Fundamentals of Maintenance Planning Series
By Daryl Mather

Too many organizations neglect the benefits of a clearly defined prioritization system. Even when they realize the importance the focus is invariably at a department or functional level. I have seen organizations where there are up to three or more prioritization systems. None of which are inter-related.

Along with work order classification, failure coding and integration with business processes, this is one of the key determinants of a maintenance systems future operation. The drawbacks of not clearly defining the priorities, or defining them at a departmental level are many, they may include:

· Wasted maintenance man-hours on tasks of low relative importance

· Critical tasks being lost in the maintenance backlog

· Dissatisfied operations customers

· Lack of faith in the effectiveness of the maintenance delivery functions

A disciplined method of prioritization will eradicate tasks being done on a whim and allow work to proceed according to its true effect on the overall operations of the plant. It will also allow the maintenance delivery function to be executed in a far more effective manner. For example while works orders of higher priority will remain those that are scheduled, to achieve the capacity scheduling limits set by the organization, there will develop a pool of lesser priority tasks that can be attended to in an unscheduled manner. Giving a base for project type works for various craft disciplines.

System Guidelines

The system will need to cater to the following requirements equally and give a universal method of coding all works orders.

Accurate prioritization covers three distinct decision-making processes, although one may be preset the others will require a degree of judgment and lastly discretion in executing work orders practically.

Original priority of the work orders needs to be set by the originator of the work order.

This person is the most qualified to answer the questions of equipment criticality and effects of the task/fault noted.

Listings of major equipment and their criticalities will assist in decision-making, lower criticality items or areas will be easier to recognize.

The coding system listed below is an example of how to go about setting a “future proof” prioritization system for work order coding. Although this can appear complex at first, once the required training, documentation and guidance are in place it becomes an integrated part of daily business processes.

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