Proactive, timely maintenance of plant equipment is critical to enabling manufacturers to meet a dizzying number of demands, from pressure to achieve target output levels, minimize labor costs, control parts spending and ensure maximum uptime. Manufacturers rely on their maintenance departments to help achieve these goals on a daily basis. However, a great number of manufacturers still use maintenance on a reactive basis rather than viewing it as strategic to operations. Myrtle Consulting helps manufacturers convert maintenance into a proactive, scheduled operation that is used strategically to control costs, maximize uptime, and maintain critical equipment. By following a few fundamental principles, plants can begin to establish a maintenance improvement program that supports operations and improves plant performance.

1. A White Paper from
Myrtle Consulting
Delivering Operational Improvement
By putting a few fundamental
practices in place, manufacturers
can start to improve maintenance
effectiveness, reducing costs and
boosting productivity
Abstract
Boost Equipment Performance,
Save Money With Proactive
Maintenance
By Rigo Frias
Proactive, timely maintenance of plant equipment is critical to enabling manufacturers
to meet a dizzying number of demands, from pressure to achieve target output levels,
minimize labor costs, control parts spending and ensure maximum uptime. Manufacturers
rely on their maintenance departments to help achieve these goals on a daily basis.
However, a great number of manufacturers still use maintenance on a reactive basis
rather than viewing it as strategic to operations. Myrtle Consulting helps manufacturers
convert maintenance into a proactive, scheduled operation that is used strategically
to control costs, maximize uptime, and maintain critical equipment. By following a few
fundamental principles, plants can begin to establish a maintenance improvement
program that supports operations and improves plant performance.

2. A White Paper from
Myrtle Consulting
Delivering Operational Improvement
Introduction
Many manufacturing executives overlook the importance of maintenance as fundamental to ensuring that their facility and
equipment operate at maximum capacity. In fact, poor maintenance practices are often to blame for limited production capacity,
volatile performance, low equipment reliability, lack of the ability to accurately plan and forecast, poor product quality and low
profitability.
Instead of implementing a comprehensive maintenance program, companies hire additional resources, make large capital
investments in equipment, purchase non-critical replacement parts and spend on specialty contractors in an effort to improve
equipment uptime. Unfortunately, these efforts typically increase costs and administrative burden without addressing
maintenance system and process gaps that are the true root of the problem. These stop-gap measures deliver the perception
that equipment problems have been addressed when it’s actually only a matter of time before equipment failures recur, leaving
managers exasperated.
Too often, amidst the demands of day-to-day operations, manufacturing executives find maintenance low on the priority list and
don’t have a clear vision of what a proactive maintenance program should look like or where to begin.
The following guidelines provide a basis for starting to build an optimized maintenance program designed to fully leverage time
and resources and ensure equipment is performing at maximum capacity.
The Tenets of a Maintenance Improvement Program
Often, maintenance in manufacturing environments is viewed as the fire department: a team of resources reacting to problems
and events with few formal processes in place for identifying and planning work, scheduling resources, executing tasks and then
measuring results. In companies that do use metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of their maintenance departments, often the
metrics are tied to production effectiveness, which is a step removed from maintenance.
Here are some fundamental practices that will start to improve a maintenance department:
1) Start planning and scheduling maintenance activities
Just as production schedules are used in operations to establish output targets by hour and/or day, the same methodology should
apply to maintenance. Both preventative maintenance (PM) and scheduled corrective repairs should be scheduled by using
reasonable expectations or what is commonly known as work order time estimates. Work order time estimates are valuable for
accurately scheduling maintenance resources and also provide the production team with critical information about how long a
particular piece of equipment or production line will be out of commission. The discipline of documenting estimated versus actual
repair time is valuable for future planning and improved accuracy.
2) Implement maintenance planning and scheduling meetings
Good planning always precedes good execution. For this reason, one of the most critical components of a proactive maintenance
program is an effective maintenance planning and scheduling meeting (MPSM). Successful MPSMs, generally conducted weekly,
should accomplish the following objectives:
1. Communicate – The meeting should be attended by both maintenance and operations to integrate the priorities of
both teams.
2. Prioritize – Ensure the right work orders are planned and prioritized to address the highest sources of loss.
3. Allocate – Too often, maintenance work is assigned at random or based on the availability of a resource. However,
every technician has different capabilities and strengths. The planning and scheduling process should take into account
capabilities and assign the right resource to the right job for optimal results.
4. Evaluate – Each meeting should review year-to-date budgetary figures to ensure that budget targets are met.

