Once you ask a layman what according to him is a successful business, the most probably answer would be ‘one that earns profit’.
A better answer would be ‘a business that makes significant profits now and also in the future’. So, success of a small business is something that you have to constantly monitor. Since you’re already too busy handling the functioning of the company, it may get tough for you to determine how well you’re doing.
Profitable businesses can have the risk of failure and unprofitable businesses may be standing right on the threshold of profitability. This is where preventative maintenance of a business comes in. In fact, studies reveal that businesses across various sectors of the industry can slash off costs by 18% by investing in preventative maintenance.
Understanding failure metrics of your business
Whether you are a property maintenance company or a food manufacturing company, a part of your success is derived by understanding the different failure metrics and utilizing them as KPIs. Here are the key metrics that you should calculate to evaluate your business time to time.
MTTR Mean Time To Repair
The average time that is spend between discovering that an equipment has broken down and the return of the equipment to its usual operational stage is called Mean Time To Repair. This comprise the time that is taken to troubleshoot the problem, the time spent on repairs, the time spent on testing before the machine is put to use again.
What is the reason behind MTTR metric being perfectly suited for being used as a Key Performance Indicator? Well, the MTTR/MTBF formula can work as an effective guide to maintenance managers in facilitating the process of decision making about:
- The decision to repair or to replace
- Level of staffing
- Required inventory levels of replacement tools
MTTF Mean Time To Failure
Initially, MTTF may seem similar to MTBF but there is a difference. While MTTF deals with items that are non-reparable, MTBF deals with equipment that can be repaired. MTTF is the measurement of the anticipated length of time a machine or an equipment will be operational.
MTTF can be measured as the average of several non-reparable equipment. Hence the MTTF formula would be something like this: total operational time/total number of units.
MTBF Mean Time Between Failures
Mean Time Between Failures gives you a clear idea of not just whether a working equipment is available but also whether it is reliable. MTBF is the calculation of the time spent in between breakdowns.
The property or machine owners determine the MTBF by taking into account the operational time of the machine and dividing the number with the total number of failures during the same time period.
Though MTBF isn’t directly related to planned maintenance, it is helpful for calculating the optimal frequency for a few tasks like lubrication or equipment inspections.
PPC Planned Maintenance Percentage
Planned maintenance percentage or PPC is the total amount of time spend on pre-planned maintenance against total maintenance time. The formula is rather simple here: time for planned maintenance/time for total maintenance X 100. Getting a result of 90% PPC is seen as a good number that can be aimed for.
With good PPC numbers, there can be a proper analysis of the systems that are majorly suffering from unanticipated failures. As a result, managers can set priorities of their needs and implement strategies to diminish the impact of unplanned breakdown.
Although this is an all-inclusive metric, it gives you an indication of the effectiveness of your present preventative maintenance program.
Therefore, if you’re someone who is planning to achieve commercial success, you should ensure comprehending all the above-listed business failure metrics. This will help you adjust your business strategies accordingly so that you could reduce downtime and maximize business profits.
