Contents
What is productivity at work?
Productivity at work can be understood as the ratio between the number of products and services that are produced by the time and resources needed to perform this activity. Therefore, it consists of the ability to do more in a shorter period, without harming the quality of tasks.
When we talk about productivity linked to maintenance professionals, we end up referring to maintenance as a strategic function and to the best management practices at a world-class level.
Therefore, the productivity of maintenance teams can be treated based on several world-class maintenance indicators, such as Mean Time to Repair (MTTR), labor allocation, and backlog, among other parameters.
Challenges of productivity at work
Maintenance teams face several challenges in increasing productivity. They are directly linked to the change in culture regarding day-to-day processes and routines and to the adaptation to the new technologies available in cutting-edge EAM CMMS.
In addition, productivity is directly related to the knowledge of employees, as it is of paramount importance that there is continuous investment in training and qualifications so that processes are optimized and routines improved. Also, new technologies and tools contribute to adding value to the methodology.
Importance of adopting the right techniques and methods
Not so long ago, in Brazil, it was customary for maintenance services to be considered unnecessary expenses. Fortunately, this dynamic has changed, as the global market has increased and intensified competitiveness, forcing organizations to optimize processes and prices.
Many of the enterprises see maintenance as a strategic function for the business, and the first step to optimize maintenance activities is the hiring and implementation of a CMMS EAM solution for the market.
With the proper implementation of a service like this, it is natural that a series of improvements and benefits occur with the company’s processes and operations, whether they are directly or indirectly related to maintenance. Examples of this are the increase in team productivity and activities linked to best management practices and training of those involved.
How to optimize maintenance productivity?
To increase productivity specifically in the maintenance area, it is essential to focus on planning, resource management, and implementation of techniques that ensure the uninterrupted and efficient operation of equipment and processes. Some effective practices to increase productivity are:
- Maintenance planning and scheduling: Organize a preventive and corrective maintenance calendar, prioritizing critical tasks to minimize disruptions. This allows the team to always be prepared and clear about what must be done.
- Automate and integrate processes: Automating the flow of generating work orders from alerts or planned maintenance improves the agility and accuracy of the process, in addition to reducing human error.
- Monitoring and KPIs: Monitoring indicators such as MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures), MTTR (Mean Time to Repair), equipment availability, and failure rates to have a clear view of where to improve. Use reports to identify common faults and evaluate team performance, adjusting processes to reduce maintenance time.
- Maintenance checklists: Create checklists for all maintenance activities, ensuring that nothing is overlooked and that all procedures follow a quality standard.
- Use of appropriate tools and technology: Tools such as Engeman® are useful for organizing work orders, tracking maintenance history, and monitoring equipment performance. Equipping staff with mobile devices makes it easier to record and access information in the field, reducing time and errors in documentation.
In addition to the practices mentioned, there are many other techniques that can be applied in the organization that will impact all departments, not just maintenance. See below!
Best Techniques and Methods to Increase Productivity at Work
In most situations, when failures and inefficiencies happen in high-impact tasks, it is natural that the performance of the entire team is impaired. Therefore, managers must be concerned with adopting the right tools and using productivity indicators to improve their performance and, consequently, the performance of the entire organization.
Therefore, we have selected 5 efficient techniques and methods to increase productivity at work and allow your company to reach higher levels:
1. Pomodoro Technique
To prevent everyday distractions from generating inevitable consequences, it is essential to employ the Pomodoro technique. The methodology was developed with the idea of using a tomato-shaped cooking timer (or pomodoro, in Italian) to mark the study time without interruptions.
After the determined period, rest would be released until it was time to return to productivity again. The great secret of the Pomodoro method is to eliminate all distractions to focus as much as possible on the activity that is being developed.
2. GTD Methodology
The Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology promises to make things happen, that is, to eliminate the mental block that arises when thinking and planning the next tasks, and to focus entirely on the activity performed. Above all, this principle is very important to reduce worry and stress about deadlines and leave the mind free to produce.
Thus, the simple step-by-step for this methodology consists of:
- collect – write down current and future labor allocation and projects
- process – evaluate and measure tasks according to priority and divide them into activities to delegate, perform in less than two minutes, and those that require greater attention
- organize – allocate tasks according to their deadlines and their importance, adopting applications and tools that work best
- review – re-evaluate activities so that none are left out of the organization
- perform – put all the planning into action and don’t hesitate to make adaptations when necessary.
3. SMART Goals
The lack of goals means that teams do not know exactly what needs to be achieved. Therefore, no employee will give the necessary importance to a certain activity, harming the entire production chain.
SMART goals consist of establishing specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound guidelines. Thus, this methodology is divided into objectives:
- specific (S) – formulate goals in a precise and specific way
- measurable (M) – define the goals in a way to be measured and analyzed based on volumes or values
- achievable (A) – to establish the possibility of performing the activities
- relevant (R) – the goals cannot be intended to achieve ends higher than those that the means allow
- time-bound (T) – establish defined deadlines and duration
4. Eisenhower Matrix
The Eisenhower matrix helps you decide which tasks to prioritize and which can be performed later. The basic principle of the methodology consists of answering two questions:
- What are the important tasks?
- What are the urgent tasks?
From this, a table with four quadrants is assembled. Important and urgent tasks are at the top left, and in this way, priorities are defined.
Afterwards, important but not urgent tasks are noted in the upper right quadrant and scheduled for later. Urgent but not important activities are at the bottom left and can be delegated with supervision.
Finally, tasks that are neither urgent nor important are noted in the lower right quadrant and can be discarded.
5. Pareto Theory
Pareto’s theory proposes that 80% of all consequences result from 20% of causes. In other words, most of the results, good or bad, are caused by a fragment of the actions.
Therefore, the Pareto principle proposes an immediate focus on what will really make a difference, without giving up moments of pleasure and leisure, which are important for mental stability. Thus, ordering tasks in order of priority and evaluating, at the end of the day, their completion, or not, brings positive results for productivity.
Using technology to increase productivity
Teams’ productivity is almost always measured by maintenance managers, with efficiency feedback coming from the manager to the employee from the generation of performance indicators.
There are situations in which the employee himself can perform a self-measurement of productivity, as EAM CMMS solutions allow managers to provide access to reports and indicators directly on the software platform or even schedule the automatic sending of this information by email.
Increasing productivity is an important concept to be worked on by organizations that aim to have better indicators of their activities and increase their efficiency. Methodologies such as the Pomodoro technique, SMART targets, and Pareto theory are appropriate procedures to optimize results.
Conclusion
Applying techniques and methods to increase productivity not only enhances individual and team results but also creates a more efficient and organized environment. The five techniques explored in this article are strategies that can be adapted to various needs and departments, especially in maintenance.
By implementing them consciously and strategically, it is possible to optimize the use of time and resources, reduce rework, and increase the quality of deliveries.
If you still don’t know a tool that can help increase your team’s productivity and, consequently, get better results, we present the Engeman® software. Our software will enhance your processes and increase the productivity of your business. Talk to us and see for yourself!