3. A White Paper from
Myrtle Consulting
Delivering Operational Improvement
It is possible to arrange an agenda that includes and addresses each of the following:
• Review of equipment performance data: Equipment performance data should always be reviewed at MPSMs.
All attendees should have an intimate understanding of the choke points and largest sources of loss. With many
conflicting work order priorities, this will ensure equipment performance is at the forefront of all priorities.
• Report from operations: The operations team deals with equipment every day and has in-depth knowledge of
equipment failure, signs of distress or red flags associated with imminent failure. Operations personnel should come
prepared to discuss equipment-related issues that are not in the work order backlog.
• Review work order backlog and other data: The latest information on work order backlog should be available
at the meeting as well as information on scheduled preventative maintenance and critical corrective repairs. The
schedule should be supplemented with work orders that are assigned to the highest sources of loss and jobs that will
address equipment-related issues presented by operations.
It’s important to note that a formal meeting charter should be implemented so that all attendees understand the meeting
objectives, meeting agenda items as well as roles and responsibilities. Adherence to the meeting charter will drive meeting
discipline, which translates into the effective use of time.
3) Measure results
Once a maintenance schedule has been implemented, metrics must be defined to measure execution levels. Commonly used
metrics are as follows:
• What percent of total available maintenance resource time is allocated in the maintenance schedule?
• How many of the scheduled work orders for the week/month were completed?
• How much time was spent on reactive corrective maintenance?
• Week over week is the backlog increasing or decreasing?
• What is the size and age of the backlog?
• What is the total downtime of each piece of equipment?
• What is the percentage decrease/increase of downtime from week to week?
• What is the increase or decrease of overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)?
• What is the percent of scrap and/or defect increase or decrease?
By tracking metrics related directly to maintenance, the manufacturer can better understand the efficiency and effectiveness
of maintenance. These metrics also point to areas where improved efficiency may be required, clearly paving the way to action
plans and adjustments that yield further improvements.

4. A White Paper from
Myrtle Consulting
Delivering Operational Improvement
4) Conduct PM audits
It is common for maintenance to consistently meet their PM attainment targets, and yet equipment reliability remains low.
While there are many factors associated with low equipment reliability, typically PM’s are a key contributor to either poor or
excellent equipment reliability.
PM audits are a good way to gradually improve the quality of the content of the PM and ensure that execution is carried out
safely, efficiently and effectively. The use of preventative maintenance audits will also provide a coaching opportunity for
supervisors to coach mechanics.
A comprehensive audit should evaluate the following aspects of preventative maintenance:
• Frequency
• Time estimate accuracy
• PM tasks that need to be included or redundant tasks to be removed
• Legible, understandable PM tasks recorded
• Safety and quality of PM tasks completed
• Use of proper PM protocol/process
• Proper documentation of follow-up repairs
• Identification of non valued-added activities that can be reduced/eliminated
5) Integrate operations and maintenance
Within many organizations, the primary interaction between operations and maintenance occurs when operations requests
for maintenance to work on emergency breakdowns or major repairs. With operations playing a pivotal role in equipment
reliability, there are a few philosophies and techniques that organizations implement to improve performance: Total Productive
Maintenance, Standard Work and Centerline. While these techniques are very effective, they require extensive implementation
time and effort and do not directly integrate operations and maintenance.
Processes can be put in place to align operations and maintenance. Here are some recommendations:
• Implement a formal process to communicate potential failures and required repairs
• Encourage a formal process for communicating potential equipment failure at the first sign of red flags
• Establish a system for providing regular updates on pending repairs
By putting formal communications processes in place, the entire team can understand status and plan for how maintenance
activities will likely impact productivity over the coming days and weeks.

