Cutting Maintenance: You Can't Afford It

If your cost cutting in the last two years have focused on maintenance then you have slashed budgets, defer projects and hold back spending. If what you are cutting is waste then great BUT cutting maintenance could be dangerous. When cutting we tend to cut activities not waste. We do fewer PMs, we delay replacing parts we know are worn and we cut back hours and personel. All to cut expenses. However, maintenance is not strictly an expense, it is a contributor to capacity, through put, safety, environmental integrity, quality and scheduling agility, all things a manufacturing facility needs more of not less. Treating maintenance like office supplies is wrong-headed and dangerous. Planning your maintenance with productivity in mind and reducing downtime will do more to enhance the bottom line than cutting a maintenance expense.