17Proprietor_Role_Proprietorship PT2

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PROPRIETORSHIP AND THE ROLE OF THE PROPRIETOR (Part 2)

By Albert K. Fletcher
CEO / PM Consultant
Dataman System Consultancy

PROPRIETOR’S DUTIES TOWARD MAINTENANCE

To facilitate the maintenance activity and therefore reduce its cost, the Proprietor undertakes a variety of specific activities which will be discussed in a subsequent article.
He has a number of other obligations as well. When fulfilled, they prevent the maintenance activity from being more difficult than it otherwise need be and include:

1. Record and Track Downtime

The Proprietor should keep those downtime records which quantify the reliability of the equipment.
A variety of reasons exist for equipment downtime — all of which adversely affect the time available for maintenance.

Time lost for reasons other than the need for maintenance is also time lost from production. But only downtime for maintenance relates to equipment condition, and only downtime for maintenance and production services relates to the direct activity of the Maintenance Department.

By keeping a detailed log of downtime, the Proprietor can:

  • Evaluate equipment condition

  • Determine actions needed to reduce non-maintenance downtime

2. Maintain a Clean Working Environment

The Proprietor should use all his influence to compel his associates in the Operating Department to keep the equipment clean.

Maintenance work performed in a dirty environment is inefficient, and machines operating in damp or dirty surroundings require far more maintenance than those kept clean, cool, and dry.

Anything the Proprietor can do to maintain a clean and dry environment will beneficially affect both maintenance costs and equipment uptime.

3. Preserve the Maintenance Schedule

The Proprietor must do all within his authority to preserve the most favourable schedule once it is established.

Any deviation increases both costs and downtime.
When Maintenance moves on and off a job before completion, relatively little of the work already done can be recaptured when the job resumes.

Schedule interruptions and shifts in priority have a costly impact on maintenance effectiveness.

4. Eliminate Waste

The Proprietor can stop waste. Production teams may be aware of wasted raw materials, but the Proprietor is responsible for:

  • Energy waste from motors running hot

  • Misaligned drive systems

  • Poor lubrication

  • Noisy units

  • Oil, grease, steam, water, or air leaks

  • Missing insulation

Correcting these issues reduces utility waste and extends equipment life — ultimately lowering maintenance cost.

5. Prevent Equipment Abuse

Abuse includes overloading equipment or using it in ways it was not designed to operate.
Abuse is:

  • Often unsafe

  • A major cause of breakdowns

  • A driver of high repair costs (repairs generally cost 3× more than scheduled maintenance)

The Proprietor must minimize abuse through:

  • Operator training

  • Tight supervision

  • Adherence to proper equipment use standards

This significantly reduces unnecessary breakdowns and maintenance costs.

6. Control Communication and Prevent False Starts

The Proprietor can control the incidence of false starts in maintenance activity by managing communication channels.

He serves as the primary interface with Maintenance, ensuring:

  • Only he transmits work orders to Maintenance

  • All relevant stakeholders receive accurate status updates

  • No haphazard communication occurs

  • All information shared is timely, correct, and complete

Poor communication drives costs upward.
Consistent, centralized communication reduces errors and improves work efficiency.

(End Part 2 — To be continued)

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