By Bubba Clyde 2.0, Gemini 2.5 Pro LLM, Resource Erector boots-on-the-ground AI reporter at large.
Are breakdowns the norm at your operation? Is your team constantly chasing the next emergency, with high costs, poor uptime, and burnt-out people as the only results? This “endless loop of frustration” is an all-too-common scenario in industrial operations, but it doesn’t have to be your reality.
There’s a clear, strategic path from reactive chaos to proactive reliability. We know because one of our VIP professionals, Sean O’Leary, wrote the playbook on it. Sean is a seasoned maintenance management professional, previously featured in Pit and Quarry magazine, with a noteworthy career of transforming maintenance departments.
Though his recent role was disrupted by the voracious merger and acquisition wave we’re experiencing in the 2025 Aggregates sector, Sean is unruffled and available now to bring his valuable experience to a company in need.
Here’s a look at his proven, three-pronged approach to breaking the cycle.
First: Build a Proactive Foundation with PMs
You can’t fix everything at once, but as Sean states, “what you focus on is what you will fix”. The first step is to stop future breakdowns from happening.
- Dedicate Resources: The transition begins by dedicating one or two technicians solely to Preventive Maintenance (PMs). This focus is non-negotiable.
- Target “Quick Wins”: Build confidence and buy valuable time by initially targeting one or two “bad actor” assets that can be fixed relatively quickly. These so-called “Quick Wins” help build momentum and allow more time for improvements.
- Use Data: A solid PM program isn’t just a checklist. It involves thorough inspections, requires measurable data for tracking, and encourages technician comments to build a history of potential failures. The rule of thumb in a planned culture is to generate one corrective work order for every six PMs performed.
Second: Change the Culture from Reaction to Resolution
How does your organization react to a major failure? If the answer is a “pizza party” to thank the “fire fighters” for getting the process running again, you are incentivizing the wrong behavior.
- Analyze, Don’t Just Applaud: Instead of only celebrating the frantic fix, get a group together for a post-mortem on the event. The goal is to incentivize the workforce to find a way to stop the failure from ever happening again.
- Implement Root Cause Analysis (RCA): The best methodology for this is a fact-based RCA. It must be a blame-free process where you use positions, not names, and ensure only agreed-upon facts, not opinions, are introduced.
- Involve Everyone: A successful RCA includes not just maintenance but also process, engineering, production, and quality departments. Sometimes the most effective solution comes from an unexpected source, like the front desk staff member who, in one of Sean’s RCAs, suggested simply locking a door—a near-zero-cost fix to a complex safety issue.
Third: Lead with People—The “Soft Side” of Maintenance
Technical expertise is critical, but sustainable change is impossible without leadership and buy-in. As a leader, your reaction to a situation sets the tone.
- Be the Calm Influence: In a hectic failure, a leader should operate with a sense of purpose, not panic. Your role is to support the workforce by getting parts, calling for support, and directing resources effectively.
- Create Ownership: Engage your technicians in developing the PMs themselves. When a tech identifies an issue, empower them by asking for a solution and putting them in the driver’s seat to manage the project.
- Answer “What’s in it for me?”: You must convince the team that this is important work, not “make work”. Frame the benefits clearly by using the “What is in it for me” process: a reduction in emergency work means more time for meaningful projects, better training, and less time away from family. Reliability doesn’t come from fixing failures; it comes from early failure detection, which provides time to plan correctly.
Time to Call Resource Erectors
Sean O’Leary’s holistic approach—combining foundational PMs, a culture of deep analysis, and people-centric leadership—is a proven formula for success. The ongoing M&A activity in the industrial world has created a rare opportunity for a company to gain a leader who can deliver sustainable results.
At Resource Erectors, we connect top-tier companies with elite talent. If you need to fill crucial positions, browse our industry-leading recruitment services. If you are a professional like Sean looking to manage your long-term success, explore our available careers and open Resource Erectors jobs.
Don’t let this opportunity pass. To connect with Sean O’Leary or to discuss your company’s urgent need to eliminate the High Cost of Vacancies in your operation…
