How to Actually Manage Maintenance Teams

I've supervised maintenance crews for 15 years. I've seen every management fad come through—Lean Six Sigma, TPM initiatives, "excellence programs" that lasted three months.

Most of it didn't stick.

But there's one framework that actually works: Manager Tools. Four simple practices that Mark Horstman and Mike Auzenne laid out in their podcast.

No corporate speak. No buzzwords. Just practical tools that make your techs better and your life easier.

Here's what works.

Forget the 47-point leadership plans. You need four things:

That's it. Master these four, and your team runs better. Skip them, and you're fighting fires forever.

Most maintenance supervisors only talk to their guys when something breaks or someone screws up.

That's backwards.

Here's what I do:

Schedule 30 minutes with each direct report every week. Same day, same time. Don't cancel unless someone's bleeding.

The structure:

Why it works:

Problems surface before they become emergencies. That pump bearing noise? Your tech mentions it in a one-on-one instead of waiting until it fails at 2 AM.

I started doing this when I took over a crew with 40% turnover. Within six months, we had zero resignations and caught three major issues before they became shutdowns.

Toyota does this at its Georgetown plant. They cut repair time by 15% just by having regular conversations with their maintenance techs. Nothing fancy—just consistent communication.

If a tech does something right, tell them immediately.

If they screw up, tell them immediately.

Don't wait for the annual review. That's useless.

Good feedback sounds like this:

"Hey Mike, you finished that bearing swap in four hours instead of six. That saved us half a shift of downtime. Nice work."

That's it. Specific. Timely. No fluff.

Corrective feedback:

"John, you skipped the coupling runout check after that alignment job. We had to redo it the next day. Can't skip steps—check runout every time before you call it done."

Direct. Clear. Done.

Real example:

I worked with a supervisor at a petrochemical facility who started giving feedback this way. Safety protocol compliance went up, and OSHA recordables dropped 30% in a year.

Nucor Steel did the same thing. They started giving immediate feedback after every major repair. Rework dropped 35%, and their first-time fix rate hit 92%.

Why? Because people knew right away if they did it right or not.

Your job isn't just to assign work. It's to make your techs better at their jobs.

Most supervisors forget this.

Here's my coaching process:

Example:

I had a good mechanic who didn't know how to collect and analyse basic vibration on the rotating equipment. I wanted him to be able to do this type of job without calling condition monitoring techs every time.

The plan:

Took four months. Now he can collect and analyse data for equipment repairs he worked on, and also analyse other techs’ repair jobs. He now has a greater appreciation of the impact of the decisions he makes on a piece of equipment during a repair or a PM check.

Dow Chemical did this at its Freeport plant. They coached 12 techs from corrective maintenance to predictive maintenance over 18 months. Equipment reliability went up 52%, and they avoided $3.4 million in downtime.

That's what coaching does—it multiplies your capability.

I see supervisors burning out because they can't delegate.

They assign work orders, but they don't actually delegate.

Delegation means:

What I delegate:

This freed me up to focus on PM optimization and shutdown planning instead of fighting daily fires.

Real numbers:

A supervisor at a chemical plant started delegating systematically. Senior techs took over work planning. He spent his time on process improvements.

Maintenance efficiency went up 20%.

Siemens did this across their maintenance teams. They matched task complexity to tech skill level and delegated accordingly. Maintenance backlog dropped 47% in one year.

Don't try all four at once. You'll fail.

Start here:

Week 1: Schedule one-on-ones with your direct reports. Month 1: Get one-on-ones running smoothly. Month 2: Add immediate feedback (positive and corrective). Month 3: Pick one person to coach on one skill. Month 4: Start delegating tasks that develop skills

Track these metrics:

Caterpillar rolled this out at their Decatur plant over nine months. Planned maintenance compliance went up 29%. Overtime costs dropped 17%.

They did it in stages. So can you.

You know this stuff is working when:

Your techs bring you problems before they become emergencies

Quality improves without you riding everyone

People actually want to work for you

You have time to think strategically

Plants that implemented structured management like this saw 31% improvement across all these metrics.

You don't need another corporate initiative.

You need four basic practices: talk to your people, give feedback immediately, coach them to get better, and delegate real work.

I've seen this work in refineries, chemical plants, and manufacturing facilities. It works because it's simple and practical.

Start with one-on-ones next week. Everything else builds from there.

What's your biggest challenge in managing your maintenance team?

Manager Tools Podcast - www.manager-tools.com (Mark Horstman and Mike Auzenne)

Industry data: SMRP Annual Survey, Plant Engineering case studies, Toyota Georgetown plant results