5-Day PM Optimization
The Problem
Concerned that their PM strategy for a key physical asset was not delivering the necessary reliability, uptime, and product throughput, this adhesive tape manufacturer decided to act.
They believed that…
The existing PMs were ineffective: After years of service, the PM strategy had become bloated with redundant tasks added reactively over time. While the number of PM tasks had increased over time, mean time between failure did not improve. This resulted in a loss of faith in the PMs to deliver uptime and prevent failures.
The maintenance burden was too high: The ballooning PM strategy was becoming increasingly labor-intensive and often required extended asset downtime, which impacted production capacity.
Overall waste was increasing: The existing strategy was wasteful on workflow, labor, tasks, parts, and output.
They were ready for a streamlined approach based on optimized PMs to remove redundant tasks, improve labor utilization, and maximize asset uptime.
The Solution
Marshall Institute conducted a Preventive Maintenance (PM) Optimization workshop, on the critical asset, to reduce downtime and improve maintenance efficiency.
A PM Optimization Workshop is a rapid improvement effort using a cross-functional team. Based in Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) principles, the workshop analyzes existing equipment with site resources to optimize the PM strategy. The workshop included:
- PM Optimization (PMO) Training: Marshall Institute delivered an internal half day training session for site asset experts on PM optimization principles and techniques, enabling them to participate actively in analyzing and refining PMs. This provided a level playing field and common understanding of terms, benefits, team roles, and process.
- Equipment Observation and Visual Assessment: Following the half-day training the Marshall Institute consultant and the cross-functional site team observed the equipment in operation. The purpose of this was to understand and align on equipment function, to identify potential defects, to look for examples of poor PM execution, and to gauge overall asset health. This is important information prior to optimizing the existing PM strategy.
- PM Optimization Field Workshop: Marshall Institute facilitated the 4-day workshop. The process included visiting the asset, pulling failure history and equipment data, and guiding the site experts to apply training and collaboratively review, analyze, and streamline PM tasks.
This approach not only optimized the PM strategy for the selected asset, but it also provided the site team with a repeatable methodology to continuously improve their maintenance practices on the initial asset, but to also make gains on other lines.
The Client
Adhesive Tape Manufacturer
The Project
Rapid PM Optimization
Services Leveraged
PM Optimization Workshop
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VP of Consulting Services
The Outcome
This quick-win workshop delivered substantial improvements in efficiency, effectiveness, and asset availability in only 5 days!
The recorded outcomes included:
Significant Reduction of Non-Value-Added Tasks
Analysis revealed that 54% of the existing PM tasks were non-value-added, primarily due to years of reactive additions that created redundancy. We deleted 50 of the 111 existing tasks, eliminating ineffective steps while focusing on those that added value.
Reduced Maintenance Labor Requirements
The streamlined PM strategy reduced the total labor hours required from 331 to 145 hours—a 56% reduction. This change frees up 185 hours that can be reallocated to other maintenance activities or serve as labor cost savings.
Increased Asset Availability
The optimized PM schedule decreased planned asset downtime required for maintenance from 299 hours to 128 hours—a 57% improvement. The client determined that optimizing the PM strategy freed up 171 hours of additional asset availability, enhancing production capacity and responsiveness to customer demand.
Enhanced Preventive Measures and Task Clarity
- We added 8 Tasks to address previously unmitigated failure modes, ensuring comprehensive coverage of potential issues.
- We enhanced Details on 25 Tasks to improve clarity and execution, enabling maintenance teams to perform tasks more accurately.
- We introduced Pass/Fail Criteria to 19 Tasks to ensure that inspections yield actionable data, enhancing the reliability of maintenance checks.
- We specified Required Tools for 14 Tasks and Required Parts/Materials for 15 Tasks to minimize delays and improve task preparation.
Estimated ROI from the 5-Day Workshop
- The workshop provided immediate cost-saving opportunities and laid the groundwork for future gains through improved PM effectiveness:
- Labor and Asset Availability Savings:
- 171 additional hours of asset availability: At an estimated $1,000 per hour, this could translate to $171,000 in potential increased production output.
- 185 maintenance labor hours saved: At loaded labor rates of $40 for standard time and $60 for overtime, this yields approximately $7,440 to $11,160 in labor cost savings.
Conclusion
The PM Optimization Workshop not only met but exceeded the client’s objectives by delivering a refined, efficient PM strategy that minimizes downtime and labor costs, the optimized PM plan is now a model for other production lines, as the client can replicate the benefits across similar assets.