Steps to Optimize Maintenance Planning and Scheduling

Maintenance Planning and Scheduling is critical to success of any Maintenance Organization resulting in a significant increase in Wrench time (Hands on Tool Time). Planning and Scheduling are two distinct functions which are dependent on each other.

Wrench-time is a measure of maintenance personnel’s time accomplishing proactive work on time, on schedule, and on budget. Wrench-time does not include time obtaining parts, tools or instructions, and work associated with those tasks, traveling to or from job sites, or time spent obtaining work assignments. It is about only focused on “hands on tool” time.

Maintenance Planning is a highly skilled function that requires a basic knowledge of the maintenance work processes, operations expectations, project management, computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) and related systems, as well as a practical understanding of the work to be performed.

Planning is the “what’s required” and “how to” part of any maintenance job.

Planning typically includes the following:

1. Parts/Materials
2. Specifications
3. Instructions (Repeatable)
4. Coordination requirements
5. Estimated time
6. Repeatable procedure
7. Safety/Environmental Requirements

Wrench-time is a measure of maintenance personnel’s time accomplishing proactive work on time, on schedule, and on budget.

Wrench-time does not include time obtaining parts, tools or instructions, and work associated with those tasks, traveling to or from job sites, or time spent obtaining work assignments. It is all about Wrench-Time which results on more proactive work accomplished to specifications.

Maintenance Scheduling is the process by which all proactive maintenance activities are scheduled by day by hour in coordination with Production at least one week in advance.

Maintenance Scheduling requires the following:

1. Maintenance Scheduling Meeting is managed by the Maintenance Planner/Scheduler
2. Production and Maintenance leadership agreement of schedule by day by hour one week prior to scheduled work execution
3. The Maintenance Schedule is agreed upon by all parties prior to scheduling meeting.
4. A Maintenance Scheduling Meeting, typically held every Thursday for 30 minutes, lead by Maintenance Planner/Scheduler to ensure nothing has changed for next week’s schedule.

Personnel to attend Scheduling meeting:

o Maintenance Planner/Scheduler

o Maintenance Supervisor

o Production Supervisor / Manager

o Plant/Reliability Engineer (Optional – dependent on potential interference with next week’s schedule due to contractor, project interference with schedule)

Measurements (prefer a dashboard posted in the plant)

o Total Backlog

o Ready Backlog

o Planned Work

o Schedule Compliance

o Rework

o Emergency Labor Hours

o Maintenance Cost

Planning and Scheduling is an Investment, not an Expense

Planning and Scheduling Vision, Mission, and Guiding Principles

1.????Wrench time is a measure of crafts personnel at work, using tools, in front of jobs.

2.????Wrench time does not include obtaining parts, tools or instructions, or the travel associated with those tasks.

3.????It does not include traveling to or from jobs.

4.????It does not include time spent obtaining work assignments.

Steps to Success in Maintenance Planning and Scheduling

Step 1: Identify External Distracters

o Poor spare parts and inventory controls

o Conflicting ideas of what planning is

o No planner (if you have no planner, assign your best maintenance technician to become your planner, send them to formal training) Write a Work Order scheduling the technician to this position until the company creates a new position)

o Planners taken off job, put on tools, or involved in daily activities (parts chaser, facilitating daily work)

o Maintenance and Production not acting as a team

o No planning process, unclear expectations, unclear roles and responsibilities

o Maintenance leadership not following the plan

o Emergency / Urgent Work too High

o Lack of Discipline

o The CULTURE

Step 2: Education of the Team - “Coaching is not just for Planners Anymore”

o Plant / Operations Leadership

o Frontline Production Leadership

o Maintenance and Reliability Leadership (all levels)

o Planners

o Maintenance Personnel

o Operators

Step 3: Create Guiding Principles for Planning and Scheduling

o The planners focus on future work and maintain at least two weeks of work backlog that is planned, approved, and ready to schedule / execute.

o Planners Do Not Chase Parts for Jobs in Progress

o Supervisors and Crew Leads Handle the Current Day’s Work and Problems – Coordination

o Scheduling Does Not Occur Until Parts are Kitted

o We will maintain a stable / nonfluid Criticality Index

Step 4: Define the Planning and Scheduling Processes

“If you send a Maintenance Planner to Training be sure you send you best technician or maintenance supervisor as well, change is never easy”

Step 5: Define Roles and Responsibilities

Step 6: Prioritize Work to be Planned based on Asset Criticality and Defect Severity

Step 7: Develop Repeatable Procedures for all Maintenance Work in order to:

o Ensure repeatability and reduce variation in execution

o Capture Knowledge based on past issue/failures

o Train New Employees with Repeatable Procedures

o To Reduce Human Error

Human error refers to something having been done that was "not intended by the actor; not desired by a set of rules or an external observer; or that led the task or system outside its acceptable limits".

Join me in Nashville, TN for "Maintenance Planning and Scheduling Best Practices" May 9-11

Interested? email me at [email protected] or go to my website for more information at: https://worldclassmaintenance.org/maintenance-workshops