The Utilities Service Alliance (USA) Maintenance Core Peer Team’s role is to improve performance, promote cost reduction, and influence the industry in the maintenance function within the USA fleet through the identification of areas for improvement and initiation of appropriate resolution fleet-wide or at individual fleet member facilities.

On Jan. 24, seven members of the team met in Atlanta, GA. The group’s discussions were focused around its four 2012 USA Business Plan initiatives:
• Supervisor Effectiveness (being led by Fermi and Prairie Island)
• Rework reduction (being led by Cook and Salem)
• Supplemental Worker performance (being led by Fermi and Prairie Island)
• Work Order Walk-down/Ready to work (being led by Hope Creek and Susquehanna)

The group also spent considerable time discussing the high level of staff turnover being faced across the USA fleet, future tool sharing, resource sharing, and human performance improvement. The group’s efforts are enabling each member to better capitalize on industry experience through the fleet.

The meeting also included an opportunity for the USA members to join the INPO maintenance managers’ working meeting. Approximately 40 maintenance managers from across the industry attended this meeting to share industry issues, best practices, and lessons learned. “This was a valuable opportunity to gain insights from peers who face similar challenges or who have overcome issues similar to those we face,” said Mike Milly, Maintenance Manager at Prairie Island and Chairperson of the USA Maintenance Core Peer Team. The INPO maintenance team discussed efforts to reduce scrams and Industry Event Report 11-2 about procedure use and adherence and work package quality.

The USA maintenance team met next in a Feb. 2 conference call. The agenda for that meeting included a discussion about the Devonway website and improving the use and knowledge of the features offered through the new USA website. The Maintenance Core team meets on a monthly conference call and discusses progress toward these actions and assessment of performance. The second face-to-face meeting for the group this year will be June 7-8 at the USA office in Overland Park, Kansas.