Why quest for reliability? Do you want to perform and produce when you can? I do.

By definition reliability is the time you’re not in unplanned downtime divided by the total time.

Thinking broadly, there are a few principles that come out when seeking high reliability:

• you want to minimize surprise
• It’s okay to plan time off
• When you take time off, you want to take care of what is needed.

Implicit in the above is a desire to not take too much time off.

What’s measured gets managed. First, it’s useful to track reliability. Whether it’s part of a larger effort like Overall Equipment Effectiveness or not matter less than understanding where you are.

Once you know where you are, you can plan where you want to go.