5. A White Paper from
Myrtle Consulting
Delivering Operational Improvement
6) Conduct “baselining” on critical equipment
Baselining is a proven maintenance technique that has immediate results. Also known as the “Red Tag” approach, this technique
involves overhauling machinery to restore it to “like new” condition through deep cleaning and technical audits to identify potential
repairs, building a backlog and prioritizing and executing repairs.
In order to maintain productivity, companies often neglect their equipment, which naturally deteriorates over time. Many
companies make critical, piece-meal repairs that address only the symptoms of equipment failure or temporarily bridge the gap
to enable continued operation. Savvy manufacturers identify equipment that represents the largest potential source of loss if it
were to fail and schedule baselining maintenance to improve the overall productivity and extend the life of that equipment. While
a major investment of resources and scheduled downtime, baselining minimizes the risk of a major and sudden failure of critical
equipment and also prevents overspending on parts and repair time.
Critical Success Factors
The implementation of a successful maintenance improvement program is not necessarily an expedient or easy process. It requires
some planning and effort and a commitment from the team. The following critical success factors will help ensure the continual
improvement of a maintenance program:
1. Management support
As with any other major initiative, a maintenance improvement strategy must have the support of upper management
and the executive team. Their communication of and support for program expectations and objectives will drive the entire
team to prioritize this program and follow through. By communicating the need for change and the benefits of a proactive
program, management can align all stakeholders and ensure that employees champion the program.
To ensure continued progress, upper-level management should be involved with periodic reviews of program milestones,
challenges and results. These reviews are also a great opportunity to capture lessons learned. Upper management should
always constructively challenge the team when timelines are not met and must be prepared to remove barriers that
preclude the progression of continuous improvement efforts.
2. Technology should not be a barrier
While technology is a great tool, often times it serves as a barrier to making process, systems and behavior changes. For
example, computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) are designed to help maintenance departments
manage work orders, track parts spending, and manage projects to completion. However, these systems can be difficult
to customize and configure, causing many companies to delay or discard process changes due to the complexity
associated with configuring the CMMS. Technology should support the business, not the other way around. Changes
to the maintenance planning process are extremely valuable and should not be limited by the CMMS or any other
technology. In many cases, plans and metrics can be tracked in a simple Excel spreadsheet. Once tested, refined and
proven, then it is time to enlist IT’s support in customizing the CMMS and/or other software solution. By using this
approach, it is possible to reduce frustration and re-work while process improvement is still in the infancy stage.

6. A White Paper from
Myrtle Consulting
Delivering Operational Improvement
3. Practice makes perfect
The important part is not implementing a program with 100% success the
first time, but to take steps toward improvement, making progress over
time. By setting the expectation that the program must be 100% successful
the moment it is implemented, teams run the risk of “analysis paralysis,”
and fail to take action for fear that the system design is not yet perfect.
Teams will learn over time and work through issues as they arise. As long
as the team is reviewing metrics and implementing improvements, the
program will mature and improve over time. Don’t get overwhelmed and
not take action for fear of “not getting it perfect.”
4. Access external resources
While involvement of key stakeholders internally is fundamental to
achieving program ownership, the intensity of having to run an operation
on a daily basis may lead to a lack of focus. Seeking external support is
always a good option to ensure that timelines and objectives are promptly
met. Look to the corporate office for support and don’t be afraid to access
consulting resources. Doing so may lend a valuable external point of
view that will help identify and prioritize capabilities gaps without all the
“baggage” of internal politics. External resources may also bring a fresh
perspective and effectively challenge the organization to improve in ways
that internal resources can’t. Having helped many clients, consultants
contribute a wealth of expertise and best practices that can shorten the
learning curve.
Conclusion
There are many benefits to implementing a maintenance improvement program in
manufacturing facilities of all kinds. From increased equipment uptime and availability
to reduced parts spending and improved team morale, the investment in proactive
maintenance returns both tangible and intangible benefits. For manufacturers that
are experiencing recurring equipment failures, consistently overspending on maintenance parts and labor, and/or view and manage
maintenance as “firefighters,” an investment in a maintenance improvement program is well worth a closer look.
About Rigo Frias - A seasoned operations professional, Rigo Frias has more than 17 years of experience in manufacturing
and operations. He has led a wide range of assignments and has delivered results in companies worldwide by implementing lean
manufacturing programs, business process reengineering, management systems and maintenance processes and systems. He has
worked in a broad range of industries including financial services, pharmaceutical, call centers, insurance, electronics, chemicals,
mining, defense industries, energy sectors, beverage and food processing.
The Tenets of
a Proactive
Maintenance
Program
1. Start planning and
scheduling maintenance
activities
2. Implement maintenance
planning and scheduling
meetings. Make set point
3. Measure results
4. Conduct PM audits
5. Integrate operations and
maintenance
6. Conduct “baselining” on
critical equipment