MTTR can refer to Mean Time to Repair as well as Mean Time to Resolution, Mean Time to Resolve, and Mean Time to Recovery. These all mean the same general thing, but on this definition page, whenever we reference MTTR, it is in regard to Mean Time to Repair.
Overview: What is Mean Time to Repair?
Mean Time to Repair is a failure metric that specifies the average amount of time it takes to troubleshoot, repair, and restore failing equipment back to being functional.
4 benefits and a drawback of Mean Time to Repair
There are some major benefits of Mean Time to Repair, as well as a clear drawback:
1. Benefit: Wiping out inefficiencies
Utilizing MTTR helps your business by showing any inefficiencies that could be wiped out and could be contributing to lost production and lost revenue.
2. Benefit: Insight
Using MTTR analysis can offer valuable insight into how the maintenance division of your business operates. Some things that can be learned are how equipment is purchased, maintenance tasks are completed, and how maintenance is scheduled.
3. Benefit: Identification of faulty processes
MTTR can help your organization identify the reasons for maintenance not being finished in an ideal amount of time as well as determine strategies for addressing the causes.
4. Benefit: Trading out older equipment
Using MTTR can help you decide whether it is time to update equipment. For example, if a piece of machinery appears to take longer every year to repair, you may decide to upgrade to newer machinery.
5. Drawback: Does not account for lead time in the acquisition of parts
While Mean Time to Repair encompasses everything from the notification of servicepeople to the cooling down of equipment, it does not account for the lead time necessary in the acquiring of parts.
Why is Mean Time to Repair important to understand?
Mean Time to Repair is important to understand for the following reasons:
The bottom line – One important reason for understanding MTTR is that it has a significant effect on the bottom line of your company.
Predictor – If you have an understanding of your company’s MTTR, you have a valuable predictor for what to expect when the next incident occurs.
Addressing high MTTR – Generally, having a higher MTTR rating is undesirable, so if you have an understanding of MTTR, you can be able to interpret where your company’s MTTR score lands and whether or not improvements need to be made in order to lower the MTTR.
An industry example of Mean Time to Repair
The floor manager of a manufacturing plant is concerned because it seems to him that it takes longer and longer every year to get operations back running smoothly whenever there is an incident of equipment failure. Looking at company records, it does appear that the company’s MTTR is higher than in previous years. In order to address this, training is given to the floor team so that everyone knows how to address the most common reasons that their machines might shut down. This way, in most cases, the employees no longer need to wait for a specialist to come out to the plant to fix the machinery.
Best practices when thinking about MTTR
Here are some practices to keep in mind when it comes to lowering the MTTR of your organization:
1. Understanding incidents
In order to reduce your company’s MTTR, you need to understand the failures and incidents that have occurred. Having insight into what caused and contributed to the incidents that have needed repair helps you make informed decisions about how to proceed in the future.
2. Monitoring
In order to fix a problem, it needs to be identified. Ideally, as quickly as possible. Having appropriate monitoring protocols in place can give you a jump start on a lot of the issues that may arise so that they can be caught and remedied quickly–thereby reducing your MTTR.
3. Have a plan
If you have a set plan in place for when incidents occur, it is much more preferable and generally less time-consuming than having a fly-by-night approach that you have to start from scratch with every incident.
4. Automation
Having an automated response system in place, if possible, can save a lot more time than making a phone call and then waiting for results.
5. Define roles clearly
Having everyone that needs to respond to an incident and them all knowing exactly what their roles are in repairing a situation takes a lot of the guesswork out of the way when an incident occurs.
6. Cross-training team members
Make sure members of your team are trained to handle multiple tasks regarding incidents that could occur. This way, if the main person trained to handle an issue is not available, steps can still be taken to get operations back on track.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Mean Time to Repair
How do you calculate Mean Time to Repair?
MTTR is calculated by dividing total maintenance time by the number of repairs.
How is MTTR used in continuous development?
The metric acts as an evaluation tool in continuous development, for seeing how quickly a team can manage failures as well as serving as a guide for the improvement of stability.
Why is a higher MTTR rating undesirable?
An MTTR rating is a reflection of the amount of time it takes for a company to remedy a failure incident and have everything operational again. Therefore, a lower score shows there is less time spent before issue resolution, and a higher number shows more time spent resolving an issue before normal operations resume.
Harnessing The Power of the Mean Time to Repair metric
Knowing how long it takes for your company to repair issues so that things can get back to normal is extremely valuable. With this knowledge, you can make informed decisions about your organization and where improvements can be made so that failures can be rectified quickly.
