house maintenance program:
1. Lack of preventive maintenance
Preventive maintenance is critical in avoiding system failures, unplanned downtime, and costly repairs. Without preventive maintenance, equipment can become damaged beyond repair, leading to increased expenses. To avoid these pitfalls, manufacturers must prioritize preventive and proactive repairs wherever possible and shift away from reactive management.
2. Inadequate planning and scheduling
Ineffective planning and scheduling produce poor performance, missed opportunities for preventive maintenance, and inevitable downtime. A lack of proper planning tactics can also result in the inefficient allocation of resources, such as machinery, labor, and supplies. Don’t just maintain but instead create a plan for when and how you’ll maintain equipment so all objectives are clear.
3. Insufficient training and skills
Insufficient training and skills cause poor performance and incorrect use of equipment, resulting in costly mistakes, accidents, and even injuries. This can lead to long-term underinvestment in the company’s workforce. Ensure your maintenance professionals are trained and knowledgeable in the tasks they’re given.
4. Poor inventory management
Poor inventory management results in understocking or overstocking of inventory items, which can cause delays in maintenance schedules or protracted downtime if maintenance items aren’t on hand. Create systems for tracking inventory data and manage in-house inventory around conservative demand for equipment.
5. Ineffective condition monitoring
A lack of monitoring or ineffective monitoring equipment can reduce equipment longevity, leading to lower productivity rates and higher expenses. Manufacturers who invest in condition monitoring systems should verify they’re set up for optimal capture and alerting and train someone to maintain the devices and draw conclusions from the data.
6. Lack of data-driven decision-making
This challenge leads to uninformed decisions, inadequate data analysis, and a lack of insight into trends and patterns. It all adds up to maintenance for the sake of maintenance, not necessarily because it’s needed. Producers should take the time to aggregate and understand equipment data so they can make informed, confident choices.
7. Inadequate documentation and communication
These issues stem from incomplete work orders, miscommunication between departments and employees, and the inability to keep an accurate record of maintenance activities. Start by creating standard operating procedures (SOPs) and structured frameworks for maintenance. Good recordkeeping and repeatability are the keys to a foundationally sound maintenance program.
While careful planning and execution are essential to avoiding costly pitfalls, even the most well-devised plans can have gaps. Partnering with an experienced maintenance expert can help identify and plug those gaps.
Manufacturers must be self-aware and understand their limitations on the maintenance they can manage in-house. By outsourcing when it makes sense, producers can optimize their maintenance programs and keep their operations running efficiently.
