For example, IFMA offers an “Operations and Maintenance Benchmarks” report on its website, which it updates on a regular basis. There are also a number of companies and consultants that can help execute and manage maintenance benchmark pro-grams. If you decide to seek out the assistance of one of these consultants, it is important you choose a partner that will help ensure the breadth and success of your program. The right consulting company is one that has access to a substantial amount of up-to-date data. It should also possess relevant informa-tion about your industry and type of facility and have the real-world examples and strategic insight that is needed to help you act on the data uncovered by the program. needs to become an active part of your planning and budgeting process. Gaining A Seat At The Table A properly implemented maintenance benchmark program can help you gain greater insight into your maintenance spending and get your costs in line with the quality level desired. Taking a strategic approach with the pro-gram and considering important factors at the beginning will significantly impact the success of the program. A successful program with actionable benchmarks will do more than just identify areas where you can improve your facility operation; it will also give facility mainte-nance a seat at the executive management table and elevate it to a more strategic level. CM Ensuring Success Of Your Maintenance Benchmark Program Simply implementing a maintenance benchmark program does not guarantee its success or result in increased savings. To ensure success, it is important that your benchmarks are analyzed in relation to a peer group, usually defined for the pur-poses of comparison. Not only do you need to consider such factors as the size, location, function and age of the facility, you also need to make sure you are comparing similar services and processes. If you are benchmarking against a partic-ular industry or industry segment, you also need to make sure the scope of work and service level agreements (SLA) are consistent. Benchmarking is often seen as a one-off event. However, it should be treated as a con-tinuous process where your organization repeatedly seeks to challenge and improve its practices. Once you establish a benchmark and put in place a change, it is vital that you moni-tor the success of that change. For example, if you negotiate a lower rate or make improvements to your specifi-cations, confirm that the service provider executes on the terms of the agreement. Finally, to fully realize the benefits of a maintenance benchmarking program, it Circle Product Information no. 216 on page 32 www.cmmonline.com 29
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