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Ecmweb 22907 Focused Icon Denis Maliugin Istock Getty Images Plus 871028496 1
Ecmweb 22907 Focused Icon Denis Maliugin Istock Getty Images Plus 871028496 1
Ecmweb 22907 Focused Icon Denis Maliugin Istock Getty Images Plus 871028496 1

How Focused Is Your Organization?

Nov. 20, 2018
Lack of focus leads to maintenance failures

The Russians have a proverb, “Chase two rabbits, and both get away.” How many rabbits does your maintenance organization chase? Lack of focus leads to maintenance failures.

Rather than disperse resources across many unrelated goals (e.g., rabbits), decide what your organization’s purpose is. What is it your people are supposed to do? Some wrong answers include fix things, keep equipment running, and reduce downtime. None of those accounts for product flow or the different values of different equipment.

Yes, you do fix things. But which things get priority? The answer will determine many outcomes, such as training program decisions, test equipment purchases, spare parts management, and tool acquisition.

Focus is how the maintenance organization maximizes its value (measured in dollars) to the plant. Production managers know the revenue from each production line and how many hours of uptime are needed each month to produce enough to fill orders for the items produced on each line. Those production managers are your customer; talk with them to find out where you need to focus your resources to maximize the revenue their equipment can produce.

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.

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