Strengthen Your Maintenance System Before Adding New Programs

Many organizations spend far too much time chasing the next reliability or maintenance concept while neglecting the fundamentals that sustain day‑to‑day performance.

In a recent visit to a mid‑size integrated mill, I met with supervisors, planners, and craftspeople—the frontline of maintenance—and heard a telling story.

“Are you serious?”

“I attended your presentation yesterday,” said a millwright from the pulp‑mill area. “You sounded as though you’d been in our mill for years and used our plant as a case study. In the last five years we’ve had three mill managers and two maintenance managers. We launched a reliability improvement program a year ago, and now a second manager is on board to steer the same project. Each new manager introduces new acronyms, rebrands the initiative, and changes course just for the sake of novelty. They brag about the success of the mills they came from, as if those results could be replicated instantly.”

The millwright continued, “It’s hard for us to buy into this because we’re never sure if another program will start next month or if a new manager will take over.”

A planner echoed the sentiment. “I was promoted to planner overnight three years ago and have yet to receive formal training or a clear job description. When I asked for clarification, management simply said I was “getting the jobs ready.” I don’t even know if I’m doing a good job. My day is split between planning, filling in for supervisors, sourcing spare parts, locating drawings, compiling reports, and guiding contractors. If I could focus more on planning, I’d be far more effective.”

No such thing as work ethics?

The maintenance supervisor added, “My planner and I often have to figure out tasks between us, and we regularly rely on the craftspeople to complete the planning that should be ours. I was promoted to supervisor two years ago without training, with the only directive being to keep the crew safe and productive.” He lamented, “I’m from the old school where work ethic mattered. I’ve had to confront workers who vanish for hours, arrive late, or quit early. Their complaints to HR forced me to back off, and the result is that 70% of the work is done by 30% of the crew.”

The planner expressed frustration at the lack of preventive maintenance due to a backlog of breakdowns and a system that cannot accommodate basic planning and scheduling.

Collectively, they voiced disappointment and lost faith in management’s initiatives. Frequent program changes erode trust and stifle productivity.

It could happen to you.

This scenario is not unique to one mill; it’s a common pattern in many facilities. Dr. W. Edwards Deming famously said, “People cannot be more productive than the system they work in allows them to be.” Leaders must first enhance the existing system before seeking new technologies or processes.