Achieving reliable performance in the maintenance organization - An assessment of maintenance performance indicators

Performance measurement is one of many key elements in managing reliability performance, but also an element closely related to the decision-making process at all levels of management. This paper presents the results from researching maintenance performance indicators within the petrochemical and manufacturing industries. The results are presented as groups of important performance measures and a List of best maintenance management practices. Managers make decisions based on available information and experience. Well-chosen performance measures support the decision-making process by providing timely information to management, allowing them to make wise resource allocations. Specifically, performance measures allow management to: Monitor changes Make rational, information-based decisions Prove (or disprove) organizational perceptions Compare the organization to the competition (internally and externally) Indicate achievements Shrinking or limited maintenance budgets are harsh realities for maintenance managers. This stems from a common viewpoint that maintenance expenses are simply costs to be minimized, regardless of long-term impacts on production. Using maintenance performance measures assists in counteracting this environment by supplying needed information to management, which promotes successful maintenance programs. Successful maintenance programs can lead to reliable plant systems-plant systems that are available when needed, operate at desired rates, and produce quality products. Certainly, maintenance activities incur costs, but the optimal approach to controlling these costs is not simply to cut or eliminate expenses. Rather, the correct approach lies in systematically assessing needed maintenance tasks, applying a combination of maintenance strategies (reactive, preventive, predictive, and proactive), measuring progress, and assessing and reducing (when appropriate) the need for maintenance. This combined approach will ultimately reduce maintenance costs.