Expensive Cost Savings

Cutting costs in one way can produce much larger costs in other ways. Nobody would consider improving their car's gas mileage by removing the braking system to reduce weight. Yet company practices toward maintenance often have that effect. For example:

• Defer maintenance. This typically means skipping scheduled inspections and tests. Cable testing is a common victim of this approach, with production losses following a "surprise" cable failure. Instead, optimize maintenance based on test results.
• Freeze the training program. It doesn't make sense to have people guess how to keep equipment running. Instead, analyze where to prioritize your training efforts.
• Run to fail. A simple cost analysis debunks the idea that preventable failure is acceptable.
• Starve the CMMS. The typical CMMS is grossly underutilized, primarily because the company "saved money" on training for it.