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January 2004
Philosophy: Planning & Scheduling -
A note about work order priorities.
What are work order priorities? If we ask any given plant with a Computerized
Maintenance Management System (CMMS), if they have a well defined priority
system, the answer is almost always, yes. The question is, do they really?
Well, let’s define what a world-class priority system is, then why
not use this “did you know” and check if your own priority
system is of high quality or not?
Characteristics of a world-class work order priority system according
to IDCON:
- The priority system obviously has a code or number to signify the
importance of a work order. But, is there a set of rules that describes
what type of work that can be classified as a high, medium and low priority?
- Does each work order priority code have a time limit attached to
it? For example: Priority 1 will be started immediately, priority 2
within a week, priority 3 within a month etc?
- . Are the priorities reviewed in a weekly/ daily planning and scheduling
meeting JOINTLY by operations and maintenance? (If not, there is little
chance to effectively coordinate the production schedule with the maintenance
schedule).
- . Work orders are not over prioritized by strong individuals in the
planning and scheduling meetings since there are a set of rules that
describes what type of work that can be classified as a high, medium
and low priority.
- Are there high priority work orders older than 3 months in your system?
If so, your plant probably has a tendency to over prioritize work orders.
Good luck with defining and using a priority system. To view a sample
prioritization chart, please click
here:
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