Elevating Maintenance: Aligning Strategy, Building Trust, and Driving Business Value

Achieving maintenance excellence hinges on a strong, collaborative relationship with operations. When maintenance aligns with broader business goals, it becomes a strategic partner rather than a reactive support function.

There are two essential pillars:

• Craft a maintenance strategy that reflects company objectives.
• Foster a partnership with operations that unlocks the resources needed to execute that strategy.

Figure 1. Project phases from concept to execution.

Strategic Alignment

While many approaches exist, the most effective path starts with management endorsement and a focused, data‑driven strategy. Building the strategy requires modest resources—primarily labor and benchmarking—but demands significant time and commitment.

Key steps for a robust strategy:

• Identify core company principles, either explicitly stated or inferred.
• Define short‑ and long‑term business objectives.
• Benchmark best‑in‑class (world‑class) performance.
• Prioritize initiatives that deliver the greatest impact toward company goals.
• Assess the current state of maintenance operations.
• For each assessment area, evaluate:
  • People – culture, values, symbols.
  • Process – map current processes against best‑in‑class.
  • Technology – ensure IT, tools, and documentation support the processes and people.

Engagement is critical; involve staff early and communicate in terms that resonate with them.

Figure 2. The continuous improvement cycle for maintenance success.

Estimate resources and time realistically. Experience shows that a well‑managed project consumes roughly three times the original estimate, whereas poorly managed projects can require four times. A solid plan saves at least 25 % of costs.

Dividing the project into phases—visualized in Figure 1—helps focus on key metrics such as reliability, preventive maintenance completion, and tool crib accuracy. The top line represents the ideal state derived from best‑in‑class data.

Timing matters. Rushing maintenance into production can erode trust. Lee Iacocca famously said, "A great manager is like a boy with a big dog—he waits for the dog to decide where to go." Ensure the company’s strategic direction, not just machinery downtime, drives maintenance decisions.

Figure 3. Quantifying the financial impact of improved maintenance.

Building Relationships

Organizational silos—where departments operate in isolation—degrade overall efficiency. Even if maintenance reports to operations, it must maintain its own accountability and expertise. Decentralized support functions (HR, finance, purchasing) often thrive only when they balance core production responsibilities with continuous improvement.

Keys to Success

Steven Covey’s “Speed of Trust” provides a useful framework:

Strategy + Execution = Results
and
(Strategy + Execution) × Trust = Results

Trust comprises intent (maintenance genuinely cares about operations) and competency (maintenance reliably delivers). Repeated positive interactions build the trust dividend.

Assess trust by surveying operations personnel on their perception of maintenance intent and competency. Annual customer‑satisfaction surveys can reveal gaps and guide corrective actions.

When trust is low, it acts like a tax on results; when high, it multiplies outcomes.

Financial Value

Aberdeen Group data (link: Aberdeen Group) demonstrates that enhanced maintenance drives increased earnings, higher capacity, improved return on net assets, and a rising share price—benefits that protect both shareholders and employees.

Measuring Progress

Success indicators include seamless maintenance scheduling, operations’ confidence in resource requests, and the integration of maintenance into the core business plan rather than as an afterthought.

Leading by Example

Wayne Vaughn, former Harley‑Davidson Motor Company director of maintenance, exemplifies transformational leadership. Over 28 years, he guided 250 trades and 25 salaried staff, delivering a 400 % production increase while expanding facilities and implementing advanced training, tool crib organization, CMMS, predictive maintenance, and TPM.

Vaughn’s experience underscores that disciplined strategy, execution, and trust can elevate maintenance from a cost center to a strategic asset.