Bachelor of Business Administration

BBA 304 - Production and Materials Management

Chapter 14 Importance of Inventory Management

1. Objectives of plant maintenance
2. Importance of plant maintenance
3. Types of plant maintenance

Faculty Name:- Ankur Tayal, Assistant Professor

Objectives of Plant Maintenance:

(i) The objective of plant maintenance is to achieve minimum

breakdown and to keep the plant in good working condition at the
lowest possible cost.

(ii) Machines and other facilities should be kept in such a condition

which permits them to be used at their optimum (profit making)
capacity without any interruption or hindrance.

(iii) Maintenance division of the factory ensures the availability of the

machines, buildings and services required by other sections of the
factory for the performance of their functions at optimum return on
investment whether this investment be in material, machinery or
personnel.
Objectives of Plant Maintenance:
The objective of maintenance is to maximize the performance of productive resources of an organization by ensuring that these
resources perform regularly and efficiently. This is achieved by preventing the breakdown and failures and by minimizing the
production loss.

● To maximize the availability of plant, equipment and machinery for productivity through planned maintenance.
● To extend the life span of the plant, equipment , machinery etc., by minimizing their wear and tear and deterioration.
● To reduce the cost of production due to plant breakdown due to improper plant maintenance.
● To help the production department to go ahead with their production plans without any problem.
● To ensure operational readiness of all production facilities for emergency use at all times, such as fire fighting equipment ,
first aid facilities, alternative method of production and packing etc
● To provide management with proper information on the cost and effectiveness of maintenance.

To ensure safety of staff through regular inspection and maintenance of facilities such as boilers, compressors, elevations, material
handling system, conveyors , dangerous heavy machineries etc.
Importance of Plant Maintenance:

(i) The importance of plant maintenance varies with the type of plant and its production.
(ii) Equipment breakdown leads to an inevitable loss of production.
a. If a piece of equipment goes out of order in a flow production factory, the whole line
will soon come to a halt. Other production lines may also stop unless the initial fault is
cleared.
b. This results in an immediate loss in productivity and a diminution of several thousand
rupees per hour of output.
(iii) An un-properly maintained or neglected plant will sooner or later require expensive
and frequent repairs, because with the passage of time all machines or other facilities (such
as transportation facilities), buildings, etc., wear out and need to be maintained to function
properly.
(iv) Plant maintenance plays a prominent role in production management because plant
breakdown creates problems such as:
a. Loss in production time.
b. Rescheduling of production.
c. Spoilt materials (because sudden stoppage of process damages in-process materials).
d. Failure to recover overheads (because of loss in production hours).
e. Need for over-time.
f. Need for subcontracting work.
g. Temporary work shortages-workers require alternative work.
Plant maintenance across industries:-

Manufacturing

In manufacturing facilities, plant maintenance typically includes regular inspections and repairs of equipment such as
assembly lines, conveyor belts, and machine parts.

Preventive maintenance and predictive maintenance are standard practices to optimize production and reduce
downtime.

Power generation

Power plants, whether hydro, thermal, or nuclear, require regular maintenance to ensure safe and reliable operation.

For example, regular inspection and maintenance of boilers, turbines, and generators are crucial to prevent equipment
failure and maintain the continuity of the power supply.
Plant maintenance across industries:-

Oil and gas

Oil refineries and natural gas processing plants have a wide range of equipment that requires regular maintenance, including pumps,
compressors, and storage tanks.

Predictive maintenance techniques, such as vibration analysis and thermal imaging, are often used to identify potential equipment
failures before they occur.

Pharmaceutical

In the pharmaceutical industry, plant maintenance is important to ensure the safety and quality of the drugs produced.

This includes regular cleaning and sanitizing of equipment and facilities to prevent contamination and maintaining the temperature and
humidity controls to preserve the integrity of the drugs.

