Key takeaways
- Maintenance standards provide consistent frameworks for equipment care and worker safety across facilities.
- Maintenance standards fall into two categories: external industry standards and internal organizational procedures, also known as standard operating procedures (SOPs).
- Implementing standards can help reduce unplanned equipment downtime and cut maintenance costs by increasing efficiency and reducing uncertainty among workers.
- Successful implementation of maintenance standards requires clear documentation, training programs, and technology integration.
Standardization is the backbone of industrial operations, allowing teams to complete their work safely, efficiently, and compliantly.
But as important as standardization is, the process of implementing it (especially across multi-site operations) can feel daunting. In this article, we’ll demystify maintenance standards and explain how you can more easily build standardization into your industrial maintenance operations.
What are maintenance standards?
In an industrial operations setting, maintenance standards refer to the documented procedures and requirements for performing maintenance tasks related to equipment care, such as cleaning, repairs, safety procedures, inspections, parts replacements, and data collection.
Broadly speaking, there are two categories of maintenance standards:
- External industry standards come from an outside source, such as regulatory requirements and industry-wide best practices. Regulatory requirements come from both mandated laws and institutions (like OSHA). Industry-wide best practices (like ISO) are generally voluntary, but widely recognized as mandatory within industries.
- Internal organizational procedures come from within the organization and can vary by industry, company, and even by site. They include standard operating procedures (SOPs) such as cleaning instructions for a specific piece of equipment or shift changeover protocols. The purpose of internal SOPs is to provide clear, easily-accessible instructions that maintain consistency, quality, and safety in an industrial setting.
All maintenance standards serve a purpose, no matter where they come from. They can help maintenance teams achieve operational excellence and reliability by codifying processes that prioritize efficiency, safety, and compliance.
Business benefits of implementing maintenance standards
Maintenance standards offer a number of benefits beyond the maintenance team’s KPIs. When standards are applied in the right way to the right processes, the entire business benefits.
Cost savings
When maintenance tasks are performed correctly, on time, and according to regulation, there are far greater cost savings for the business as a whole, including:
- Less costly unplanned downtime due to unexpected breakdowns
- A lower likelihood of having to order emergency spare parts due to parts failure
- Fewer regulatory fines due to non-compliance
- Reduced redundant labor hours when workers can easily access the information they need to perform standardized tasks
Downtime reduction and production capacity improvements
Stronger standardization enables equipment to run more consistently and reliably. This reduces the likelihood of downtime and improves capacity when machines can run as expected and on schedule.
79% of teams saw the amount of unplanned downtime stay the same or increase over the past year, and 39% say the cost of downtime is rising.
Compliance and audit readiness
Industrial operations have to be ready for a number of audits throughout the year. There are many different kinds of audits (health and safety, environmental, and quality audits, to name a few), but each one assesses how well a facility is adhering to regulatory and industry standards.
Standardization is an essential component of audit readiness, and can help businesses save time and money in having to re-apply for certification and paying fines for violations.
Consistent performance across sites
Standardization is especially important in a multi-site setting. Without it, each site can develop its own nuances in how its workers approach important maintenance tasks. Over time, those little differences can become big ones.
When each site follows the same set of standards, it leads to much more consistent and predictable performance from site to site, which makes forecasting and troubleshooting much easier.
Types of maintenance standards in industrial operations
We’ve touched on a few different types of standards so far in this article, but let’s dive deeper into each one.
External industry standards
As we mentioned earlier, external industry standards come from a source outside of the organization. There are a few major external industry standards every industrial operations team should know:
ISO stands for the International Organization for Standardization, which produces global standards for goods and services. ISO has also developed a number of maintenance standards, including:
- Quality management standards
- Environmental management standards
- Health and safety standards
- Energy management standards
- Food safety standards
- IT security standards
Complying with ISO standards is voluntary, but achieving ISO certification allows any organization in industrial operations to be as competitive and efficient as possible, while producing quality products that meet customer expectations.
API stands for the American Petroleum Institute and represents the North American oil and gas industry. Their technical specifications and recommended practices help “standardize the fabrication, inspection, and maintenance of equipment specifically for the oil and gas industry.”
Three API standards are widely recognized as essential for mechanical engineers and plant managers:
- API 610, which focuses on centrifugal pumps and emphasizes reliability and run time.
- API 650, which focuses on the design, fabrication, erection, and inspection of welded tanks for oil storage.
- API 570, which focuses on the inspection, repair, and alteration of piping systems.
API performs a number of audits to ensure compliance with industry standards. Since API is a voluntary trade association, companies need to opt in to be audited and receive certification.
ASME stands for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. They have been developing standards for over 125 years, which are accepted in over 100 countries, and cover a number of areas such as:
- Pressure technology
- Construction equipment
- Maintenance
Industrial operators can formally apply to be audited and certified by ASME.
