A. Crespo Márquez, P. Moreu de León, J.F. Gómez Fernández, C. Parra Márquez and M. López Campos
The purpose of this paper is to define a process for maintenance management and to classify maintenance engineering techniques within that process.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to define a process for maintenance management and to classify maintenance engineering techniques within that process.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a generic model proposed for maintenance management which integrates other models found in the literature for built and in‐use assets, and consists of eight sequential management building blocks. The different maintenance engineering techniques are playing a crucial role within each one of those eight management building blocks. Following this path it characterizes the “maintenance management framework”, i.e. the supporting structure of the management process.
Findings
The paper offers a practical vision of the set of activities composing each management block, and the result of the paper is a classification of the different maintenance engineering tools. The discussion of the different tools can also classify them as qualitative or quantitative. At the same time, some tools will be very analytical tools while others will be highly empirical. The paper also discusses the proper use of each tool or technique according to the volume of data/information available.
Practical implications
As a consequence, of the implementation of advanced manufacturing technologies and just‐in‐time production systems, the nature of the production environment has changed during the last two decades. This has allowed companies to massively produce products in a customized way. But the increase in automation and the reduction in buffers of inventory in the plants clearly put more pressure on the maintenance system. The present maintenance management framework has been proposed in order to diminish this pressure. Whatever the model an organization adopts, it has to be evolving to continue being useful against the fast changes that occur in business, communications and industry. A key to achieve this could be the incorporation of the techniques proposed in this paper besides the integration of platforms known as “next generation manufacturing practices” This implies the use of e‐maintenance as a sub‐concept of e‐manufacturing and e‐business.
Originality/value
This paper presents not only a process but also the framework and techniques to manage and improve maintenance effectiveness and efficiency. This paper will be useful to researchers, maintenance professionals and others concerned with maintenance management.
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Damjan Maletič, Matjaž Maletič, Basim Al-Najjar and Boštjan Gomišček
The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of maintenance in improving company's competitiveness and profitability. In the first part the paper aims to discuss the potential…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of maintenance in improving company's competitiveness and profitability. In the first part the paper aims to discuss the potential improvement areas from the company perspective. Second part of this paper examines maintenance impact on company's business.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical case study was utilized aiming to provide an understanding of the role of maintenance in improving company's business. The empirical data for this study were collected from a Slovenian textile company. A gap analysis was used in order to address the research problem and to identify potential improvement areas.
Findings
Based on the gap analysis, the results suggest that from respondents’ points of view, maintenance practices related to condition-based maintenance approach represent the highest opportunity for improvement. The most notable empirical results of the case study showed that around 3 per cent of additional profit could be generated at weaving machine, especially if all unplanned stoppages and loss of quality due to decrease in the productivity would be prevented.
Practical implications
This paper demonstrates to managers the potential benefits of maintenance policy in terms of productivity, quality and profitability. In this regard, this paper builds on a premise that company can gain higher performance benefits using more effective maintenance policy.
Originality/value –
The proposed conceptual model contributes to the existing literature by showing the interactions between maintenance and company's competitiveness and profitability. Empirical findings of this study therefore, acknowledge maintenance's potential of increasing the overall profit. In addition this study advances prior studies by utilizing a gap analysis which is rare in this type of research.
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V. González Díaz, J. Gómez Fernández and A. Crespo Márquez
This paper will be focused in one of the stages included in a reference framework proposed for the improvement of the warranty management. Particularly, the Analytic Hierarchy…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper will be focused in one of the stages included in a reference framework proposed for the improvement of the warranty management. Particularly, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is a multi‐criteria decision‐making method that will be depicted throughout this document and applied to a particular case study.
Design/methodology/approach
Once the warranty program objectives and strategy are defined, the referred stage here considered will be the Criticality Analysis. Those decisions and actions taken from the warranty program will involve the possibility of a certain deviation from business objectives in terms of profit losses, redirection of resources, possible delays etc., or the use of assembly pieces as spares, among others.
Findings
The application is required of a technique which helps systematically to decide which assets should have priority related to the management of the warranty program, in accordance of course with the existing program strategy.
Practical implications
The paper will show how this method can help and improve the decision‐making related to some aspect of the warranty management, obtaining as a result a criticality matrix, which offers a prioritized view of warranty issues, which allow us to align after sales actions with the business targets.
Originality/value
This paper aims to explore different aspects related to the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), which can influence in the management of warranty assistances. In the process of warranty management for a specific product, many decisions and actions appear presenting a great impact on the total cost of the product warranty service. The paper contains an example study where AHP concepts are applied in a simple way in order to provide a practical application view of the theoretical development, useful to after sales managers as a decision‐making tool.
