Planning Survey

A few years ago working with the Maintenance Group there was some controversy regarding the overall effectiveness of practices, process development and continuous improvement. To gain a good idea of the health of the system as it was we developed and distributed a Planning Survey to key stakeholders for input. The desired outputs were twofold in that one part of the agenda was to encourage the craftsmen and leadership to have a mechanism to express the realities through participation and secondly introduce the scope of the path forward.

Each question was weighted and represented a meaningful challenge to manage. The results allowed us to establish our areas of focus and work on cultural and process priorities.

Planning Survey

The intent of this survey is to help identify the current shortfalls and strengths of Maintenance Planning & Scheduling as we know it today.

Work Order Initiation (Waiting Approval Status)

1. Are all work orders filled out correctly?    
2. Is the justification for work orders and particularly the lead-time allowed questioned regularly?  
3. Are work orders properly coded as to type of work and correct authorization obtained?  

Work Order Planning (Waiting Estimate Status)

1. Is the backlog of corrective work orders under control?   
2. Is work order scope reviewed in the field?   
3. Are sketches and specifications provided when required?  
4. Are estimates being steadily refined?
5.  Are estimates realistic? Is feedback from frontline supervisors provided on a regular basis?  

Preventative Maintenance (PM’s)

1. Are preventive maintenance inspection sheets checked and the necessary work orders scheduled? 
2. Are all PM work orders properly scheduled according to the frequencies?  

Material Procurement (Waiting Material Status)

1. Are the predetermined materials needs specified for all work orders? 
2. Is the delivery of predetermined material arranged for in advance?   
3. Is effort made to improve material specifications and insure its availability on the job hen needed?  
4. Is follow-up maintained on all work orders for materials?  

Urgent and Emergency Work Orders 

1. Do Priority Work Order meet guidelines of a Prioritization matrix?  

Work Order Scope Execution (In Progress)

1. Are contract jobs properly charged to work orders?  
2. Are completed work orders promptly returned to the originator to close?  

Shutdown Planning (Waiting Plant Conditions Status)

1. Is shutdown information obtained sufficiently far enough in advance to plan effectively?  
2. Are approaching shutdowns given attention soon enough to plan adequately?  

CMMS Management

1. Is the planning of work orders up-to-date (i.e., no backlog of unplanned work orders)?  
2. Are work orders “In Progress and “Waiting Material” regularly checked as to status?  
3. Is the backlog reviewed regularly to identify overdue work orders and actions approver?

Level 1 (Re-usable Job Plans)

1. Are recurring jobs analyzed for the purpose of establishing model work order plans?   
2. Is the effectiveness of the estimates and plans checked after job completion?  

Scheduling

1. Is operations notified in advance when to have equipment shutdown or prepared so hat it can be worked on without delay?  
2. Are work orders scheduled according to the priority established by the originator?   
3. If job can not be scheduled within the desired interval, is the originator notified? 
4. Is a full day’s work scheduled every day for every maintenance person?  
5. Is the necessary manpower scheduled for minor repairs?  
6. Are the required number of resources assigned to jobs whenever possible?  
7. Do work schedules account for every resource including absences?