One problem I’ve heard often in the field from maintenance managers is that their sub-contractors don’t do a quality job. Issues that affect the reliability of the equipment can often be traced back to poor preventive maintenance. I have found this is more common when the sub-contracting company sends different techs to perform the maintenance. Sometimes up to 6 or 8 different techs have been on site for equipment service. The maintenance departments that were most happy with their level of service had no more than two different techs and usually just one. This really makes sense when you think about it.

When only one tech performs the maintenance he will generally do a more thorough service and inspection. He will feel a greater responsibility to make sure the equipment is well maintained and operating properly. If the equipment is to fail it will reflect directly on him. The right tech will feel some ownership and do all he can to prevent a failure.

The recommendation to the maintenance manager would be to talk to your sub-contractors and find a tech that you feel will do the quality job you expect. Let the sub-contractor’s office know that the tech you’ve chosen is the only one to service your equipment. You may need to be flexible to his schedule, but it’s an easy trade off.  Get to know the tech better and explain what you expect from his service. Listen to what he has to say and recommend. Many times the tech knows more about the equipment than you do. Once you understand each other, show some trust, get out of his way and let him do the job.

Overtime you’ll build confidence in the tech’s quality of work. The tech will like that you show trust and will do his best work. Another benefit to this work relationship is that one tech will have greater historical knowledge of the equipment.

This easy fix can be applied to nearly every subcontractor relationship in a maintenance program.