Maintaining, repair, and overhauling (MRO) are an essential part of any business or field technician’s job. From tracking maintenance activities to restoring equipment to working condition quickly, these tasks can be time consuming and costly if not done correctly.
Fortunately, there are ways to improve MRO efficiency and reduce cost. Here are four practical strategies you can implement quickly to reduce your equipment downtime and the total cost of ownership.
What is MRO, and Why Is It Important?
The first component of MRO, preventive maintenance, is critical to avoiding equipment downtime. Analyst group Aberdeen Research and ServiceMax found the average equipment outage lasts four hours and costs a large company more than $2 million.
Planning, scheduling and tracking preventive maintenance can help companies avoid those costs. Federal Operations & Maintenance guidelines estimate moving from a mostly reactive to a preventive approach can save companies as much as 12-18% on annual equipment costs.
In addition to avoiding the unexpected costs of equipment failure, these savings come in the form of longer equipment lifespans, fewer unplanned shutdowns, and more efficient scheduling of maintenance teams.
Of course, some equipment failures are unavoidable. For in-house maintenance managers or service technicians, repair activities typically involve diagnosing a mechanical or electrical issue, locating the necessary parts and tools, and then repairing the equipment.
Common Challenges to MRO Efficiency
Many organizations are accustomed to simply running assets to failure and don’t adopt a formal preventive maintenance plan as they grow and acquire more complex equipment. Maintenance technicians may lack the internal resources or support to consistently keep up with routine inspections and repairs. They may also be using outdated equipment that is more difficult to maintain or equipment.
The skills gap within the maintenance industry only adds to those challenges. In an Aviation Week article, MRO providers acknowledged the difficulties of trying to replace an aging workforce without a strong pipeline of people with the right skills and difficulty retaining junior-level technicians.
Other obstacles to MRO efficiency include time constraints and a lack of flexibility on the part of the original equipment manufacturer (OEM).
When something needs to be repaired or replaced, it can be difficult to find equivalent parts quickly. This process requires specialized knowledge and expertise to diagnose the issue quickly and restore operations with minimal equipment downtime.
For instance, robotics assemblies often run on servo motors with electronic components specified by the OEM. When these components fail, it can be difficult to find replacement parts. Even when the technician does find the right part, the manufacturer may have minimum order requirements or high shipping costs for rush orders. These challenges can cause delays in receiving parts, which disrupts operations.
How To Improve Your MRO Process
Fortunately, there are ways to overcome these obstacles. Here are four strategies that can help.
1. Establish MRO KPIs
You can’t improve what you don’t track. Even if your MRO activities aren’t frequent enough to warrant an in-depth dashboard, it helps to define some basic goals. MRO KPIs could include:
- The number of hours of equipment downtime
- The ratio of reactive vs. proactive repairs
- The number of rush orders
- The inventory of replacement parts (stated as number of days, months or events)
When you outline these goals and communicate them across your organization, it’s easier to begin making progress.
2. Establish a preventive maintenance strategy
As the old saying goes, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Yet almost a fourth of manufacturing and operations personnel who responded to a Plant Engineering survey in May 2020 said they did not follow a documented strategy for preventive maintenance activities. A little over half used software to schedule and track those activities. Simply having a written plan and the procedures in place to execute it consistently will put you ahead of many other organizations.
3. Centralize MRO inventory management
A lack of visibility into spare parts makes it difficult to find the right solution, leading to last-minute orders or over-ordering. A basic inventory management system allows everyone to see what parts you have on hand, from electronic connectors to wheel bearings and motors.
4. Evaluate procurement processes
Repairs can be difficult to predict, but your procurement processes shouldn’t be. If you find yourself or your team frequently scrambling to find a supplier who can deliver the parts you need in a timely manner, it may be worthwhile to explore some new partnerships.
In many cases, working with an experienced distributor who specializes in critical parts can be more efficient than directly contacting a different manufacturer each time you need to replace something. If you’re considering working with a new distributor, it’s worth asking them these questions:
- How easy is it to place new orders?
- Do you require minimum order quantities?
- Can your team help us find equivalent parts if something is obsolete or out of stock?
- What are your average delivery times?
- What are your estimated shipping costs?
Proactively developing a relationship with a distributor can eliminate a lot of the last-minute headaches of searching for the right part in a tight timeline.
How ElectroShield Can Help
For manufacturers and field technicians looking to increase their MRO efficiency, ElectroShield is an ideal partner. We have established partnerships with leading connector manufacturers including Amerline, Conec, Conxall, DMC, Fujikura, Sealcon, SPI and Switchcraft. This allows us to carry a wide selection of OEM-specificed circular electronic connectors for harsh environments. Our robust, on-hand inventory includes MIL-DTL 5015, M series, power, signal and hybrid, RoHS and IP rated and reverse bayonet connectors, among many others.
Our team of experienced professionals can identify and order equivalent parts quickly, without any minimum requirements, and can have them shipped the same day. If you know exactly what you need, you can search for the part number and order online in minutes, with your order history and customer preferences saved to streamline the process. If you’re not sure what you need, we have the technical expertise to guide you to the right solution.
Maintenance and repairs are inevitable, but you don’t have to wait until a critical piece of equipment fails to start the conversation. Connect with us today to request a quote.
