Document 6511837
Transcription
Document 6511837
msb 2810 12/4/01 2:06 PM Page 1 JANUARY 2002 NUMBER 2801 “Dollarizing” Maintenance: How to Take Your Team’s Performance Up a Level If you want to take Maintenance to the next level at your facility, learn to express your operation’s impact in dollars. Why? Decision-making at the boardroom level always involves some degree of cost/benefit analysis. Your ability to present senior managers with a crisp financial description of even mid-level departmental work — being able to talk their language, in other words — will do a lot to boost your persuasiveness in the budgetary process. earning to “dollarize” each maintenance cost center and function brings you another important benefit: an invaluable benchmarking tool for your own decision-making. You’ll gain a new means of predicting the impact of projects and of assessing the results. Conversely, the inability to construct and follow a sound business model will orphan many otherwise worthwhile initiatives for lack of the needed rationale. Your operation will either miss out on valuable cost-saving opportunities or it will be lured into costly mistakes. The choice is yours. Thinking in such a financial style may be alien to nuts-and-bolts-minded maintenance managers, but that doesn’t mean that the task is beyond your grasp. Far from it! Here are a few basic how-to tips on effective “bean counting” for plant maintenance projects, offered by L Georgia-based engineering consultant Terry Wireman. Looking at the Numbers There are three levels of plant maintenance activity that can be financially evaluated, with each level characterized by its relative importance. At the highest level we find critical production equipment. Here, the value of efficiency — or lack thereof — is magnified. For these projects, the formula that Wireman applies is called Overall Equipment Effectiveness or OEE. (See more, below). It’s probably the best-developed and most-closely-scrutinized index of maintenance reliability. The next level involves the maintenance-specific functions. Less attention has been paid to monetary impact at this level because the scale is less dramatic. But you can measure return-on-investment that is derived from advanced maintenance efforts — for example, predictive maintenance (PdM) or total productive maintenance (TPM). The same is true at the “bottom” or most basic level: The dollars you spend on routine preventive maintenance (PM) and other maintenance of nonproduction systems can also be expressed in terms of profit and loss. Wireman advises starting out at the top level, calculating OEE separately for each production machine or system. Use the formula OEE = Availability x Performance Efficiency x Quality Rate where … Availability is the percentage of the time that equipment actually runs, against the expected or scheduled run time. You should strive for at least 90 percent availability, says “Dollarizing”, continued on page 2 ➧ IN THIS ISSUE 2 Maintenance Mainstream: An ROI Case Study 3 New Year’s Resolution: It’s Time to Tune Up Your Maintenance Plan 4 10 Ways to Boost Your Maintenance Effectiveness 5 The Case File: Did This Employer Live Up to Its Policy? 6 Staffing: You Can Plan Your Way Out of Overtime 6 Waste in Maintenance: Seven Types – And What You Can Do About Them 8 Outsourcing: Seven Steps to Successful Outsourcing of the Maintenance Function 9 Shifting Gears: Your Car Does It – And So Can You! 10 Emergency Response: It’s Time for a Checkup 10 Call For Submissions A BUREAU OF BUSINESS PRACTICE NEWSLETTER bbpnews.com 9900003030 msb 2810 12/4/01 2:06 PM Page 2 perhaps preventing management from launching an unwarranted expansion. he following case illustrates how learning to talk the language of top management — return-on-investments, in this case — can pay off in a big way: A concrete company in Canada calculated the downtime cost of a tempering kiln at $10,000 of lost output an hour. Any shutdown for repair, followed by restarting, required a minimum of four hours. In addition, the local power company surcharged the firm annually to the tune of about $100,000 in penalties for the heavy demand caused by each startup. “The bottom line was, in one year they had to shut down perhaps six times, with a minimum of four hours of downtime each time — a staggering loss,” says Terry Wireman. The magnitude was so great, in fact, that the company determined that the savings provided by a reduction of even a few hours of this downtime would easily pay for a full-time electrician and a backup mechanic “to do nothing but preventive and proactive kiln maintenance,” he says. During the year following these reassignments, not a single unplanned shutdown occurred, and the modest investment “paid for itself many times over.” “We see this type of thing all the time,” Wireman says. “Companies often work long hours of overtime or suffer prolonged downtime to recover from unexpected repairs — all in an attempt to avoid adding another body to the payroll. In reality, however, doing a cost study will often show that having another mechanic will save three or four times his or her added salary. When management sees those types of return ratios, suddenly the addition to your department’s head count doesn’t look so bad. But unless you can show them the total cost picture for the lost productivity, they’ll never add that body — because all they do is look at the overhead cost.” ■ T An ROI Case Study ➧ “Dollarizing”, from page 1 Wireman. To calculate availability at your facility, take the scheduled uptime of, say, two shifts a week — or 80 hours — and divide it by the actual uptime. (Note: Subtract from both figures any scheduled maintenance shutdowns. Another key point: Many production plants run less than a 24/7 schedule, of course, but Wireman advises expressing the top of the Availability fraction with the maximum potential of weekly hours. So, round-the-clock, 24/7 availability might equal 168 hours per week instead of only the scheduled time. “This approach — using a maximum potential figure — expresses the true availability of the plant’s equipment, rather than hiding it behind spurious calculations,” he explains. Although the resulting fraction is now smaller and perhaps less impressive looking, there is a benefit: It alerts the boardroom to the fact that underutilized plant capacity remains, Performance efficiency refers to the percentage of the rated or designed equipment spec for output that is actually being attained. For example, a machine may be designed to produce 100 “widgets” an hour, but what does it actually yield? Your goal here should be at least 95 percent of the ideal. Wireman points out that the rated design specs may be inaccurate or long ago forgotten, especially with older equipment. If possible, try to recover the original rating in order to reach a truer benchmark. Another point to be wary of is the fact that sometimes an ingenious technician has re-engineered performance to make a system yield more