Choosing the right maintenance partner is one of the most important decisions you can make for the long-term health of your plant. An experienced maintenance contractor brings skilled personnel -- subject matter experts on predictive and preventive maintenance -- along with tools, systems and industry best practices developed for a broad array of customers and their requirements.
Wise plant operators will leverage the capabilities of their maintenance contractors to increase the efficiency and reliability of their assets and deliver continuous improvement to their plant's up-time.
Here's how to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with your contractor that will add predictability to your operations and dollars to your bottom line:
- Think long-term. A contract with the potential for an extension based on performance helps the contractor and plant team build a collaborative, win-win relationship. At one site where Bilfinger has provided nested maintenance services for over 25 years, its team has become an extension of the owner's team. Bilfinger trained and developed its craft to provide complex services that normally would be handled by a third-party contractor, eliminating the cost of mobilization and reducing downtime.
- Consider a performance-based contract. If a contractor's performance does not meet expectations, fees can be reduced. On the other hand, if the contractor over-performs and delivers cost savings or cost avoidance, it shares in those savings. Performance-based contracts that put margins on the line encourage both the contractor and operator to identify how to leverage synergies to save money, reduce costs and drive innovation, which can leave the operator with more money at the end of the year to invest in assets.
- Develop mutually agreed-upon KPIs. There's a saying in the industry that you can only improve a process if you can measure it. KPIs should be challenging yet achievable, clearly defined, and enable an organization to track leading and lagging indicators throughout the entire work delivery process. In addition, the maintenance contractor should have the ability to capture and self-report KPI data and organize it in a way that drives accountability and continuous improvement.
- Emphasize training. A contractor that has established craft progression and craft training programs, including multicraft training and certification, ensures quality craftsmen who are capable of not only performing quality work in one skill, but also other forms of maintenance throughout the facility while streamlining the scheduling of work. Targeting a mix of 30-40 percent of the workforce to include multicraft resources has been shown to reduce backlog and overtime by 5 percent and 10 percent, respectively.
- Create an executive steering committee. A hands-on executive team of both site and contractor leadership developing a long-term strategic plan and working together on common goals can produce step-changes in productivity, reliability and efficiency. The team should meet on a regular basis to align goals, resolve issues, oversee progress, and review improvement activities and results.
A fully engaged maintenance partner can help customers improve their overall equipment efficiency, reduce maintenance costs and increase work productivity.
For more information, visit www.bilfinger.com or call (346) 298-6800.
