Reducing Maintenance Costs in a Tough Economic Climate

What are the demands of Industry 5.0 and what do leaders and teams need to consider in order to nurture people on the 5.0 journey, particularly in line with the expectation of our post millennial teams and the exponential rise in technology? How do we adapt to harness what is now available in people and process for the consistent performance of quality? 

Air Canada has opted for a “pit crew” concept for its Dreamliners, with five to eight employees descending on each arriving aircraft. Having more employees on hand results in a speedier turnaround, which is good for passengers and boosts aircraft utilization, according to Alan Butterfield, the carrier’s vice president of maintenance and engineering. “Utilization of your fleet is hugely important,” Butterfield said in an interview at YVR.

Over the past decade, I have watched more than 100 companies try to remake themselves into significantly better competitors. They have included large organizations and small ones, companies based in the United States and elsewhere, corporations that were on their knees, and companies that were earning good money. These efforts have gone under many banners: total quality management, reengineering, right sizing, restructuring, cultural change, and turnaround. But, in almost every case, the basic goal has been the same: to make fundamental changes in how business is conducted in order to help cope with a new, more challenging market environment.

As we look forward to 2024, it becomes clear that the demand for platform-driven models will continue to be a driving force in the industry. However, what will set successful entities apart are solutions that are purpose-built and have a tangible impact. In other words, the winners in this space will not only provide a broad range of services through integrated platforms but will also be distinguished by their ability to address specific challenges with precision and deliver outcomes that make a real difference.

The cost of unreliability is a big picture view of system failure costs, described in annual terms, for a manufacturing plant as if the key elements were reduced to a series block diagram for simplicity.  It looks at the production system and reduces the complexity to a simple series system where failure of a single item/equipment/system/processing-complex causes the loss of productive output along with the total cost incurred for the failure.

As an option to reduce plant costs, plant managers may consider contracting out maintenance work. This may have some merit, depending on many factors, including the nature of the business. One question that may be asked is, "Is maintenance a part of our 'core business'?" Let's look at a couple of examples. If the business is a hospital, where revenue is generated by the sale of medical services, and maintenance consists of a few specialized activities, such as janitorial, H&V system servicing, and repair of advanced medical diagnostic and monitoring systems, then contracting out these activities is almost certainly the best approach.

An essential part of a complete business process for managing a maintenance storeroom is a robust and simple procedure for returning materials to stores. The components of this procedure should meet the following requirements: It must be simple, take into account that some parts that are issued from stores will be returned, ensure that returned parts are fit for service, and returned parts must be complete.