What does such a designation really mean, and how do you derive the type of performance standards that let you know when you have arrived?

"World-class" performance marks an organization as a leader in its industry and sets it apart as the ultimate achiever. But, what is world class and, how can it be achieved? Is there a "yardstick" by which an industrial organization can measure the relative performance of its maintenance activity and compare it with performance levels that universally identify world-class status? Are there financial formulas, achievements, evaluation techniques, or indices that provide this yardstick?

The challenge is to determine what constitutes a world-class maintenance organization and then derive a specific set of performance standards that, if honestly met, universally identify the qualifying organization as worldclass within its type of industry (food processing, mining, pulp and paper etc.).

Most maintenance organizations admit a need to improve.With worldclass performance as a target, they should take steps to assess their current performance status and to determine what they must improve to meet the target. Evaluation is the first

The evaluation results are the basis of the improvement plan in which specific improvements are accurately identified and priorities established. The improvement plan sets forth the procedures for implementing improvements, monitoring their success and assigning improvement responsibilities.

The most important byproducts of a well-conceived and effectively conducted evaluation will be: (1) the education of personnel about specific improvements and their purpose; and (2) obtaining their genuine commitment to help achieve the desired improvements.

Evaluating against standards
An effective evaluation must compare the demonstrated performance of the organization against a comprehensive set of standards that are consistent with the type of industrial maintenance organization being assessed. The evaluation procedure should be an established management practice that initially sets the organization's as-is performance level and then, at regular intervals, measures progress toward meeting the standards.

There are differences in applicable performance standards among types of industries and the environments in which they operate (a food processing plant versus an underground coal mine, for example, or an industrial plant versus a commercial or institutional campus).

The inevitable question is what standards and who says they are the right ones? In an era when maintenance people in the same organization even have trouble ...(Read whole article)