Reliability Resolutions: Setting Maintenance Goals for a Successful New Year

Reliability Resolutions: Setting Maintenance Goals for a Successful New Year

It’s that time of year again! As we approach the end of 2023, many of us are making personal New Year’s resolutions. Take that fresh-start attitude to your maintenance and reliability team and set some goals for 2024. It’s a great opportunity to reflect on last year’s successes and accomplishments and look forward to the challenges and opportunities ahead.

The most important aspect of setting your reliability resolutions is to make them realistic and tailored to your particular company and situation. Be sure you prioritize the initiatives and improvements that will generate the greatest return on your investment and set incremental key performance indicators (KPI) to measure progress throughout the year.

Take Inventory of 2023

Before putting together your 2024 resolutions, take a moment to reflect on the past year. Evaluate the performance of your equipment, identify areas of improvement, and analyze the impact of maintenance practices on overall operations. Note specific challenges your organization faced in executing your maintenance and reliability program in the past–and whether or not they have been resolved. Understanding what worked well and what didn't will provide valuable insights into shaping realistic and impactful reliability resolutions. 

Align With Business Objectives

More likely than not, your overall organization will be setting some broader goals for the new year. Whether those objectives revolve around production targets, geographic expansion, or corporate reorganization, it will be critical for maintenance and reliability to align its resolutions to support those overall business goals.

By doing so, your team will garner more support from your c-suite executives both in terms of financial and staffing resources.

Earlier this fall, UpKeep published its 2023 State of Community Report, which explored some of the most significant challenges that our customers are facing as well as creative approaches to address them. The following ideas for possible reliability resolutions stem from the findings of this report. Remember to start with the highest priority items for your organization.

Address Staffing Challenges

Many maintenance and reliability teams continue to face significant staffing challenges as older, experienced workers, technicians, and managers retire, taking years of tribal knowledge with them. At the same time, few of the younger generation seem to be entering the field and those who do pursue careers are often not prepared to handle the increasingly sophisticated tools and systems that are used today. Some possible resolutions in this area include:

• Establish a mentor program that pairs experienced professionals with new technicians to transfer knowledge as well as provide hands-on training for the next generation.

• Build community programs that reach out to high school or trade school students to help pique their interest in the field.

• Offer training and apprenticeship opportunities to fill your future pipeline of potential hires.

• Examine your corporate culture and understand what your employees value to increase retention rates.

• Expand your internal professional development program to groom top performers for additional responsibilities or train them on cutting edge technology such as artificial intelligence and robotics.

• Supplement your full-time staff with specialized contractors who can address specific needs more efficiently.

Establish or Refine Data-Driven Decision Making

As technology continues to develop, an ongoing challenge for maintenance and reliability is to transform an incredible amount of data into actionable information. For some organizations, this year’s resolutions will simply be a continuation of past initiatives. For others, establishing a true data-driven organization may be an important goal this year. Fortunately, many solutions today are successfully using AI and machine learning to make these resolutions more reachable than ever. Here are some ideas to explore.

• Centralize your data. Consider integrating and pulling together data from all your assets so it can be standardized into common data models and automated. Doing so can increase your company’s capacity, reduce downtime and optimize operations.

• Embrace predictive maintenance and sensor technologies. Start with your most critical assets and determine what factors may help you predict impending failure. Often, simple things like temperature, vibration, or water levels can alert you to bigger problems.

• Explore AI and ML. Advanced technologies are being refined every day. Using AI and ML to automate and accelerate decision-making can allow maintenance and reliability professionals to more quickly zero-in on the highest priority issues.

Explore Supply Chain Alternatives

Unfortunately, the delayed maintenance that occurred during the global pandemic has continued to affect organizations throughout the country. It may be a challenge to play catch-up, even years after the shut-downs, due to ongoing staffing and supply chain issues. At the same time, many assets are aging and original equipment manufacturers continue to permanently close their doors. As a result, a focus on firming up your supply chain may need to be part of your reliability resolutions this year. Some ideas include:

• Develop partnerships with key suppliers. Long-term, trusted relationships are always more secure than transactional ones. Work with key suppliers to problem-solve together. Both companies may benefit by exploring more innovative ideas about sourcing and assembly production.

• Invest in reverse engineering. Although some businesses turned to reverse engineering of critical parts as a last-resort post-pandemic, in some cases, this may make more sense as a long-term solution. Hard-to-source, critical parts may warrant expansion of such an initiative.

• Tighten inventory management. For larger organizations, keeping track of what you already have in stock can be a solution. Invest in an inventory system that can accurately report what parts have already been purchased and where they are located. If this can be expanded to sister facilities, such a system is even more valuable. 

As the New Year unfolds, organizations in every industry have the opportunity to elevate their maintenance and reliability practices. By setting clear reliability resolutions, prioritizing critical assets, embracing predictive maintenance, leveraging technology, investing in workforce recruitment and development, and addressing supply chain issues, businesses can pave the way for a successful and productive year ahead. Reliability resolutions not only improve the performance of assets but also contribute to the overall success of the organization.