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Maintenance
Support Programs
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
Explain 12 types of maintenance support pro-
grams.
List two kinds of risk factors associated withevaluating maintenance support programs.
Distinguish between two actions that charac-terize inspections in preventive maintenance.
Explain the difference between reactive and
proactive maintenance programs. List the two essential elements for scheduling
preventive maintenance work.
Discuss five types of management report for
monitoring effectiveness of maintenance sup-
port programs.
INTRODUCTION
Modern maintenance departments, regardless of size, face increasing pres-
sure to be characterized by (1) equipment and systems operating at near-perfect reliability and (2) maintenance so effective that equipment and sys-
tem breakdowns and other problems are virtually nonexistent. This chal-lenge has forced a change in management concept from reactive toproactive maintenance. Reactive maintenance has meant that efforts aremade to keep equipment and systems in satisfactory operating conditionthrough a modest level of servicing and preventive maintenance, respond-
ing to breakdowns or trouble calls when something happens. In today'scompetitive climate and high technology facilities, the direction involvesproactive maintenance activities characterized by programs of continuous
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equipment improvement and measurement of equipment performance sothat potential problems can be predicted and avoided. Proactive mainte-
nance is supported by management programs that embody principles of
continuous improvement in all aspects of maintenance work. Two such
examples are total quality management (TQM) and total productive main-tenance (TPM) programs.
Some of the earlier techniques, such as preventive maintenance (PM),still apply and are central to support efforts by today's maintenance func-
tions. By incorporating newer techniques over the past few years, mainte-
nance organizations offer a variety of responsive proactive services to meet
the challenges of competitive operations in the global marketplace.
HISTORY OF PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE (PM)
In the early 1960s, the term preventive maintenance (PM) became widely
known. This is not to say that work of this sort had not been going on before,
but the effort had not been organized in this formal manner. The conceptbehind PM is that periodic scheduled inspections, minor repairs, and parts
replacements and repairs, adjustment, lubrication, calibration, and so on,
would increase the time between overhauls and eliminate costly unscheduled
failures of equipment or systems. The idea was sound and was eagerly
received. For a time, PM was practiced so much that its cost approached thatof the breakdowns it was intended to avoid. Over time, the concept has been
refined and expanded to include other programs mentioned in this chapter.
When used with discipline and judgment, these programs save millions of
dollars yearly and reduce equipment breakdowns:
CATEGORIES OF MAINTENANCE
SUPPORT PROGRAMS (MSP)
In the dynamic maintenance field, programs are being developed and an-
nounced all the time. They seem to fall into three categories:
Reliability improvement
Planned maintenance
Unplanned maintenance
These programs and others that are. constantly emerging are available
to the maintenance function to assist in addressing the problem of support
for the increasingly complex modern facilities. The problem is that too feworganizations adopt or follow these programs, and the poor performance
of their plants offers mute testimony to this. Increasingly, more profes-
sional maintenance managers are using these programs to get closer to
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equipment and analyze problems in a sharper way. The result is usually
fewer but more focused maintenance efforts coupled with constantimprovement activities that eliminate or diminish the occurrence of fail-ures over the long term.
As an example, in 1991 the National Research Council, an arm of the
National Academy of Sciences, published "The Competitive Edge: Research
Priorities for U.S. Manufacturing." The report urged manufacturers to shiftfrom breakdown and preventive maintenance to predictive maintenance to
keep up with worldwide competitors. It looked at research needs in five areas,
one of which was equipment reliability and maintenance. Maintenance was
described as in the backwater of manufacturing research and needed to be
brought to the forefront. The report said: "Predictive maintenance, in use in
U.S. industry for only a few short years, is usually understood to involve the
use of sensors, analysis, and computer software to detect conditions thatmight eventually lead to equipment failure. Predictive maintenance is a little-
used approach that has great potential." Newer strategies help maintenance
managers ensure that the right maintenance technicians do the right thing to
the right equipment and system at the right time, using the right techniques,tools, parts, and methods.
