Most manufacturers think they're short on maintenance techs, parts budget, and machine availability. But it's almost impossible to be short on all 3. In every situation only one of these is your actual constraint. You need to know which one it is and here's how you figure it out. Maintenance techs: You need 1 to 2 techs per shift who can respond immediately to whatever might break on the floor. These techs should only be assigned to work that can be quickly set down like

When I took over maintenance at a struggling facility some years ago, I found a machine rated at 14,000 units per hour running at 10,000. I did the math. At $0.60 spread per unit, that gap was worth $2,400 per hour in recoverable value (throughput accounting). I made promises. I found the money. I fixed the machine. The next week, it ran at 10,000 units per hour. No improvement. The operators told me the machine just couldn't go faster. The material wouldn't allow it. That's