A Deeper Dive into Winning the Maintenance Wars

During a recent FSO Institute’s Manufacturing Health Roundtable, Mark Hanley, Rashad Hunt, and Dana Presley shared their many years of experience in Winning the Maintenance Wars for some of the food industry’s largest manufacturers. These proven strategies can bring immediate value to small and mid-size manufacturers in our industry.

Introduction

For small and mid-size manufacturers, winning the battle for operational excellence doesn’t require massive capital investments—it requires a smarter, more disciplined approach to maintenance. Many of the most effective practices cost little to implement but deliver substantial returns in uptime, reliability, and labor productivity.

This article offers a practical playbook for elevating maintenance performance through low-cost, high-impact strategies. In particular, we spotlight two powerful but often underutilized levers: Operator Asset Care and proactive OEM collaboration.

Break the Cycle of Reactive Maintenance

Too many facilities operate without planned downtime for preventive maintenance. The result is a reactive maintenance culture—firefighting breakdowns as they happen. This drives up costs, reduces efficiency, and burns out skilled technicians.

When technicians lack structured priorities and have to self-manage their workloads, urgent issues are often ignored in favor of easier tasks. This reactive cycle undermines long-term reliability and turns maintenance into a cost center rather than a value driver.

Operator Asset Care: A No-Cost Game Changer

Operator Asset Care (OAC) is a foundational strategy that embeds basic maintenance tasks—such as inspection, lubrication, and cleaning—into the operator’s daily routine. Unlike traditional autonomous maintenance models, OAC emphasizes accountability and ownership over mechanical assets.

Mark Hanley shared an example where operators began inspecting hydraulic lines at shift start. Within weeks, they were identifying leaks and early warning signs before major failures occurred. This approach allowed maintenance teams to shift focus from breakdown response to strategic work, improving uptime without added headcount or investment.

OAC aligns with the PF Curve—an essential concept in predictive maintenance. Early-stage anomalies (P1) like noises or heat discoloration can be detected by engaged operators, allowing issues to be resolved before they escalate into costly failures (P4 or P5).

Bridge the Gap Between Maintenance and Operations

Operational silos between maintenance and production teams remain one of the biggest barriers to reliability. True performance gains emerge when both teams collaborate intentionally, sharing responsibility for equipment health.

Operators need training to identify early symptoms of failure. Maintenance teams must provide feedback, tools, and structure that reinforce those observations. When both functions work as partners, problems are identified earlier, work is prioritized better, and equipment reliability improves across the board.

Use the PF Curve to Guide Your Interventions

The PF Curve represents the time between the first sign of equipment degradation (P) and complete failure (F). Identifying issues earlier reduces repair costs and downtime. Teaching teams to operate with the PF Curve in mind shifts the organization from reactive to predictive maintenance.

Even simple sensory cues—vibrations, sounds, smells—can be powerful when operators are trained to recognize them. Investing time in educating frontline staff pays dividends in avoided downtime and controlled costs.

Plan the Work—Then Work the Plan

Planning isn’t about high-tech systems; it’s about process discipline. When technicians respond to unplanned breakdowns, they may complete 3–4 jobs per shift. With planned maintenance and properly staged parts, that number jumps to 10–12.
Structured planning improves labor utilization, shortens downtime, and reduces waste. Even without software investments, gains can be achieved by implementing basic scheduling, parts kitting, and standard operating procedures.

Trust but Verify: Establishing a Preventive Maintenance Standard

Preventive maintenance audits are essential for ensuring that work is performed correctly and consistently. They help reduce unexpected downtime in manufacturing. While having trust in maintenance teams is crucial, verification plays an important role in ensuring that procedures are followed, equipment is properly maintained, and potential issues are addressed before they escalate into costly failures.

These audits provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of maintenance practices, helping to identify gaps, improve processes, and enhance overall operational efficiency. By adopting a proactive approach, manufacturers can prevent disruptions, extend the lifespan of equipment, and optimize productivity.

Unlock the Value of OEM Partnerships

Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are often underused allies. Instead of being treated as transactional vendors, they should be engaged as long-term partners with valuable insights into equipment reliability and optimization.

Rashad Hunt recalled a missed opportunity during an OEM visit for a problematic sorting machine. Lack of preparation led to frustration on both sides. However, when teams build clear agendas, assign resources, and dedicate time for assessments, OEMs can help identify root causes, recommend upgrades, and improve performance collaboratively.

Standardize, Train, Document

Sustainable improvement depends on consistent execution. That means training people, documenting procedures, and reinforcing standards across shifts and teams. Simple SOPs, visual guides, and mentoring programs keep best practices from being lost to turnover or tribal knowledge.

Use Data to Drive Smart Decisions

Maintenance is a numbers game. Tracking core metrics—Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF), Planned Maintenance Compliance, and backlog size—enables teams to measure progress, find bottlenecks, and target resources where they’ll have the most impact.

Dana Presley shared a compelling case: a network-wide review of brat wrapping machine maintenance costs across 12 facilities. Plants with the highest costs lacked operator involvement and standardized cleaning procedures. The top-performing sites used a 17-step operator care checklist and dry-cleaning methods. When these practices were rolled out to underperforming plants, short stoppages dropped by 75% and maintenance costs fell—without a major budget increase.

Final Thoughts: The Path to Reliability Doesn’t Require a Big Budget

Winning the maintenance war isn’t about technology—it’s about mindset, structure, and consistency. Operator engagement, planning discipline, and strategic partnerships are available to every manufacturer—regardless of size or resources.

For small and mid-size manufacturers, the real opportunity lies in doing the basics better. With intentional execution, even cost-neutral strategies can unlock massive improvements in uptime, cost control, and equipment longevity.