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Using Repairs to Get Ahead

Go beyond an internal summary that says repairs are being performed.

Jan. 19, 2021

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Like it or not, every organization has internal politics. How well you play this game affects the maintenance budget (increase versus cut), headcounts (hire versus lay off), and your own career advancement.

It’s not enough to provide a summary that shows your peers and higher-ups that maintenance is keeping the place running. That’s what they expect.

Regularly select a repair to analyze for root causes, and then report on what you did beyond simply make the symptoms go away. Imagine what happens if you generate and distribute a weekly report with something like this in it:

“Jennifer asked us to look closely at the motor she replaced, because its failure caused Line X to stop for two hours. We put her on a team to do that, along with Josh, Jerrod, and Janet. They found and fixed power anomalies in the feeder circuit. Because that’s the main supply to that area of the plant, we should see a downtime reduction of about 18%, which translates to an additional $4.5 million of revenue per month.”

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.