Reliability Improvement Programs
Reliability improvement programs are generally considered proactive in
nature because they focus on continuously improving the reliability of equip-ment and systems. Some of these programs follow:
Predictive Maintenance (PDM)
This is a performance-based surveillance method that depends on measured
parameters to reveal wear or performance that must be corrected before pooroperations, quality losses, or breakdowns occur. Often sensors are used so
that continuous observation of equipment is possible. Other data might be
obtained by periodic observations. Still other information might be obtained
by subsequent analysis of data gathered in the field, for example, oil sampleanalysis. A number of factors are taken into account to determine what is cur-
rently happening to the equipment and what should be done to correct prob-
lems that are happening or might happen in the future.Because most measurements are taken while the equipment is operating,
this surveillance does not require as much equipment shutdown as do most
PM inspections. Corrective actions suggested via PDM may take the same
form as in PM. For example, restorative actions, such as lubrication, adjust-ment, replacement, and certain calibration, may be required. The chief dif-
ference is the timing of these actions. PM calls for a regular schedule; PDM
is on a demand, or predicted, basis.
Predictive maintenance provides some clues to the causes of problems,
most often by analyzing equipment history and current operations, sensing
trends, diagnosing undesirable conditions, indicating possible causes of these
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conditions, and making this information available to appropriate people orcontrol devices so that maintenance action can be taken before the situation
gets beyond desirable limits. Although analysis may be done by hand or
direct observation, a computer program is most likely to be the main tool
used. Contributors to PDM systems range from the human operator on theline to automated sensing and monitoring points in the equipment or system,
even to expert or intelligent control systems. But, with all the potential ofpredictive maintenance systems, it is evident that they are little used by many
organizations that invest heavily to implement automated factories and
advanced facilities. Almost any investment in predictive maintenance efforts
offers the possibility of great returns.
Reliability-centeredMaintenance (RCM)
RCM systems are specialized management systems that optimize preventive
and predictive maintenance efforts to achieve high levels of sustained opera-
tions and reliability, such as those found in nuclear power plants, public utili-
ties, commercial aircraft, space craft and their launch facilities, and hazardous
chemical processing plants. RCM depends heavily on analytical methods and
structured decision logic to determine maintenance tasks and schedules nec-essary to maintain equipment at the highest level. These systems are also
dependent on good, reliable, and contemporaneous information concerning
each component in the system and focus greatly on the timely, thorough
completion and documentation of each element of prescribed maintenance
work.
Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)TPM improves the organization by improving the personnel and equipment
and systems of the plant-as one of the founding developers of TPM put it,
"changing the basic culture of the organization." The title is misleading
because TPM involves everyone in the facility concerned with high levels ofequipment performance. A more descriptive term might be: total productive
equipment management (TPEM). The focus of TPM is on the equipment.Simply, TPM permanently improves the overall effectiveness of equipment
by actively involving operators and all others directly concerned with thatgoal (this could mean top management to workers on the floor, even ven-
dors). Started in Japan in 1971, TPM has spread throughout the industrial-
ized world, and its revolutionary results in improved productivity and quality
currently enjoy much favor. TPM has five features.
1. It maximizes unit equipment effectiveness, improving overall system
effectiveness.2. It establishes a total system of preventive and predictive maintenance cov-
ering the entire life of the equipment.
3. It covers all departments, such as equipment users, planners, maintainers,
and all related operations or administrative activities.
4. It requires participation by all staff members from top management to
workers at the machines.
5. promotes productive maintenance through small group activities that are
more responsive to motivation.
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There is no question of the success of a carefully planned TPM systemimplementation. In the final analysis, TPM-oriented systems encourage
employees at every level to take responsibility for the equipment, process,
quality, productivity, and all information involved with what is going on attheir location.
The three ingredients of TPM are:
Equipment utilization
Equipment performance
Equipment availability
Implementing TPM is a long-term effort that may span three to fiveyear, and involves the following phases:
Improvement of existing equipment.
