The Ministry of Justice manages 12 detention centres in the Ile-de-France region. The facilities are ageing and the budgets are limited. The reliability of the equipment is crucial, as a breakdown can cause security problems or unacceptable living conditions. Maintenance and replacement projects therefore require special attention. Melun, the pilot site for this project, is a detention centre for about 300 long-term prisoners.

The Mission

The Ministry has identified maintenance as a priority area in which progress should be made. Given the undercapacity of the maintenance staff, better organisation of maintenance activities is necessary. In addition, the Ministry wants to develop preventive maintenance. The Melun site has been chosen as a pilot site for the creation and testing of a framework of best practices for maintenance management.

The approach

Mainnovation first conducted an audit of the organisation of the maintenance department and its interfaces with central functions (investments, purchasing). Through site visits, interviews with key stakeholders, an analysis of performance indicators and of the portfolio of maintenance contracts, the maturity of the organisation could be assessed. Then,  together with the Melun team, we defined the future situation for each process in the VDMXL model.

Mainnovation proposed a series of best practices, such as visual planning, peak-shaving of the renewal plan using a risk matrix and setting up management rituals. The best practices were adapted to the needs of the Ministry of Justice and tested in Melun. They are now collected in a framework that will be applied in all detention centres in the Ile-de-France region.

Mainnovation’s added value

Our audit method allows us to accurately assess the maturity of a maintenance organisation. Mainnovation’s expertise has fuelled the discussion on the future situation of maintenance departments by showing best practices from other business sectors. The framework introduced in Melun allows for continuous improvement thanks to better performance monitoring and regular management rituals. The objectification of budget requests for extensions allows for objective discussion with decision-makers. Finally, the professionalisation of maintenance practices makes the organisation more attractive and makes it easier to recruit and retain talent.

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