Test & Measurement

Tip of the Week: How Do You Reduce Maintenance Costs?

Jan. 30, 2017

A thorough maintenance program will help prevent high-cost repairs.

It makes perfect sense to reduce maintenance costs. But in the corporate executive suites, this often translates into such brilliant strategies as, after much intense calculation, mandating a 10% cut in staff (never mind that such a cut would work out to 1.4 people in Department X).

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Of course, many executives understand that simply getting rid of hard-to-find skilled maintenance people is less than optimum. Being smarter than their peers, they cut costs by issuing an edict banning the purchase of new test equipment or reducing the training budget by 50%.

Then there are the executives who are actually smart. You know those folks — the ones who visit the factory floor and see what’s really going on. The ones who have timed an emergency repair, noting it took far longer than a similar scheduled repair they observed earlier. And they also calculated the lost output and delivery interruptions.

Those “actually smart” executives reduce maintenance costs by targeting emergency repairs. They ask questions like, “Why wasn’t this on the infrared inspection program?” These executives typically work in corporations where the maintenance departments provide regular, concise reports of problems identified and solved along with some highlights of what made that possible and how much it saved the company.

Rather than think of “maintenance costs” as what you cut from PM and PdM work, think of how you save money by solving the causes of going into the high-cost emergency repair mode.

About the Author

Mark Lamendola

Mark is an expert in maintenance management, having racked up an impressive track record during his time working in the field. He also has extensive knowledge of, and practical expertise with, the National Electrical Code (NEC). Through his consulting business, he provides articles and training materials on electrical topics, specializing in making difficult subjects easy to understand and focusing on the practical aspects of electrical work.

Prior to starting his own business, Mark served as the Technical Editor on EC&M for six years, worked three years in nuclear maintenance, six years as a contract project engineer/project manager, three years as a systems engineer, and three years in plant maintenance management.

Mark earned an AAS degree from Rock Valley College, a BSEET from Columbia Pacific University, and an MBA from Lake Erie College. He’s also completed several related certifications over the years and even was formerly licensed as a Master Electrician. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and past Chairman of the Kansas City Chapters of both the IEEE and the IEEE Computer Society. Mark also served as the program director for, a board member of, and webmaster of, the Midwest Chapter of the 7x24 Exchange. He has also held memberships with the following organizations: NETA, NFPA, International Association of Webmasters, and Institute of Certified Professional Managers.