5 Proven Rules to Strengthen Operations & Maintenance Partnerships

Plant professionals routinely emphasize the importance of a strong partnership between maintenance, operations, and engineering. While better communication and understanding are critical, long‑term success requires concrete rules and actionable steps that guide the relationship.

When IDCON launches reliability improvement projects, we begin by collaborating with operations and maintenance leaders to establish clear work processes and partnership guidelines. Once agreed, we publish a concise “rulebook” that every team member can carry—ensuring everyone follows the same playbook.

Example rule 1: “Operations, maintenance and engineering are joint partners that form a production team. Maintenance owns equipment reliability, operations owns process reliability, and engineering provides technical support to both.”

This rule eliminates a supplier–customer mindset. In a customer‑supplier model, operations would dictate maintenance requests, which is unsustainable because an operations manager typically lacks deep maintenance expertise, and successors may not inherit that knowledge. Conversely, if maintenance controls its own budget without clear boundaries, operations can request work without accountability. A true partnership aligns both sides toward a shared goal—maximizing production efficiency at bottlenecks.

Example rule 2: Agree on precise criteria for each priority code. In most CMMS systems, each code should come with a definition and a time limit. For instance, a Priority 1 (emergency) work order might be any activity that addresses an immediate safety, environmental, or quality risk, or that shuts down critical equipment. If the criteria aren’t met, the request is treated as lower priority and does not disrupt the maintenance schedule.

A well‑defined priority framework improves productivity and strengthens partnership through clearer communication.

Example rule 3: Define cut‑off times for key scheduling activities:

• The start date and time for shutdowns, outages, or localized shutdowns.
• Adding jobs to the weekly and daily schedule.
• Adding jobs to a shutdown or turnaround.

While perfect adherence is ideal, the goal is a shared guideline that promotes consistency. For example, a job added to a shutdown seven days in advance may be classified as a “break‑in” job and must receive plant‑manager approval. Adopting these rules reduces last‑minute changes and accelerates execution.

Example rule 4: Implement a formal, joint approval point for work requests.

Every request undergoes a formal review to determine necessity. Maintenance and operations screen the request beforehand, categorizing it as “routine” (must‑do) or “improvement” (subject to discussion). Routine maintenance cannot be avoided, while improvement work can be questioned. By evaluating each request, organizations can release up to 20 % of craftsperson time, fostering a culture of trust and timely completion.

Example rule 5: Resolve root‑cause problems together.

When equipment or process issues arise, both maintenance and operations representatives collaborate on the investigation. Because most problems stem from intertwined factors—equipment, process, or human elements—joint ownership promotes deeper understanding and stronger communication.

Torbjörn (Tor) Idhammar is partner and vice president of the management‑consulting firm IDCON Inc., a leader in reliability and maintenance management. He leads all IDCON projects, training, and implementation support, covering reliability assessments, preventive maintenance, operator‑based reliability, planning, scheduling, materials management, and root‑cause problem elimination. Tor is the author of “Condition Monitoring Standards” (volumes 1‑3). Contact Tor at 800‑849‑2041 or info@idcon.com. Visit www.idcon.com.