widgets than it originally could. If so, you’ll need to adjust the top of the fraction. If you don’t, the resulting reliability rating will be inflated. Quality rate refers to the fraction of the product output that meets the acceptable first-pass quality standard. In percentage terms, put the “perfection” figure (i.e., zero rejects) on top and divide by “passed” or acceptable units. The result should exceed 99%. When adding up the number of acceptable passed units, don’t include any reworking, refiltering, repackaging, or reformatting that isn’t first-pass quality. Following a Case in Point Now, for an OEE example. Let’s say the figures for the facility are as follows: an availability rate of 85%, a performance efficiency level of 90%, and a quality rate of 95%. This yields the following computation: .85 x .90 x .95 = 72.6% OEE That number now serves as a baseline and benchmark. You can focus Maintenance Management (ISSN 1080-188X) is published monthly by the Bureau of Business Practice, a division of Aspen Publishers, Inc., 7201 McKinney Circle, Frederick, MD 21704. Subscription rate is $219 a year. Duplication in any form without permission, including photocopying or electronic reproduction, is prohibited. Editorial comments may be directed to 125 Eugene O’Neill Dr., Suite 103, New London, CT 06320. For information on reprints, call Linda McKenna at 301-417-7591. For information on photocopy requests, or multiple subscription discounts, call Carol Johnson at 301 417-7591. Postmaster: Send address changes to Maintenance Management, Bureau of Business Practice, 7201 McKinney Circle, Frederick, MD 21704. © 2002, Aspen Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. Editor: Peter Hawkins; Editorial Director: Joyce Anne Grabel; Associate Publisher: James O’Shea. 2 msb 2810 12/4/01 2:06 PM Page 3 your maintenance efforts on improving each term. As a comparison point, world-class maintenance is now defined as achieving an OEE of 85% or better. However, although you now have a starting index, your financial translation isn’t done yet. You need to express that 72.6% in dollars. To do this you’ll need to know the market value of each piece that the equipment puts out. Determining this may be tricky in that accountants tend to use a variety of costing methods. Ask them for appropriate unit pricing. Wireman points out that, “What’s important isn’t which way you do it, but you want to use one system consistently.” This ensures that you’re comparing apples with apples in your work-valuation measures. Multiply the unit value that they give you by the actual output quantity during the period in question — whether a week, month, or year. For example, suppose the equipment, when operating at 72.6% OEE, puts out 15,600 pieces per week, each worth $12. Your world-class target is an OEE of 85%. Arithmetically, that’s an additional 7,800 pieces per week. Achieving this will add annual revenues of $12 x 7,800 x 50 week/year — or $4.68 million. Although simple, OEE will prove itself a powerful management tool for prioritizing and doing cost/benefit studies. You can use the figures to support budget requests for additional staff, training, or tools. Moreover, as Wireman explains, “Whenever financial people want to know the impact of your efforts on the bottom line, the answer will be clear and understandable for them.” Expanding Your Effort Next, you’ll want to apply similar analyses to other lower-level maintenance systems — the difference now being that instead of counting production output (which doesn’t occur, of course), you must establish some other suitable valuation theory. For many, this will take the form of the cumulative expense generated by the system’s operation. Hence, you’re applying a kind of “negative OEE” formula. For example, a heat exchanger or cooler does not produce an asset, but it may rack up hefty overhead costs for the needed cleaning, periodic maintenance, and eventual replacement. One way to quantify this expense meaningfully is to figure the cost impact of outright zero maintenance (i.e., “run-to-failure”). What will this “strategy of neglect” cost? Almost certainly it will… 1. Increase energy consumption due to decreased efficiency 2. Hasten a complete breakdown 3. Eventually necessitate either a costly repair or replacement In addition, ignoring this system may also degrade air quality — with potentially expensive repercussions. For the greatest accuracy, strive to total the cumulative downside cost of this run-to-failure approach. Now, against this expense total you can estimate the positive impact of performing work such as predictive tests, routine PM, and even TPM. High-quality maintenance will greatly extend equipment lifespan — but by how much exactly? And what is the comparative worth? Calculate this dollar payback as a function of the ongoing maintenance investment. In the same way, calculate cost/benefit data for other equipment and functions facility-wide — pumps, motors, HVAC systems, parts inventory levels, even relamping. What you end up doing, Wireman says, is “dollarizing the maintenance operation,” which, theoretically, can lead to your “determining almost the exact hour at which you should do maintenance on that cooler or chiller or furnace, or whatever.” Of course, by using this method you may also discover that you’re doing excessive and needless maintenance on some items, as defined in pure dollar outlay. Your dollarizing approach should help you to detect and correct imbalances and wasted motion. What’s crucial in this approach is that “your determinations are not based on what’s convenient for the maintenance operation, but on what is best for the company bottom line,” Wireman says. Thus, you’re better able to communicate the significance of your department in the terms that key financial people find most relevant — and your analysis will often be eye opening to them. “Very few financial people understand production constraints or production values,” Wireman observes. “Few understand the impact of poor maintenance and resulting downtime. But many will be surprised to see this kind of analysis coming from a maintenance manager.” ◆ Terry Wireman is a noted consultant and author based in Woodstock, Georgia. He can be reached at (208) 233-8585 and at [email protected]. You can find his Web site at www.terrywireman.com ■ New Year’s Resolution: It’s Time to Tune Up Your Maintenance Plan By Kevin M. Quinley, CPCU, ARM Medmarc Insurance Group ll buildings and equipment have certain basic maintenance needs, and prudent stewardship of resources involves taking care of A what you have. A well-designed physical maintenance plan is a key aspect of facility management. While your company’s employees may have a certain tolerance for clutter (remember the saying, “It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it”?), clients, cus- 3 msb 2810 12/4/01 2:06 PM Page 4 tomers, and visitors understandably hold places of business and commerce to high standards of upkeep and