When it comes to devising and implementing effective maintenance strategies, inflation and cost pressures are key challenges facing those working in the maintenance and engineering space. These challenges can dramatically affect the decisions they make.
The recent 2024 Maintenance Engineering report Performance in Focus, produced by RS in partnership with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), showed concerns around inflation to be easing. Some 47 per cent of respondents raised this as a worry a year ago, compared with 39 per cent in 2024. However, it is cited as a challenge by 22 per cent of respondents so is an issue that still requires focus.
One of the key sectors affected by inflation is food and beverage. Upstream supply chain issues and energy costs are big contributing factors, along with inclement weather conditions creating a rise in input materials. For those working in a sector like beef and poultry, the increase in the cost of food due to crops being destroyed is significant. While those in the drinks-making business have been impacted by heavy rainfall damaging potato crops. Macro global supply chain issues, although easing, are also a dominant contributor to rising costs.
Many operators in this space will be working with much lower budgets after the dramatic rise in energy costs sapped funds. Performance in Focus highlighted three in 10 (30 per cent) of respondents list investment and departmental resources as key challenges. This can have an impact on prices in subsequent contract renegotiations.
The maintenance picture
How are organisations tackling the challenges when it comes to maintenance strategy development? According to Performance in Focus, a good majority (60 per cent) deploy a planned maintenance strategy, more than one in three (37 per cent) use predictive maintenance and 30 per cent total productive maintenance.
A reactive strategy is employed by a notable number of respondents: 42 per cent make use of a run to failure approach. This is likely reflective of the realities of the role, rather than a lack of knowledge. To move from reactive to preventative and predictive is a tough organisational change for many. The skills shortages add to the issue; older engineers are often unfamiliar with newer technologies, while younger entrants may lack in data analytics skills.
One thing is for sure, organisations need to move away from being a craft-based maintenance team and ensure there are people in the back office analysing what’s going on so they can translate it into a picture of the physical asset health.
The supporting role of data
We are all aware of the important role data plays in helping to shape strategies that will enable organisations to tackle and overcome meet many of the challenges they face. It offers a better understanding of asset performance and health and provides a firm foundation to build from. The more reliable the data, the better the case for budget and it is easier to justify why the downtime is needed for a preventative maintenance task.
This information is also crucial in helping devise the right strategy. When there is a better idea of the asset health, cost saving decisions can be made, like whether a maintenance activity frequency can be reduced without posing a risk. That leads to a very tangible cost reduction.
As well as inform diagnosis, effective data can help reduce the impact of unscheduled downtime. The KPI of mean time between failures (MTBF) is currently measured by 30 per cent of organisations, while mean time to repair (MTTR) is measured by 22 per cent. World-class maintenance is shown in companies that extend the former and reduce the latter.
Understanding critical assets and the routine things that need to be done, like cleaning, inspection and lubrication, is key. This, coupled with an understanding of the leading indicators of failure, means condition monitoring can be done to identify when failure is going to happen, rather than responding after it happens.
Essentially, when an asset is well-maintained, the lifecycle of it is improved. When an asset isn’t maintained, the life cycle will be decreased and more capital investment will be needed sooner for upgrades or replacement. The consequences around the cost of operating and replacing of machinery can be significant.
With mounting challenges facing maintenance professionals, finding the time and resources for effective maintenance isn’t easy. Building relationships with suppliers that can help them with product knowledge, and tackle issues like parts or product shortages, can help avoid unnecessary downtime. It can also help alleviate concerns around quality and efficacy of products and an ethical supply source. Elements like this can help operators ensure that any strategy around planned or predictive maintenance is delivered effectively.
The RS Maintenance Engineering report Performance in Focus can be downloaded here.
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