Step One:
It’s the same for big companies or smaller ones, you need to figure out where you are and what your up against. If you have only one maintenance professional that does the facility and all the equipment but only when it breaks down the issues are the same.
You must start with some data.
Think of it as a doctor’s visit. Your doctor will not prescribe a medication or solution before he examines you and collects some data. At a minimum, blood pressure, weight, temperature, and what “you” think is wrong?
Should it be any different trying to diagnose your maintenance process, before you prescribe some remedies?
Collect Data. Simple Stuff.
What are your critical pieces of equipment? Look for the top 3-5 and learn about them.
Rate them in order of criticality. How much trouble will you be in when they go down, and how expensive will they be to get back up. It is a lot cheaper to keep them running than to fix them after they go down.
What skills are at your disposal? You may be surprised at some of the hidden talent.
What do you need to do to keep the equipment running vs. trouble shooting it and fixing it? Get out of the breakdown mode.
OEE is more important as you start to flow your products. If one component of the cell stops, the entire cell stops. OEE multiplies as more equipment is added to a cell.
Evaluate your maintenance department. Are they doing the right things, can they be doing better PM’s and 
less “time” based preventive maintenance? How about some predictive maintenance to catch the issues before they bite you.
Consider training your operators to be the eyes and ears for maintenance, put in some visuals to make it easier for them.
Its not easy when you have a small maintenance group, but neither are the bigger ones, that’s why “they” make the medium bucks. The principles are the same. Breakdowns are 5 – 10 times more expensive than preventing a breakdown.
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Robert Kravontka
The Maintenance Geek
