“Our business unit is the only refinery in our US division that has reduced maintenance costs year over year.”
– Maintenance Manager, Major US Westcoast Refinery
Maintenance Excellence (Mx™) creates a clear and aligned one-team vision of performance. It engages that team through an efficient Operating Rhythm™ and delivers cost effective maintenance using fit-for-purpose maintenance processes. It is scalable for small and large, basic to complex, and provides a sustainable solution to build in-house capability in people and processes.
An integrated solution to achieve targeted equipment performance in a cost-effective manner
RLG's Maintenance Excellence (Mx™) brings measurable financial value, stronger processes and workforce engagement. We work alongside leaders and technical professionals at each site, and the larger organization, overcome embedded behaviors and realize an elevated culture of maintenance performance.
The Path to Step Change Results
At the heart and start of Maintenance Excellence™ is a comprehensive gap assessment. Over a number of weeks, on-site or in some hybrid of on-site and remote-work, we join with your team to systematically understand the current ‘as-is’ reality and evaluate this to identify strengths and opportunities. This follows the three main processes:
- Business Performance Analysis:
Using both financial and operational data to assess and quantify the business profit drivers, asset performance data, and leading and lagging KPIs. One outcome is a quantified "the size of the prize" performance gap analysis which can help you decide on investment and ROI.
- Maintenance Process Analysis: Evaluating 14 key maintenance processes with 93 specific evaluations through observation, verification and interviews. These follow the core workflow, plus the supporting and enabling functions. One outcome is an objective recommendation of where your processes sit against a fit-for-purpose best-practice solution.
- Organizational Engagement Analysis: Observing and appraising key meetings, decision making and interactions between teams against our Operating Rhythm™ communication and accountability model, with a particular focus on the Operations — Maintenance interface.
This comprehensive assessment pinpoints areas of strength and opportunity while forming a meaningful baseline for comparison to both industry benchmarks and future performance.
Excellence in Implementation
While others provide a gap analysis report, RLG's true strength is in implementing performance improvement projects.
We align with you on vision and strategy, then co-design an implementation plan to prioritize, sequence and suitably resource a plan to close the performance gap. We remain on-site working alongside your team to work that plan and capture results. In our projects we use talented and experienced professionals who are accustomed to working across and within departments and teams. They work at your front line, and with your leadership, to design, instruct, coach, facilitate and support your team to build lasting strength and sustain a new high performing culture.
Measurable Results
Results, not activity, are at the core of what we do, therefore quantifying and capturing value is important. Our clients typically capture 4:1 or higher project ROI through:
- Increased OEE (ie. throughput, delivered production volume) by improved equipment and unit availability, higher sustained rate, higher first pass quality)
- lower routine maintenance cost and budget compliance, in both labour and materials
- lower turnaround costs, since more effective routine maintenance offsets deferral and scope in turnaround
- lower contractor cost and contractor reliance
- lower material expediting costs
- reduced risk and loss from major events, often materializing in maintenance or site budgets and site insurance premiums
Recent Results:
"Within my Maintenance Department we have increased our productivity by 100% over the past two years, our output by 90% and the quality of our planning by 50%. More importantly, our section and first line managers have a business understanding that didn't exist before."
–Maintenance Department Manager, Nuclear Generation Facility
"‘This really is a story about partnership. Without exception my entire team has embraced the tools, processes and coaching that RLG has introduced and together they have worked hard to improve how we do our business. The positive behavioural changes at this site have gone beyond Mx™ and are now also visible in many other departments,
including the SHE area. While challenges remain, the site now has more confidence in their ability to deliver. Together with the Global and Regional teams we are well set up for the remaining continual improvement journey. Better is
always possible.’"
–Site Director, Polystyrene Plant in a Global Petrochemical Company
"Without RLG’s help, we wouldn’t have gotten [to these results] this quickly. With all the stuff going on, your [performance coaches] helped us focus.”
–Refinery Manager, Major US Refinery
"The consistency we now have in our short shutdown execution gives me the confidence I need in my production budgeting. We're also in-control in our annual maintenance budget. We have come a long way from where we were last year."
–Plant Manager, Canadian Potash Mine