An Integrated Approach To Maintenance Excellence

Abstract
Maintenance Excellence is wholly desirable and achievable if we take a holistic

approach to maintenance. This means recognizing that contributions come from
designers, production staff, planners, schedulers, management and lastly, the
maintainers themselves. This view challenges conventional wisdom since it
spreads the responsibility beyond that attributed just to maintainers. This paper
examines the causes of poor performance and why an integrated approach is
needed. It also attempts to answer the question of how to achieve excellence in
maintenance, and hence business performance.
Excellence in Performance
A well-designed facility will have distinct features, which include the following.
• The facility can produce products of the desired quality consistently.
• The rate of production is satisfactory.
• The production process is efficient so that minimum resources an d materials

are used.
• The facility is easy to operate.
• The facility is easy to maintain.
• The facility is reliable.

The first three points describe the functionality of the facility. In other words, the
facility can produce the required output, with the designed inputs of materials,
energy, and human effort. However, it will be safe and profitable only if it meets the
remaining three conditions.
The exposure to safety or environmental incidents is higher in facilities that are

difficult to operate. If this is so, workers will find work-around solutions to their
problems. Their make-shift efforts can lead to unwanted incidents as they do not
have training or experience in design.
Similarly, repair times will be excessive in facilities that are difficult to maintain. This
results in low availability of protective devices and production equipment, thus
adversely affecting safety and profitability. Unreliable facilities suffer from frequent
trips or breakdowns, which result in production losses and additional work for
production workers and maintainers.
The facility can be said to be performing excellently, when it consistently produces

the required product to the right quality standards, using raw materials, resources,
and energy in the most efficient manner. Further, it must maintain the required
standard of Technical Integrity (see previous LinkedIn article on Unrevealed Failures
for a detailed discussion on this subject).
Maintenance Excellence
To achieve this level of performance, we need to achieve the required standards of

maintenance. There are some pre-requisites to be met before any maintenance team
can meet these standards, namely:
• The original design is satisfactory, the equipment selected is reliable and the
materials of construction are suitable for the service envisaged.
• The facility is operated within the limits set in the design.
• The equipment is operated broadly at steady rates, without sudden changes

in production rates, unless they have been specifically designed to cope with
such changes.
• A proper management system is in place to coordinate the activities, and that

adequate resources and funding are available.
The maintenance team has then to ensure that:
• They take reasonable care to exclude dirt, extreme temperature variations and
excessive humidity. They also ensure good housekeeping, use the correct
moisture-free lubricants, and protect the equipment from the elements.
• The Maintenance Strategy is properly formulated and implemented.
• The maintenance work, as determined in the strategy, is done on time and to

the required quality standards.
• Their work is measured, Performance Indicators are in place and are tracked.
The Jigsaw Model
These points can be illustrated by the following model showing the various interfaces and
contributors to Maintenance Excellence. How well do the jigsaw pieces fit in your facility?
The Need for an Integrated Approach
From the model, it is clear that maintenance performance depends on the work of
several other contributors as well. Hence, it follows that maintenance excellence
cannot be achieved on a stand-alone basis. All the parties contributing to it must pull
their weight. The question is how we can make this happen.
Life Cycle Integration
Starting with the design of the facility and its equipment selection, it is necessary to
get maintenance (and production) staff inputs. This will ensure that the final design is
such that operating and maintaining it are as easy as possible, within the constraints
of cost and time. The right spare parts would have been procured and all the
drawings and documentation available to improve maintainability.
Production staff decide the quantities and range of products they wish to produce.
They are the only people who can define the expected performance. Their inputs are
essential to good maintenance planning. If it is done without the active involvement of
production staff, such planning will be less than optimal.
If you frequently accelerate your car rapidly and then apply brakes, generally treating
it harshly, you should expect more rapid wear and tear. The term loading roughness
describes its facility equivalent. Typically, if you raise and lower production levels
frequently, run very short batches before set-up changes, and follow a start-stop
routine, we say the loading roughness is high. As in the case of the car, you should
expect poor performance in terms of quality, lower throughput, and higher
maintenance costs. A sound management system will make every effort to operate
the facility at steady levels, with long batch runs and infrequent set-up changes.
This brings us to the Operating Philosophy, of which the above discussion on

operating modes is one part. The decision on how to operate standby equipment
affects maintenance performance and costs. Similarly, not releasing equipment for
maintenance at the scheduled time reduces operational reliability and increases
costs. Good cooperation between Production and Maintenance can contribute very
substantially to sustained good performance.
The quality of maintenance work depends on several factors, such as,
• Skills and competence of maintenance staff
• Good planning, which means that the right work is scheduled, the steps
involved clearly stated, drawings, tools, spare parts and materials required are
known.
• Good scheduling, which requires that all the planned resources and
infrastructure is available, supervision arranged, and the equipment is
released to maintenance on time.
• Staff are motivated and take pride in their work; this is a key management
responsibility.
• Work quality is measured/monitored, and staff get feedback.
• The reward system takes account of work quality.

Similarly, the productivity of maintenance staff depends on ,
• Good planning and scheduling.
• Ensuring that we do not stop workers from producing, e.g., delays in issuing
permits to work, meal or tea breaks at the wrong time, delays in providing
feedback or changing priorities frequently.
• Rewarding individuals instead of teams.
Conclusion
This paper has examined the causes of poor maintenance performance and why an
integrated approach is needed to achieve excellence. It is a Life Cycle philosophy,
where we start with inputs to design from the production and maintenance staff.
Thereafter, we get production and maintenance staff to jointly define expected
performance. Equipment must be operated so that they do not experience sudden
loads and frequent setup changes. A good operating philosophy helps improve
maintenance performance. Maintenance quality and productivity are both important.
Good planning and scheduling as well as a motivated workforce all contribute to
these factors. There are practical steps that can be taken in any stage of the life of a
business to try and achieve excellence in maintenance.

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Abstract

Maintenance Excellence is wholly desirable and achievable if we take a holistic

• The facility can produce products of the desired quality consistently.

• The rate of production is satisfactory.

• The production process is efficient so that minimum resources an d materials

• The facility is easy to operate.

• The facility is easy to maintain.

• The facility is reliable.

The exposure to safety or environmental incidents is higher in facilities that are

The facility can be said to be performing excellently, when it consistently produces

To achieve this level of performance, we need to achieve the required standards of

• The equipment is operated broadly at steady rates, without sudden changes

• A proper management system is in place to coordinate the activities, and that

• The Maintenance Strategy is properly formulated and implemented.

• The maintenance work, as determined in the strategy, is done on time and to

The Jigsaw Model

Life Cycle Integration

This brings us to the Operating Philosophy, of which the above discussion on

The quality of maintenance work depends on several factors, such as,

• Skills and competence of maintenance staff

• Work quality is measured/monitored, and staff get feedback.

• The reward system takes account of work quality.

• Good planning and scheduling.

• Rewarding individuals instead of teams.

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