This article will discuss the importance of MRO, describe the main types of MRO maintenance, and outline best practices for an effective MRO strategy, which will help your organization reduce downtime, increase productivity, and lower costs.
What is Maintenance, Repair, and Operations (MRO)?
Maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) includes all activities related to the maintenance, repair, replacement, and operation of any equipment, facilities, or assets a company relies on to achieve its goals.
Inspecting a machine? That’s MRO. Replacing a window? That’s also MRO. Printing out a service manual? Changing a truck tire? You guessed it: MRO.
The breadth of MRO activities underscores its importance in ensuring operational efficiency and minimizing disruptions
Why is MRO Important?
MRO impacts an organization in several critical ways, including cost management, productivity, and procurement.
- Maintenance Costs It goes without saying that maintaining equipment is essential to prevent frequent breakdowns and the high costs associated with them. When maintenance is neglected, the frequency of asset failures increases, leading to expensive repairs, production halts, defective products, idle workforce, and lost business opportunities. Additionally, poor maintenance shortens machinery lifespan, forcing companies to decide between costly replacements or frequent repairs. Maintenance activities, whether outsourced or handled internally, also involve significant material and supply costs.
- Inventory Control Effective MRO management involves meticulous control over the purchasing and stocking of materials, supplies, and parts. Often, maintenance staff may over-purchase to avoid running out of essential items, leading to wasted resources and cluttered storage spaces. Poor organization can also result in unnecessary reorders of items already in stock. Conversely, not having parts available when needed—stockouts—extends downtime and increases repair costs, sometimes necessitating expedited shipping or interim fixes.
- Plant Productivity Reactive maintenance, which waits for assets to fail before addressing issues, results in excessive and avoidable downtime. Without proper maintenance documentation, teams might perform unnecessary or counterproductive work, causing further delays and production backlogs. Stockouts also halt maintenance and repairs, leading to production stoppages and idle operators.
While MRO maintenance can help address the challenges in all these areas, some types of maintenance may prove more effective than others.
The 3 Types of MRO Maintenance in the Manufacturing Industry
MRO-related maintenance can be broken down into three main categories: corrective, preventive, and predictive maintenance (though, increasingly, many MRO teams are looking to condition-based maintenance strategies as well).
- Corrective Maintenance Corrective maintenance involves repairing equipment or facilities that have already failed or malfunctioned. This type of maintenance is typically reactive (unplanned), so it can result in significant downtime and increased costs. Corrective maintenance is often necessary for unexpected failures, but it should not be the primary focus of your MRO strategy.
- Preventive Maintenance Preventive maintenance involves scheduled maintenance and inspections of equipment and infrastructure aimed at preventing breakdowns and extending asset lifespans. This type of maintenance is proactive and can help reduce downtime and lower costs by identifying and addressing potential issues before they become significant problems. A successful preventive maintenance program ensures your organization’s storerooms and technicians always have the right materials in the right place at the right time.
- Predictive Maintenance Predictive maintenance involves using data and analytics to predict when maintenance will be required in the future. Any MRO strategy can be greatly improved by deploying advanced tools and sensors (such as vibration sensors from Fluke Reliability) to continuously and effortlessly monitor the health of mission-critical assets. Such data-collection tools can also be paired with a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) software like eMaint. This gives maintenance teams access to both real-time and historical data and trends, which enables the identification of potential issues before they become problems, ultimately increasing productivity.
Proper attention to predictive maintenance is the key to long-term, sustainable increases in productivity. However, equally important to understanding these maintenance strategies is knowing the various products and materials that support MRO activities.
What Are MRO Products and Materials?
MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Operations) products and materials are essential for the upkeep and efficient functioning of industrial and manufacturing facilities. These items include spare parts, safety equipment, and cleaning supplies, which, while not directly involved in production, are vital for maintaining operations and physical assets.
Examples of MRO Supplies, Tools, and Equipment
Industrial Equipment
This includes manufacturing equipment like pumps, valves, motors, and compressors, along with their spare parts. Segregating them by criticality can enhance management efficiency.
Consumables
Common consumables are cleaning supplies, fasteners, greases, and lubricants. Although low in value, they are essential for smooth operations.
Safety Equipment and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Safety gear like fire extinguishers, gas detectors, and PPE such as hard hats, goggles, gloves, and safety boots ensure workplace safety.
Repair and Service Tools
Tools required for maintenance tasks include hand tools and power tools like hammers, drills, screwdrivers, and saws. For specialized areas, lawn care equipment may also be included.
We’ve covered the types and importance of MRO products and materials. Now let’s dive into the strategies that can make your MRO practices more effective.
Best Practices for an Effective MRO Strategy
By following these guidelines, you’ll be able to achieve better operational outcomes.
