In most manufacturing companies, the Capital Projects Team (Engineering) and the Operations Team (Maintenance) live in different worlds.
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Engineering is incentivized to bring the project in "On Time and Under Budget." They buy the machine with the lowest upfront price tag.
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Maintenance inherits the machine. They spend the next 20 years fighting poor design, inaccessible parts, and cheap components that fail monthly.
This disconnect costs the enterprise millions in Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
The solution is Early Equipment Management (EEM), a pillar of TPM that focuses on designing reliability into the asset, rather than trying to maintain it in.
For a VP of Operations, EEM is the ultimate strategic lever. It stops the flow of "bad assets" into your factory.
Here is the 2026 guide to bridging the gap between Capex (Buying) and Opex (Running), using data as your bridge.
1. The Data-Driven Procurement Strategy
How do you stop Engineering from buying a "Lemon"?
You use Historical Data to veto bad decisions.
The Scenario: Engineering wants to buy a new conveyor system from "Vendor A" because it is 10% cheaper.
The Maintenance Defense:
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Pull the Asset History from your operational platform (like Fabrico) for all existing "Vendor A" equipment.
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The Data: "Vendor A conveyors have a Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) of 3 months and cost $5,000/year to maintain. Vendor B costs more upfront but has an MTBF of 2 years."
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The Decision: The data proves that Vendor A is actually more expensive. Procurement switches to Vendor B.
Strategic Action: Make "Maintenance History Review" a mandatory step in the Capital Approval Request (CAR) workflow.
2. Defining the "Maintenance-Friendly" Specification
OEMs will build whatever you ask for. If you don't ask for maintainability, they won't build it.
You must standardize your requirements.
The Digital Spec Sheet:
Create a standard requirement list that every new machine must meet.
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Standard Components: "Must use SKF bearings and Siemens motors" (to match your existing inventory).
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Accessibility: "All lube points must be accessible from ground level without guarding removal."
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Data Connectivity: "PLC must expose these specific tags (Speed, Temp, Faults) via OPC-UA for our monitoring system."
Use your maintenance software to track which OEMs comply with these standards and score them accordingly.
3. Operational Readiness (The "Day 0" Launch)
The most chaotic time in a machine's life is "Startup."
Usually, the machine runs for 3 months before maintenance even gets the manual or creates a PM schedule. This is the "Infant Mortality" danger zone.
The Strategy: Digital Commissioning.
Load the maintenance system before the machine hits the floor.
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Ingest the Data: Require the OEM to provide the Bill of Materials (BOM) and Spare Parts list in a digital format (Excel/CSV), not a PDF. Import this directly into the system.
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Build the Plan: Create the PM Schedule (Daily Checks, Monthly Service) and assign it to the "Commissioning Team" immediately.
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Train the Team: Use the OEM's installation visit to record Video SOPs (using features like Visual Zoom-In) of the setup procedures. Save these to the asset record immediately.
The Result: On Day 1 of production, the machine is fully managed. There is no "gap" in care.
4. The "Vertical Startup" (Speed to Value)
New machines often struggle to hit full speed for months. This is usually due to "Tweaking" and lack of standardized settings.
EEM demands that the machine is validated at full speed before final payment.
The Digital Validation:
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Use your OEE Monitoring capabilities during the Site Acceptance Test (SAT).
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The Rule: "We do not sign the final check until the machine hits 85% OEE for a continuous 24-hour run, validated by our software."
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This holds the OEM accountable to performance, not just "turning on."
5. Lifecycle Feedback (Closing the Loop)
EEM is a circle. The performance of the new machine must inform the next purchase.
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The Review: 12 months after installation, conduct a "TCO Review."
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The Comparison: Compare "Predicted Maintenance Cost" (from the sales brochure) vs. "Actual Maintenance Cost" (from your logs).
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The Learning: If the machine cost 2x more to run than promised, that OEM goes on the "Probation List" for future projects.
Conclusion: Stop Inheriting Problems
Maintenance shouldn't be the department that cleans up the mess made by Procurement.
Maintenance should be the department that helps Procurement buy better machines.
By using your operational data to influence design and purchase, you stop reliability problems at the source.
Design for uptime.
[Request a Demo] and see how Fabrico’s data can inform your next capital project.
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