1. Page 1
The fundamentals of maintenance
Dave Trewartha 2007
Maintenance 101

2. Page 2
The Fundamentals
A belief that maintenance is part of the manufacturing process and
not just a service to operations
Structure. Clear Roles and Responsibilities
Cleanliness of equipment is essential
The Maintenance Management System is a tool (you drive it)
Equipment supplier service recommendations in the MMS & DONE
Fix breakdowns quickly. Rational process thinking and good skills
Accurate, timely reporting. (Cause codes – No SOP, SOP
inadequate, SOP not followed, wear normal, damage, fault from new,
service failure)
Maintenance Strategies. Criticality, Failure mode, Condition based,
Time based, Operate to failure, Operational care, Plans, History,
Continual improvement
High skills and good quality workmanship

3. Page 3
A belief that maintenance is part of the manufacturing
process and not just a service to operations
The maintenance team own the systems that ensure
equipment is Fit-for-Purpose (FFP).
The most efficient person does the job using the Safe,
Legal and Logical methodology.
The maintenance system needs to ensure equipment
condition is known right through its life cycle
It involves high level of operational care with operations
people using their senses (Sight, Hearing, Smell and feel) to
understand when things are not ‘normal’.
The Tender Loving Care (TLC) or Tighten, Lubricate and
Clean has been used very successfully at a number of plants.
Maintenance people (technicians) concentrate on quality of
work, the more technical stuff and improving maintenance
plans - as opposed to the very basic checks

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Structure. Clear Roles and Responsibilities
There are a number of ways a maintenance department can be set
up. The smaller the business, the less separation one can afford
Planning, scheduling and doing separate (or together)
Maintenance and engineering (improvement) separate – or not
A separate reliability group?
Etc,
The most important thing is very clear responsibilities with very
little to no overlap
Do not let the maintenance department become excellent milling
machine operators, light installers or cupboard makers, etc

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Cleanliness of equipment is essential
‘People marinate in their environment’ is a basic fact of life
No-one wants to work in a dirty environment or on dirty
equipment
Equipment not worked on or not worked on properly breaks down
People do not like working with equipment that breaks down, they
get less happy
Less happy people make mistakes, care less so generate more
problems like non-prime, slow running, stops, etc
SO
KEEP IT SPIC-N-SPAN

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The Maintenance Management System is a tool
All maintenance work should go thru the MMS so
(i) History is kept in a single place
(ii) Costs are allocated correctly
(iii) Work loads are understood
(iv) Budgeting (moving to zero based) is made easier
Use the functions that your business requires, do not get
too complicated
Measures – use the system to understand things like
Work done to plan
Back-log
Failures – Pareto analysis

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Equipment supplier service recommendations in the MMS
This is the easiest way to get maintenance plans in place
for new equipment
These will normally be ‘over-maintaining’ and should be
improved over time
Do these first and commence developing strategies as
per page 10

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Fix breakdowns quickly
While the maintenance function is about keeping equipment
Fit-for-Purpose (FFP), break-downs will happen
Trial and error methods and changing parts ‘just in case’ is
not acceptable
Problem Analysis methodology should be used
Good problem spec
Ask: What has changed? What is different? Has this been
worked on? Is this likely to cause the problem we have?
Ensure any ‘band-aid’ or ‘farm’ fixes are followed up at the
next available time
Good management of spares (quantities and condition)
needs to be carried out before, during and after a break-down

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Accurate, timely reporting
When problems occur, they must be reported accurately
Rout Cause, ask why 5 times.
Cause code. No SOP, SOP inadequate, SOP not followed,
Wear normal, Damage, Fault from new and Service failure
are a good set of codes. These will tell you what ‘System’
failure exists

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Maintenance Strategies
Once equipment supplier service recommendations are in place
develop maintenance strategies and plans using the following
Criticality – What piece of equipment will hurt the business the
most if it fails (eg pot leak)? Do these first
Failure mode – How can it fail ie no longer fit for purpose?
Develop maintenance plans to ensure each of the above failures
does not happen
These can be - Condition based, Time based, Operate to failure,
Operational care.
All to be continually improved as to frequency, task descriptions,
tools, parts, isolations, permits, etc

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High skills and good quality workmanship
If you do not have time to do the job right the first time,
where will you find the time to redo it?
Good quality work is one of the tickets to the game
People trained in relevant skill sets, eg, lubrication, bearing
fitment, drive electrics, hi-tension, PLCs, hydraulics, etc, etc
The right, good quality tools are essential
Remember - Technical knowledge breeds competency