Course 903: Controlling Maintenance Resources

Covers methods of using maintenance resources for greatest efficiency, and tells how to implement the techniques effectively. Explains what workload is and how to measure it. Provides a thorough investigation into the control of labor, parts, and materials—both in the field and in the shop. Examines the budget process and how to control costs through budgeting.

Lesson 1: Measuring Workload

Topics:

What is the workload?; Categories of workloads; Techniques for computing workloads; Distributing the workload; Effects of absenteeism, overtime on workloads; Workloads vs. backlog levels

Objectives:

• Define workload and explain its importance in control of maintenance work.
• List the seven workload categories.
• Compute workload measurements for each of the seven categories.
• Explain how the workload should be distributed.
• Describe the effects of absenteeism and overtime on the workload.

Lesson 2: Controlling Labor

Topics:

Maintenance labor control; Overall control of maintenance labor; Responsibility of control; Observe and react; Handling absenteeism; Overtime vs. bringing on extra people; Planning vacation schedules; Processing vacation requests; Productivity and the supervisor

Objectives:

• Identify the seven categories of maintenance labor discussed.
• Describe the most effective means of controlling each of the seven categories of maintenance labor.
• Explain the effect a well-executed PM program has on other maintenance work.
• State the leading factors contributing to absenteeism.
• Determine the breakeven point between overtime and hiring additional workers
• Schedule vacation periods so that production still proceeds smoothly.

Lesson 3: Controlling Parts and Materials

Topics:

Material control; Controlling inventory; Who should control the inventory?; Administrative control of maintenance work; Duties of the material controller; Inventory control systems; Operating a manual control system; Reordering stock; Rebuilt and fabricated parts; Calculating order quantities and reorder points; The two-bin system

Objectives:

• Explain the importance of effective material control to maintenance work.
• Describe the duties of the material controller.
• Describe the operation of a typical manual inventory control system.
• Calculate economic order quantities and reorder points.
• Operate a two-bin inventory control system.

Lesson 4: Managing Shop Operations

Topics:

Shop control; Liaison with field work; Engineering project support; Shop rebuilds and overhauls; The shop workload; Mobile equipment maintenance; Material support; Parts and component rebuilding; Performance in the shop; Shop location, layout, and configuration; Work area considerations; Shop care and cleanup; Central shop vs. area shops

Objectives:

• Describe the differences in labor control between shop and field work.
• Describe the role played by a shop that supports a field crew.
• List the steps required to rebuild parts.
• Explain how shop location, layout, and configuration affect work.
• List the advantages and disadvantages of central and area shops.

Lesson 5: Controlling Costs through Budgeting

Topics:

Cutting maintenance costs; Effect of improved productivity; The structure of maintenance costs; Budgeting maintenance costs; Types of budgets used by maintenance; Key equipment in the budget; Maintenance cost reduction strategy; All work must be approved

Objectives:

• Describe the effect increased productivity has on maintenance costs.
• List the uses of a budget.
• Describe zero-based budgeting.
• Describe the factored budgeting.
• List the eight steps in formulating equipment repair projections.
• Explain the reason why all maintenance work should be approved before it is performed.