Book Review

Contents

1. Selling Planning & Scheduling to Management and Operations
2. Understanding the Nature of Maintenance Activities
3. Where Planning Fits Into Good Maintenance Practices
4. Managing the Planning & Scheduling Function
5. Backlog Management
6. Sizing the Maintenance Staff
7. The Planning Process (micro)
8. Detailed Planning Process - Scope, Research, Job Steps, Access, Permissions
9. Detailed Planning Process - Materials, Tools and Equipment
10. Work Measurement
11. Analytical Estimation and Slotting
12. Coordination with Operations
13. Scheduling Maintenance Work
14. Job Execution and Feedback
15. Job Close Out and Follow Up
16. Planner and Scheduler Metrics
17. Using CMMS to Aid Planning and Scheduling
18. Planning and Management of Major Maintenance Shutdowns and Management of Projects

Appendices

Our Review

There are essentially two major titles available on the market at present which deal with Maintenance Planning and Scheduling - this one, and Doc Palmer's Maintenance Planning and Scheduling Handbook. Of the two, this book is more concise, clearer in its description of the principles of Maintenance Planning and Scheduling, and, therefore, more highly recommended. Don Nyman and Joel Levitt are both highly experienced maintenance trainers, and their communication credentials show in this book - simply, it is very easy to understand, and outlines all that most new, or recently appointed maintenance planners would ever want to know. It also would be a highly valuable reference for anybody looking to establish, or refine the Maintenance Planning process within their organisation.

In the introduction, the authors establish some definitions for Maintenance Planning, Scheduling and Coordination. Planning is defined as defining how to to a job, and is covered in detail in Chapters 7 to 11 of the book. Coordination (and this is a term that is perhaps less commonly used - generally being included within the Scheduling function - but there is some value in identifying it separately) is defined as the logistical efforts of assembling all the necessary resources so that the job is ready to be scheduled. Coordination is covered in detail in Chapter 12 of the book. Scheduling is then defined as deciding when to do the job, and is covered in Chapter 13 of the book. The book starts by discussing the business context within which the Maintenance Planning and Scheduling function operates, and gives some ideas about how to go about "selling" the benefits of improved Maintenance Planning and Scheduling to Managers and Operations personnel. This is likely to be of greatest value to those where the Maintenance Planning and Scheduling disciplines have not yet been fully established within their organisations.

The book proper starts by discussing the business context within which the Maintenance Planning and Scheduling function operates, and gives some ideas about how to go about "selling" the benefits of improved Maintenance Planning and Scheduling to Managers and Operations personnel. This is likely to be of greatest value to those where the Maintenance Planning and Scheduling disciplines have not yet been fully established within their organisations. Concepts of Work Sampling is covered in this Chapter.

Chapter 2 discusses alternative organisation structures for Maintenance Planning and Scheduling - in particular dealing with the need to complete both planned/scheduled work, and emergency/unplanned work. Chapter 3 moves on from this to discuss the separate roles and responsibilities of Maintenance Planners, Maintenance Supervisors, and Maintenance Engineers - arguing that these three roles require different time frames, and different skills, and therefore should be performed by different people. Chapter 4 then briefly discusses how to manage groups of planners.

Chapter 5 argues that control of backlog is the key to successful management of the maintenance function, and then spends some time discussing how best to measure, and then manage, maintenance backlog. Chapter 6 then takes this one step further to discuss how backlog management can be incorporated into decision making regarding the appropriate size of the Maintenance workforce. Personally, I found the suggested approach somewhat simplistic, but it may be useful for some organisations.

Chapters 7 to 9 then get into the nitty-gritty of Maintenance Planning, and these chapters include some very sound concepts, as well as highly practical tips and advice on a wide range of areas, including such items as:

• What work orders should be planned, and how much planning is enough?
• Screening Work Requests
• Assessing and Scoping the Job
• Dealing with Scope Creep
• Planner Responsibilities in the Material Management process

Chapter 10 deals with Job Estimating - how to determine how long a job should take - and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of a range of methods including:

• Using Published Standards
• Gross Estimates
• Historical Averages
• Adjusted Averages
• Analytical Estimates
• Job Slotting and Labor Libraries, and
• Universal Maintenance Standards

The book concludes that Analytical Estimating is most recommended, and Chapter 11 then goes into detail about how to use this approach, including the "Job Slotting" approach. This approach was new to me, and appears to be highly practical, and effective.

Chapter 12 moves on to discuss coordination with Operations, and discusses the regular meetings that should be held between Maintenance and Operations to discuss, and agree on, proposed Maintenance schedules. Chapter 13 then discusses how to put the agreed schedule into a single document, and discusses the appropriate format for this document, including a brief discussion of Gantt and PERT techniques for presentation.

Chapter 14 discusses the Job Execution step, and the Maintenance Supervisor's role and the Planners (lack of) role in this vital part of the Work Management process.

Chapters 15 and 16 discuss the "closing of the loop" to compare actuals with estimates for planned and scheduled work, and includes a number of practical tips on how best to go about this.

Chapter 17 very briefly discusses the role of the CMMS in supporting the Maintenance Planning and Scheduling function. It is very basic, and does not include any reference to the newer, EAM/ERP packages available, and their capability to forecast maintenance workload, and therefore, parts requirements. Chapter 18 briefly discusses the planning of major shutdowns, but there are other books that specialise in this topic.

There are a total of 14 Appendices covering 42 pages, which includes sample Position Descriptions, and 6 very useful diagnostic questionnaires which can be used to assess your organisation's capabilities in the areas of Maintenance Planning, Scheduling and Work Management.

To conclude, this book provides a very useful outline of the principles of Maintenance Planning and Scheduling, and also includes many practical tips and recommendations. The concepts are well presented and easily read. This should be essential reading for all newly appointed Maintenance Planners, as well as anybody wishing to establish, or refine their Maintenance Planning, Scheduling and Coordination processes within their organisation.

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