Maintaining improved or new equipment at a higher level of performanceand availability.
Procurement of new equipment with high levels of performance and avail-ability.
Because TPM is organic and long-term in nature, it may be undertakenas a stand-alone program or in concert with related management efforts,
such as computerized maintenance management systems, training programs,and others. Complete details of TPM programs and implementation may be
found in the bibliography at the end of this course.
Total Quality Management (TQM)
Books and courses have been published on this popular topic. Application of
TQM to maintenance practices and problems has been widely used. TQM
contributes heavily to improvements in almost every sector of the mainte-nance function. It should be pointed out that total productive maintenance
(TPM) and total quality management (TQM) complement each other: they
do not compete or overlap. The chief difference is that TPM focuses entirely
on improving all aspects of equipment operations; TQM focuses on the peo-
ple and processes by which things get done. Together, these two programsafford the maintenance manager powerful means for improving maintenance
performance across the entire function.
Planned Maintenance Programs
Planned maintenance programs are based on some concept of fixed schedul-
ing, although in some cases the schedule may be flexible to a degree. Plannedmaintenance programs are considered to be reactive in nature, although some
latitude is necessary because proactive activities are part of some planned
maintenance work. The following programs fall into this category:
Preventive Maintenance (PM)
Preventive maintenance is planned, scheduled inspection, assessment, adjust-
ment, and minor repair of equipment. It is most often characterized by a pre-
scribed interval (frequency) of activity, which may be altered. Performance of
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the PM inspections and other tasks may require that machinery be shut
down. When PM inspections reveal conditions that indicate action needs to
be taken, a maintenance function is performed to restore the equipment toa satisfactory level. This work may be done at once or scheduled for a later
time if conditions permit. This restoration work gives people confidence
that the machine will perform adequately until the next scheduled PM
activity.
PM may also be referred to as routine maintenance. However, routine
maintenance is generally ongoing or repetitious, involving daily lubrication,
monitoring or testing, adjustment, cleaning, and supply of consumables to
equipment. Preventive and routine maintenance often include proactive
repairs, which, if not done at once, might lead to breakdowns or inadequate
equipment performance. Preventive maintenance is usually done by mainte-nance specialists from outside the manufacturing or operations department;
routine maintenance is generally accomplished by personnel who operate the
equipment. However, broad exceptions occur in both cases.
Lubrication Program
Some maintenance organizations assign lubrication throughout the facility toa special group trained in the application, handling, and safety of lubricants.
Others might incorporate this function into the preventive maintenance pro-
gram. The lubrication program is planned and scheduled and may be consid-
ered both reactive and proactive maintenance, depending on the nature of
the application itself.
PeriodicMaintenance
This is often included in preventive maintenance. But if it is shown as a sepa-
rate maintenance effort, it typically refers to activities considered bigger than
most PM tasks. When bigger tasks are undertaken, such as annual overhauls
of major equipment or systems, the equipment may be removed from servicefor a time. This work might be accomplished by contractor organizations,
the company's own staff, or equipment suppliers.
Project, or Upgrading, Tasks
Project tasks are perhaps overlooked as planned maintenance tools in the
continuing quest for maintenance improvement. Projects are almost always
planned, estimated, and scheduled. During the life cycle of an equipment
item or system, inventions, evolutionary technology improvements, new
materials, and process improvements may enter the picture. Some of these
items, if incorporated into the equipment or systems, might improve speed,
reliability, cost, quality, or life of the system itself. A project task can payhandsomely if it is made a regular part of planned maintenance and orga-
nized and pursued with a purpose.
Opportunistic Maintenance
This type of maintenance is a planned form of response that can be accom-plished when almost any unplanned event interrupts the operation of a
device, subsystem, or system. For example, if a production department expe-
riences a parts shortage or a machine goes down and thus stops activity at
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other machines or a power outage occurs, there is an opportunity to use the
time thus created as a maintenance opportunity. If a machine or device is
down due to some unrelated problem, opportunistic maintenance can be
accomplished within the time envelope needed for the primary repair. Real-
izing good value from opportunistic maintenance requires innovative
advanced planning by maintenance planners and schedulers. Preparation by
technicians and operators is needed to avoid missing the opportunity orspending more time and effort on the situation than justified.
