Increase Organizational Awareness of Asset Performance With Metrics

The LNS Research Asset Performance Management (APM) survey has clearly shown by almost 50%, that the number-one goal to improving asset performance within an organization is to have better operational performance. So, now the questions to ask and discuss are:

• How do I prove that our organizations investments in the APM landscape are working?
• How do I show visibility from the shop floor to the top floor?

Many Organizations Are Heading In The Right Direction

Most organizations in our APM survey report, 62%, plan to or currently have real-time visibility into APM metrics. It’s important for Maintenance and Reliability Managers to understand metrics are role specific. Depending on what you do and how you are measured will define the best metrics to show where the opportunities may be to improve. In some cases there may be opportunities to benchmark against similar plants or groups within the organization, region, or entire industry. For example, metrics include plant/grid reliability, planned vs. unplanned work, and Return on Net Assets. As assets become Smart Connected Assets, data availability will increase significantly; enabling an increase in real time monitoring, from the plant/grid level to the enterprise level. 

How Do I Increase Senior Management Visibility?

It all starts with working internally to make sure maintenance and reliability managers are on the same page with the “customers,” aka senior management who are interested in this information. Different metrics will have varying levels of value depending on what level and part of the organization you are trying to communicate. 

In the case of raising visibility with senior management, maintenance and reliability managers will want to use metrics that indicate overall productivity of the workforce, assets, or connection to financials. Examples include Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) to communicate availability, quality and performance. Availability is a good indicator of asset health, and Maintenance Cost per Unit of Production is for a financial understanding put in production terms.

Using metrics will help gauge whether an organization is continuously improving, peaking, or being held back with ineffective business processes. Setting the right expectation and communicating the good, bad, and ugly with senior management will ensure Maintenance and Reliability Managers will get the attention they need to continue to invest in APM initiatives.