How to Build Effective Partnership Agreements for Plant Reliability

Partnership agreements are formal contracts between functional areas that directly influence plant reliability. Crafting, nurturing, and committing to these agreements is a cornerstone of any successful reliability‑improvement program.

Why Partnership Agreements Matter

Research led by Ron Moore of RM Group Inc. and Andrew Fraser of the Reliability Manufacturing Association demonstrates that nearly every functional group— from purchasing to operations—impacts overall reliability. Surprisingly, maintenance is not the sole or even the primary contributor to reliability losses.

Figure 1: Losses and Downtime Responsibility

The chart illustrates multiple stages in an asset’s lifecycle, each with potential defects. Behind those defects are departments that choose new purchases, receive and store goods, and install, operate, and maintain assets. Successful reliability improvement starts by letting the people who perform these tasks identify ways other departments can ease their work—and vice versa. The resulting lists become a master inventory of actionable ideas, from which teams select measurable improvement topics and take incremental steps toward a partnership agreement.

Where to Apply Partnership Agreements

A partnership agreement should encompass any business function that affects reliability. Common pairings include:

• Production and Maintenance
• Services and Production
• Reliability Engineering and Operations
• Procurement/Stores and Maintenance
• Planning and Operations
• Sales and Production

Steps to Create a Partnership Agreement

1. Form Cross‑Functional Teams

• Invite representatives from each relevant function.
• Ask probing questions to surface tensions and improvement opportunities:
  • What are the key success factors for each group?
  • If you could fix one thing about working with the other group, what would it be?
  • What would change about this process?
  • What does their work cause you to do?
  • What do you think the other groups would say about us?

Answers reveal the subjects that need deeper discussion.

2. Define the Problem

• Identify the challenges to be addressed.
• Summarize the key areas for both partners on a single page.
• Prioritize which processes, assets, or interactions to tackle first.

3. Design Gap‑Closing Actions

• Map functional roles—tasks and responsibilities belong to roles, not individuals—to ensure sustainability.
• Assign ownership of new processes or tools to these roles.

4. Establish Measurable Metrics

• Create performance indicators that track commitments, new processes, and tools.
• Clear metrics reduce subjective judgments and increase the likelihood of success.

Critical Success Factors

Developing and implementing new tools and processes is a time‑intensive effort that demands multiple perspectives. Expect several weeks of alignment and consensus building. Pilot the agreement in a focused work area to validate its effectiveness. Treat partnership agreements as living documents that evolve with your culture and business needs.

To sustain change, schedule 6‑ and 12‑month check‑ins. Re‑evaluate metrics for relevance and value. Engaging employees in the partnership‑agreement process boosts engagement and fuels continuous improvement. Well‑executed agreements provide visible, traceable accountability that drives reliability upward.

About the Author

Joe Mikes, CMRP is a senior consultant at Life Cycle Engineering. He has helped dozens of companies launch and sustain continuous‑improvement initiatives. Contact him at jmikes@LCE.com. Learn more at LCE.com.