The time is right for you to start thinking about having maintenance and operations management in your business. When you have the right asset management strategy in place, you can optimize performance and ROI by reducing unnecessary expenses and monitoring asset performance regularly. Moreover, with the help of automated solutions, you can analyze data and leverage it for analysis to develop more performance-based metrics.
With maintenance and operations management in place, organizations can focus on improving asset productivity. This is a key factor for achieving asset profitability and realizing the ultimate goal of asset optimization — maximizing assets’ return on investment (ROI). In this blog, we talk about how organizations can maximize asset productivity and ROE through maintenance and operations management.
"Don't allow asset productivity to dwindle. Optimizing maintenance and operations, you can unlock maximum ROI, ensuring that your investments thrive and flourish."
About Asset Productivity
Asset productivity is all about maximizing the asset's ability to generate output and reduce costs. Organizations have a vital role to play in optimizing asset productivity. They can plan, implement, and monitor programs that focus on maintenance and operations, collecting intelligence on asset performance and making adjustments as needed. For instance, they can invest in efficient equipment and facility management systems to ensure assets are properly maintained and operated.
Also, organizations can set benchmarks for asset performance, incentivize employees for exceeding those benchmarks, and reward them for exceeding targets. Asset operations is a life cycle not just a point in time. It is important to consider the entire life cycle of an asset from its acquisition through disposal. It also involves ensuring that assets are properly maintained and calibrated to ensure optimum performance over their useful life.
What is asset productivity?
Asset productivity is the process of increasing the efficiency and reliability of physical assets. It involves implementing asset management practices, such as tracking workforce utilization and investing in upgrades, to improve asset efficiency and increase business output. This can be done through better maintenance practices, efficient use of equipment, and effective asset management.
Companies can also improve their asset management practices to increase business output and attract and retain talent. These include developing asset-use plans, benchmarking best practices, and understanding how different asset types impact business outcomes. Embracing these practices, companies can increase their overall asset productivity and generate higher returns on investment.
Functions of maintenance and operations
Maintenance is a vital part of any manufacturing process. Although it is often overlooked, the functions of maintenance include preventing failures and failures in equipment, monitoring systems, and repairs. These tasks are vital for effectively handling product issues and ensuring systems provide optimal performance. Preventive maintenance tasks include regular cleaning, lubrication, replacing parts, and repairs that can prevent costly breakdowns or malfunctions.
Each preventive maintenance task has a specific goal that can be measured to evaluate effectiveness. For example, the goal of regular cleaning could be to ensure no debris or build-up occurs on equipment or machines. The functions of operations also include keeping the workplace in good condition and developing policies and procedures to help employees be safe, productive, and comfortable while performing their jobs.
Facilities management tasks include maintaining buildings, grounds, and other facilities so they remain functional and safe for employees and visitors. These tasks may involve hiring custodial staff or contractors to upkeep buildings or grounds as well as other maintenance tasks such as filling out work orders for repairs.
The functions of operations also include tracking goals for continuous improvement and implementing policies and procedures to improve operational efficiencies. Tools such as software for tracking facility usage metrics are used by facilities management teams to keep track of goals for continuous improvement in areas such as cleanliness and safety.
Key elements of a sound maintenance and operations program
If you’re a manufacturing organization, it is essential that you have a sound maintenance and operations program in place to ensure items are in good working condition. This will help improve reliability and efficiency, two major factors of profitability. A well-designed TPM manufacturing plan should include the allocation of space, ensuring compliance with government regulations, and developing a continuity plan.
These elements ensure that equipment is properly maintained and operated to its full potential. A successful TPM manufacturing plan also includes sharing the responsibility of maintaining equipment, eliminating waste, and prioritizing safety. This ensures that all processes are carried out efficiently and safely. Implementing quality checks throughout the production process and planned maintenance strategies, you can reduce costs and breakdowns.
What are its roles?
