Plant Floor

Selected focus / Reliability

MTBF / RepeatsWhat moves the number?

A longer interval between failures starts with trustworthy failure data and ends with verified strategy changes.

Are you removing failure modes or repeatedly restoring the same conditions?

Reference target

MTBF rising; repeats under 10%

Use a consistent definition and your plant’s operating context.

The improvement path

Build the foundations.
Then move upstream.

Choose a stage. See what each system does, why it belongs, and the first action to take.

Stage 1 / Maturity 1

Define the failure

Create comparable failure modes and investigate the right events.

01 / Build this first

Failure Data & Coding

What it does
Make failure history consistent enough to reveal repeats.
Why it matters here
Consistent failure codes make repeats visible instead of burying them in free text.
Your first move

Define triggers: any failure above $X cost, Y hours downtime, or safety impact

02 / Directly moves this KPI

Root Cause Analysis

What it does
Stop fixing symptoms. Find the real problem.
Why it matters here
RCA converts significant repeat events into testable causes and owned corrective actions.
Your first move

Define RCA triggers: cost threshold, downtime threshold, safety impact, recurrence

Build on: Failure Data & Coding

Supporting layer

Useful after the foundations hold

Put Fix the System to work

One improvement. Three useful views.

Open the book’s worksheets
  1. 01Explore

    Choose the right tool

    Start with your role and the foundations your plant has in place.

    Maintenance Tool Roadmap
  2. 02You are here

    Trace what moves the KPI

    Find the supporting systems and the first change to investigate.

    KPI System Map
  3. 03Explore

    Give the change an owner

    Connect the result to a role measure, a practical action, and a review.

    KPI Cascade Framework

Use the book’s cycle and playbook picker to choose a response, then bring the relevant worksheet to the team. These connections guide an investigation; they do not prove a cause.

Need the KPI definitions?

Build the maintenance dashboard

Take the complete path with you

A visual pack for sharing. A field guide for working.

Share the two-slide overview, or bring the two-page PDF field guide to your next team review.

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Fix the System.

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Fix the System book cover

The operating manual

Fix the System.

Chapter 3 maps the cycle. Chapter 14 selects the first playbook. Chapters 15–24 install the response behind the KPI.