4 Simple Steps to Improving Profitability through Smart PMs

23. Judit KleinHow did the PM routines come to be in your business? PM routines are often the result of a failure and the maintenance department being told to implement a PM to prevent it from happening again. The PM is hastily put in place without much detail or thought. Fast forward a little ways in time and soon you have a monster of PM program, in which you struggle to execute on time. Overtime increases to complete all of the PMs, yet the performance of the operation does not improve.

The PM routines were designed to prevent the failures, but the failures continue to occur. Why is this? It is because the PMs were not designed to prevent or detect the specific failure cause and mitigate the consequences of the failure. In order to improve plant performance you need smart PMs. What is a Smart PM and what can it do for you?

What Can A Smarter Way of Preventative Maintenance Do For You?

Simply put, smart preventative maintenance translates into increased profitability to the business. How does smart preventative maintenance achieve this improved profitability?

  • Smart PM routines target failure modes that can be detected or prevented, not failure modes that can’t be
  • Smart PM Routines are not blanket work orders, open to interruption
  • Once an Existing PM program is converted to a Smart PM program, all non-targeted PM routines are removed, reducing the total PM work load.

What Results Can Be Expected With Smart Preventative Maintenance?

Once a PM program has been made smarter, the benefits to the business will be tremendous.

  • 28% average reduction in re-occurring PM workload.
  • 4% average increase in OEE

These two figures are significant, but are real and could be yours if you choose to make your Preventative Maintenance program smarter.

So how can a PM routine be developed that actually improves the performance of the operation? You use the 4 Simple Steps to a Smart PM Routine.

Using four simple steps, you too can create a Smarter Way of Preventative Maintenance;

  • Design A Smart PM Routine:
  • How do you determine what activities will be value added to the business? Knowing what to do is just as important as what not to do.
  • Write a Repeatable PM Procedure:
  • The PM routine needs to be broken down into a repeatable procedure to ensure quality and consistency in execution and measurements
  • Evaluate PM Effectiveness:
  • With the PM routine in place and moving along, the outcomes of the PM routine needs to be evaluated to ensure the business needs are met.
  • Continuous Improvement:
  • The final step in the Smarter PM process, involves taking the learnings from the technicians and the previous step and further improving the routine.

All of the details, templates and theory in developing a Smart PM is available in our free eBook. A smarter way of preventative maintenance awaits, what are you waiting for?

How many of your PM routines are smart and provide value to the business? If you could change one thing about your PMs what would it be? Remember everyone benefits from sharing experiences and learnings, so please leave your thoughts and comments.

Remember, to find success, you must first solve the problem, then achieve the implementation of the solution, and finally sustain winning results.

I’m James Kovacevic
Eruditio, LLC
Where Education Meets Application