Food and beverage

Plant maintenance is essential to ensure food safety and comply with regulations. This includes regular cleaning and sanitation of
equipment and facilities, as well as maintenance of refrigeration and temperature control systems to preserve the freshness and quality
of the food products.
Types of plant maintenance:-

Maintenance may be classified into following

categories:

(a) Corrective or breakdown maintenance,

(b) Scheduled maintenance,
(c) Preventive maintenance, and
(d) Predictive maintenance.
(e) Reliability-centered maintenance
(f) Shutdown maintenance
Corrective or Breakdown
Maintenance:
Corrective or breakdown maintenance implies that repairs are made
after the equipment is out of order and it cannot perform its normal
function any longer, e.g., an electric motor will not start, a belt is
broken, etc. Under such conditions, production department calls on the
maintenance department to rectify the defect. The maintenance
department checks into the difficulty and makes the necessary repairs.
After removing the fault, maintenance engineers do not attend the
equipment again until another failure or breakdown occurs.
This type of maintenance may be quite justified in small factories
which:
(i) Are indifferent to the benefits of scheduling;
(ii) Do not feel a financial justification for scheduling techniques; and
(iii) Get seldom (temporary or permanent) demand in excess of normal
operating capacity.
Corrective or Breakdown
Maintenance:
Typical Causes of Equipment Breakdown:
(i) Failure to replace worn out parts.
(ii) Lack of lubrication.
(iii) Neglected cooling system.
(iv) Indifference towards minor faults.
(v) External factors (such as too low or too high line
voltage, wrong fuel, etc.)
(vi) Indifference towards -equipment vibrations,
unusual sounds coming out of the rotating
machinery, equipment getting too much heated up,
etc.
Corrective or Breakdown
Maintenance:
Disadvantages of Breakdown Maintenance:
(i) Breakdowns generally occur at in opportune times. This
leads to poor, hurried maintenance and excessive delays in
production.
(ii) Reduction of output.
(iii) Faster plant deterioration.
(iv) Increased chances of accidents and less safety to both
workers and machines.
v) More spoilt material.
(vi) Direct loss of profit.
(vii) Breakdown maintenance practice cannot be employed for
those plant items which are regulated by statutory provisions,
for example cranes, lifts, hoists and pressure vessels.
Scheduled Maintenance:
Scheduled maintenance is a stich-in-time procedure aimed
at avoiding breakdowns. Breakdowns can be dangerous to
life and as far as possible should be minimized.
Scheduled maintenance practice incorporates (in it),
inspection, lubrication, repair and overhaul of certain
equipment which if neglected can result in breakdown.
Inspection, lubrication, servicing, etc., of these equipment
are included in the predetermined schedule. Scheduled
maintenance practice is generally followed for
overhauling of machines, cleaning of water and other
tanks, white-washing of buildings, etc.
Preventive Maintenance:

A system of scheduled, planned or preventive

maintenance tries to minimize the problems
of breakdown maintenance. It is a stich-in-time
procedure. It locates weak spots (such as
bearing surfaces, parts under excessive vibrations,
etc.) in all equipment, provides them
regular inspection and minor repairs thereby
reducing the danger of unanticipated
breakdown. The underlying principle of preventive
maintenance is that prevention is better
than cure.
Objectives of Preventive
Maintenance:
(i) To minimize the possibility of unanticipated production interruption
or major breakdown by locating or uncovering any condition which
may lead to it.
(ii) To make plant equipment and machinery always available and
ready for use.
(iii) To maintain the value of equipment and machinery by periodic
inspections, repairs, overhauls, etc.
(iv) To maintain the optimum productive efficiency of the plant
equipment and machinery.
(v) To maintain the operational accuracy of the plant equipment.
(vi) To reduce the work content of maintenance jobs.
(vii) To achieve maximum production at minimum repair cost.
(viii) To ensure safety of life and limbs of the workmen.
Advantages of Preventive
Maintenance:
1. Reduced breakdowns and connected down-time.
2. Lesser odd-time repairs and reduced overtime to the maintenance
work-force.
3. Greater safety for workers.
4. Fewer large-scale and repetitive repairs.
5. Low maintenance and repair costs.
6. Less stand-by or reserve equipment, and spare parts.
7. Identification of equipment requiring high maintenance costs.
8. Lower unit cost of manufacture.
9. Better product quality and fewer product rejects.
10. Increased equipment life.
11. Better industrial relations because production workers do not face
involuntary lay-offs or loss of incentive bonus because of breakdowns.
Predictive Maintenance:
It is comparatively a newer maintenance technique.
It makes use of human senses or other sensitive instruments such as:
Audio gauges,
Vibration analysers,
Amplitude meters,
Pressure, temperature and resistance strain gauges, etc., to predict troubles
before the
equipment fails.
Unusual sounds coming out of rotating equipment predict a (coming) trouble;
an electric cable excessively hot at one point predicts a trouble. Simple hand
touch can point out many unusual (equipment) conditions and thus predict a
trouble. In predictive maintenance, equipment conditions are measured
periodically or on a continuous basis and this enable maintenance men to take a
timely action such as equipment adjustments, repair or overhaul. Predictive
maintenance extends the service life of equipment without fear of failure.
Reliability-centered maintenance:-

Focuses on identifying and addressing the root causes of equipment failures.