maintenance. Many property managers use a doit-yourself approach to maintenance by calling upon staff or employees to attend to the needs of the physical plant and other facilities issues. They actively encourage employees who have specific talents, such as carpentry, plumbing, gardening, or helping with odd jobs, to become part of a maintenance team. However, this approach is not universally embraced. sion that involves additional expense care of everything from roof inspecand one that might be tough for facilitions and furnace cleanings to carpet ties on tight budgets to manage. scrubbing and changing light bulbs. Also, there may not be a sufficient Turnover in such positions is often amount of work year-round to high, however. If the staff keep such a maintenance changes, a property staff busy. Or there may manager needs to A well-designed be jobs that transcend know what has the expertise of a staff been addressed physical maintenance plan person, requiring the and what open is a key aspect of successful items still must outsourcing of mainfacility management. tenance jobs. In this be handled. A case, the property owner well-designed takes a double financial maintenance diary can “hit,” paying for a staff position help close the maintenance and also going outside to hire a conloop and keep key tasks from slipping tractor. through the proverbial cracks. A Key Decision Other managers find it more expeYour maintenance plan should A critical decision is whether a dient to hire a professional firm to periodically address the physical property owner internalizes mainteperform routine building maintenance plant’s major systems: nance functions or outsources them to chores. HVAC (heating, ventilation, and firms and contractors. Some hire a And then there are the facilities air conditioning). Keep the building full-time maintenance staff — a decithat go with an in-house staff to take interior at a comfortable temperature. Provide adequate ventilation, and monitor humidity levels. This is not just for the comfort of staff and visitors; it also prevents the spread of mold or mildew. Papers and books can warp and degrade from improper 1. Understand the tradeoffs involved in outsourcing maintenance versus temperature and humidity. “do it yourself” approaches. Plumbing. This is the building’s 2. Review the life expectancy of all systems, but realize that these are “circulatory system.” Pipes should be guidelines, not guarantees. in good working order and insulated, especially for properties in colder cli3. Budget for maintenance well before maintenance needs arise. mates. Leaking or burst pipes can disrupt a building’s operation, leading to 4. Even with the best budgeting, be prepared to occasionally make agowater damage and necessitating a nizing decisions over dollars for maintenance versus dollars for opermessy cleanup. ations. View preventive maintenance here 5. Have written maintenance plans, with multiple copies available in difas an investment. Without running ferent places. water in the building, the local health department may raise irksome, 6. Have maintenance plans broken down into daily, weekly, monthly, and expensive questions. annual tasks. Roof. Inspect shingles and flat roof systems for signs of degrada7. Update maintenance plans at least every six months, in case they need tion. Address immediately any signs to be revised or fine-tuned. of leakage or of rotting boards 8. Network with other maintenance schedulers in your area or via the underneath. Examine gutters and Internet to assess different approaches to maintenance. water drainage systems, keeping them unplugged and free of clotted 9. View maintenance, especially preventive maintenance, as an investdebris. This is particularly important ment rather than an expense. in the fall. 10 Ways to Boost Maintenance Effectiveness 10. Focus particularly on high-ticket items such as HVAC and plumbing, where repair and replacement due to deferred prevention can be very expensive. ■ 4 Drainage. Make sure that downspouts and other systems that are designed to draw water away from the building and walkways are func- msb 2810 12/4/01 2:06 PM Page 5 tioning as intended. This helps prevent flooded basements and mold/mildew problems. It also helps prevent puddles and slippery surfaces that create slip-and-fall accident hazards that can spawn expensive liability and personal injury claims. Security and physical plant. It’s an unfortunate fact of life that businesses are vulnerable to thefts and break-ins. For this reason, maintenance managers must be aware of security concerns and incorporate them into a well-designed maintenance schedule. This includes periodic attention to key security measures: • Make sure that there are functioning locks on all points of entry. • Test and confirm the proper functioning of any type of alarm system that is activated after hours. • Make sure those sprinkler systems are in good working order and that functioning fire extinguishers are readily available. Progressive discipline policies are usually a great way for employers to protect themselves against wrongful discharge claims. However, for the policies to work, employers must actually use them. Mitch Kane, a machine repairman for a lighting fixture manufacturer, was livid. His wife had just left him after emptying their bank account. Needing cash, he planned to work overtime on Friday, but found out the company nurse had canceled his extra shift. He telephoned the nurse, Trish Marquette. “What the h—— are you doing?” he shouted. “You can’t work on Friday. You have a pre-op doctor’s appointment,” Marquette said. Kane had been For quick reference, post emergency numbers for police, fire department, and ambulance at multiple locations. As an added bonus, properties with well-maintained security systems may be able to get premium credits — a savings that can help offset the price tag of the facility’s security system. Grounds-keeping. An effective maintenance diary will also address the appearance and condition of the facility’s grounds. This may include mowing and clipping, but could also include reseeding, resodding, aeration, pruning, mulching, etc. Holes, divots, or depressions on property grounds can cause pedestrians to trip, fall, or turn ankles. In some cases, these have led to liability claims or lawsuits. Check perimeter fencing for signs of needed replacement and for general wear and tear. Some properties — fast food restaurants, daycare centers, schools, and churches — have playgrounds for children. These areas should be moni- injured on the job and was scheduled for surgery. “Just a f——g minute! I rescheduled that for next week.” “I won’t be talked to that way,” Marquette said. “Live with it, b——!” Kane said, slamming down the phone. Shaken, Marquette reported the conversation to management. In the meantime, Kane complained to his supervisor. “That b—— is taking money out of my pocket!” Kane said. “The nurse just called me,” the supervisor said. “Where do you get