By R.T. “Chris” Christensen

When I begin to work with a maintenance department, my first course of action is to define who these people are and what it is that they really do. In most cases, I find that these folks have their hands in just about every aspect of the business. They repair machines. They do diagnostic and troubleshooting work around the plant. They cut the grass and fix the mowing equipment. They repair office furniture. They install equipment. They fix the boss’ car. They design and build special equipment. They change light bulbs.

The maintenance team does everything and anything. This is a reputation that we in maintenance earned. It’s the can-do attitude that has won us plenty of hero badges as well as a bunch of “busy work.”

While all this gives us great job satisfaction, we find that we don’t seem to get anything done. What is lost here is the real purpose of having a maintenance staff.

The reason a company is in business is to sell its products and services in order to generate a revenue stream that provides a living for all those associated with the operation.

Maintenance’s main focus is to ensure that the facility is capable of performing at its best. Period. Maintenance is charged with keeping the value-generating capability of the facility functioning at its most efficient level, providing the highest quality level attainable for the market served. But how do we do this?

Let’s begin to answer this with a project. Take out a piece of paper and a pen and write down all the activities that you do. This list will be similar to what I wrote at the beginning of this article. Just take some time and jot down all the things that you did over the last year. I’ll wait until you are done.

Got it? Good. Take a look at that list and now circle all those things that you did that DO NOT add value to what it is that the company does. Yeah, I know that you can’t work in the dark, but does changing the light bulbs add to the value of the product or help the company meet its business goals? Probably not. Circle all those non-value-added things that don’t make it to the bottom line and make money for the company.

Now we are getting closer to what this article is all about. Look at all the things that you didn’t circle. These are activities that add value to the company. These help the firm generate revenue. Things like machine repair, preventive maintenance and machinery rebuilds or upgrades all help the plant run smoother, faster, with more uptime, and produce a better quality product. These help your company build better products and deliver services quicker, for less cost, and on a more timely basis.

Now that you have this in place, remember, first you identified all the different tasks that you perform and then you identified those tasks that are value-added to your company. I now want to you to think about your core competency.

Core competency is that which you and your staff do best. This is the major value-added component of your capabilities. This is what you and your staff are best-trained for and most capable of performing. Take some time to decide on your core competency.

Got it? Your core competency is not something that I can tell you about in a column like this. You have to figure this out. In some cases, it’s not that easy to do. You might have more than one, which happens sometimes (and that’s OK), but try to pick the one that most outlines just what it is that you do best for the company.

Knowing what it is that you do best and knowing that this is also a value-added area for your company helps you shift your department’s focus. That’s the reason we went through all this. Such an analysis allows you then to look at those things that do not bring value to the company or are not one of your core competencies.

If an activity does not bring value and is not a core competency, why do it? Is changing light bulbs a core competency of yours? If not, stop doing it and subcontract it out. If that sounds a bit controversial, good!

How about noise or vibration analysis? While the outcome of the analysis is of major concern to you, if this is not a core part of your shop, hire it on the outside. If you look at the training, equipment needed and required hours for analyzing these tests, you might find that it costs more than the payback. That’s especially so if such tests are done on an infrequent or as-needed basis. If it doesn’t meet your criteria for value, importance and competencies, subcontract it out.

The rule here is to focus on what you do best and on what gives your company a competitive edge in the marketplace. Keep what’s best and subcontract the rest.

R.T. "Chris" Christensen is the director of the University of Wisconsin School of Business' operations management program. If you have a question, contact Coach Christensen by phone at ore-mail .

This article appeared in the February/March issue of MRO Today magazine. Copyright, 2004.

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