Thought leadership
Is the metric Availability serving us well?
I recall a conversation with a colleague several years back where we were discussing if reliability or availability mattered more.
Well, clearly, they both matter but in the short term, we will be biased towards meeting the Availability target even if at times that means marginalising quality (and in turn reliability). If we become transfixed on a metric it will in time influence behaviours that might not be correct. And where my title came from – is the metric Availability serving us well?
At an executive level Availability is a great Key Performance Indicator (KPI), as it will be a foreteller of service, and in turn revenue, not to mention that we get fined for not meeting the required service level. In terms of service delivery, the metric Availability is less helpful. For example, we could be ‘plus-two’ for the day, but if those two units are not in the right place, they might as well not be there at all. Similarly, we might be below Availability target but if that results in a short form midday service the operational impact is very light.
And at the depot the metric is almost useless. When stripped back, Availability is a result of many individual inputs over the past 24 hours – most of which are outside the control of the depot management. I would even argue the metric is counterproductive as it often drives the wrong behaviour set. Single-minded focus on delivery of Availability will lead to marginalised quality performance and cost challenges – all failing to meet the true customer needs. “But we need something!” We do, and there are five metrics that TCC Managers can use to control their maintenance output.
The chart below shows the five KPIs and various performance indicators that can be delegated to specific people or roles – giving ownership; “the flag on the desk!”
Plan stability
The only way to gain performance from maintenance is to work in the proactive space where planning takes a principal role in guiding maintenance activity. In this environment, stabilising the plan (even sacrificing some miles) is of paramount importance.
MTTR
Mean time to repair defects. A metric that measures the time from when a defect is reported to the time rectified (properly, not just looked at and deferred). The shorter this time, the more trains you have available!
Productivity
Simply a measure of output for a given input. It often gets a bad reputation, but it is a crucial management indicator of efficiency. Higher productivity will yield more work and in turn more reliable train in service.
Maintenance quality
What managers talk about, get actioned! It is an old saying, but still true. If all you are talking to your teams about is ‘delivery’, then guess what … they will focus on delivery. Their decision making in the margins will favour service delivery over quality, which can leave quality being marginalised. We need a balanced score card.
Maintenance effectiveness
We maintain vehicles be they trains, planes or buses to deliver a reliable and quality service for our passengers. All we do must be focused on that outcome, not just delivering the maintenance schedule. As fleets mature the effectiveness should increase as we grow competence and confidence in the management of the fleet. This is a new concept that we are teasing around at present, happy to talk more on this field.
Having metrics that can be impacted by your teams, and ideally devolved down to specific people or roles is vital.
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