Over the years, I’ve worked for and with organizations that continue to do dumb stuff. They make decisions based on assumptions rather than valid data. They implement changes that directly affect shop floor workers without ever asking for their input. Inventory is cut so low that they constantly have to overnight materials, adding unnecessary costs and delays.
On the shop floor, operators treat breakdowns as break time, while maintenance techs focus on quick fixes instead of finding root causes. Purchasing departments chase cost savings at the expense of reliability, like buying bamboo bearings to cut costs. Meanwhile, leadership spends their days in meetings, completely disconnected from what’s actually happening in the plant.
Let’s get back to basics so organizations can move the dial called continuous improvement.
Know Your Assets
Every organization must have an accurate asset registry, asset hierarchy, and equipment bills of materials, period! Those of us from a manufacturing background know that production has a bill of materials to produce a product. The same goes for equipment. We must know exactly what is in our facility, departments, lines, equipment, and inside that equipment, just like production.
Tear Down Silos
We must break down the functional cylinders within which every organization operates. Organizations are set up for conflict because competing KPIs drive us. “As long as my house is clean, I don’t care about yours!”
The best-performing companies have broken down these barriers and understand that “We’re” in this together, so let’s figure this out. Leadership, Ops, Maintenance, Engineering, Supply Chain, etc., need to communicate, work as a team, and synergize our department KPIs for the good of the company, not departments.
Stick to the Schedule
Organizations should develop executable schedules that meld operational requirements with corrective and preventive actions. The easiest planned job to remove from a production schedule is PM! We must understand the consequences of deferring maintenance. Our PM compliance should be as high as our production schedule compliance.
Use a CMMS
We need a CMMS to capture our activities, resources, materials, and corrective activities. Without this, we make decisions based on emotion. We cannot develop and refine our maintenance strategies and eliminate or mitigate failures that impact operations and our commitment to customer service.
Get Inventory Right
Inventory accuracy must be very high. What’s on the computer must be what’s in the location, and what’s on the shelf must be accurate in the system. Just like operations, we don’t start a production run unless we have all the materials.
Buy Smart, Not Cheap
Our Supply Chain must understand that the cheapest is not always the best. We may have to purchase the more expensive part because its life cycle far outlives the cheaper item. We want professional buyers who understand and use Life-Cycle Cost Analysis for major purchases and establish supplier agreements and other strategic practices.
Lead from the Floor
Leadership! It’s too easy to blame leadership for everything, but the reality is that a lot of the issues I see come from leadership that doesn’t understand that the money is being made on the shop floor and not the conference rooms. Senior leadership must be visible, conduct consistent GEMBA walks, talk to the folks, remove barriers, ask for improvement ideas and take action based on the feedback, get to know your employees, and understand what motivates them.
I worked for a man who was literally a multi-millionaire. He owned several manufacturing companies in my hometown. I grew very close to him and respected him immensely. One day, we were talking. I’m unsure how the conversation turned, but he said, “Andy, there’s no difference between you, me, or the folks that clean our restrooms. The only difference is we have different job responsibilities.” That has stuck with me my entire career.
So, let’s stop doing dumb things and get on with our responsibilities!
Andrew Gager, CEO of AMG International Consulting, Inc., is an industry-leading expert in manufacturing best practices, maintenance systems, and supply chain optimization, with over 20 years of Operations Leadership experience spanning from shop floor operations to plant management. The last 20+ years working with M&R organizations across industries such as manufacturing, oil & gas, food & beverage, pharma, and transportation, specializing in OpEx, reliability-based solutions and materials management. A Certified Maintenance Reliability Professional (CMRP), Certified in Planning & Inventory Management (CPIM) and Six Sigma Green Belt (CSSGB), Andrew is a sought-after speaker and trainer, known for his dynamic presentation style. He is regularly published in multiple trade periodicals. He holds a BS in Business & Operations Management from Rochester Institute of Technology.
