Tim Rice, The Defect Elimination Project

How often has an argument broken out because there are differing opinions between if we perform a PM or attend the emergency breakdown, or what capital budget cuts can be made, or what spares need to be held? These arguments stem from a lack of understanding and alignment on what systems and equipment are important for business continuity and which ones are not.

We are often forced to choose where we will send our maintenance resources to repair equipment, our engineers to perform analysis and improvement work, and where we will spend our sustaining capital budget, or help guide us when times are tough and spending needs to be curved.

Asset criticality assigns what the priority systems and equipment are in relation to each other and allows an organization to determine what impacts may exist if they are not managed sufficiently. These priorities will lead you to focus on the assets and activities necessary to reduce your risk profile.