Unplanned Maintenance Programs
Unplanned maintenance programs are totally reactive, as one might expect.However, they occupy a large amount of time and responsibility in most
maintenance organizations and therefore are important management issues.
Some of these programs are:
Emergency Maintenance
Emergency maintenance is self-explanatory. As stated earlier, any failure that
produces downtime in a critical or an automated system is probably an emer-gency. However, other failures may also be classed as emergencies such as
environmental, fire, and accident situations. Resources at every level shouldbe used to respond to a genuine emergency. Avoiding emergency situations is
best addressed by design reviews, equipment redundancy, modular devices,
preventive and predictive maintenance systems, expert or vision systems, and
continuous training of personnel and supervisors.
Breakdown Maintenance
Breakdown maintenance does not necessarily imply emergency conditions,
although almost any breakdown in an automated factory or similar type of
facility is a potential emergency. Breakdown maintenance can range from
adjusting or calibrating equipment and systems to improve quality or perfor-mance to difficult repairs requiring quick response and considerable exper-
tise. Breakdown maintenance usually results from the spontaneous
appearance of a problem; it can also result from predictive or preventive
maintenance activities, statistical process control analyses, alarms from the
control subsystem of an automated system, or complaints of the operator of
the affected equipment. Many organizations have special crews or techni-
cians who respond to breakdown situations; others station personnel in spe-
cific areas, such as production departments, to tend equipment on a
continuous basis.
Corrective MaintenanceThis term is often confused with breakdown maintenance and other programsnamed above. Anything done to equipment can be regarded as a correction.
However, used here, corrective maintenance refers to a maintenance engi-
neering approach that seeks causes of failures. This effort is used when failuresare frequent, costly, or significant in terms of quality or environmental impact.
Engineering and technician efforts are put to the study and analysis of the fail-
ures, causes are determined, and possible fixes are developed and tested. If the
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elimination of a failure can be confirmed and economically justified, correc-
tive action is taken or installed. This program contains an element of planning
but generally comes about because of unplanned problems. It might be argued
that corrective maintenance can be both reactive and proactive.
THE COST OF MAINTENANCESUPPORT PROGRAMS (MSP)
In this course, maintenance support (MSP) refers to programs or activities
discussed in the earlier sections of this chapter. There is no fixed basis for
indicating how much effort or money should be spent on maintenance sup-
port programs. The cost of maintenance support programs can be compared
with the cost of an insurance premium. As with an insurance policy, when the
premium cost exceeds the risk that whatever is being insured against will
happen, the amount of insurance and the premium should be reduced. Inmost cases, an empirical judgment about the costs of MSP versus the reduc-
tion of risk of equipment failure is satisfactory. Consider two examples.First, consider a gas-fired unit heater in a large, open warehouse area.
There are 20 identical units. If one becomes inoperative but is safe, there
would probably be little or no loss of warehouse performance. It would be
difficult, therefore, to justify more expense for PM than an annual inspection,
cleaning, and adjustment.
Now consider a large air-conditioning system that heats, cools, and ven-
tilates a six-story laboratory building. This equipment is more complex than
that in the previous example and therefore more likely to have problems.
The critical nature of its role in the facility and the lack of redundancy make
failures more serious. A more comprehensive and frequent PM schedule plus
some PDM and other advanced technology attention are justified becausethe risk of failure is greater than the cost of responsive maintenance support.
The same kind of reasoning is required for each item included in main-
tenance support programs, reactive or proactive. For larger, complex equip-
ment, accessory items or equipment units may be considered separately and
assigned more frequent or more comprehensive attention.