This maintenance type focuses on improving equipment reliability rather than
simply fixing problems as they occur.
A systematic consideration of system functions, the way functions can fail, and
a priority-based consideration of safety and economics that identifies
applicable and effective PM tasks.
RCM is a systematic approach for quantitatively assessing the need to perform
or review preventive maintenance tasks and plans. It provides a methodology
targeted on system functions, the failures relating to that function, and in
particular to the effects of dominant functional system failures. A decision tree
is used within RCM to identify and classify critical system components
together with an appropriate and applicable maintenance policy. The main
concept underlying the development of RCM is an attempt to retain the design
reliability of equipment, through the analysis of factors which affect its
operating reliability, and with a view to optimize preventive maintenance
programs via effective maintenance planning.
BENEFITS OF IMPLEMENTING
RCM:-
RCM methodology helps in achieving the following:
• High quality, cost effective maintenance plans in less time
• Assurance that all maintenance important parts and their failure mode
are critically considered in the development of maintenance programs
• Increased probability that the level and content of the maintenance
requirement is optimally specified
• Provides the basis for routine, online information sharing among
engineering, operations and maintenance staff
• Longer useful life of expensive assets
• Improved safety of equipment and plant personnel
• Better environment protection
• Improved operating performance in terms of output, quality and
customer service
 Shutdown Maintenance:

Shutdown maintenance refers to the temporary closure of a plant or section of a plant, to carry out
planned preventive maintenance activities of all the equipment therein. Isolated preventive
maintenance of equipment is not feasible in continuous process industries and preventive
inspections, improvements and spare replacements require the plant operations to be stopped,
requiring shutdown maintenance. Shutdown maintenance involves many moving parts, usually
lasts for a number of days or weeks, and hence is planned well in advance.

Shutdown maintenance is also referred to variously as maintenance shutdowns, maintenance

turnarounds, turnarounds (TAr), Turnaround Maintenance (TAM) or Turnaround, Shutdowns and
Outages (TSO). Shutdown maintenance is costly, time-consuming, and with high risks but is an
essential and critical element of plant maintenance strategy. Shutdown maintenance is an essential
and integral element of plant life cycle in process industries and other industries having continuous
operations. Some industries invoke seasonal shutdowns and turnovers based on environmental
factors (eg. Hydropower plant shutdown based on river flow/winter freeze)
Benefits of Shutdown Maintenance:-

1. Downtime Reduction: When executed effectively, Shutdown Maintenance can improve the availability and uptime of
individual equipment, thereby increasing the overall plant availability, throughput and Overall Equipment Effectiveness
(OEE).
2. Increase in Operational Efficiency: Plant efficiency improves significantly as bottlenecks, performance degradations and
deficiencies have been addressed. Increased performance of individual equipment means lower energy costs, and overall
improvement of plant efficiency and operations.
3. Increase in Reliability: Shutdown maintenance has a strong emphasis on improving equipment efficiency and plant
performance. Avoidance of plant outages and equipment failures improves equipment reliability and plant reliability.
4. People Productivity: Productivity of the production and maintenance team increases, since they are spending less time on
plant outages and equipment failures and more time on productive activities. Increased productivity improves the business
goals and generates more output per employee
5. Enhanced Asset Life: Shutdown maintenance brings in a structured approach to planned preventive maintenance that is
executed on the related equipment in a systematic and structured manner. It not only improves the equipment performance
but also its useful life. Thus it extends asset life and avoids high equipment replacement costs.
6. Safety and Sustainability of Operations: Since the plant has better equipment and performance, it provides a safe
workplace for people. Efficiency improvements reduce waste and effluents, thereby promoting a safe environment and
sustainability of operations.
7. Improves Return on investment: Increase in asset availability and equipment reliability improves the plant performance,
utilization and throughput. Deficiency resolution ensures loss avoidance, energy savings, better production output and waste
reduction. All of these contribute directly to revenue, return on investment and plant profitability.