For many maintenance teams, the story is all too familiar: Limited resources make it difficult to anticipate equipment failures, which leads to frequent, costly breakdowns. During these moments of crisis, miscommunication and disorganization only amplify the problem. This perpetuates the perception of maintenance as a mere cost center, making leadership even less likely to invest in the department.

These effects extend beyond the balance sheet. Poor morale, high turnover, and missed opportunities for strategic contributions are the unfortunate realities of underfunded maintenance teams. Yet, studies show that the potential benefits of a well-resourced maintenance department are immense. According to a McKinsey report, maintenance accounts for 20–40% of operating costs in heavy industries, and 30–50% of productivity losses resulting from equipment effectiveness. These figures not only highlight the challenges but also underscore the opportunity: With the right investments, maintenance can drive innovation and value.

Reimagining maintenance: A data-driven approach

When maintenance teams adopt preventive and predictive strategies, they transcend their traditional role of just “maintaining” and become champions of innovation and efficiency. This transformation is driven by two key factors: data and communication.

Data provide a foundation for change

Insights into the health of assets and the effectiveness of the team and its processes give purpose and direction to improvement initiatives. Moreover, they help maintenance teams demonstrate a clear return on investment and earn the recognition of other stakeholders across the organization. 

Unfortunately, many organizations lack the means to gather these insights, let alone the time it takes to learn from them or leverage them toward meeting strategic goals. Maybe data are scattered across several disparate systems, or the company still relies on pen and paper alone. Such organizations must either spend the time to pull data together manually or rely on hunches, anecdotal evidence, and team input to make decisions. Although the latter is valuable, it’s often subjective and difficult to translate to a bigger-picture perspective.  

Communication brings along the team

Without data at their disposal, or a prominent position within their organizations, maintenance managers struggle to tell a compelling story about their function and its value. This not only keeps maintenance from securing the investments it needs to keep equipment healthy and operate cost-effectively, but it also affects recruitment and retention. Nobody wants to work on a team or for an organization where they’re undervalued or uncertain about the value they bring. 

So how can a maintenance manager or leader begin to change the narrative to advocate for this important function?

Three steps for getting the green light

Many leaders start paying attention to maintenance only when something terrible happens, like failing an audit or a major equipment failure. As maintenance professionals, you don’t have to wait for disaster to strike to start advocating on your department’s behalf. Apply this three-step framework to any request to increase your chances of approval. 

Step 1: Identify and gather the relevant data

Leaders rarely invest in anything based on hunches and feelings. Any compelling argument for investing in maintenance starts with gathering all the data you can to illustrate two things: 
• What you stand to gain through the investment
• What you stand to lose without it 

This information might be related to downtime costs, team productivity, or task completion. It can even be related to less tangible things such as workforce engagement and work quality. Whatever the case, the more you can quantify it in terms of simple numbers, the better. 

Step 2: Present a compelling business case

One key to success throughout this process is knowing your audience and keeping their needs and goals in mind as you make your case. Think about how you can translate “maintenance-speak” into language that will resonate with decision makers. 
• When talking with upper management and executives, how do the maintenance department’s capabilities directly affect the company’s ability to achieve high-level goals? 
• When talking with finance teams, how can your investment pay off and save money in the long term?
• When talking with operations leaders, how can investments in maintenance help prevent interruptions and keep operations running smoothly?
• When talking with human resources leaders, how can investments in maintenance resources help streamline onboarding and training, and improve retention?

Tailoring your message to different decision makers more effectively brings them on board and makes them more likely to become additional maintenance advocates, speaking on your behalf and supporting investments in your work.

Step 3: Following through with a successful implementation

Getting the green light isn’t the same as crossing the finish line. Your team still has to successfully implement its new technology or onboard its new hires and show off a dependable ROI. Failure to deliver could mean a lack of credibility in the future, causing the department to fall back into the same cycles and remain a mere cost center. 

Special considerations for investments in equipment, talent, and technology

When it comes to making maintenance a strategic force within an organization, three hurdles usually stand out: aging equipment, talent shortages, and team effectiveness and efficiency. Leveraging a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) like Limble can help address these challenges while equipping maintenance teams with the tools to make compelling business cases for investment in equipment, talent, and process optimization.

Getting the green light for a CMMS

For organizations aiming to elevate their maintenance operations, maintenance management software can be a game changer. It provides the tools necessary to reduce downtime, control costs, and improve asset health—all while enhancing the perception of maintenance as a strategic partner. 

Convincing decision-makers to invest in a CMMS often requires a well-structured approach. By following the steps above, maintenance leaders can pave the way for lasting organizational impact. When doing so, make sure to address these special considerations to help get the green light: 

Increased visibility: A CMMS provides real-time updates on maintenance activities, offering clear insights into asset health, downtime, and cost of ownership.

Cost savings: Data-driven spare parts management and preventive maintenance reduce unnecessary expenses, improving budget planning and procurement efficiency.

Regulatory compliance: Simplified tracking and reporting ensure that audits and inspections are handled seamlessly, reducing compliance risks.

Getting the green light for equipment

When Limble surveyed more than 250 maintenance and facilities management professionals, more than half agreed that aging equipment is one of the top three problems. Nobody knows the ins and outs of your organization’s asset portfolio better than the employees who service your equipment each day. But it’s tough to make a case for new equipment or much-needed repairs with word of mouth alone. 

When following the three-step framework, make sure to address these special considerations to help get the green light: 
• Total downtime and unplanned downtime
• Production revenue lost per hour of downtime
• Excess consumable parts spending
• Total unplanned work orders
• Hours spent on repairs
• Overtime costs

Getting the green light for talent

Widespread workforce shortages are hitting maintenance departments especially hard. Veteran employees are retiring and leaving behind huge organizational knowledge gaps. More than half of respondents to Limble’s 2024 survey agreed that staffing challenges are a top concern. 

As a maintenance manager, these departures are felt acutely. But upper management might not always be feeling the same pinch. CMMS platforms can help you do more with less while making the case for hiring. Essential maintenance metrics or information to include in your business case are:
• Average time to start a task
• Total tasks completed and completion rate
• Planned maintenance percentage
• Overtime costs
• On-time vs. overdue task completion
• Maintenance backlog (tasks created vs. tasks completed)

Need help advocating for maintenance?

Our white paper “Getting the Green Light” covers all the information in this post in more detail. Download it here, or view our on-demand webinar, which includes real-life input from maintenance professionals.

To successfully make the case for any kind of maintenance investment, one of the best things you can do is implement a maintenance management system. Limble isn’t just a CMMS—it’s a partner for maintenance success. From streamlining workflows to offering tools that demonstrate value, Limble empowers maintenance teams to secure investments in equipment, talent, and innovation.

Published Dec. 5, 2024, in the Limble blog.