MEASURING THE RISK OFMAINTENANCE SUPPORT PROGRAMS
It is possible to work out a numerical rating system to help assess compara-tive risks and to determine to what extent MSP should be applied. Because
the cost of individual support tasks, such as PM, can easily be determined,the scheduling decision hinges on the size of the risk involved. Risk, used
here, consists of two factors: the probability of a failure occurring withoutMSP or with very low or no attention, and the severity of the problem that
results if the failure occurs. A hierarchy of numbers, on a scale of 1 to 10, is
assigned to each of the two risk factors and then combined. A numerical
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assessment of the comparative risks results. A maximum total risk of 20
means the highest levels of MSP would be indicated for an item of equip-ment or system. Examples of typical numerical assessments are shown in
Exhibit 5-1. To simplify further discussion and examples of maintenance
support programs (MSP), we will use the preventive maintenance (PM) pro-
gram as representative of MSP
EQUIPMENT INSPECTION
Maintenance support programs, regardless of type, usually include peri-
odic inspections of equipment or they generate orders for inspections in
response to ongoing conditions. The frequency of these inspections varies
to accommodate the nature of the equipment, its usage, and its impor-tance. The schedule can be developed for 12 months in advance, with
work orders issued on a weekly or demand basis.
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Inspections usually include an audio-visual (listen and look) inspec-
tion of the equipment while it is operating, combined with the use ofinstruments to determine specific indicators, such as power consumption,
speed, vibration, pressures, and so on. Other items are checked, such as
condition of filters, belts, tolerances, lube levels, and so on. Typically,
minor problems or repairs are handled immediately if they can be done
within a limited time. If more time is required, a standard maintenancework order is requested by the inspector or someone in the supervisorychain. In many cases, the lubrication program is considered to be a part of
the PM program, although it may be handled with a separate schedule and
perhaps by different personnel, who follow a prescribed route to service
equipment.
Equipment Identification
Whether using a manual or computerized system, establishing maintenance
support programs need not be difficult. Using a preventive maintenance
(PM) program as our example, setting one up requires a considerable amount
of effort but is really straightforward. First, each item of equipment included
must be selected, evaluated, and identified; any method of accomplishing this
may be used, but several pitfalls should be avoided. A usual tendency is to
identify every component, which greatly swells the database, complicatesscheduling, and makes for voluminous reports. It is best if only major or crit-
ical components have a separate identity.
Computerized or not, the PM system needs item numbers to keep track
of items. If using a computerized system, the number can be simple; manualsystems might work better with a formatted number. One equipment num-
bering system can use six digits to identify pieces of equipment or their major
components. The first digit identifies a generic or primary grouping, such asplant mechanical system. The next two digits identify subgroups within the
primary group, such as boilers. The last three digits identify individual units
within the subgroup. An example of an equipment numbering system is
shown in Exhibit S-2. Many computerized PM management systems suggest
numbering schemes that are more applicable to their systems as applied to
individual sites or industries.
Inspection Procedures
When the equipment has been identified, the inspection procedures should be
developed and written. This is best done by the technicians, supervisors, and
engineers most familiar with the condition and use of the items. Some helpmay be obtained from manufacturer's manuals and typical industry practices,
but customizing to the unique needs of the local site is best. Inspection proce-
dures should be as specific and detailed as the importance of the equipment orthe inspection dictate. They should be objective (test valve pressure for 20 lb.
minimum-30 lb. maximum), not subjective (check valve for proper opera-
tion). As a guide, the total annual prescription for dealing with the item
should be considered first. Then periodic tasks such as tests, filters and parts
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replacements, adjustments, calibrations, and so on, can be grouped by fre-
quency, by whether the equipment is running, and finally organized into sepa-rate work packages for optimal scheduling. Maintenance management should
establish a periodic review of inspection procedures so that pertinent changes
and improvements can be made. To do this well, feedback from the mainte-nance support systems will be needed.
