TABLE OF CONTENTS Management means, in the last analysis, the substitution of thought for brawn and muscle, of knowledge for folkways and superstition, and of cooperation for force. It means the substitution of responsibility for obedience to rank, and of authority of performance for the authority of rank.
Peter Drucker
The Routine Maintenance Process (RMP) is the maintenance business process by which all the day-to-day maintenance is accomplished. This process includes proactive (predictive and preventive) and reactive (repair) maintenance. The participants in this process typically include a maintenance foreman or supervisor, craftsmen, a representative from the group that operates the equipment, and several others. Depending on the size of the facility and the number of independent operations it has, there can be a significant number of people working together to share resources and coordinate work, using a common priority system and a common resource pool.
I have found that the RMP is the most difficult of all maintenance business processes to keep effective over time. There are probably a number of reasons. To accurately describe the objectives of the RMP it is important to understand the issues that make it difficult to implement and maintain. To be effective over the long haul, the RMP needs to include elements that address those issues.
The following are the most commonly cited reasons for difficulty or failure:
RMP involves the greatest number of people.
The participants have different priorities.
The participants have competing priorities.
RMP is an on-going or "evergreen"...
