Overview

After conducting the meetings and developing the lists, the question is, how do you turn the lists into Lean projects that will pay dividends? As you lay out the lists, some of the entries will recommend projects directly, some will require additional research, and some will just not stimulate any thoughts or ideas.

The first projects to tackle are the ones that recommend themselves. They might even jump off the page at you. On the first go-round, don't concern yourself with the difficult ones, or the ones that require cultural changes, excessive time, money, or exotic resources.

One thing that is important when looking over the lists is specificity. To do the analysis in this stage we must isolate the source of the demand for the resource. Money is spent down in the trenches of the facility if we want to reduce that spending, we have to get down into the trenches with it. This need for specificity is a major reason why this approach to Lean Maintenance is best carried out by the workers already doing their jobs in the trenches.

For example: if the list says only 'Motor control components', we don't have the information for analysis because the parts usage could be coming from a variety of demands. This analysis is easiest if you can get down to one demand. In some areas, the first step is to do the research to make the lists more specific.

Assuming the lists already are pretty specific, pay particular attention...