Asset and inventory management is critical to maximizing your return on investment (ROI). Operating costs such as COGS, SG&A, and raw materials should be monitored to identify cost savings. This can help you identify areas where you can reduce costs and focus your efforts. Asset maintenance and use stages of the asset life cycle should also be managed to ensure optimal performance.
This includes preventive maintenance checks to identify potential issues before they become expensive repairs. Regular maintenance checks can prevent costly downtime and damage to equipment. Preventive maintenance can also help minimize breakdowns and avoid costly repairs. Following these tips, you can keep your assets performing at peak performance and maximize ROI.
What are its responsibilities?
Asset and inventory management is an important responsibility of maintenance and operations in order to maximize ROI. Operating costs must be carefully monitored and managed to ensure efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Scheduled maintenance, including preventive maintenance and inspections, should be conducted to detect and prevent failures that may become financially disruptive. Maintenance and operations should be regularly monitored to identify areas of improvement in order to maximize ROI.
Replacement of components should be based on vendor recommendation and history of breakdowns, in order to maximize cost efficiency. Maintenance and operations should also be a part of the overall asset management plan for optimal asset performance. The role of maintenance and operations includes monitoring, diagnosing, repairing, maintaining, optimizing, enhancing, and operating assets in a cost effective manner.
The department should follow a well-defined process for asset management so that it can easily track or monitor the assets under its purview. It is vital to conduct regular maintenance checks on various equipment such as air conditioners, water treatment plants, office equipment etc., to ensure they are fit for use.
What are the three main categories of maintenance and operations?
Preventive maintenance is the practice of regularly checking and making necessary repairs to equipment or systems in order to prevent failures and maintain system functionality. The three main categories of maintenance and operations are preventive maintenance, physical asset maintenance, and reliability-centered maintenance. Preventive maintenance (PM) focuses on replacing or repairing components before they fail to promote continuous system operation. This saves time and money while also reducing environmental impact and minimizing downtime.
Physical asset maintenance ensures items are in good working condition to achieve reliability. This includes regular inspections and scheduled repairs. Let's take a look at some common preventive maintenance tasks: cleaning, lubricating, replacing parts, and equipment repairs.
Benefits of having a successful maintenance and operations program
Having a successful maintenance and operations program can help improve reliability of physical assets, resulting in fewer breakdowns and increased productivity. When physical assets are properly maintained, they can stay in peak condition for longer, leading to fewer complete failures. This helps prevent downtime and costly repairs. A well-maintained asset reduces energy consumption and can help reduce costs.
The condition-based maintenance ensures that the asset is maintained in the range of peak performance for longer, leading to fewer total failures. This helps prevent downtime and costly repairs. Regular maintenance can also help extend the life of physical assets. This helps prevent unnecessary downtime and costly repairs. Having a successful maintenance and operations program can also help improve quality of production and reduce lost manufacturing capacity. A proactive approach to maintenance can prevent expensive problems from arising in the first place, saving time and money in the long run.
How to create an effective maintenance and operations program?
Creating an effective maintenance and operations program requires meticulous planning. This includes developing a detailed continuity plan, physical asset maintenance, facility management, and scheduled tasks. Proactive maintenance (PM) is essential to ensure assets are kept in good working order. This includes regular inspection and maintenance of critical systems and equipment to prevent failure and downtime. Inspections and on-condition maintenance are also vital in ensuring assets remain in good condition and operating efficiently.
Inspection and testing are vital for keeping assets up-to-date with regulatory requirements and specifications. This prevents costly repairs when needed. Corrective maintenance is a final step in maintaining assets in good working order and should be used when a component has failed or is nearing failure. This step restores the asset to operational status by repairing or replacing the component as needed. An effective maintenance and operations program helps optimize cost-efficiency, reduce downtime, and improve overall asset performance.
How can you achieve asset productivity?