off using that language? Call her and apologize.” “No way!” Kane said. But after cooling down, he changed his mind. “I was out of line. I’m sorry,” Kane told Marquette. “Well — Since you’ve already rescheduled the appointment, I’ll tored regularly to keep them free of trash and debris, to ensure that the footing is safe, and to ensure that all equipment (swings, bars, etc.) is in secure and sound condition. An essential aspect of a successful maintenance management plan is a system that reminds you of these recurring maintenance tasks. This can be handled through a master calendar, tracked manually or electronically by sophisticated scheduling software. The benefit is that it allows you to address situations proactively, since — as in medicine — curative solutions are inevitably more expensive than preventive maintenance. ◆ Kevin Quinley is senior vice president – Risk Services for Medmarc Insurance Group, Chantilly, VA. He can be reached at (703) 652-1320 or kquinley@ medmarc.com ■ release you to work on Friday.” “Thank you,” Kane said. However, the company decided to suspend him. A few days later, Kane met with the maintenance director, who felt Kane was belligerent during their meeting. The company fired Kane. Kane filed a grievance, alleging the company failed to issue a written warning before terminating him as its policy required. The company pointed to its work rule against using an “uncivil attitude” towards supervisors or other employees — a rule Kane violated three times by using “abusive and insubordinate” language with Marquette, his supervisor, and the maintenance director. ■ Was Kane fired for just cause? ■ See page 7 for the decision and our comment. 5 msb 2810 12/4/01 2:06 PM Page 6 Staffing: You Can Plan Your Way Out of Overtime t used to be that overtime was a fairly straightforward proposition. If there was more work than could reasonably be done during the day, employees who were interested in earning additional income could volunteer to stay late to complete it. In many companies these days, however, overtime is expected from workers as a matter of course — a policy that leads to employee burnout. The truth is, many workers tend to like the idea of overtime and the higher pay it provides — as long as it’s sporadic. Anything more means exhausted and unhappy employees. As a manager, it’s to your advantage to have thought out your approach to overtime and to have a consistent policy in place. When thinking about the matter, consider the following: I • Is overtime completely voluntary in your department? Or is it the unspoken assumption that people stay until the work is finished? If the workload in Maintenance grows too intense, could you imagine members of the department rebelling? • Are there ways to prevent such a showdown? Rather than simply assuming that your workers are agreeable to putting in the needed extra time, make a point of periodically asking if this arrangement is still acceptable. And be sure to thank them. • Is the workload in the department beginning to escalate, and are people beginning to resist requests for overtime? If so, take a step back and review how the work is currently being distributed. There may be employees who are underutilized and who could make a greater contribution. • Are you allowing for the fact that people vary psychologically? Some may thrive — and feel needed or even validated and important — when they are overloaded with work. Others will be perfectly content just doing their jobs and going their own way. • How much of what is deemed justifiable overtime could actually be accomplished during the regular workday if employees worked more diligently? Can your people work faster and/or harder and not begin to show signs of stress? Suppose that the budget is really tight, and there is no possibility of overtime. Would the work be left undone at the end of the day — or would your team somehow find a way to get the job done? Your answers to questions like these will help you get a better grip on overtime issues. If your answers tell you that performance could be improved in some areas, start working on them. As your performance improves, you may find that the need for unscheduled overtime may gradually disappear. ■ Waste in Maintenance: Seven Types – And What You Can Do About Them aste in Maintenance: Every department has some — and unfortunately, some seem to have more than they’d like. It comes in all forms: idle crews, needless downtime, and pointless motion. It may be gobbling up half or more of your resources, according to some sources. Waste in manufacturing is defined by practitioners of Lean Manufacturing (LM) as “anything that adds no value to a process or to the bottom line,” explains Greg Folts, formerly a TPM maintenance manager and currently director of operations for the Marshall Institute, a training and consulting firm based in Raleigh, NC. More specifically, LM theorists have W 6 identified seven common types of waste to look for: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Overproduction Waiting Transportation Motion Processing Defects Inventory Paralleling these losses in Production are similar losses occurring in Maintenance. Fortunately, the tools for detecting and correcting them — and for running a “lean” maintenance shop have also evolved, having been imported from the practices of Lean Manufacturing. Conceptually speaking, lean maintenance boils down to identifying everything you do in an operation that adds value to achieving what your customer wants, and matching this with how much is wanted, and when. Whatever is extraneous to this is waste. Apply this paired concept of value-vs.-waste to what you’re doing in maintenance: Whatever fails to add value is waste — and should probably be scrapped. The LM strategy is simply to find and evaluate the nonvalue-adding events — and then look for ways to curtail, minimize, or eliminate them. Here, the LM model also offers several conceptual and practical tools. msb 2810 12/4/01 2:06 PM Page 7 Here is an overview and some examples: 1: Overproduction Are you doing more PM than is needed, gaining little or no demonstrable reliability improvement? Are crews maintaining equipment that should instead be allowed to runto-failure and then be replaced? Folts comments: “We sometimes find mechanics going out to check the same equipment over and over without ever finding either deterioration or failure. Still, the PM schedule hasn’t changed in years. That is unnecessary “overproduction.” Pointless effort of this kind can be an indication of two problems: 1. PMs are still done despite recurring breakdowns. This means that the PMs themselves were useless all along. 