Effective KPI Management
Effective KPI Management
Success
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Over decades of observation, countless plants have closed their doors, often citing various
causes, but the underlying issue was a failure to manage effectively with KPIs.
Management must shift from managing operations based solely on lagging metrics like cost,
asset availability, and equipment downtime to a proactive approach centered on leading and
lagging KPIs.
While valuable for evaluating performance, lagging indicators only reflect past actions
and outcomes.
Organizations must manage the processes driving these results to thrive, adopting leading
indicators to guide proactive, future-focused decision-making and avoid the pitfalls of
reactive management.
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Corporation costs may be too high to calculate, so we must stop these massive losses by
implementing a plan to develop and align KPIs. This article may save someone’s plant or job,
but do not look for shortcuts in the process because there are none.
Step 1.
Educate management, from executive to floor-level supervisors, on KPIs and how the
leading and lagging indicators should be aligned to meet the business goals. Then, provide a
similar education to the maintainers and operators.
Step 2.
Define and assess the current maintenance and reliability processes against a future state. A
future state is formed of known maintenance and reliability “best practices.” As part of this
assessment, develop a business case with financial opportunities and the costs of change.
This step continues the education process and creates an awareness of the opportunity.
Step 3.
Develop a plan based on the assessment to include financial opportunities and costs on a
timeline. This plan must include the following:
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Preventive Maintenance Scorecard Example
Step 4.
Implement the process and begin managing based on leading indicators. Begin by
measuring only a few KPIs (maximum of three). Then, allow people at the lowest levels to
make the decisions required to ensure the maintenance and reliability process is proactive
and effective. The use of leading KPIs is a great awareness tool and brings everyone into the
decision-making process.
This process is not easy; however, it is not magic either. Developing KPIs is time-consuming
but must be done for a company to survive.
Note: It is acceptable to have a low number in any of the categories. The objective of KPIs is
to provide management with real numbers with which to manage and not to beat up people.
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Maintenance Manager Dashboard
The maintenance manager’s dashboard has plant-level KPIs specific to the total plant
maintenance and involves the maintenance cost per unit produced.
The following are measured as the maintenance cost of the return on asset value:
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Final Thoughts
Remove the black windshield and manage with leading indicators, not lagging ones. Leading
KPIs should be used to drive the decision-making process. Remember, leading indicators
(KPIs) are manageable, while lagging indicators only offer information on how well the plant
was managed. To be the best, step up to the plate and manage in the most efficient manner
by following these recommendations.
“If you can not measure it, you can not improve it.” – Lord Kelvin
Source: Rules of Thumb for Maintenance and Reliability Engineers by Ricky Smith / Keith
Mobley
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