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Maheshwaran Gopalakrishnan, Anders Skoogh, Antti Salonen and Martin Asp
The purpose of this paper is to increase productivity through smart maintenance planning by including productivity as one of the objectives of the maintenance organization…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to increase productivity through smart maintenance planning by including productivity as one of the objectives of the maintenance organization. Therefore, the goals of the paper are to investigate existing machine criticality assessment and identify components of the criticality assessment tool to increase productivity.
Design/methodology/approach
An embedded multiple case study research design was adopted in this paper. Six different cases were chosen from six different production sites operated by three multi-national manufacturing companies. Data collection was carried out in the form of interviews, focus groups and archival records. More than one source of data was collected in each of the cases. The cases included different production layouts such as machining, assembly and foundry, which ensured data variety.
Findings
The main finding of the paper is a deeper understanding of how manufacturing companies assess machine criticality and plan maintenance activities. The empirical findings showed that there is a lack of trust regarding existing criticality assessment tools. As a result, necessary changes within the maintenance organizations in order to increase productivity were identified. These are technological advancements, i.e. a dynamic and data-driven approach and organizational changes, i.e. approaching with a systems perspective when performing maintenance prioritization.
Originality/value
Machine criticality assessment studies are rare, especially empirical research. The originality of this paper lies in the empirical research conducted on smart maintenance planning for productivity improvement. In addition, identifying the components for machine criticality assessment is equally important for research and industries to efficient planning of maintenance activities.
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Amal Naji, Mohamed EL Oumami, Otmane Bouksour and Zitouni Beidouri
The purpose of this paper is to provide a picture of the maintenance management status in a sample of Moroccan industries through highlighting the most impacting factors. A…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a picture of the maintenance management status in a sample of Moroccan industries through highlighting the most impacting factors. A preliminary framework of a maintenance management model is proposed on the basis of the study findings.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed methods research (MMR), including qualitative and quantitative independent studies, was conducted in a sample of Moroccan industries. The process of collecting data involved submission of questionnaires to industrial managers and on-site visits. Analyzing case studies and correlations between maintenance factors were used to define the status of maintenance management. The preliminary framework of a maintenance management model was presented through a basic graph.
Findings
The surveyed companies have three levels of maintenance management: inner, medium and good. The most impacting maintenance factors include the top management policy and maintenance department approach. Most of the companies surveyed do not have an overall maintenance model, as most of decisions are based on random factors rather than the data analysis approach. The preliminary framework of maintenance management model involves the main factors with recommendations to improve maintenance management performance.
Research limitations/implications
The sample in this study is limited to seven companies in the qualitative study and thirty-one companies in the quantitative study. The informants are the industrial managers of those companies. In order to apply this maintenance model in industry, an advanced version of this model is to be developed through providing key performance indicators (KPI) and an implementation process for each factor, including other participants in the companies from top management and operational levels.
Practical implications
The study may contribute to assess maintenance management and to develop a framework of maintenance management models in industries, especially when no previous basic study was conducted in a specific context.
Originality/value
The original contribution of this paper is using MMR to develop a preliminary framework of a maintenance management model. This methodology aims to narrow the gap between academic studies and maintenance management in industries.
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Patricia Rocha and Rui Calejo Rodrigues
The purpose of this paper is to review the status of knowledge on the subject of building maintenance from an integrated perspective that incorporates the building lifecycle, that…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the status of knowledge on the subject of building maintenance from an integrated perspective that incorporates the building lifecycle, that is, from the design stage to the end of life. This work considered the main aspects to be taken into account in determining and implementing maintenance strategies, which requires a cross-sectional view of the entire construction process. At the same time, this approach contributes to the organisation of building management.
Design/methodology/approach
Bibliometric review has been carried out to identify relevant subjects and topics about scientific production on building maintenance by analysing the contents of about 745 publications, over the last 15 years, between 2000 and 2016 (first quarter). The survey results were gradually organised into a database grouped into seven main themes which were found to be more discussed and others six emergent themes with topics on building maintenance research.
Findings
This research enabled a synthesis of the focal points in the literature on building maintenance, as well as debates among researchers and institutions in the field. The result is a view to the future regarding what issues merit further research and what content requires greater depth of understanding, allowing us to envision research directions that encompass topics and sub-topics for future development. To this end, this bibliometric study draws on knowledge developed over the last 15 years, using research studies published in refereed journals indexed in ISI/SCOPUS as its data source.
Originality/value
The novelty of this topic, and the aspect in which it differs from existing studies, is that the researchers analysed a single sub-topic: that is, content regarding maintenance. Thus, this bibliometric literature review allows us to achieve a comprehensive and integrated view of key issues developed in the field of building maintenance. The results show which topics have been more thoroughly developed and which still exhibit gaps and weaknesses. This review allows us to envision well thought out guidelines for future development that have the potential to be relevant to progress in building maintenance research. It also contributes to our understanding of the state of the art in this field of knowledge.
