Equipment teams are tracking more maintenance data than ever, but collecting it doesn’t mean it’s being used effectively.

In many operations, valuable maintenance data gets under-leveraged, misinterpreted, or ignored altogether, creating a false sense of control while problems continue under the surface.

Here are five common ways teams miss the mark when it comes to getting value from their own maintenance data:

1. Tracking Metrics That Don’t Tie to Actual Goals

Many teams report on the metrics that are easiest to access — not the ones that matter most.

Work orders closed, hours worked, or PM compliance rates might look good in a dashboard, but they often don’t connect to strategic outcomes like uptime, reliability, or asset health.

“We see it all the time: Organizations are reporting activity, not effectiveness,” says Justin Smith, ARMI co-founder. “They’re measuring effort, not impact. It looks like progress, but it doesn’t tell you if anything is actually getting better.”

Without clarity on which metrics actually reflect success, maintenance teams risk spending resources on initiatives that won’t move the needle.

2. Misreading or Overlooking Maintenance Data Trends

It’s not uncommon for critical patterns in downtime, asset health, or PM effectiveness to go unnoticed.

Whether it’s buried in a spreadsheet or dismissed by instinct, small problems snowball into chronic issues.

“Teams are surrounded by data, but they don’t always know how to recognize what it’s trying to say,” says Dr. John Ross, ARMI co-founder and veteran reliability educator. “When failure patterns are missed or misread, you lose your chance to act early.”

Misinterpretation of trends can lead to reactive behavior, poor planning, and repeated mistakes that compound over time.

3. Relying on Lagging Indicators Alone

Lagging indicators like equipment downtime, backlog hours, or parts costs are easy to measure, but they only describe what already happened. By the time the numbers reveal an issue, it’s often too late to prevent it.

“Lagging metrics can tell you where you’ve been, but not where you’re going,” Smith says. “If that’s all you’re looking at, you’re always behind.”

Without a balance of leading indicators — the kind that reflect the health of your processes, not just the outcomes — teams can’t adjust their course in time to avoid failures.

4. Under-Communicating the Value of Maintenance Data

Even with good data, many teams struggle to convey what it means.

Reports get ignored, leadership misinterprets numbers, and maintenance work gets undervalued. This lack of clear communication undermines support for the very initiatives that would improve performance.

“If your insights don’t connect with the people who make decisions, they go nowhere,” Ross says. “The data might be good, but if the message doesn’t land, it won’t get acted on.”

This communication gap leads to missed funding, stalled improvements, and a disconnect between maintenance and leadership priorities.

5. Failing to Adjust Strategy Based on Performance

Perhaps the most costly oversight is when teams continue running the same playbook … even when the data shows it’s not working.

PMs get delayed with no repercussions. Failure trends go unaddressed. And plans are rarely reviewed or updated.

“Data should drive action, but in a lot of places, it doesn’t,” Smith says. “There’s no feedback loop. They’re tracking everything and changing nothing.”

Without structured review and course correction, even the most robust data collection efforts become just another ignored process.

How to Use Maintenance Data More Effectively

The Certified Maintenance Data Analyst (CMDA) course is designed to help maintenance, asset, and reliability professionals turn information they’re missing out on into real impact.

“We designed this program around the exact issues we see holding teams back,” says Justin Smith, ARMI co-founder. “The CMDA course addresses those head-on so people can start using their data to actually improve performance.”

What you can expect to learn

In just four days of in-person training, CMDA participants gain practical skills to:

• Select and track the right KPIs for business objectives
• Analyze trends using tools like pivot tables, Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF), and root cause analysis
• Distinguish between leading and lagging indicators
• Visualize and communicate insights that leadership can understand and act on
• Evaluate PM effectiveness and adjust reliability strategies accordingly

“This course gives people more than a framework,” Ross says. “It gives them clarity. They learn how to spot problems early, explain them clearly, and recommend smart, data-driven actions.”

What insights you can start using immediately

From day one, participants begin working through real-world examples that mirror the challenges they face on the job, Smith says.

They leave with templates, analysis methods, and communication approaches they can use right away.

“We built the CMDA program so people can hit the ground running,” Smith says. “You don’t just learn theory; you walk out knowing how to apply it to your own operations.”

What results you will see

Teams who complete the CMDA program can expect to see measurable improvements, including reduced downtime, clearer reporting, faster decision-making, and better alignment between maintenance and leadership.

“One of the biggest impacts we see is mindset shift,” Ross says. “Participants start leading with insight, not instinct. That changes everything.”

Upcoming Session

🗓️ June 24–27, 2025 

📍 Francis Tuttle Technology Center – Oklahoma City, OK

🎓 Optional: Take the CMDA exam and earn your certification

👉 Register now