2. PMs are being done “ritually” for systems that rarely fail, regardless of whether inspected or not — or which fail at predictable intervals. In either case, it’s apparent that PMs are having little or no effect. Keep in mind that PM adds value only if it enhances equipment longevity. Folts believes that, “You have to constantly reevaluate and reassess these relationships. Look at the failure histories that drive the PM schedule. Be sure that the schedule is still reasonable and appropriate.” In fact, “There are often disconnects like this,” he continues, “and PMs are but one example among other kinds of overproduction waste. Others are excessive recordkeeping, too much inspection and tracking, and assorted busywork. 2: Waiting Are mechanics forced to sit idly as they wait for parts to come, or for some other event to begin before they can move? “Whenever people aren’t in motion and they should be, they’re not adding any value,” Folts notes. That is waste, and it shows a lack of good coordination between task elements — a common cause of maintenance waste. One solution: Have schedulers ask for detailed feedback from the work crews so that they will have a better understanding of where the bottlenecks are or where a mistiming is happening — and why. Waiting is caused in other ways, too: It could be caused by outdated or bad work procedures, or by a lack of training. For example, an operator’s machine goes down and needs repair. The operator buttonholes a nearby mechanic, and the two spend half an hour troubleshooting in futility — because the operator didn’t know (or care) that the proper procedure is to report the breakdown to a maintenance scheduler first. Or the operator didn’t know how to create an accurate work order and enter it on the computer terminal. “To eliminate these waste areas,” says Folts, “you have to explore all the steps that occur, and then identify those that add value or contribute to progress in responding efficiently. Look at what is necessary—and look at what can be eliminated.” 3 & 4: Transportation and Motion In Lean Manufacturing, these two events count as separate waste culprits. Both are similar, in that they refer to “moving things and people around the facility on foot or by vehi- ■ Was Kane fired for just cause? ■ No. The arbitrator ruled that the company should have taken into account the “extenuating circumstances” of Kane’s situation. Kane had felt that the company was being inflexible and arbitrary in insisting that he keep his original doctor’s appointment. As a result, “frustration, rage, and vulgarity ensued.” Moreover, management failed to follow the progressive discipline policy outlined in its employee manual. The company should have issued a formal written warning between Kane’s suspension and his meeting with the maintenance director. The warning would have formally notified Kane that “one more diatribe could cost him his job.” Kane had a good employment record with no prior incidents of insubordination. Therefore, “the unique circumstances and statements which coalesced to provoke and inflame [him] will certainly not recur,” the arbitrator said. His termination was reduced to a written warning. Management Memo: Even though Kane won his job back, the arbitrator clearly didn’t condone his tirade against the nurse or his obvious contempt for management personnel. However, the employer was faulted for failing to alert Kane that his job was in jeopardy and that he had better change his ways. The courts in some states have ruled that a company-issued policy manual or handbook is an implied contract, and employers and employees are both required to adhere to the rules set forth in it. The message for employers: If your company has a policy that calls for progressive discipline, use it. Of course, even though companies should generally follow their progressive discipline policy as much as possible, sometimes it may be necessary to step outside that policy to address serious misconduct. Employers should list examples of behavior that could lead to immediate termination and also state that other unlisted behaviors could be also be dealt with outside the normal disciplinary procedure. Some details of this case have been fictionalized. The case citation is available on request. 7 msb 2810 12/4/01 2:06 PM Page 8 cle inefficiently,” he explains. Both drain staff time and productivity, and hence, both should be targeted for correction. Folts recalls having worked in organizations where the central storeroom was three quarters of a mile from the production floor. Mechanics would get on a golf cart and drive there, fill a parts order, and then drive back to the broken machine — only to discover that they forgot something and had to drive back. Crisscrossing like this — and long transit times as techs shuffle back and forth to stores or to an engineer’s office — is a common problem. Or techs may be called on to perform tasks with elements unnecessarily spread out. Another problem occurs when mechanics burn inordinate amounts of time searching for key information, such as schematic diagrams, manuals, parts lists, or repair histories “which are critical to servicing but are scattered and unorganized,” he says. “Mechanics may not even know how many sheets exist … so they must first go look in Joe’s bench, then in the engineer’s files, then in the machine shop ….” And the clock keeps running. To plug such gaps, do some basic time-and-motion studies. Quantify the unnecessary movement factors. Give thought to how your parts, stores, tools, people, and equipment might be better repositioned so as to make them closer, handier, and logistically more accessible. For example, in Lean Manufacturing a common kind of “proximity improvement” is called pointof-use tooling. This means “getting tools and supplies close to where they are being used, as opposed to having them placed off somewhere else.” As for machine documentation, typically, he says, “You’ll want to set up some kind of centralized library system, where all documents are well organized.” In addition, make copies of key data sheets and diagrams, etc., to hang next to each piece of equipment. Efficiency gains from measures such as these will be compounded by 8 improved response times, faster detection of imminent failure, increased productivity, higher machine reliability, and better overall communications. 