Maintenance, Repair & Operations

Reducing Repair Cost

June 19, 2018

For amazing cost reduction, try this experiment.

What’s the single biggest cost factor in the typical industrial repair? Downtime, of course. Reducing the downtime it takes to perform the repair reduces the cost of the failure. Common “solutions” such as hassling people to hurry result in “failure bombs” instead of effective repairs.

For amazing cost reduction, try this experiment. Bring a repair tech and a stopwatch to a given piece of critical equipment. Identify a component that would be replaced during a repair. Then see how long it takes the tech to return with it. Walk with the tech to note where the time goes during this process.

Suppose it’s a 2A fuse for a 120V control circuit. Going clear across the plant to the stockroom, locating the fuse, checking it out, then walking back takes 14 minutes. But suppose you put the same fuse in a clear plastic bag (suitably labeled) and tape that to the control panel door. Now how long does it take to get that fuse? Time each component task and you could cut the repair time by a few thousand dollars.

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.