Getting to World Class Wrench Time

Improving wrench time means reducing waste and removing barriers to productive maintenance work. Typical wrench time in North America is 17%-30%. Our goal is world-class wrench time: 45% to 55%.

Getting to world-class wrench time includes the tools needed to take measurements and, once you have the results, how to interpret them. Finally, what to do about the barriers you find.

Wrench time is simple. It is the time spent doing repairs, PM, corrective maintenance, or almost any other activity on the machine. THE GOAL IS NOT 100% WRENCH TIME. We expect the repair person to clean the area, complete work orders, service their tools, plan, provide training, and source parts or materials as needed. These are essential activities, but not the mission: fixing or performing maintenance directly on machines (wrench time).

This book covers techniques for measuring wrench time, calculating the economic impact of wrench-time improvements, detailed instructions for performing wrench time, and interpreting the results. Unlike other books on wrench time, this book offers tactics to directly improve wrench time.