Inspection Frequency
The frequency with which components are inspected can be scheduled
according to the type of inspection. Most computerized systems contain a
powerful scheduling program that organizes inspections by craft, geographic
location, risk factors, elapsed time of equipment usage, and such overridingfactors as production schedules or hours of business operations. The gas unit
heaters discussed earlier would be included, although the frequency might be
very low unless a safety issue were involved. In fact, they might be treated as
one complete group of items and the inspection of all of them covered by onework order instead of 20. As discussed earlier, many items should not be
included in the PM program because the risk of failure does not justify the
cost (safety items excepted). However, they should be included in the overall
equipment history file because when work is done on them, the work should
be recorded against the proper equipment item. It may be best to begin a PM
program on a small scale so that sufficient time can be given to the problems
of detailing inspection and scheduling. As experience is gained, decisions onexpanding and including additional equipment will become easier.
The frequency of PM varies: It can be based onjudgment by the localstaff, on the manufacturer's recommendations, or on other criteria. Better yet
are indications of past problems found in the machine history records. After
frequencies are set and the program has been in operation for a time, fre-
quencies should be reviewed and adjusted up or down. If frequencies can be
reduced safely, the cost of the PM program is also reduced. A candidate for
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increasing time between inspections would be a PM work order that docu-
ments few adjustments or repairs required over several consecutive visits to
the equipment. Again, an important part of inspections is to observe how the
equipment is running and to estimate if frequency should be increased or
stretched out for best effect on the equipment in its own operating environ-ment.
PM WORK ORDER SCHEDULING AND ROUTING
A simple PM work order, as shown in Exhibit 5-3, can be used for instruc-
tions and scheduling. It lists all pertinent equipment information, location,
description of what is to be done, frequency, time required, and a method of
indicating what was actually done, with verification of work completion. If a
computerized, on-line system is used, the work order can be delivered to andclosed out by the employee by means of a computer terminal in the field or
shop.
Scheduling PM
Scheduling is almost universally done through computerized programs. But
many competent maintenance organizations schedule PM work by hand.
Either way, the job of scheduling depends on two elements: a defined method
for the task and an estimate or historical time budget for doing it. If the
scheduling is done manually, the PM work orders should be listed in themonths in which they are to be done, then shifted into weeks within themonths so that the workload is balanced. It is important not to divide thetasks on one piece of equipment into different weeks. For large organiza-
tions, it might be necessary to go to a daily breakdown. Some PM jobs may
be repetitive and show up regularly throughout the year. Others might besensitive to seasonal or production influences and fall irregularly throughout
the year. Continue to list the jobs until all are in the yearly schedule. Then
some decisions can be made about combining, based on skills, areas, systems,
or other logical designations. Computer-based scheduling programs allow
flexibility in achieving an optimal PM schedule. They permit a master sched-
ule to be produced at the beginning of each week, accompanied by detailed
work orders.
Routing PM
Routing PM becomes a simple task of organizing the schedules according to
the proximity of one piece of equipment to another. Again, this can be doneby computer or manually and indicates the sequence of PM jobs. In some
facilities, routing can be complicated by having to avoid interrupting the
operation of critical equipment units. For example, PM may not be allowed
during a production run of a chemical process line. Therefore, the routing of
the PM job will indicate that the work should be done during down time or
perhaps during a product changeover or on an idle shift. Another complicat-
ing factor is the routing of trades or contractors who must coordinate their
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services in performing combined PM so that equipment is interrupted or out
of service as little as possible.
TIE MANAGER'S ROLE
The manager must ensure that inspections are performed on schedule and
must continuously review the preventive maintenance program to make cer-tain that the results meet technical and economic goals. The manager does
this by supervising the work in the field to see that it is properly executed and
by generating reports informing maintenance and other organizations about
the performance and cost of the PM work.
MSP REPORTS
Several types of reports help the manager monitor the effectiveness of main-
tenance support programs. The reports discussed in the next sections are
general suggestions; a facility may well develop unique reports that makesense in meeting local needs.
Uptime Report
One of the objectives of the maintenance function is to reduce downtime.Records should be maintained to measure how effective MSP is in reduc-
ing it. Downtime is defined as the interruption of scheduled operating time
because of failure or poor performance of the equipment. Uptime wouldbe the inverse of that definition, or the percentage of time that the equip-
ment is operating or ready to operate. The term is positive and easy to
measure and understand. Scheduled downtime, such as PM, does not countagainst uptime evaluations.
A good way to measure the effectiveness of MSP is to record and ana-
lyze the uptime of the equipment. Uptime percentages can be maintained
for individual units, averaged for a small number of critical units, or for the
entire list of equipment in a department included in the PM program.
Uptime reports shed visibility on pockets of downtime and show trendsthat might signal potential downtime in particular areas, systems, or units.
Marginal or substandard uptime implies that excessive costs are being
incurred because of downtime. However, determining the cost of down-time can be daunting. If a conveyor fails and 20 people are idled, the cost
of labor could be greater than if a drill press with only one operator fails.But the parts lost or delayed by the drill press failure may have a greaterimpact because of missed shipping dates than the conveyor line mishap.Extensive analysis may be needed to determine the true cost of a downtime
situation. But the existence of downtime itself is usually enough of a signal
to maintenance that action should be taken. This is why we concentrate on
the critical few and try to record the actual productive time this equipment
is idle.
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Compliance Report
A portion of available labor hours each week must be devoted to whatever
maintenance support programs are in operation and that the work be distrib-uted as evenly as possible. When scheduled MSP inspections are missed, theyare difficult to make up, and the benefit of that work can be lost. The affected
equipment is put at risk for wear and reduced quality of output.
A compliance report indicating the percentage of scheduled MSP workthat was accomplished each week or month reveals the current performance
of work by craft, shop, geographic area, and critical equipment and takes intoaccount other desired standards of compliance.
Ten-Most-Critical Report
It may be worthwhile to produce an uptime report for the 10 most critical
pieces of designated equipment (or some other useful quantity). In fact, this
is a good place to begin reporting uptime on equipment. In time the reportcan be expanded to include all important units.
Work-Generated Report
Another way to monitor maintenance support programs is to determine the
ratio of repair work orders generated as a result of MSP-related inspections.These results can then be graphed to illustrate trends. Initially, inspections
will generate more remedial work. After the various inspection efforts settle
down and the repair work is taken care of, the amount of generated repair
work will decrease. At this point, inspection frequencies for individual equip-
ment can be adjusted up or down to obtain maximum benefit from the dol-
lars spent on the PM program. The work generated report, if used carefully,
can be a great aid to the manager in fine-tuning inspection activities in threeways:
Adjusting frequency and timing of the inspections.
Changing the content of work included in the inspections.
Reviewing the work order process to ensure the remedial orders are prop-erly handled.
When work generated by MSP decreases, it is a signal that management
oversight of inspection activities is needed.
Graphical Data
It is helpful to display the data contained in MSP reports in a series of graphs
or curves, as shown in Exhibit 5-4. For example, the relationship between
the amount of PM work done, the amount of remedial work generated by
PM, and the resulting percentage of equipment uptime are good visual indi-
cators of the effectiveness of the PM program.
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SUMMARY
In this chapter we discussed programs broadly referred to as maintenance
support programs (MSP). Although much maintenance work may not be
included in maintenance support programs, it still can be planned and sched-
uled in advance by way of regular work orders or standing work orders. Thiswork might include routine filter changes, belt replacement, delivery of sup-
plies, seasonal changeover of equipment, cleaning of equipment spaces, andother routine jobs. When the various maintenance support programs areimplemented and stabilized, consideration should be given to including these
tasks in MSP Whether by manual or computerized means, all jobs worthdoing, large or small, should be scheduled and covered by a work order to
ensure that they are done properly and on time.
Well conceived and established maintenance support programs can be
accurately costed into the maintenance budget. Analysis of budget variancesprovide yet another measure of how well the programs are doing throughoutthe year. Management should monitor results and make timely changes to
the support programs based on feedback from the field and changes in the
number and type of equipment. Close and careful attention to MSP pays offin achieving maximum results for the dollars spent on them.
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