An effective maintenance program starts with identifying benchmark criteria. You might think that the best metric for bench marking would be the reliability and life cycle cost of the equipment. Well, you would be right but, that is just one piece of the puzzle. Expanding maintenance programs to encompass other responsibilities such as sustainability and utilization optimization makes them more comprehensive. Focusing on reliability, sustainability, and utilization will ultimately save shrinking budgets as organizations expect maintenance departments to do more with less.
Here are 10 metrics recommended by the U.S. Department of Energy to use as key performance indicators (KPI's) for your maintenance program.
1. Work orders created/closed out - This metric correlates to simple supply vs. demand. Comparing the number to work orders generated versus completed work orders will provide work force utilization. If in a one month period, 40 work requests were submitted and only 20 were completed, new employees may need to be hired, overtime might need to be allowed, or a redesign of work processes may be required to eliminate any inefficiencies. Process inefficiencies could include: long lead times for parts procurement, lack of motivation to complete work orders on-time, insufficient tools to finish jobs, or miscommunication between management, technicians, and/or work requesters.
2. Backlog of corrective maintenance - A high percentage of corrective maintenance is an indicator of a preventive/predictive program that needs to be adjusted or reworked. A good rule of thumb is to have around 15-20% of your workload be corrective. Adjusting PM procedures based on the type of reoccurring corrective actions for each piece of equipment and tweaking inspection intervals will help maintain a good balance between the two.
3. Equipment/Facility Utilization - Getting the most out of assets is important to running efficiently. Equipment operating at full capacity will provide higher ROI's and recuperate asset costs quicker than those running at partial capacity. If facilities or office spaces are under utilized, look into renting the space out for storage.
4. Record of safety incidences - Most safety incidences can be rooted back to a lack of education and process standardization. Look over maintenance procedures to make sure they are safe and validate that employees are working according to those procedures. Formal safety courses can also help to reduce work related injuries and loss-of-time.
5. Energy use - The mainstay of any sustainability initiative is energy reduction. If an organization has the ability to measure energy consumption for each piece of equipment, equipment performance and efficiency can be tracked over time. Any jump in consumption could reveal procedures to add to PM inspections to help curb the cause of problems before they happen.
6. Inventory control records - The goal here is controlling cost. Maintaining low overhead will keep operations lean and efficient. Maintenance programs should include a way to trend parts usage to determine how much of each item is needed on-hand at any time. If certain parts are failing often, ordering better quality parts or revising the way those parts are being maintained could help resolve the issue.
7. Environmental impact - This metric applies more to the manufacturing sector. Part of building a sustainable business is being cognizant of the impact an organization has on the environment. Measuring pollutant byproducts from operations and maintenance processes will create a starting point to test different options to minimize negative environmental impact.
8. Overtime scheduled - Overtime can be a double edged sword. When used modestly, it can maximize workforce utilization without committing to a new employee hire. Relying on overtime however can become costly and the utilization return drops significantly past a certain point. Monitor overtime scheduling to determine the right time to hire new employees.
9. Absentee rate - Absentee rate will provide a general indication of how employees feel about the work they are being asked to do. When employees take a lot of time off it may indicate low morale, workplace interpersonal issues, or issues outside of the workplace. Look into these possibilities if an upward trend in absenteeism is realized.
10. Staff Turnover - Low employee morale, if ignored, will result in high turnover rates. Hiring and training new employees are both time consuming and costly. There is also a learning curve between new employee hires and the loss of experienced workers. A maintenance program that takes into account employee sentiment will improve the workplace climate, lowering the possibility of turnover. Administering climate surveys can help quantify this metric.
Que Centre web-based maintenance software makes it easy to track maintenance bench marking metrics. Metrics can be accessed in real-time as work orders are created and completed. Instead of relying on spreadsheets that need to be maintained, check out our comprehensive CMMS software. We make all you have to do easier: managing, maintaining, reporting, and scheduling. Download our FREE CMMS EBOOK.
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