Asset Maintenance in Operations-Intensive Organizations

This chapter provides an overview of operations-intensive organizations. The deep insights and applications of the asset maintenance contributing factors during asset maintenance phases such as the initial phase, implementation phase, and assessment phase are explained based on the research study conducted among asset maintenance managers/engineers working in operations-intensive organizations. This approach adds value to asset maintenance concepts by capturing tacit knowledge available to the industry. During the initial phase of asset maintenance, the key elements to be considered in planning and scheduling maintenance work are equipment history, work order with priority, preventive maintenance schedules, weekly work schedules, long-term/shutdown maintenance schedule, and work measurement backlog. A suitable Computerized Maintenance Management Software that integrates all these elements to maintain the maintenance scheduling and monitor work schedules is essential in asset maintenance. The importance of maintenance policy, allocation of budget resources, the role of materials management, and workforce resources are discussed in this chapter. During the asset maintenance implementation phase, the various elements of maintenance tactics such as preventive maintenance, predictive maintenance, total maintenance hours, compliance of maintenance schedules, Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) recommendations, Reliability-Centered Maintenance, Total Productive Maintenance, proactive maintenance, and shutdown maintenance are also deliberated in detail in this chapter. Further, the first area of change toward employee motivation should be employee empowerment. Maintenance managers should provide directions and point out the desired results; empowering maintenance supervisors to achieve the desired results within their capacity is elaborated in the employee empowerment topic. The key elements in evaluating maintenance performance such as maintenance cost, equipment history, training man-hours of maintenance staff, internal/industry norms, benchmarking measures and targets, and their role in formulating and selecting maintenance strategy are examined in this chapter. Maintenance practitioners believe that the maintenance challenges are helping in formulating maintenance strategies for the company. Maintenance challenges are the major issues faced by maintenance managers in their day-to-day asset maintenance function. Such issues are grouped into technical issues, contract issues, stakeholder issues, internal issues, and unexpected issues. Each of the asset maintenance contributing factors is supported by Industry Quotes in the Industry Quote Box.