Outsourcing maintenance…. if that is your only option, then okay. Conversely there are some organizations that could have permanent in-house staff but choose to contract it out anyway. Reason: They don’t want to stray from their primary business objective. The downside of outsourcing is (1) there is no incentive to reduce reactive maintenance, (2) work order updates may be minimalistic, (3) poor information sharing between contractor and client, (4) they probably don’t employ planners, and (5) they see no need to keep a job plan library or failure history. And the absolute worse omission is the lack of a weekly maintenance schedule. The client-to-contractor instruction says, “You pick the work you’re going to do from the backlog.”

A good first question to ask is, do we have the skills to perform the corrective or preventative maintenance task in house? Any high performing maintenance team will answer yes. However, speed of maintenance needs to be taken into account. When given the time and resources, a high performing, well trained maintenance team can figure it out and be successful. However, if asset criticality and uptime come into play, there’s often not time to “figure it out.” Outsourcing certain tasks not only benefits the speed of critical asset maintenance, but can also be great training opportunities for in house staff. Outsource it enough times and you and your team gain confidence in the ability to perform said task with equal quality and greater speed.

In my company, complex jobs that required particular tools and abilities, as well as well-equipped workshops and space, such as diesel generator overhauling, were outsourced. On the other side, jobs that were previously done by third parties at a great expense, such as pressure relief equipment overhauling and certification, were trained locally, and a testing and certification machine was purchased to complete the entire operation in house. By following such strategies, company reduce much of expenditures and achieve cost reduction targets.

Outsourcing maintenance can be an incredibly beneficial solution for businesses:- - It can help reduce labor costs as it involves hiring external companies or individuals to take care of operations and maintenance tasks. This means that businesses can benefit from the expertise and knowledge of experienced professionals, without having to pay the cost of hiring their own staff. - It can also help businesses to reduce their overhead costs, such as the cost of purchasing and maintaining equipment and tools. This means that the overall cost of operations can be significantly reduced, providing businesses with more financial freedom.

The biggest risk in the short-to-medium term is the Team. When outsourcing, all of the maintenance personnel are forced to become employees of the contractor. Even if it's just a "formality", it's insulting and degrading to most long-term company employees to interview for their own job. Usually this means loss of benefits, seniority, job security, etc and you WILL see attrition. Maybe they raise the pay. If your company currently does not spend enough on maintenance in it's current state and financial pressures are to reduce, your company has built a cost model that is not sustainable. There are successful examples of this working but in my experience the problem is much deeper than who's doing the maintenance.

Not only does outsourcing maintenance become another vendor/project management task, subject to administrative controls, change order/budget management, quality control, etc., outsourced contractors typically do not know your site as well as your in-house staff. What is your operating environment? What is your process? What is the run time schedule? What are the operating parameters? These are all questions that come into play when outsourcing maintenance - especially corrective maintenance - which all come into play when creating your PM schedule and/or your equipment breakdown. External maintenance providers don’t know the answers to these questions without internal support.

One of the most drawback of outsourcing is the time delay. Unless outsourced contractor is within the boundaries of field or nearby, the response to call request takes much than expected or planned. Also mobilizing equipment in/out field to contractor associated security and transportation risks especially in instable hot countries. That could lead to loss production in worst case or badly effect the reliability as well as availability of facilities. In order to overcome such situations costly equipment redundancy strategies should be adhered.

There will always be jobs that need specialized outsourcing, but creating a core staff maintenance team should be a goal approached with careful planning, performance reviews and team skill growth. Success is a journey, not just a box to tick.

Before you decide whether to outsource or not, develop an outsourcing strategy that addresses questions like: what work needs to be done on what equipment? what skills does that require? do we have the skills in-house or can we develop them and then sustain those skills? If you don't have the skills and don't want / can't develop them then where can you source them reliably and at the right quality? Does the likely costs support outsourcing or does it change the picture? If the decision to outsource stands then make sure you focus on how you will manage this work. Ensure you at least have the capability in-house to manage the work (that means a decent understanding of the work technically or you will likely be 'taken to the cleaners').

Questions to Consider for In-House Maintenance vs. Outsourcing: ROI and Sustainability: Is in-house maintenance cost-effective when factoring in investments such as training, overhead, and benefits? How sustainable is this approach in the current market versus market changes? Response Time Requirement: Does your site demand a rapid response time that only in-house maintenance can deliver? How critical is quick maintenance response to your operations? Safety and Liability: Are there safety and liability concerns that must be taken into account? For on-site maintenance, does it necessitate additional insurance coverage? For outsourced maintenance, how will assets and personnel be safeguarded against potential risks?