Maintenance & Safety

ENGG C242 5. Maintenance Processes

On-Campus PB Venkataraman

Having listed the maintenance objectives and their measures the next logical step is to learn the means of achieving them. The maintenance processes that help achieving the listed objectives are discussed briefly in this chapter. A more detailed explanation of these processes form the rest of the chapters in this book

1. Design for Maintainability (DfMt) 2. Preventive maintenance (PM) 3. Predictive maintenance (PdM) 4. Reliability centered maintenance (RCM) 5. Reactive maintenance 6. Spares management 7. Maintenance logistics support 8. Total productive maintenance (TPM) 9. Organizing for maintenance 10. Computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) 11. Decision support systems & tools 12. Statutory requirements

Design for Maintainability (DfMt):

Maintenance is a non-value-adding activity, for it reduces the availability of equipment for production at the same time costs resources to maintain it. An ideal equipment is the one which is available for production all the time and doesnt cost anything to maintain. Such an ideal equipment has to be conceived even at the drawing board. Various design principles have been developed to aid designing equipments that will have minimum or even zero maintenance. These principles along with live cases are discussed in the next chapter

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Maintenance & Safety

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Preventive Maintenance (PM):

On-Campus PB Venkataraman

An equipment and its parts are designed to perform their intended functions under certain working conditions. When these conditions change for worst the equipment will fail. A periodic check of these conditions and the parts is what is known as preventive maintenance. A well planned PM can bring down the breakdowns considerably. On the other hand a poor PM will not only increase the maintenance cost but also breakdowns

Predictive Maintenance (PdM):

PM schedules are normally fixed based on the past history of failures or manufacturers recommendations. Neither of them truly represents the expected life of a part. There is always a possibility of replacing an under-utilized part or not replacing an over-used part. An effective maintenance should replace / repair a part when it is required, neither earlier nor later. This is possible only if the maintenance is based on the condition of the part. PdM is one such process in which the condition of the part is monitored using special equipments and the maintenance action is decided based on the monitoring results. This process may require initial investments but will pay for itself in long-run

Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM):

Reliability is the probability that an equipment will perform its intended function under given operating conditions for a defined period. RCM is centered around improving this reliability of the equipment. Activities start from design stage and makes use of the past failure history and condition monitoring results. RCM is a subject by itself and is rooted in statistics, interested reader may consult relevant book1

Effective Maintenance Management by V. Narayanan Industrial Press

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Reactive Maintenance:

On-Campus PB Venkataraman

How much ever PM or PdM is adapted, eliminating breakdown is not possible due to continuously varying working conditions. Maintenance carried out to repair such breakdowns is known as reactive maintenance. The skills required to attend to breakdowns are special and the maintenance department should equip themselves for that. Expertise is required in mechanical elements, hydraulics, pneumatics, electrical and electronics. Pooling such skill is very difficult hence organizations rely on the machine manufacturers for breakdown maintenance. This forms a part of the annual maintenance contract, which is discussed in the subsequent chapter

Spares Management:

For a cost effective maintenance, spares management is to be done judiciously. Excessive stocking will lead to money block and deterioration on the other hand under stocking will lead to prohibitive downtimes. Extensively researched models are available to arrive at the optimum stocking; however, we are restricting our discussion to the practical models. These are discussed in the subsequent chapter

Maintenance Logistics Support:

Spares management is from the user point of view, whereas logistics is from the equipment suppliers point of view. Maintenance logistics provides for the initial planning, funding, and controls which help to assure that the end user will receive a system that will not only meet performance requirements, but one that can be expeditiously and economically supported throughout its programmed life cycle. A more detailed discussion is presented in the later chapter. Readers interested in an in-depth study may refer to books on logistics2

Logistics Management by Benjamin S. Blanchard

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Total Productive Maintenance (TPM):

On-Campus PB Venkataraman

TPM is a Japanese concept aimed at involving users in maintaining their machines. Maintenance personnel support such activities in addition to performing specialized functions, which includes DfMt initiatives. TPM has been successfully adapted in many companies and they have reported substantial gains in almost all business and operational parameters. Implementation of TPM is an involved exercise and requires top managements commitment. More details can be found in books on TPM title3

Organization for Maintenance:

The various processes discussed above indicate the quantum and quality of work involved for an effective maintenance. Management must not only provide human resources to accomplish such activities but also organize them appropriately with respect to the functional needs. Organizational structure differs depending upon the type of industry, size of the organization, process choice, activity levels etc. The types of structures and applicability are discussed in the subsequent section

Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS):

Now a days computers form an essential part of maintenance function. Generally they are used to store the data about the machines, failure history, maintenance schedules and spare parts management. In specialized industries, computers are used in on-line condition monitoring and even to trouble shoot. Specialized software systems are available for limited applications; however, large business houses rely on ERP packages such as SAP as they provide an integrated system that aligns with the rest of the business operations

TPM Club of India offers live details about TPM activities in India. Interested readers may login to http://www.tpmclubindia.org/ for further details

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Maintenance & Safety

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On-Campus PB Venkataraman

Decision Support Systems & Tools:

Decision support systems are required in maintenance at various levels and stages, which are listed below: New equipment procurement Planning maintenance strategy such as PM, PdM etc. Maintenance budgeting Spares management Logistics support for the sold equipment, and Residual life and equipment disposal

While mathematical models are available to aid decision, the popular ones are decision trees. We will limit out discussions to the latter in a subsequent chapter

Statutory Requirements:

To inculcate a sense of safety The Industrial Ministry has formulated certain basic requirements for the factories. The compliance to these statutes is normally managed by the maintenance department with the help of administration department. The popular and common statutes are:

Factories act (Rule 65) that approves the factory layout, fire safety precautions and safety of electrical installations Pressure vessel certification to audit compressors, boilers etc. Building safety statute that inspects the safety of the building construction Pollution control statutes that audits noise level, air quality, water quality and effluent and waste disposal

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ENGG C242

On-Campus PB Venkataraman

The 12 maintenance processes explained above help achieving the maintenance objectives listed in the previous chapter. Each one of these processes are explained in the coming sections

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