To improve asset productivity, companies must consistently maintain equipment and use preventive maintenance plans for high-value assets to reduce risk of breakdowns and improve production quality. Tracking, managing, and optimizing asset life cycles, companies can improve maintenance efficiency, cost savings, and overall efficiency. This approach helps in reducing downtime, improving reliability, and ensuring the equipment is operating at peak performance. Companies must also have a unified view of assets, teams, schedules, and devices to ensure that work is being done efficiently and in line with business goals.
How to Maximize Asset Productivity and ROI
Asset productivity is an essential driver to maximize the return on assets for a business. It’s wise to understand the five main stages of the asset life cycle- plan, acquire, use, maintenance, and dispose- and track items, stores, tools, purchase requests, stocks, and assets in use to ensure asset productivity. Automating work orders can save time and costs while creating schedules with planned maintenance can prevent issues from arising.
Calculating cost or revaluation models to calculate value before selling, investing, or conducting audit saves time and money. Lastly, it's important to use cost or revaluation models when calculating asset value before selling, investing, or conducting an audit. Taking these steps, businesses can optimize asset productivity and ROI.
Reduce Unnecessary Asset Expenditures
It is essential to conduct cost-benefit analysis on assets before making any purchase decisions. A cost- benefit analysis can be used to evaluate the costs and benefits of an asset purchase. It can help identify the best investment for a particular business or department. The cost-benefit analysis should include factors such as maintenance costs, return on investment, and expected lifespan of the asset. It is also important to implement preventative maintenance to extend the service life of an asset and reduce costs. Capitalizing on any additions made to extend the service life or capability of an asset can help maximize its efficiency and ROI.
Monitor Asset Performance Regularly
Automatic work orders based on date, time, alarm, and meter readings can help monitor asset performance regularly. Tracking items, stores, tools, purchase requests, and stocks in use of an asset, you get a better sense of its performance and usage over time. Understanding the 5 main stages of an asset life cycle can also help identify what stage an asset is in and when it will need to be maintained or replaced. Reactive maintenance strategies are cost-effective in the short-term but costly over the long-term as resources for repairs are only cost-effective for 5 years. It is important to invest in proactive maintenance strategies that can help reduce costs and extend the lifecycle of an asset.
Utilize Cloud-Based Asset Management
Cloud-based asset management uses automation to streamline the tracking and monitoring of assets. It allows for real-time data capture, enabling businesses to predict asset shortages and save costs. Using cloud-based asset management can also help organizations achieve more accurate cost calculation for rented assets. This can lead to increased efficiency and profitability for the business. Plus, using cloud-based asset management can help businesses improve their efficiency and ensure they are able to meet customer needs in a cost-effective way. Accessing detailed reports on the status of their assets and streamlining the tracking process, businesses can virtually eliminate human error from the asset management process.
Utilize Asset Performance Data for Analysis
Asset and inventory management can help track and predict asset shortages to maximize ROI. Tracking data on usage and maintenance of assets, it is possible to identify which ones are in high-demand and ensure they are being properly used. Automating work orders based on date, time, alarm, and meter readings can help ensure assets are used efficiently and effectively. Analyzing asset performance data through usage, maintenance, and failure, you can identify new ways to optimize ROR.
In order to maximize asset productivity and ROI, it's critical to analyze performance data from your various assets. This allows you to identify opportunities for optimization in your operations that can lead to improved efficiency and effectiveness. For example, analyzing asset performance data through usage, maintenance, and failure can help identify new ways to optimize an asset's lifecycle or reduce costs through replacement value.
Leverage Automated Asset Management Solutions
Automated asset management solutions can help organizations automate work orders, track items, and manage assets more effectively. These solutions allow organizations to create schedules with planned maintenance, predict asset shortages, and estimate asset values. Automated asset management solutions also help coordinate procurement with the vendor, calculate the cost for rented assets, and measure asset valuations.
They can help organizations maximize ROH by streamlining processes, reducing manual errors, and eliminating wasted resources. Automated asset management solutions can be used to improve visibility of assets, track their locations, and ensure assets are being used efficiently and effectively. All in all, automation of work order management can help organizations save time and money while improving productivity and performance.
