Data, metrics, measures, assessments, evaluations, scorecards, progress reports, etc. Many of us have been faced with a host of measurement opportunities. However, some performance measurements seem like moving targets that we seldom hit. With so many business, maintenance, and reliability metrics out there, it's easy to measure things that aren't crucial to the organization’s success. In fact,
measure the wrong stuff, and you'll likely get the wrong behaviors.
Some measurement processes come and go, much like fog. I recall hearing this maxim decades ago: “What gets measured gets done” (attributed to Peter Drucker, Tom Peters, Edwards Deming, and Lord Kelvin, among others). Why, though, do we so often get hung up on metrics and measuring to the point that we actually lose track of measuring what really
matters?
Many of our discussions about improving maintenance and reliability center around what to measure, how to measure it, and how to calculate the metric. We discuss MTBF (mean time between failures) and MTTR (mean time to repair). We analyze OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) and Availability. We monitor Wrench Time and Schedule Compliance. As it turns out, there are ever-increasing numbers of “maintenance and reliability metrics."
That's why we should be extremely careful about what we choose to measure.
Albert Einstein is said to have had this sign on his office wall: “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.” Memorize those words. When all said and done, we must make actual, tangible improvements in our equipment and facility reliability and life-cycle operating costs. And measurements and metrics alone will not do
it.
So, where should we start our use of metrics and measures? The first step is to determine business priorities. As one plant manager explained, “On-time, lead time, and cost are our top priorities.” Everybody at his plant, from executives down to the plant floor, knew what those improvement priorities were. The organization’s task was to make rapid and sustainable gains in: 1) on-time delivery; 2) lead time from receipt of order to
shipment; 3) lower total cost to produce.
People at that plant communicated their priorities like a mantra. They identified contributing factors; set meaningful goals to achieve; and steadily improved their performance, one machine, one cell, one area at a time, until they reached the standards they set. They adopted new work standards; measured their progress; and posted the results for all to see. They learned from failures and successes alike; designed and implemented
focused improvement projects; and avoided “analysis paralysis” by monitoring performance, progress, and the effects of improvement efforts on their top business priorities. The results of all this: sustainable gains and continuous-improvement processes.
What we measure must be important to both the business and those who directly and indirectly influence what's being measured. Remember: When something is measured, if it isn’t important, it probably won’t get done. This speaks to sustainability.
As noted leadership trainer John E. Jones said, “What gets measured gets done. What gets measured and fed back gets done well. What gets rewarded gets repeated." That speaks to sustainable gains in performance improvement through behavior change.
We should always remember that “measuring things” isn't about the numbers, but about guiding and monitoring improvement toward a measurable, observable goal. It’s about understanding causes and effects of problematic performance, as well as successes, and then improving human performance.
Keep this fact in mind: Equipment and facilities will deteriorate over time without proper, timely, intelligent human intervention. Measuring and addressing the causes of that deterioration is fundamental to reliability improvement. Measure what counts.
bwilliamson@theramreview.com