- Develop a Comprehensive MRO Plan Any effective MRO strategy involves having a comprehensive plan that outlines the maintenance, repair, and replacement activities required to maintain equipment, facilities, and operations. That plan should include a schedule of preventive maintenance activities, as well as a process for handling unexpected failures.
- Use Data and Analytics Data and analytics can provide valuable insights into equipment and facility performance, allowing manufacturers to identify potential issues before they become problems. By electronically capturing equipment and facility data, organizations can implement a predictive MRO strategy that gives maintenance teams and leadership the information they need to make data-driven decisions about repairs and replacements.
- Invest in Training and Development Properly maintaining and repairing equipment and facilities requires specialized knowledge and skills. Investing in training and development for maintenance staff can help ensure they have the skills they need to effectively perform necessary maintenance and repair activities.
- Use Technology to Streamline MRO Activities
Technology can play a significant role in improving any MRO strategy. Manufacturers can use technology to automate maintenance tasks, monitor equipment and facility performance, and streamline the repair and replacement process. All MRO-related activities should also be documented, which can help reveal trends and potential issues early. Keeping consistent, accurate documentation is made much easier by deploying CMMS software such as eMaint.
How Does CMMS Software Streamline MRO?
The functionalities a CMMS offers facility managers can significantly simplify and elevate the MRO process. Here’s how:
Centralized Data Storage: A CMMS stores all your maintenance data securely in the cloud, making it easily searchable and accessible. This centralized data repository keeps all relevant information is at your fingertips, improving efficiency and decision-making.
Efficient Work Order Management: CMMS software helps schedule and track work orders, ensuring that maintenance tasks are performed on time and according to plan. This minimizes unplanned downtime and keeps your operations running smoothly.
Asset Tracking and Management: With a CMMS, you can account for assets across all your facilities, maintaining a detailed record of each asset’s maintenance history and current status. This visibility helps you manage your assets more effectively and extend their lifespans.
Inventory Management: A CMMS tracks MRO inventory levels, ensuring that you always have the necessary spare parts, tools, and consumables on hand. This prevents stockouts and reduces the risk of overstocking, optimizing inventory costs and availability.
Performance Analysis: Analyze asset performance to identify which assets are costing the most money and why, enabling better maintenance decisions.
By leveraging all these features, a CMMS can significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your MRO strategy.
Here’s an example to illustrate: NARENCO, a renewable energy company, improved MRO visibility and operational efficiency by leveraging eMaint CMMS to manage over 4,000 assets across 36 sites, completing over 5,500 preventive maintenance tasks and nearly 2,000 corrective work orders in a single year. This level of detailed management and visibility was crucial for NARENCO’s growth and operational efficiency.
The Benefits of MRO
As seen in the case of NARENCO, the use of MRO best practices and technologies like a CMMS can drive numerous benefits that positively impact almost every aspect of your manufacturing facility:
- Minimizing Unplanned DowntimeOne malfunctioning piece of equipment can disrupt the entire production line, leading to costly downtime. An effective MRO strategy allows organizations to plan routine maintenance, during off-peak times, such as between shifts or at the end of production runs, keeping facilities operational and minimizing disruptions. This leads to higher production rates, improved overall efficiency, and increased profits.
- Improve Worker SafetyMaintaining assets and organizing work areas helps address and eliminate safety hazards. A clean and well-maintained facility reduces the risk of accidents, injuries, and other safety incidents, ensuring a safer work environment for all employees. This not only protects workers but also reduces the costs associated with workplace injuries and accidents.
- Avoiding Stockouts and OverstockingA meticulous and automated approach to MRO ensures that facilities know exactly when their MRO equipment, tools, and products need replenishment. This prevents both stockouts and overstocking, optimizing inventory management and ensuring that necessary items are always available without overcrowding the stockroom.
- Reduce Repair Times
If spare parts, tools, and other supplies are readily available and organized, this reduces the time required for maintenance tasks and repairs. Additionally, advanced MRO solutions can help organizations plan and prioritize maintenance tasks efficiently, minimizing travel between assets or locations and further enhancing productivity. - Maintaining ComplianceMany industries and regions have stringent regulations related to occupational health and safety, environmental standards, and equipment upkeep. A comprehensive MRO strategy ensures that industrial equipment is well-maintained, serviced, and compliant with these regulations. This is especially important for highly regulated industries such as aerospace, government, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), where noncompliance can result in significant penalties and operational disruptions.
By committing to an MRO strategy that focuses on preventive and predictive maintenance, employee training, and technology-driven data collection and documentation, your organization will ensure all equipment, tools, and facilities are as well-maintained and productive as possible.