What is an ISO Standard for?
Activating the Maintenance Role in raising the Efficiency of Government Spending
My Presentation at the Omaintec 2016 was a great success and the experience for me was amazing. It was so great to be part of such a large and successful Expo and very much looking forward to speaking at the 2017 Expo in Beirut.
Last year’s presentation was about Activating the Maintenance Role in raising the Efficiency of Government Spending and the highlights are below:
Decisions
• Maintenance control = good management
• Efficiency: optimising returns /unit of resource
• Asset: building, machine, staff member, scarce resource, unit of time, money etc.
Mindset
· For all Assets: maximum efficiency achieves the highest return for the lowest input Long Term
– Short Term – work the asset till it fails: nothing left
– Long Term – extends asset life AND enhances returns
· Long Term operation requires Maintenance
– Things: repairs, modernisation, optimisation, care
– People: training, pay levels, correct tools, scope
Options
• Option 1
– Invest in creating the best maintenance programme starting from the beginning
• Option 2
– Use existing, globally accepted, best practice systems and tailor them to match your specific needs
– Option 2 is more efficient than Option 1
Quality = Customer Satisfaction
• Quality is defined by the Customer – if the customer is happy, then quality is appropriate
• In a Government Organisation, the role of Customer is taken by the Government itself, BUT staff, population and linked businesses and organisations are all important stakeholders
Do ISO Standards Work?
• Whoever is asked – the result is the same:
– Academia
– Government bodies
– International bodies
– Trade organisations
– Companies
– Consultants in the field
• A multitude of different research / pilot studies and real-life installations of the standards
• Other observations: A possible linkage with national productivity levels where changes in productivity match changes in ISO interest levels across different countries
Why have an ISO Standard Installed
• If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always got.
• So – something has to change…
Internal Audit
• Aim: to catch people doing things RIGHT
• ALL findings are positive:
– If audit reveals something not perfect, this is good news as allows for positive change
– If audit reveals everything going to plan, this is good news as it means processes are working
– NB. No one is to blame.
– If something wrong = then incomplete training OR insufficient resources OR incorrectly chosen for the role.
– A blame culture leads to hiding true findings
ISO Creation Process
• A GAP Analysis compares what is present with what needs to be added or changed.
• This results in a list of actions required to be completed:
– Procedures
– Training
– Infrastructure
– Reports
– Templates
• Training on Awareness and Internal Auditing
• 2 stage External Assessment – by ISO appointed, and formally accredited, third party certification body
How does this Help Control Government Spending?
• Initial outlay to install the systems and train staff to use them
• On-going outlay for operation of the system and on-going assessments
• Reduced on-going expenditure:
– As processes become more efficient,
– Time required for task reduces,
– Personnel are more productive,
• Thus the system can either do more with the same resources or use fewer people to achieve the same result.
• Appropriate automation using IT systems will increase efficiency
• On-going training of remaining personnel allows for advancement, and bringing in replacements, to establish a cadre of professional individuals.
How does this apply to Maintenance?
· An on-going regular review of activities will ensure a longer life, with higher quality output and reduced on-going costs:
– Cheap repairs => frequent repairs
– Efficient repairs => occasional repairs
– Cheap calibration => variable results (useless)
– Efficient calibration => consistent results
– Cheap training is the same as being ‘untrained’
– Efficient training is the same as saying ‘trained’
Summary
• Maintenance applies to all Assets in an operation – including people and control systems as well as buildings and machinery.
• ISO 9001 Quality System attains optimisation through iterative identification and follow-up of changes required.
• Enhanced Maintenance:
– Increases the return from the assets (financial + productivity returns)
– Increases the quality of the return
– Increases the longevity of the return
– Retains the value of assets making the return
– Develops an expanding pool of talent to pass on these techniques to new organisations or expand an existing organisation
• All these enhance financial returns or reduces financial outlay, ensuring optimisation of Government Spending
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