Essential Skills and Traits of Successful Maintenance Planners and Schedulers - Part 1

What Makes a Great Planner or Scheduler?

The role of a Planner or Scheduler is no small task. It requires a unique combination of skills, habits, and mindset to be truly effective. That’s why we’re launching a new blog series focused on the traits that set top performers apart.

From self-motivation and reliability to a strong understanding of plant operations, and interpersonal communication, we’ll explore the key qualities that drive success. Each post will focus on one essential trait at a time.

Our first topic is self-motivation, why it matters and how to develop it.

Follow along, share with your team, and let us know what traits you think are essential.

How Self-Discipline Helps Planners Improve Maintenance Performance

1. Set Clear Goals to Stay Focused

Having clear goals makes it so much easier to stay on track. Without them, it’s easy to get overwhelmed or distracted.

• Example: Start with some simple KPIs (key performance indicators) like reducing estimated vs. actual work order hour and/or cost variances by 10% or optimizing a set number of preventive maintenance tasks each month.
• How to Make It Happen: Use tools like checklists or scheduling apps to stay organized and keep priorities front and center. Work with your subject matter expert (SME) technicians that can provide you with feedback on how the actual work was performed vs. what you estimated it would take. Also, work with them to better understand how to improve the PM tasks when reviewing for improvements. 

2. Be a Problem-Solver, Not a Problem-Waiter

When it comes to maintenance planning, being proactive beats being reactive every time. The best planners don’t just wait for problems—they look ahead and try to prevent them.

• Example: Dig into your maintenance history! If a specific piece of equipment breaks down every three months like clockwork, let's raise an RCA event to plan a permanent fix so it doesn't happen again.
• How to Make It Happen: Watch for repeat repairs, both emergency and corrective in nature. We could be addressing a symptom and not the true cause of the issue. This is a fairly common practice across many maintenance organizations. Maintenance is pressed to get operations running ASAP and so things can tend to get "patched". What is not widely known is the overall price paid in production loss over time by continuing to let it go down until finally it breaks catastrophically.

3. Create a Routine and Stick to It

Consistency is key when you’re juggling a ton of responsibilities. Building a solid daily routine can help you stay disciplined and reduce stress.

• Example: Start each day by reviewing incoming work orders, updating your schedule, and touching base with your team. Doing it at the same time every day builds a habit.
• How to Make It Happen: Use a weekly / daily agenda and a Day In the Life Of (DILO) checklist to keep your routine on autopilot—less thinking, more doing. The DILO will show you when you are working outside of your value-added activities weekly so you can alert your supervisor as required that you being pulled into reactive work preventing you from staying on track for the planned corrective maintenance needing to be prepared. Ensure the activities you perform are value added to your role and that you are not allowing others to pull you into their reactive world. You are key to generating proactive work to make the maintenance teams more efficient and effective when executing repairs, thus making the assets more productive.

4. Keep Learning New Tricks

Learning isn’t just for the "new guy". Staying sharp helps you stay confident and ready to take the lead when challenges pop up.

• Example: Take advantage of training opportunities, like certifications or online courses about advanced planning or scheduling techniques.
• How to Make It Happen: Ensure you have a competency-based training matrix set up for use when discussing your upcoming training needs for each year with your supervisor. Set aside time for training each month and make it fun by celebrating milestones like finishing a certification. How many of you are experts on your CMMS systems, on your scheduling tools, and have certifications that will make you a better Planner / Scheduler? Well, what are you waiting on?

5. Own Your Work and Get Feedback

Accountability doesn’t have to be a scary word. When you take ownership of your role and actively seek feedback, you’ll grow faster and feel more in control.

• Example: As a planner, ensure you get feedback from your technicians on how your job plan was developed. If they don't tell you what you missed, or what was wrong, you can't correct it for the next time the job is performed, and it will be substandard again.
• How to Make It Happen: Work with the Supervisor to help them understand the importance of the technicians providing feedback so you can help them by improving their job plans over time.  At the end of each month, reflect on what went well and where you could improve. Then, meet with your manager to get their take.

With these five habits, becoming a self-motivated and disciplined Planner or Scheduler is well within reach. Start small, build strong routines, and stay curious. You’ll be surprised how quickly your impact grows.

In our next post, we’ll shift gears from self-motivation to motivating others. Because great Planners and Schedulers don’t just drive their own work forward, they inspire the teams around them. Stay tuned for “The Power to Motivate: A Key Trait for Planners and Schedulers.”