Clients have asked this question of TTS time and again, “If my facility has to run 24/7, how am I supposed to find time for PMs?”
The basic answer is two-fold. First, take an honest assessment of your facility’s current operational uptime. Is it anywhere near reaching your 100%, 24/7 goal? (The answer to this is ALWAYS no.) Second, how much time are you currently spending on reactionary maintenance? That is where we are going to find our time for planned maintenance, or PMs.
Also described as “run-to-failure” or “fix it when it breaks,” facilities without proper PMs in place always have run-away reactionary maintenance costs and downtime. Proper PMs will lower a facility’s reactive maintenance to around 25% of total maintenance costs [1]. If reactive maintenance is eating up much more than that, a lack of properly designed and implemented PMs should be the first place you look for the cause. If your facility currently operates with 100% reactionary maintenance, then there is huge opportunity for gains by shifting to a PM-focused maintenance strategy.
By shifting away from a reactionary focused maintenance strategy, you will not only lower overall maintenance costs but also see a range of other benefits, including:
- Extended equipment life
- Improved product quality
- Reduced operational interruptions
- Less maintenance-related overtime expenditures
- Fewer safety incidents
- Closer to true, 24/7 operations
With all of these benefits available, the question shouldn’t be, “how can you find time to perform PMs?” The question should be, “how can you afford not to find time?”
To discuss how you can start shifting your facility from a reactionary maintenance strategy to a PM strategy, contact Technology Transfer Services today by calling (813)908-1100. We have the tools and talent to help you answer the question, “How do I find time for PMs at my facility when we run 24/7?”
Bibliography
| [1] | Emerson Process Managment, “White Paper: Reducing Operations and Maintenance Costs,” 2003. |