5 & 6: Processing and Defects money? To help you manage stocks efficiently, formulas are available to calculate reorder points, quantities, and supply levels. What about storeroom layout and processing flow? The first of these categories includes such typical maintenance • Are items cataloged efficiently so quagmires as the inefficient or garbled that retrieval takes minimal time? work order system, excessive or • Are rooms logically time-consuming reporting arranged, with highforms, mismanaged demand items close Efficiency gains from training that fails to convey needed measures such as these will at hand? • How about instructions and be compounded by improved shelves and bins must be retaught, response times, higher machine — Are they well and the like. marked, so that Under “defects” reliability, and better overall parts are easily are instances of communications. accessible? reworking and redoing — repeatedly repairing Good storeroom manan item, making multiple agement will carry such impact cuts, and so on. Of course, “The custhat bringing in a consultant or taking tomer wants none of these things,” a course will easily justify the investand none are value-added, Folts notes. ment, especially if this aspect hasn’t Solutions to wasteful processing been examined recently. and excessive reworking can be had from studying the specific problem, Of course, this discussion merely but a few typical measures may scratches the surface. LM methodolinclude the following: ogy gives maintenance managers a dozen or more efficiency improve• An upgrade to your computerized ment tools to learn and adapt for use maintenance management system in their operations. If your plant is • Improved flow process analysis already doing LM, but its techniques • Redesigned equipment or processes have yet to be embraced on the • Retraining of staff Maintenance side, it’s time for a • Work flow reassessment and change. streamlining Unfortunately, due to a perceived • Clarification of instructions disconnect between Maintenance and • Better recognition of actual root Lean Manufacturing, notes Folts, problems “Maintenance is sometimes left out.” • Systematizing of work order forms If that’s the case at your company, • Improved work planning (i.e., the make an effort to study LM’s techold adage, “measure twice and cut niques and procedures — and then get once”) involved. “At the very least, you’ll • Instilling in employees a better work gain the benefit of its efficiency tools ethic or devotion to doing things such as standardization, improved right the first time every time. setup practices, better preparation, and communications,” says Folts. 7: Inventory Often, you’ll find that a major drain of time and overhead cost in parts and storage. • Do mechanics find some items chronically “out”? • Are obsolete parts still sitting on the shelf, coated with dust and tying up ◆ Greg Folts can be reached at (919) 834-3722 or at [email protected]. The Marshall Institute can be found on the Web at www.marshallinstitute.com. ■ msb 2810 12/4/01 2:06 PM Page 9 Shifting Gears: Your Car Does It – And So Can You! ou know how important it is to organize your routine work and follow a schedule. In most cases, your own judgment tells you which of your regular duties takes priority. But there’s no way of foreseeing when a phone call from the shop may make it necessary for you to stop what you’re doing and work on a maintenance crisis that’s more urgent. This kind of interruption should present no problem if you’re caught up on your regular work. However, there are times when you’re working on one deadline already and you’ll be asked to handle two rush jobs at the same time. Suppose, for example, that you’re working on a report your boss told you is needed for a meeting at 4:00 p.m. today. You’re right in the middle of the project when the phone rings: “I need you to run over to Building #3 — immediately. I just got a call …” Of course, a lot depends on what is meant by “immediately.” Your boss may be the kind of person who uses “immediately” or “now” or “right away” as a way of indicating to you that the work is important and should be taken care of as soon as possible. Or perhaps it means that the work should be done sometime today rather than tomorrow or early next week. Then again, it could mean, “Drop everything! This is an emergency.” That’s why it’s up to you to find out exactly what your boss does mean. To keep the wear and tear on your nerves to a minimum, here’s an approach that you can use to find out just what your boss wants done — and when: Y • Stop, look, listen. Quit whatever you’re doing, and give your boss your undivided attention. Don’t type “just one more line” or file “just one more letter.” And don’t risk annoying your boss by assuming an “I’m so swamped” attitude. Chances are, he or she already knows how busy you are. • Don’t assume anything. Don’t clear your desk or your computer screen of the material that you were working on until you know for sure which assignment your boss wants to designate “top priority.” him or her about the other rush job, and provide an estimate of how much longer it will take you to finish it. Perhaps the second job can wait if it will take only a little while to complete the first. • Take notes. Write down the instructions from your boss for the second rush job as he or she fills you in on what needs to be done. It’s hard to switch your train of thought to a new assignment when you’re already focused on another project. Taking notes will help you to focus your attention on what your boss is saying, and the notes will act as a backup in case your memory fails you later. • Leave the deciding to your boss. Let your boss make the decision about which job gets done first. He or she probably knows better than you which task is more important. But if there is something you know about the project that you’re working on that might make a difference in the ultimate decision, now is the time to share that information. • Do some fast figuring. Quickly calculate the time it will take you to do the new job. After all, your boss might not realize that an assignment that takes two minutes to explain may take two or more hours to execute. If there’s a possibility that you won’t be able to meet the deadline your boss had in mind, break the bad news now. Don’t wait until the boss asks for the completed work to let him or her know that the deadline was unrealistic. • Make it easy on yourself. If your boss decides that the second job has priority, take steps now so you can easily pick up where you left off on the first job when you get back to it. Flag your stopping point on the draft of the report you were working on, for example. • Jog your boss’s memory. Remind • Put everything else out of your mind. Concentrate on the assignment that has just assumed top priority. Fretting about the interruption and all the things that still need to be done will only slow you down. ■ “I’ve seen some limited warranties, but what’s this ‘three weeks or until something breaks’?” 9 msb 2810 12/4/01 2:06 PM Page 10 Emergency Response: It’s Time for a Checkup 6. When employees are exposed to bloodborne pathogens, are immediate postexposure medical evaluations and follow-up provided? 