Industry-specific regulations
Some regulations are built for specific industries, such as API standards. Another example would be OSHA’s Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) standard, which was created for manufacturing and industrial facilities.
Just because a set of standards is industry-specific doesn’t mean it’s narrow. API has published over 700 standards, which demonstrates the extensive scope of standardization requirements in specialized industries like oil and gas.
Internal organizational standards
Unlike external industry standards, internal organizational standards are created and followed within an organization. These standards come in the form of SOPs that guide workers through a specific task, such as an inspection, safety protocol, quality check, or shift changeover procedure.
SOPs often come from equipment manuals, but they should also include frontline knowledge that technicians have gained over time. It’s also important to centralize SOPs using a CMMS so technicians can access and sign off on any standardized procedures they complete.
Safety standards
It is essential that all facilities in the industrial operations space follow the safety standards that exist for their specific industries and assets.
Failing to properly comply with safety standards can result in catastrophe, and the continued prevalence of violations only proves just how important these standards are. Building external standards like this into SOPs is a great way to ensure these standards are followed and signed off on (and create a digitized record for future audits).
How to implement maintenance standards across multiple facilities
Implementing maintenance standards across multiple facilities is essential to scale the business benefits of standardization. Here’s how to do it.
1) Document essential maintenance standards
Documenting standards ensures your team can correctly follow procedures and roll them out across multiple sites. Use external standards as a guide to build internal procedures, and lean on technology like a mobile CMMS to help you digitally document standards and easily apply them to multiple sites.
2) Invest in the right tools
Multi-site standardization is only achievable (and scalable) when organizations can centralize and replicate important standards easily. A mobile CMMS that offers multi-site capability will allow you to do just that by creating a shared set of standards that any site can access. Your CMMS should also integrate with existing ERP and operational systems to gain the right operational and data insights.
3) Allow external standards to inform internal procedures
External standards provide a wealth of information about how procedures should be completed internally. Referencing industry standards, environmental laws, and machine manuals is a great way to build compliant, safe, and efficient procedures.
4) Build standardization into every workflow
A CMMS allows you to build standardization into even the most routine work orders. Ensuring that every work order includes the right key fields, procedures, and signoff requirements will make standardization second nature for everyone involved.
5) Build standardization into your training programs
People are an essential part of maintaining standardized procedures, so it’s important that your training programs address standardization and include processes that allow technicians to follow procedures correctly. Showing your technicians how to access and complete SOPs via work orders on a mobile CMMS will ensure they complete their daily tasks safely and compliantly.
6) Measure compliance and track improvement metrics
A modern CMMS will offer automated compliance tracking that allows you to report on and improve compliance metrics. Seeing how your compliance metrics improve over time and between sites will give you insights into how well your organization is following standards.
Standardization is essential for all industrial operations
There’s a lot to consider when standardizing your operations. But investing in tools that allow you to easily standardize procedures makes the entire process much more accessible, efficient, and scalable across sites.
To learn more about how MaintainX can help you standardize your maintenance processes, book a free demo today.
Maintenance standards for industrial operations FAQs
What are the 4 Ps of maintenance in relation to standards implementation?
The 4 Ps of maintenance are people, processes, plant, and performance. Standardization affects each component of this framework.
- People are greatly affected by standardization. Introducing it allows your frontline to access the information they need to perform critical tasks efficiently, safely, and compliantly.
- Processes are the backbone of standardization. The more you can document processes and make them accessible to all workers, the more easily your facility will participate in standardized processes and regulations.
- Plants are made up of industrial assets and equipment. These assets all need to be maintained according to both external and internal standards.
- Performance greatly improves when industrial operations implement standardization. Standards allow maintenance teams to work more efficiently, more safely, and with more confidence, which benefits the whole business.
How do maintenance standards differ between manufacturing and other industrial sectors?
Different industrial sectors are subject to different maintenance standards. For example, all 700 standards published by API were created for facilities in the Oil & Gas industry, but wouldn’t apply to manufacturers outside of this sector. Each industrial sector (and each facility within that sector) will have its own unique set of standards to follow, both externally and internally.
What specific maintenance requirements must regulated industries follow?
Regulated industries must follow any procedures mandated by health and safety standards, such as OSHA’s Lockout/Tagout procedure. They also must comply with any industry-specific regulations and mandates, such as those dictated by ISO or API.
Which organizations establish the most widely recognized equipment maintenance standards?
ISO has established the most widely recognized equipment maintenance standards and is internationally recognized as an authority on the subject. At an industry level, organizations like API and ASME create industry codes that should be closely followed within their specific industries.
How do internal maintenance standards complement external industry requirements?
Internal maintenance standards are often informed by external industry requirements. Organizations should create internal procedures that take industry best practices and regulations into account. By translating these mandates into internal procedures,
Senior Content Writer, MaintainX
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