Management: Got work interruptions?

The focus is on the basics. You can get 80 percent of the benefit from effective planning and scheduling from spending just 25 percent of the money. Focus on those elements that are causing you the most pain.

For example: Are you weak on getting the unit when you are scheduled to fix it? Is the problem written on the work order causing wasted steps? Are parts an ongoing problem? Do you have frequent shop floor conflict over specialized tools or specialized skills?

When you focus your solutions on your areas of pain while keeping the big picture in mind - trying to identify resources and then making sure everything happens in time, your maintenance operation will run smoother. I promise.

Joel Levitt has trained over 6,000 maintenance leaders from over 3,000 organizations. Since 1980, he has been the president of Springfield Resources, a management consulting firm that services a variety of clients on a wide range of maintenance issues.