7. Are emergency phone numbers hen it comes to the safety and vide timely emergency treatposted? health of your workers, an ment, is at least one employee ounce of prevention is defion each shift currently qualified 8. Are first-aid kits easily accessinitely worth a pound of cure. But to provide first aid? ble to each work area? despite the best-laid intentions of your 5. Have all employees who are safety plans, accidents do happen. And 9. Are first-aid supplies periodicalexpected to respond to when they do, you’re not going to want ly inspected and replenished as medical emergencies… to take the time for “would’ves and needed? should’ves.” Minutes count in a crisis, • received first-aid training? and you’re going to want to 10. Have first-aid kit supplies been • had hepatitis B vaccinaensure that emergency approved by a physician, inditions if they have been medical help will cating that they are adequate for arrive as quickly as a particular situation? Minutes count in a crisis, made available? • had appropriate possible. and you’re going to want to training in proceHow can you 11. Are means provided for quick minimize the im- ensure that emergency medical dures to protect drenching or flushing of the them against bloodpact of incidents? eyes and body in areas where help will arrive as quickly borne pathogens, A good place to employees handle corrosive liqas possible. including universal start is with a quick uids or materials? precautions? first-aid and medical• been provided and taught to services audit. OSHA outQuestions like these will help you use appropriate personal protective lines your facility’s responsibilities get a grip on the adequacy of your equipment to safeguard against for providing employees with prompt facility’s planned emergency bloodborne diseases? medical assistance in Subpart K of response. ■ the general industry standards: §1910.151 (Medical Services and First Aid). Is your facility’s current plan adequate? Check it against the following questions: You are the expert on what you do. That makes you a valuable W Call for Submissions 1. Is there a hospital, clinic, or infirmary for medical care near your workplace? 2. Does your community provide emergency ambulance service — and is it available during the hours when your people are working? 3. What is the service’s typical response time to your facility? And are there times when response times might be expected to be longer, significantly delaying the arrival of assistance? 4. If medical and first-aid facilities are not close enough to your workplace to be relied on to pro- 10 resource to us — and to your colleagues in Maintenance and Facilities. Why not share your expertise and advance the profession at the same time? Send us your ideas on ways to improve operations, on any topic that will help your colleagues meet the challenge of their maintenance operations. If your idea is selected, we’ll even work with you to write it up. Send your ideas to Maintenance Management Peter Hawkins, Editor 125 Eugene O’Neill Drive, Suite 103 New London, CT 06320 FAX us at (860) 442-0791 Or e-mail at [email protected] msb 2810 12/4/01 2:06 PM Page 11 INDEX January 2001 through December 2001—Issues 2701 through 2712 Subject Issue Page Subject Issue Page AIR QUALITY Ceiling Choices Help Facilities Improve Air Quality ..........2707..............3 EQUIPMENT RELIABILITY SAE Standard Helps Improve RCM Performance ..............2701..............8 ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE Employee Performance: Tap Your EAP for Help in Preventing Problems ..............................................................2711..............1 Do’s and Don’ts for Dealing With Troubled Workers ..........2711..............3 COMMUNICATION The FAQs File: How Do I Get Through a Public Speaking Event? ....................................................................2706............11 COMPLIANCE/LEGAL OSHA: Hospital Cited for Alleged Safety Violations; $79,000 Fine Proposal ..........................................................2705..............6 EPA: Connecticut Facility Fined for PCB Violations ..........2705..............6 OSHA Calls: Avoiding the Pitfalls ........................................2706..............6 EEOC Claims That Airline’s Safety Policy Violates ADA ..2707............11 OSHA Fines Paper Company $157,500 Following Amputation ..........................................................2707............12 You’ve Been Called to Testify – Will You Be an Effective Witness?..................................................................2711..............8 See also The Case File COMPUTERS AND MAINTENANCE Your New Software: Is It All You Expected?........................2707..............8 DISCRIMINATION/INEQUALITY Age Discrimination: Watch Those Work Assignments After RIFs! ............................................................................2702..............8 EMERGENCY RESPONSE Disaster Teams – A Critical Step in Your Facility’s Crisis Planning ......................................................................2704..............1 EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION Five Tips for Improving Employee Involvement..................2703............11 Behavior-Based Safety: Should Maintenance People Be Their Own Safety Managers?................................................2711..............6 EMPLOYEE RELATIONS Troubled Employees: Are Your Hands Tied?........................2707..............5 Avoiding Disciplinary Action: Use the “Human Approach”2709..............7 It Works for Me: How to Address Intergroup Conflict ........2710............10 Employee Performance: America’s Workers – Overworked and Overwhelmed ............................................2711..............2 FIRE SAFETY Safety Recall: CPSC, Central Sprinkler Announce Replacement of Sprinklers ....................................................2710..............2 Fire Safety: Are Your Detection and Sprinkler Systems Ready to Respond? ................................................................2710..............4 Fire Sprinkler Update: Companies Sued Over Defective Sprinklers ..............................................................2712............10 LEADERSHIP The Buck Stops Here: Taking the Trauma Out of Your Decision-Making ..................................................................2709............10 Leadership Skills: How Effective Is Your Technique? ........2711............10 LIGHTING You’ve Adjusted the Floor Plan – But What About Your Lighting? ............................................................2709............11 MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS Seven Steps to Successful Outsourcing of the Maintenance Function ..........................................................2706..............8 Profit-Centered Maintenance: A New Millennium Improvement Strategy............................................................2708..............6 Using Maintenance Audits to Build a More Efficient Maintenance Operation..........................................................2709..............1 Managing Change: Critical to Maintaining Safe Operations......................................................................2711..............4 PEOPLE POWER How Effective Is Your Equipment Inspection? ....................2701..............1 Hostile Work Environment: Tips on Bully-Proofing Your Workplace......................................................................2703..............9 Use Customer-Focused Maintenance to Prioritize Your Department’s Effort ..............................................................2706..............1 If Quality Is Important – and It Is – Make Sure Your Workers