Once you’ve invested in your operations’ assets, you’ll want to ensure that you can keep them in a prime condition for as long as possible. This is where maintenance operations shine.
Routine maintenance is necessary to guarantee asset availability, safety, and dependability. There is a big difference between an efficient operation and a wasteful one when it comes to asset upkeep. It shows in your organization’s bottom line. Strategic sourcing services and procurement teams also ensure overall efficiency. Click here to know more.
So, if you’ve been feeling dissatisfied with your operation and maintenance plan, we’ve got you covered. Read on for our full breakdown of the six simple tactics that you can implement today.
What Exactly Is Operations and Maintenance?
It’s all about minor maintenance and care of assets that do not need an in-depth technical understanding of how that asset performs.
That is what O&M is all about. A more precise term for this kind of maintenance is known as “corrective or reactive maintenance.” Also, it would be “operations and maintenance,” which is more generic in nature.
There are a broad variety of skill levels required to do oil changes on a vehicle fleet. Hence, this falls within the category of operations and maintenance. When it comes to more difficult repairs, such as a transmission replacement, you’ll likely need a more experienced expert to do it.
Of course, O&M isn’t limited to tasks that maintain equipment in good working order before a problem occurs. Some of these responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Inspections
- Fluid monitoring
- Minor part replacement
- Cleaning
- Minor upkeep
- Lubrication
Of course, this list can look quite different depending on your industry or field. Regardless of the moving pieces you need to maintain, you can apply the following tactics.
1. The Core of Operation and Maintenance: Protect Your Investment
Maintaining the health of your facilities and equipment is essential. It’s the foundation to ensuring their long-term viability as an investment for your company. Routine maintenance is the greatest approach to avert a catastrophic breakdown of a machine.
Equipment and assets may be kept in top working condition for as long as feasible with regular preventive maintenance. It increases your return on investment (ROI). Making sure your equipment is in good working order can help you avoid unexpected expenditures.
It can also improve your ability to anticipate your business’s long-term financial health.
In addition to technicians’ other duties, O&M operations are deemed low- or no-cost. This makes them a cost-effective approach to assuring dependability, asset uptime, and safety.
2. Enhance Labor Efficiency
When implemented properly, a comprehensive preventive maintenance (PM) strategy may transform your maintenance department.
Preventing activities from slipping through the cracks is easier when you schedule them in advance. It’s even better as part of an ongoing regular maintenance program.
As a result, technicians are less likely to get overworked by unanticipated repairs at the last minute. It all goes smoother if they plan these preventative operations in advance.
3. Improve Asset Performance
Routine maintenance not only prevents an asset from breaking down. It also improves its performance while it is functioning.
Think about the smallest of problems, such as a machine operating too hot. Or the exhibiting visible friction or fluid leakage, all can be easily overlooked if there’s no scheduled maintenance.
Tasks related to preventive maintenance assist to maintain assets in top working order and condition. Hence, it increases their efficiency and profitability.
4. Boost Planned-to-Unplanned Maintenance Ratio
Managers may utilize the proportion of planned maintenance to statistically monitor the success of their technician teams.
It’s a measure of how much maintenance is done on a scheduled vs an unscheduled basis. Measurement of this indicator helps managers evaluate how much maintenance is done on an individual asset. This helps detect upkeep expenses and establish whether an item has reached its end of life.
Calculate the planned percentage using this formula.
- (scheduled maintenance time / total maintenance hours) x 100 = planned percent.
In a perfect system, 90% of maintenance is scheduled in advance, and 10% is done when anything goes wrong.
5. Improve Safety Protocols
Another benefit of a well-executed O&M strategy is improved site security. Safety and cleanliness standards are key. They should play an important part in your facility management strategy.
Your operations and maintenance plan should include jobs that often slip through the gaps. These can be fire alarm battery replacement or janitorial duties. Also, garbage clearance, health inspections, or other health and safety activities.
You shouldn’t underestimate the significance of maintaining a clean and safe work environment to avoid costly liability claims.
6. Integrate Accountability and Awareness in the Workflow
By providing more insight into maintenance operations, organizations are better able to hold themselves accountable for their actions.
Managers may encourage employees to get more acquainted with their company’s assets by requiring them to undergo regular maintenance and inspections. For example, if you don’t know what the equipment normally sounds like, it is impossible to tell whether it is generating an odd noise unless you are acquainted with the asset.
Managers establish an environment of responsibility by allocating jobs to particular technicians rather than providing a generic pool of work that must be done. And, a great way to do so is by using the Ticked Off maintenance app. This way, you don’t have to set reminders or do it manually.
By looking at performance criteria and adjusting standards when technicians repeatedly fall behind on their work, managers may guarantee that expectations are reasonable.
Upgrading Your Maintenance Plan: Simplified
Operation and maintenance can be a nightmare if you ignore them and assume that things will be fine. For any industry that has industrial equipment or assets, it’s essential to have solid maintenance operations going in the background.
We hope that our guide has shed some light on six ways to better your current plan with minimal stress. Next step, you should check out our business section for more strategies and tips on how to have your operations running like clockwork.