Maintenance Plan Strategies and Their 6 Unique Goals

It's no secret that maintenance managers are constantly under pressure to deliver appropriate outcomes while working with limited resources. This occasionally encourages them to purchase the lowest assets available, which is a short-sighted decision. Cheaper assets tend to break down more frequently and use a greater proportion of your maintenance resources over time.

What is the significance of this? We're attempting to demonstrate how the amount of equipment maintenance required correlates with the quality of equipment purchased. Balancing maintenance expenses and investments is something that a maintenance manager must think about every day.

Aside from the quality of the equipment, some level of maintenance will always be required. Let's look at how to create an equipment maintenance program.

The procedures that follow will assume that a business has already installed CMMS software. This is because we feel that running an efficient maintenance program without a centralized maintenance platform and all of its capabilities is very impossible. If you're not sure what a CMMS system is, see our What Is a CMMS System and How Does It Work guide.

1) Make an inventory of your equipment

Every piece of equipment that will be subject to preventative maintenance should be documented in your CMMS system.

There are two explanations for this. To begin, creating a work order for a specific piece of equipment is considerably easier if the equipment is already in your CMMS database. The asset history is the second element to consider. One of the primary advantages of computerized maintenance management systems over paper records is that they automatically save asset history, which is accessible from any location with an internet connection.

2) Determine which maintenance plan will be used for each piece of equipment

When you've compiled a list of equipment that needs to be serviced regularly, it's time to construct a maintenance schedule. Before you do so, you should take some time to consider whatever maintenance techniques are accessible to you.

As previously said, most firms will begin with a comprehensive preventive maintenance approach. Purchasing a few sensors for your most vital pieces of equipment, on the other hand, is a wonderful bonus if you have the funds for it.

3) Make a maintenance schedule for the equipment

Any equipment maintenance program revolves around the equipment maintenance schedule. It determines which maintenance operations should be performed, when, and by whom.

As a result, the maintenance calendar should provide a comprehensive overview of all incoming and ongoing maintenance work. Furthermore, it should provide an easy way to swiftly schedule everyday operations, postpone any maintenance activity, and adjust task priorities with a single click or two.

When developing your initial preventative maintenance plan, consult OEM manuals and follow the recommendations provided. You should also check with your specialists to see if any assets have any long-standing issues that need to be addressed.

4) Create checklists and procedures for maintenance

Maintenance benefits immensely from standardization because it involves many repeated actions that must be completed on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. They can be condensed by defining:

routine operating procedures (SOPs)

techniques for emergency maintenance (EOPs)

Preventive maintenance checklists with lockout/tag-out procedures (LOTO)

general safety precautions

All of these should be explained to the personnel who will be using them and, if necessary, might be tied to individual work orders.

5) Educate your maintenance staff

A plan is meaningless if you cannot carry it out. Technicians should be able to read and comprehend the maintenance plan, as well as have the essential skills to carry out the maintenance operations stated. They must also be familiar with the CMMS and any other digital solutions you have adopted.

You may need to perform a couple of maintenance skills training seminars to bring everyone up to speed.

When transitioning from reactive to proactive maintenance services, the organization should go above and above to ensure that all maintenance staff is on board with the concept. During the initial few months, it is critical to ensure that technicians are following new protocols, entering what they need in the equipment maintenance log, and correctly utilizing the various CMMS features. This allows for the correction of undesirable behaviors before they become ingrained.

6) Examine and enhance

It would be a bit arrogant to expect everything to perform flawlessly on the first try. Maintenance performance metrics and other indicators must be reviewed regularly to eliminate inefficiencies and faults in your present plan.

Your maintenance software should provide you with adequate data to successfully optimize your equipment maintenance schedule over time.