Understand ..............................................................2704............10 PEST CONTROL Bird Pests: Here’s How to Get the Upper Hand ..................2706..............9 PLANT STRUCTURES Roofing Maintenance: Is Your Strategy Effective? ..............2707..............1 Floor Maintenance: Simple Tips Build Solid Repair Strategy ......................................................................2710..............1 Roof Maintenance: A Way to Protect Your Investment ........2712..............6 See also The Case File PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE (PM) ENERGY CONSERVATION Building Recommissioning: How to Achieve Energy Savings and Improved Comfort for Your Facility ................2705..............8 Energy Problems: From Crisis to Solution ..........................2708..............1 With Energy Costs Rising, More Facilities Are Looking to “Information-Based Solutions” ........................................2709..............5 Energy Savings: To Maximize Impact, Involve Your People ..............................................................2710..............3 Preventive Maintenance: In-House or Vendors, the Choice Is Yours ................................................................2703..............1 ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES SAFETY & HEALTH Tapping the Benefits of ISO 14001 ......................................2701..............3 What ISO 14001 Provides the Front-Line Worker ..............2703..............5 How to Survive an ISO 14001 Audit ....................................2704..............5 Environmental Compliance: Issues for Management ..........2711............11 It Works for Me: Simple Tips to Make Safety Meetings Work ......................................................................2701..............6 Warning Signs of a Heart Attack ..........................................2701............10 Ten Tips for Improving Your Facility’s Safety Plan ............2702..............1 RECORDKEEPING OSHA’s New Rule on Recordkeeping ..................................2712..............2 RISK MANAGEMENT Confined Space Entry Issues: Help Is on the Way ..............2710..............6 11 msb 2810 12/4/01 2:06 PM Page 12 Subject Issue Page Subject Noise in the Workplace: How Much Is Too Much? ............2703..............6 Contractor Safety: A Critical Issue........................................2704..............3 Back Injuries: Aggressive Intervention Yields Improved Results ..................................................................2705..............4 The FAQs File: Minimizing Skin Cancer Risks ..................2706............12 How to Create a Naturally Healthy Work Environment ......2708..............9 Lack of Enforcement Is Key Cause of Failure to Use PPE..2709..............4 What Causes Accidents – and What You Can Do About It ..2709..............8 Safety Incentives: How to Build an Effective Program........2710..............9 Lockout/Tagout: A Key to Safety in Maintenance ..............2712..............1 OTC Medications: Are Free Pills at Work a Good Idea? ....2712..............4 How Safe Is Your Facility’s Mailroom?................................2712............11 TEAMS Issue Page The Manufacturing Game: An Effective Way to Boost Your Team’s Performance ....................................................2708..............4 THE CASE FILE Is Your Security Lighting Getting the Job Done? ................2701............11 Alternative Work Schedules and Company Policy ..............2701..............5 Was There Cause to Discipline a Whole Department? ........2702..............5 Does Moonlighting Lead to Sick-Leave Abuse? ..................2703..............5 Does the Fact That OSHA Issued a Citation Mean That You Are Guilty? ............................................................2704..............5 Is Discharge Appropriate? ....................................................2705..............5 Workplace Violence vs. Pettiness..........................................2706..............5 Making Your Termination Decision Stick May Be a Challenge ......................................................................2707..............5 Temporary Assignment or Disciplinary Action? ..................2708..............2 Employee Disability: Using the Most Recent Medical Information ..............................................................2708..............5 Profanity in the Workplace ....................................................2710..............5 Bad Feelings Result in Bad Language; Is Termination Justified?............................................................2711..............5 Management Decides to Enforce a Long-Ignored Rule; Should This Employee Be Terminated?................................2712..............5 SICK BUILDING SYNDROME TRAINING Monitoring Your Building Systems: The Basis for Energy Savings ......................................................................2706..............4 Sick Buildings: Simple Cures Let People Breathe More Easily ............................................................................2707..............9 Job Training: If People Get Hurt, Who Is Liable?................2701..............7 Training Materials Without the Liability ..............................2703..............3 Training Assessment: Are You Getting Maximum Bang for Your Buck?..............................................................2705..............1 STAFFING VIOLENCE IN THE WORKPLACE Staff Retention: How to Hold on to Your Skilled Workers ..2702..............9 Use Employment Screening to Ensure Hiring the Right People ..........................................................................2705............10 Maintenance Outsourcing: A Fact of Life for Many, but Is It Right for You? ..........................................................2704..............8 Workplace Violence: What Can We Do to Stop It? ..............2704..............7 How to Address Violence Concerns in Your Workplace ......2705............11 SEASONAL Winter Without Worry: It Pays to Pay Attention to Details..2702..............4 Cloaking Personnel in Safety and Winter Warmth ..............2702..............6 Protecting Workers From Heat Stress – Not Just Another Summer Job! ............................................2708............11 Winter Roof Hazards: Snow, Ice – And Water......................2712..............8 SECURITY WORKERS’ COMPENSATION Misclassification May Bring Higher Workers’ Comp Costs ............................................................................2708..............8 This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought–From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers. Bureau of Business Practice A Division of Aspen Publishers, Inc. 7201 McKinney Circle Frederick, MD 21704 Forwarding Service Requested To subscribe to Maintenance Management, call 800-638-8437 PRESORTED STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT No. 4205 SOUTHERN, MD