Towards a Simpler Selection Process for Maintenance Strategies

Recent research at four large manufacturing sites in the North East of England showed that maintenance organisations were failing because they were locked in a cycle of quick fix and mend despite deploying extensive planned maintenance policies. Consequently they were unable to plan and formulate strategies because they did not have the time. Simple and quick tools were needed to select the best maintenance approach for the machines and the plant. Two possible selection tools were developed. Firstly a truth table was produced based on the key characteristics of each maintenance approach and these mapped against simplified failure mode combinations. This offered a quick and easy selection method for machines, based on failure mode patterns. Secondly, the macro level was addressed using a conceptual model employing a 2x2 matrix. This consisted of two axes, the level of machine failures and the level of improvement activity. The resulting framework was used to predict how maintenance organisations would progress from a state of reactive maintenance towards world class. Then informed by the truth table it was possible to select an appropriate maintenance approach which was most suitable for each stage. It is suggested that these two methods offer simple and quick approaches to guide vital maintenance decision making at plants in difficulty. This of course does not preclude the need to develop maintenance strategies but rather facilitates this process by freeing up time and resources.