As maintenance and reliability professionals, maintaining machinery and ensuring reliable operations are paramount for achieving optimal productivity, product quality, and workplace safety. Unfilled maintenance and reliability jobs can have a profound impact on a company's bottom line, extending far beyond the immediate job vacancy. When you begin to dive deeper into the true cost of unfilled maintenance & reliability jobs, there’s a greater void than just the lack of the person in the role.
The Ripple effect on productivity
When maintenance and reliability positions remain vacant, the ripple effect on productivity becomes increasingly pronounced. Machinery breakdowns, unexpected downtime, and decreased equipment efficiency can disrupt manufacturing processes. It has been estimated that annual manufacturing industries incur an estimated loss of $647 billion globally due to equipment failures. A significant portion of these losses can be attributed to unfilled maintenance and reliability positions. When these positions are left unfilled, PMs get behind and backlog increases, and that plays a major role in asset performance and maintenance.
Escalating maintenance costs
Unfilled maintenance and reliability positions can lead to deferred maintenance, which in turn drives up maintenance costs. When routine inspections, repairs, and preventive maintenance tasks are delayed, minor issues can snowball into major problems, necessitating more extensive and expensive repairs. Reactive maintenance is often more expensive, in the long term, than a proactive maintenance approach. Unfilled maintenance & reliability jobs tend to shift the strategy toward reactive maintenance, thus creating higher maintenance costs and resource inefficiencies. Not to mention, deferred maintenance can lead to shorter equipment lifespans, which can increase capital expenditures for replacement or repairs.
Quality control and product defects
Inadequate maintenance and reliability staff can compromise product quality. When machinery is not properly maintained, the likelihood of defects or deviations from quality standards increases. This not only results in unnecessary waste, but can also lead to recalls, customer dissatisfaction, and potential legal liabilities. Unreliable production processes due to unfilled M&R roles can impact the organization’s overall competitiveness in a negative way. When a company can no longer deliver goods in a timely manner with high quality, the company’s reputation and market standing become in jeopardy.
Workplace safety concerns
Safety is paramount in industrial manufacturing, and unfilled maintenance and reliability positions can jeopardize the well-being of workers. Regular maintenance ensures that equipment is functioning safely and adhering to safety regulations. The lack of skilled personnel can lead to overlooked safety hazards, potentially resulting in accidents and injuries. Unfilled roles can lead to neglected safety inspections, repairs, and employees have a greater risk of succumbing to alarm fatigue.
Impact on employee morale
Unfilled positions can lead to increased workloads for existing staff, contributing to burnout and diminished morale. When employees are tasked with covering the responsibilities of vacant maintenance and reliability positions, it can divert their attention from their core roles, impacting their job satisfaction and productivity. This, in turn, can lead to higher turnover rates, further exacerbating the talent gap. Because of the increased workload and low morale, the likelihood of higher turnover increases.
Addressing the challenge
To mitigate the adverse effects of unfilled maintenance and reliability positions, industrial manufacturers must adopt more proactive strategies:
- Invest in training: Developing a skilled workforce through training and upskilling programs can help bridge the talent gap and reduce the reliance on external hiring.
- Prioritize preventive maintenance: Emphasizing preventive maintenance over reactive approaches can help prevent major breakdowns and costly repairs.
- Leverage technology: Implementing predictive maintenance technologies can provide insights into machinery health and optimize maintenance schedules.
- Collaborate with other industry professionals: Networking with other professionals in the same industry or manufacturing in general can lead to collaboration. Benchmarking against what some of the best in the industry are doing can also help to give organizations who are struggling ideas on how they can improve.
In conclusion, the true cost associated with unfilled maintenance and reliability jobs in industrial manufacturing extends far beyond immediate financial losses. Escalating maintenance costs, decreased productivity, compromised quality, safety concerns, and employee morale issues collectively underscore the urgency of addressing the talent gap in this field. By implementing strategic measures and focusing on workforce development, manufacturers can safeguard their operations, enhance productivity, and ensure long-term success in an increasingly competitive landscape.
