Reduce Maintenance Expenses

PM Element 6. Planned Activities

The target is not to reduce the number of tradesmen in the factory. The main objective is to change from a reactive approach (firefighters) to a proactive approach (preventing breakdowns). The factory needs to develop a system of planned activities to use the maintenance resources more efficiently. In this document, planned activities mean:

Time-Based Maintenance,
Condition Based Maintenance,
Corrective Maintenance (Improvements),
Abnormalities Correction (F-Tags),
Lubrication.

Good planning for these activities will reduce maintenance costs just because the resources are being better utilized and are being used to reduce the breakdowns in the factory.

INDICATORS

As in the efficiency indicators, the costs indicators will help drive the activities for Maintenance Expenses Reduction. It is possible to divide Maintenance Costs into four categories:

Internal Labor,
Third Parties Services,
Materials,
Spare Parts (from Supply Room).

Materials are divided into two categories because they have the same purpose; the management and purchasing are different. Monitoring materials in other categories will be beneficial.

Below is an example of how you measure and monitor maintenance costs. In this case, Internal Labor is observed in a different graph.

Transferring Activities

One way to reduce maintenance expenses is to transfer some activities to the operators. These activities usually are:

Small Repairs
Inspections
Lubrication

The first step is to identify which activities will be transferred to the operators. Some criteria would include:

Frequency (generally within a month)
Special Knowledge
Height
Special Tools
Downtime
Time to perform/ Number of Activities

The following flow chart describes this activity.

To begin transferring activities to the operator, make a list of the activities that will be transferred, the current situation, and who will be responsible in the future.

Every time we talk about transferring activities, the first thing we think is to transfer activities from the tradesmen to the operators. Still, sometimes it is necessary to transfer from a third party (contractors) to tradesmen.

The next page will show a list of activities to be transferred and an example of a One Point Lesson utilized to train the operators.

MONTHLY COST REVIEW

Another essential tool to help in the Maintenance Cost Reduction is a Monthly Analysis. Maintenance Managers, Maintenance Planners, Tradesmen, and other people responsible for maintenance expenses need to attend this meeting.

The idea is to analyze the significant expenses for each expense (third party, material and spare parts). The questions to be answered during these meetings are: