Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast Podcast: How Bush Brothers & Company Deployed a Three-Phase PM Optimization Strategy (Plant Services)
Mar 25, 2026
Jeff Shiver, maintenance and reliability advisor who coaches technicians and optimizes PMs. Tony Peterson, Maintenance Reliability Manager with 25 years improving food-plant maintenance. They discuss a three-phase PM optimization approach. Topics include using P&IDs and CMMS data, engaging technicians in workshops, eliminating low-value PMs, separating intrusive vs non-intrusive tasks, and shifting to condition-based triggers.
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PM Program Drove Reactive Operations
- Bush Brothers traced inconsistent production and excess overtime back to an ineffective PM program causing late or missing preventive tasks.
- Early data showed PM attainment only 45–55%, driving reactive firefighting and schedule instability for operations.
Use P&IDs To Map PM Coverage
- Use P&ID drawings as a roadmap for PM optimization instead of relying solely on CMMS records.
- Prework every P&ID with colored stickers mapping CMMS PMs so workshops focus on gaps and decisions, not clerical lookup.
Prep Workshops With Color Codes And A Scribe
- Prepare workshops with a scribe, prework, and a color-code system to keep technician sessions efficient.
- Orange dots marked components that had PMs; red noted missing PMs and included the rationale for decisions.