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Vicente González‐Prida Díaz, Luis Barberá Martínez, Juan Francisco Gómez Fernández and Adolfo Crespo Márquez
The purpose of this paper is to present a brief summary of quality and contractual aspects for the improvement of the warranty management. Together with this, the present work…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a brief summary of quality and contractual aspects for the improvement of the warranty management. Together with this, the present work will show also some of the best practices followed by companies in order to manage properly those kinds of issues related to warranty, as well as some indications to assess the implementation degree of such practices in the whole organization. Basically, the global objective of the study is to present to the reader and in few words the importance of taking into account legal and quality aspects, when a company offers a technical service for the warranty assistance of any of its products, together with the maturity level that this company achieves applying some best practices currently available.
Design/methodology/approach
The study starts by mentioning some antecedents related to warranty, in order to summarize a reference framework, proposed for proper warranty management, and how the information exchange should be performed among the different departments of a generic company. Then, it will be suggested how to apply this according to a strategic management which is divided in phases, taken from the product life cycle concept: Front‐end, Design and Development, Production, Marketing, and Post‐sale Support. These phases are included in three higher stages considered as Pre‐Launch stage, Launch and Post‐Launch stage, where different decisions play important roles. Afterwards, it will be shown how warranty management is viewed from the contract and legal point of view, in order to link the above mentioned topics on generic management, with those best practices currently presented in actual markets. Finally, once analysed, all those aspects related to best practices and its application on the reference framework, it is required now to quantify how a company manages the warranty assistances by a maturity assessment on warranty management.
Findings
The paper observes what today's companies are doing in this field, that is, their best practices in warranty management covering the quality and contractual aspects already mentioned, in order to round off the development of a completed framework for such management.
Originality/value
The paper presents a review, a framework and a practical application of the framework for the management of warranty contracts, including a maturity assessment or evaluation.
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A. Shanmugam and T. Paul Robert
The purpose of this paper is to present a literature review on human factors in aircraft maintenance and to analyze and synthesize the findings in the literature on human factors…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a literature review on human factors in aircraft maintenance and to analyze and synthesize the findings in the literature on human factors engineering in aircraft maintenance.
Design/methodology/approach
The review adopts a threefold approach: searching and collecting the scientific literature; sorting them on the basis of relevance and applications; and review of the scientific evidences. Broad areas of aircraft maintenance regulations are identified and each area was explored to study the level of scientific growth and publications. Notable theories, models and concepts are being summarized.
Findings
Application of human factor principles in aviation spread beyond the technical arena of man-machine interface. The discipline has created a great impact on aircraft design, operations and maintenance. Its applications have percolated into design of aircraft maintenance facilities, task cards and equipment. Human factor concepts are being used for maintenance resource management. The principles are applied to shape the safety behavior and culture in aviation maintenance workplace. Nevertheless, the review unfolds immense potential for future research.
Research limitations/implications
Research outcomes of non-aviation studies are also reviewed and consolidated to extend the applications to the aviation industry.
Practical implications
This review would be a consolidated source of information confining to the physical aspect of human factors engineering in aircraft maintenance. It is intended to serve as a quick reference guide to the researchers and maintenance practitioners.
Social implications
It brought out the benefits of adopting the principles of human factor engineering in aircraft maintenance. Application of human factor philosophy ensures enhanced safety in air transport, personal safety and well-being of maintenance personnel.
Originality/value
This is a unique review based on aircraft maintenance regulations that are baseline performance standards made mandatory by regulatory authorities. Therefore, the review has been considered to be made on aircraft maintenance regulatory requirements that surpass corporate or competitive strategies in aviation maintenance organization.
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Zhe Yin, Carlos Caldas, Daniel de Oliveira, Bon-Gang Hwang and Ming Shan
Facility maintenance is critical for the operation and management of petrochemical plants. Maintenance work completed with higher productivity eventually contributes to better…
Abstract
Purpose
Facility maintenance is critical for the operation and management of petrochemical plants. Maintenance work completed with higher productivity eventually contributes to better plant performance. Mechanization reduces workforce demand and can increase the productivity of maintenance work. The purpose of this paper is to assess the current mechanization level of the maintenance activities and then identify applicable technology solutions for productivity improvement in petrochemical facility maintenance.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper utilizes a mechanization level assessment method for global maintenance data collection and analysis. Subject matter experts’ interviews and market scanning were used to identify corresponding technology solutions.
Findings
The study discovered numerous maintenance activities with lower mechanization levels and identified more than 50 technology solutions applicable for maintenance productivity improvement.
Originality/value
This paper provides a roadmap for petrochemical maintenance work participants to assess their mechanization level status quo and identify technology solutions for higher maintenance work productivity. The method adopted is replicable and customizable for further applications with different plant conditions in the petrochemical sector and other industrial contexts.