Shutdown and maintenance plans often don’t work the way organizations lay them out, especially when an emergency arises. However, it’s essential to have a well-thought-out plan that could help you explore and document all the possibilities and options. The information you gain during the planning phase will help you choose appropriate actions depending on the situation.
In the competitive world of manufacturing, companies have to work hard to stay ahead of the curve by ensuring higher productivity and producing high-quality products that meet consumers expectations. At the same time, they have to keep the production cost as low as possible. Maintenance planning and scheduling are two key components of a sound maintenance program.
Maintenance Planning
Maintenance planning is often defined as a thorough process that highlights possible issues ahead of time and outlines strategies to address them. For example, maintenance planning identifies the tools and resources required for the job. It also makes sure that they’re available and laid out wherever needed. The job of a planner is to define the process for completing a job. Parts handling, ordering, staging, breakdown management, and quality control are some of the key areas to address in a maintenance plan.
In other words, maintenance planning is about identifying work that needs to be done and with what tools or material, and how the overall work will be completed in a timely and cost-efficient way.
Scheduling
While the planning phase determines work that needs to be done, scheduling is about when the work should be done and who should be given the responsibility. To optimize your maintenance process, make sure to schedule the maximum amount of work or the number of preventive maintenance jobs that can be done with the available resources.
It’s advisable to schedule according to the highest priority work orders. If you don’t have internal resources to plan, schedule and execute a maintenance program, consult a maintenance company that provides expertise in industrial maintenance.
Effective planning and scheduling lead to many benefits when implemented together. For instance, a considerable reduction in equipment downtime and spare parts and improved workflow are some of the benefits of implementing a professionally designed maintenance program. Most large companies have a professional maintenance and planning department striving to streamline procedures and plans.
Job Plans Needed For Scheduling
Job plans cover everything from the number of millwrights or technicians required to work hours per skill level. They provide the necessary information to schedule work. Does your maintenance program require welding? If so, how many welders or welding machines do you need? Answering these questions helps you determine scheduling requirements.
You need to ensure your organization is well-prepared to implement maintenance planning and scheduling. The business managers can identify the need for improved maintenance following the issues of low productivity or increased downtime. They can further explain how planning and scheduling can address these issues.
About Us
Quality Millwright is a maintenance company in Canada where we help our industrial clients keep their critical equipment in good working condition. Preventive maintenance, fabrication, machining, and electrical are some of our services that focus on improving equipment reliability across multiple industries. Contact us for more details!
