Pro Tip: Complete a maintenance down day punch list safely, correctly and on schedule to minimize delays and avoid repeat repairs.

What will make your next maintenance down day your best one ever? Nothing if your approach is the same as the previous one. A successful maintenance shutdown does not begin when the production line stops. It begins days earlier with a clear plan, a prioritized punch list, available parts, assigned resources and a defined sequence of work. Simply put, success begins with the plan.

Build a strong maintenance punch list

Managing and developing a solid maintenance down day punch list is critical. Every item should be clearly defined and sorted according to its criticality. The most important work must be identified and scheduled first. Rank critical repairs from lower-priority improvements and routine activities. This helps ensure the work that presents the greatest risk to safety, production, quality or reliability receives the necessary attention first.

A long punch list does not automatically equal a good plan. A good plan identifies what must be completed, what can realistically be completed and the correct order in which the work should occur.

Kit the parts before the shutdown

Any job requiring parts should be fully kitted before the maintenance down day begins. Technicians should not spend valuable shutdown time searching through storerooms, locating tools, waiting for materials or discovering that a required component is unavailable after disassembly. Each job package should include the correct parts, tools, materials, instructions and supporting documentation (if needed).

Every minute spent searching during a shutdown is a minute taken away from the action plan.

Complete work while the lines are running

Do as much preparation, inspecting and maintenance work as possible while the production lines are still operating. This maximizes the effectiveness of your labor resources and reduces the amount of work that must be completed during the actual shutdown window. Pre-stage tools and equipment, verify parts and review job plans, complete inspections, prepare work areas, confirm lockout requirements and then assign mechanics and outside resources before the downtime begins.

The goal is to reserve the shutdown window for work that can only be performed when the equipment is stopped.

Plan the work in the correct order

You can no longer afford to lose valuable time with an asset waiting on “pit road” because the work was not planned in the correct sequence. The shutdown schedule should reflect how the production process actually stops and starts. For example, mixing and makeup areas generally shut down two hours before the packaging area. That time difference creates an opportunity to begin maintenance work earlier in one area while production continues elsewhere.

Sequencing the work correctly allows teams to move efficiently from one task or production area to the next. It also helps prevent one job from blocking another and reduces unnecessary waiting between sanitation and maintenance.

Determine resource needs in advance

Can your internal maintenance team realistically complete all the planned work within the available downtime? If not, determine whether outside resources will be needed. Identify the required skills, number of workers, expected hours and estimated cost early enough to receive authorization from upper management.

Do not wait until the shutdown begins to discover that the plan requires more people than are available.

Management approval is more likely when the request clearly explains the following:

• The work that must be completed.
• The risks of delaying the work.
• The internal labor available.
• The additional resources required.
• The cost of the support.
• The expected safety, quality, production or reliability benefit.

Advance planning turns outside support from an emergency expense into a justified business decision.

Trust but verify

Should the quality of completed work be checked before the mechanic goes home? Absolutely.

Verification should occur before startup — not after the downtime report identifies a failure.

Supervisors and maintenance leaders should confirm that critical work was completed correctly, guards and components were reinstalled, fasteners were secured, tools and materials were removed, and equipment was ready for safe operation.

This is also an opportunity to provide constructive coaching. The purpose is not to find fault. The goal is to eliminate mistakes, improve workmanship, reinforce standards, and prevent rework.

Trust your people — but verify the work.

Eliminate rework at every level

Rework consumes labor, extends downtime, increases costs and damages confidence in the maintenance process. Focus on eliminating rework from every activity and at every level. That includes planning, scheduling, parts preparation, job execution, supervision, inspection, startup and communication.

The best maintenance down day is not necessarily the one with the most work orders closed. It is the one in which the right work is completed safely, correctly and on schedule —with minimal delays and no repeat repairs.

Final pro tip

Someday is not a day of the week, and hope is not a strategy. For example:

• Do not hope the parts are available.
• Do not hope the schedule works.
• Do not hope enough people show up.
• Do not hope the repairs were completed correctly.

Plan the work, kit the parts, prioritize by criticality, sequence the activities, secure the resources, verify the quality and eliminate rework. This is how you make your next maintenance down day your best down day.

Rowdy Brixey is founder and president of Brixey Engineering Inc.

You can connect with him on LinkedIn.