Identifying service quality indicators for compressed air maintenance and repair
Rotating equipment needs to be serviced, air compressors are no different. Whether it's an emergency repair or planned maintenance, most plant managers would agree that getting back up and running quickly is the main priority. Downtime can be costly and take away from precious production time. Because of this, the quality of a service may hinge on factors that influence uptime.
How do service providers address the quality factors that plant operators care about? Through service quality indicators (SQI). SQIs are metrics that denote which items matter most to manufacturers when it comes to services. If a service provider has these in place, it indicates an effort to prioritize the service experience and a recognition that these indicators could vary by manufacturer.
When it comes to servicing air compressors, I’ve found the following four SQIs are factors that manufacturers and plant managers care about most.
- On-time completion of scheduled maintenance. Just as changing the oil in your car at the right time helps ensure longer life for your engine, timely routine maintenance is critical to the health of your compressor. This metric takes a historical look at how often planned work is completed on time.
- Time to respond to a request for repair. How long is the time between submission of a request and receipt of a response? If you have an air compressor that's down, you want to know your request for service was received and is being responded to.
- Time to resolve a request for repair. How long is the time between when the request is submitted and the resolution of the issue? In other words: How soon can you get back up and running following an issue?
- First-trip resolution for repairs. How often are issues resolved during the first service visit? Was there more downtime because the service technician didn’t have the correct parts or tools for the job or wasn’t well-versed enough in the issue to resolve it on the first visit?
Are these the right indicators? If not, what metrics matter the most to you? We know measurement is critical for improvement (thank you, Peter Drucker), but are you measuring the right things?
About the Author
Alexis GajewskiAlexis Gajewski
Senior Content Strategist
Alexis Gajewski is a manufacturing writer and editor with nearly 20 years of experience covering the people, practices, and technologies that keep industrial facilities running. For more than a decade, she served as Senior Content Strategist for Plant Services, creating content for plant managers, engineers, and maintenance professionals on a variety of industrial topics.
During her tenure, Alexis worked to develop the brand’s digital strategy and helped launch and produce Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast. She also created The Lighter Side of Manufacturing, a weekly blog that explored the inventive and sometimes humorous side of the industry.
Alexis co-founded Influential Women in Manufacturing, a recognition program that honored 49 women in its first two years, earned an industry award for Best Product Launch, and received a proclamation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and a commendation from U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
She also led newsroom operations and development at a large media company where she set editorial standards, developed training curriculum, and helped support AI adoption for more than 150 editors across 80+ brands spanning manufacturing, industrial processing, automation, and more.
Additionally, Alexis works as a freelance writer and editor, and her areas of interest include continuous improvement, the skilled workforce, and the role of emerging technology on the plant floor.
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