Too many plants, mills, and mines launch maintenance and reliability initiatives that never deliver real results. Why?

Because they start with the wrong problem – or never clearly define one at all.

It’s not a lack of effort or expertise. Most sites are full of smart people doing their best. But even experienced teams can fall into common traps when trying to fix persistent reliability issues. The result? More activity, more dashboards… but no meaningful progress.

Here are six of the most common traps I see in the field – and what to do instead.

1. Starting Without Stakeholders

You can’t define the right problem in isolation.
Most reliability issues have cross-functional roots. If you’re not engaging operators, planners, craft workers, and support departments, you’re only seeing part of the problem.

What to Do Instead:
Start your next problem-solving effort with stakeholder interviews. Ask open-ended questions like, “How does this issue show up in your area?” before jumping to conclusions. Align early – before solutions are on the table.

2. Asking “Why?” Too Soon

“Why?” is a powerful question but using it too early in a root cause discussion can backfire.
It tends to lock people into opinions and trigger defensiveness, especially when facts are still fuzzy.

What to Do Instead:
Begin with what, where, when, and how. Build a shared understanding of the facts first. Only after the team agrees on what’s really happening should you move into “why” it’s happening.

3. Trying to Fix Everything

The most effective M&R leaders don’t try to fix everything.
They focus on a few critical issues that drive the most value. When everything is a priority, nothing gets done and improvement fatigue sets in.

What to Do Instead:
Facilitate a conversation with leadership to identify the two or three most impactful challenges for the year. Say no to the rest. Focus builds credibility and momentum.

4. Relying on Snapshots Instead of Trends

One-time data points can mislead.
Daily or weekly metrics often hide deeper problems or suggest false urgency. If you’re not trending KPIs over time, you’re reacting – not solving.

What to Do Instead:
Review 6–12 months of historical data for key metrics like MTBF, downtime, or backlog age. Look for patterns, not peaks. Use trends to spot systemic issues and track progress meaningfully.

5. Writing Vague Problem Statements

If your goal is “fix breakdowns faster,” you’re chasing symptoms not solving root causes.
Vague goals lead to vague solutions – teams spin their wheels, and nothing sticks.

What to Do Instead:
Reframe your issue as a SMART problem statement. Try:
“How can we increase MTBF from 20 to 40 days in one year while staying within budget?”
That kind of clarity aligns teams and focuses effort.

6. Avoiding Complex Problems

If solving a problem feels like “boiling the ocean,” you might be onto something.
The most valuable problems often live at the seams between departments – hard to define and hard to own.

What to Do Instead:
Don’t back away. When resistance shows up, dig deeper. Ask why it feels overwhelming, and break the work into manageable parts. The “boil the ocean” label might be a signal that it’s exactly the issue worth tackling.

The Bottom Line: Smart Problem Solving Builds Real Results

You don’t need more meetings, more templates, or more tools. You need to get better at solving the right problems, the right way.

That means:

• Engaging the right people early
• Taking time to understand the current state
• Prioritizing focus over activity
• Framing challenges in concrete, strategic terms

This is the discipline behind every meaningful M&R improvement I’ve seen – and the first step toward better reliability, lower costs, and less firefighting.

Want help aligning your team around the right reliability problem? 

—

Let’s talk, or sign up for the monthly newsletter to get practical, field-tested strategies like this in your inbox.