TABLE OF CONTENTS Lean Operations are characterized as "eliminating activities and processes that are not value adding" "doing more with less" and "achieving continuous improvement." A properly established, organized and trained planning function brings value to businesses in excess of their costs. More maintenance work is accomplished in less time using the same resources than would be the case if the planning function did not exist.
Once Maintenance Planners have mastered the basics of backlog management and job planning, their foremost concern should be obtaining meaningful feedback from supervisors and tradespeople regarding planned job packages. As time permits, visits to work sites can be the most effective method to achieve continuous improvement. Even though surveys, questionnaires and manager evaluations will provide meaningful input to the planner's efforts, nothing can be as effective as actually witnessing the use of his or her product. The planner will recognize elements of the job package that can benefit from revised thinking that the trades performing the work may never recognize simply because they have "always done it that way."
If the bottom line is not improved by having a planning function, it is usually the result of poorly defined roles and responsibilities, an absence of understanding of the planning role and its value, a lack of support from management, insufficient planner training, or having the wrong people in the planning role. Technical skills are extremely important in selecting and designating a maintenance planner. Many will suggest however, that the planner's personal skills are even...