Establish Asset Performance Metrics
To maximize asset productivity and ROI, it is important to establish performance metrics for all types of assets. For instance, it is critical to monitor asset life cycle stages to determine optimal utilization and cost of ownership. Fixed-asset accounting procedures can be used to ensure uniformity in financial statements and compliance with regulations. To measure asset performance and accuracy, management should develop metrics such as return on investment (ROI) or asset turnover rate.
Besides, predictive analytics can be used to anticipate asset shortage and proactively address the issue. Tracking performance metrics for all assets and implementing maintenance schedules, managers can ensure timely maintenance and repair and replacement of equipment.
Automate Asset Monitoring and Tracking
Automation of asset management and tracking helps reduce costs associated with theft, misplacement, and replacement of assets. Automating asset management, companies can ensure that all assets are accounted for at all times, reducing the risk of costly downtime or theft. Automated asset tracking can help monitor employee performance and accountability and can help companies forecast asset shortages and coordinate procurement with vendors to ensure optimal asset utilization.
Additionally, GPS tracking of assets can help law enforcement and internal security forces find stolen items quickly, saving time and money. Automation of asset management and tracking helps companies maximize their investment by reducing costs and maintaining maximum productivity. Automation of asset management and tracking helps reduce costs associated with theft, misplacement, and replacement of assets.
Automating asset management saves time by eliminating the need for repetitive tasks such as inventory management or accounting. It also ensures that all assets are accounted for at all times, reducing the risk of costly downtime or theft. Automated asset tracking helps monitor employee performance and accountability while helping companies forecast asset shortages and coordinate procurement with vendors to ensure optimal asset utilization. GPS tracking of assets can help law enforcement and internal security forces find stolen items quickly, saving time and money.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Maximizing Asset Productivity
Adopting a preventive maintenance strategy can help minimize resource costs and downtime. However, it is important to understand the difference between preventive and predictive maintenance. While preventive maintenance checks for broken parts and makes necessary repairs before they become a major problem, predictive maintenance anticipates failures and makes preventative repairs in advance. Therefore, by incorporating proactive practices into your asset management strategy, you can maximize profitability and reduce costs.
Incurring unplanned costs due to failure to anticipate breakdowns is another common pitfall to avoid when maximizing asset productivity. It involves planning for regular upkeep and maintenance of assets so that they are in good condition at all times. This ensures cost savings from reduced downtime, reduced repair cost and improved efficiency from uninterrupted operations.
Also, proper forecasting of maintenance cycles can help prevent unnecessary costs. This involves analyzing historical data to predict the need for planned and unplanned maintenance services based on system age and usage. This provides an indication as to when it is time to renew critical equipment or machinery for efficient operations.
Tips for Implementing Maintenance and Operations Solutions
Build a maintenance plan around the organization's mission and vision. Start with a high-level view of your application’s lifecycle, including its systems, components, and processes. Identify the types of maintenance required for each phase of the application’s lifecycle from preventative to corrective. Develop a maintenance strategy that addresses the key components, such as hardware, software, and personnel. Plan preventative maintenance tasks based on your organization's breakdown history or vendor recommendations. Complete inspections as part of on-condition checks to detect impending failures before they occur. Consider outsourcing routine maintenance tasks to reduce costs and improve efficiency.
Conclusion:
When you invest in maintenance and operations, you’re investing in the future of your company. But it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to reap their benefits. Follow these tips to maximize asset productivity and ROI. Invest in automation solutions for asset management and performance monitoring. Use data analytics to identify maintenance needs and streamline processes for faster asset response times.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Why is asset productivity important?
Asset productivity is crucial because it directly impacts the return on investment (ROI) of your assets. When assets are well-maintained and operations are optimized, productivity increases, leading to higher efficiency, reduced downtime, and ultimately, improved financial performance.
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