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The Value of Your Repair Activities

Dec. 4, 2018
Are some of your repair activities are needlessly repeated?

Do you know the “value add” of each repair activity? Do you know which repair activities are needlessly repeated?

To clarify that second question, consider the following example. Toby was a set-up man in the production department. He seemed to aspire to mediocrity, and that was on his good days. At least twice a week, Toby would break something and a maintenance tech would have to fix it.

Toby’s work methods were sloppy, and he often change things that had nothing to do with setting up the machine. Toby made the same mistakes, no matter how many times a tech explained the problem. These repairs were needless, even though the equipment had to run. The problem was solved by calling Toby’s supervisor to witness each repair. No supervisor, no repair.

The “value add” of an activity that is needless is, by definition, zero. Ask this question to determine if an activity is needless: “Would a customer pay us to do this?” If the answer is no, you need to eliminate that activity. Fixing a machine that Toby broke wasn’t needless, but to keep doing it was. A customer would not want to pay for that.

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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