When Are Service Level Agreements Required In Plant Maintenance?

The short answer is when you want to be protected by your vendor or supplier in case something goes wrong.

Maintenance is important for any business; it’s the fine-tuning of systems that ensure that they run as smoothly as possible. It’s the part of running a business where you can most easily cut costs by cutting corners, but this can easily turn into a huge drain on your resources or even your reputation.

For most plant maintenance work, it’s a good idea to have an SLA in place with a contractor. For instance, if they’re maintaining your machinery, do you want them to improve your output, or reduce downtime? If they’re maintaining your machinery, do you want them to reduce downtime, or keep your machinery safe in the process?

When you’ve got the right service level agreement in place, you can save yourself a lot of money and stress. When you’ve got the wrong one in place, you might not even realise it until it’s too late.

If you are a Business Owner, Director or Plant Manager it is important to know your company’s responsibilities as an Employer. Especially when it comes to the health and safety of your workers and any other person who might come into contact with the workplace.

The Occupational Health and Safety Act in each province has a legal duty to ensure all employers maintain a safe workplace. A service level agreement can help you prove that you have the proper procedures in place to minimise risks for workers and other persons. It also helps you prove that you have been successful at ensuring that all risk factors have been minimised. The whole point of a service level agreement is to ensure that everyone knows what needs to be done, who is responsible for doing it, and when it is due to be completed.

A Service Level Agreement can cover anything from work procedures to health and safety requirements.