The Simple Guide to Maintenance Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

What are key performance indicators in maintenance strategies?

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are performance metrics used to evaluate critical success factors within an organization. They provide quantitative and qualitative measurements to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of activities.

In the context of maintenance methodology, KPIs are invaluable in optimizing resources, optimizing costs saving, and minimizing unplanned downtime. They help determine if teams, departments, and production lines are on track to achieve their objectives. 

Why use kpis?

“To improve, you need to measure!”

Maintenance personnel typically rely on a range of processes dictating how activities should be executed. For example, if the goal is to enhance the efficiency of the team by implementing a planning and scheduling process, it’s crucial to measure how much of the team’s work is planned.

Additionally, tracking the completion rate of scheduled tasks on a weekly basis is essential.

By analyzing KPI data, managers can identify gaps, develop action plans, and implement corrective measures to improve measured outcomes.

How to choose the right kpis?

Choosing the right KPIs begins with identifying which aspects of your type of maintenance strategies needs control and improvement. Indicators must support both the company’s goals and the team’s objectives.

The right KPIs guide adjustments in maintenance management strategies and improve intervention approaches.

To select the best KPIs, consider these questions:

• Why is this measurement important?
• What is the objective of this metric?
• How can I measure progress and influence results?

Additionally, follow these three key rules:

• Encourage the right behaviors.
• Avoid indicators that are easy to manipulate.
• Ensure KPIs are simple to measure and explain.

Common pitfalls to avoid

“Just because you can measure everything doesn’t mean you should.”

This quote from Edwards Deming perfectly highlights a common mistake in maintenance best practices. It’s vital to focus on key metrics that align with controlled elements of maintenance processes. Too often, maintenance teams produce endless reports through tools like Power BI, but no one reviews or acts upon them.

Another trap is prioritizing KPI results over real operational improvements. Some managers may spend excessive time tweaking indicators instead of collaborating with teams on the ground to enhance the actual efficiency of maintenance activities. This is particularly prevalent in large organizations comparing multiple facilities through KPIs.

A third pitfall involves maintenance planners or supervisors manipulating data to make their team appear more efficient. Examples include adding unnecessary hours to work orders or excluding certain preventive maintenance tasks from the schedule to artificially boost scheduling adherence. Such practices distort true performance and should not be tolerated by management.

Ultimately, KPIs should not be the goal but a tool to guide continuous improvement in maintenance practices. Focusing on maintaining and enhancing equipment on the shop floor will naturally lead to better KPI performance.

Implementation

Maintenance teams should generate KPIs weekly and display them in central work areas or common meeting rooms. This transparency allows the entire team, including tradespeople, to track trends and equipment performance.

The maintenance management team, including supervisors, planners, and operations coordinators, should review KPI results weekly, often during the scheduling validation meeting. They should assess each indicator’s performance, conduct additional checks if needed, and take action to address areas for improvement.

By adhering to these practices, organizations can leverage maintenance KPIs to drive operational excellence and ensure long-term equipment reliability.

Some typical examples of maintenance kpis

• Definition: The percentage of work orders scheduled for the reference period that were completed during the same reference period
• Indicator frequency: Weekly
• Goal: 80% and above

• Definition: The percentage of “preventive” work orders scheduled for the reference period that were completed during the same reference period.
• Indicator frequency: Weekly
• Objective: 100%

• Definition: The number of hours scheduled on the calendar for the reference week, divided by the available maintenance employee hours (excluding absences, vacations, sickness, etc., recorded in the CMMS).
• Indicator frequency: Weekly

Planning and scheduling, it’s something you can learn!

If you want to learn more about the benefits and advantages of planning and scheduling maintenance work and discover best practices, we invite you to register for course Maintenance Planning and Scheduling.

This 2-day training will help you improve your knowledge (including the implementation of maintenance KPIs) and your skills in this crucial area.

Michel Emond, P.Eng.
Reliability Consultant – Laurentide Controls
[email protected]