Measuring Maintenance: The Art (and Science) of Crafting KPIs That Actually Matter

Let’s face it—when someone mentions “Maintenance KPIs,” most people either nod vigorously (pretending to understand) or glaze over entirely. But here's the truth: crafting an effective KPI suite for your maintenance organization isn’t just about crunching numbers. It’s about storytelling. Yes, you heard that right. Because every KPI tells a story about your assets, your people, and the value your team delivers.

Why Maintenance Deserves the Spotlight

Gone are the days when maintenance was just that “nasty cost centre” lurking in the budget reports. Today, it's a strategic powerhouse. Here’s why:

• Outsourcing Galore: As organizations lean into outsourcing for perceived cost savings, the asset owner is increasingly distanced from day-to-day maintenance. (Spoiler: this isn’t always cheaper.)
• Capital-Intensive Industries: With more machines and fewer hands-on deck, maintenance costs are skyrocketing, making them juicy targets for arbitrary cost-cutting. (Pro tip: not always the best idea.)
• From Necessary Evil to Value Creator: Maintenance isn’t just about fixing what's broken anymore. It’s about extending asset life, increasing flexibility, and delaying those “please-don’t-make-me-capex” conversations.
• Tech-Savvy Maintenance: Predictive tools, condition-based monitoring, remote diagnostics—welcome to maintenance in the 21st century. It’s like giving your equipment a Fitbit, but with fewer awkward steps challenges.
• Safety First (and always): Hidden failures, anyone? Managing safety systems now requires more than a “set it and forget it” approach. Think intelligent testing and proactive maintenance to prevent catastrophic “oops” moments.

KPIs: Your Maintenance Dashboard GPS

Creating a KPI suite isn’t about drowning in data. It’s about clarity. Imagine driving with a dashboard that only tells you the radio station. Useless, right? Your KPIs should be that dashboard—guiding, informing, and occasionally yelling at you when things go off track.

A Balanced KPI Suite Has Three Layers:

1. Strategic KPIs (aka “What’s Right?”): Focus on big-picture goals like reducing safety incidents, optimizing Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), and keeping maintenance costs sane.
2. Operational KPIs (“Doing the Right Things”): Think Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF), Mean Time To Repair (MTTR), and whether your team’s failure analyses are spot-on the first time.
3. Tactical KPIs (“Doing Things Right”): Day-to-day metrics like labour productivity, backlog management, and whether your spare parts stock is more organized than your sock drawer.

The KPI Balancing Act

Implementing KPIs is like adopting a pet. Start small, understand its needs, and don’t overwhelm your team with a zoo of metrics they can’t manage. Focus on indicators that align with your strategic drivers.

Also, stop reinventing the wheel. Standard KPI definitions (like those in BS EN 15341) save time, reduce debates over terminology, and make benchmarking a breeze. Plus, they’re already built into most CMMS tools. Win-win.

A Tale of Two Maintenance Strategies

In one organization, we ran a fancy analysis across 20 high-speed beverage lines. The data screamed, “Lower maintenance spend equals higher OEE!” Sounds great, right? But hold your applause. It wasn’t until we factored in operator engagement that the real story emerged. Turns out, when operators are hands-on with maintenance, OEE goes up, costs go down, and everyone’s happier (except maybe the spare parts suppliers).

Some KPI Benchmarks

If you’re looking for some benchmarks to measure yourself from, here’s some examples but, remember, you’re not always measuring apples with apples and context is everything.

The Final Word

Maintenance KPIs aren’t just about numbers; they’re about narratives. They tell you where you’ve been, where you’re headed, and when it’s time to pull over and check under the hood. So, next time someone groans at the mention of KPIs, just smile and say, “Let me tell you a story.”

Got thoughts or experiences with maintenance KPIs? Share them in the comments—let’s swap stories!