TABLE OF CONTENTS Where is the future of maintenance headed and what will be the trends of the future? This chapter will examine three major areas in which many organizations are focusing their current improvement initiatives. The areas are:
Back to the Basics
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Many organizations today are returning to the basics. As technology changed the focus of many companies' manufacturing and process efforts, so too did it distract many maintenance organizations. The technology of inspection and detection increased and the maintenance organizations focused on the new tools and how to use them. As they did, they either hurriedly handed off the basic tasks of maintenance to the operators or they did not do them anymore. The result was that when vibration analysis indicated there was a problem with a bearing, all that took place was that the bearing was changed. Upon examining the bearing, however, it was found that the real problem was caused by a lack of lubrication.
The question is: Do maintenance organizations need technology to tell them that they are ignoring basic maintenance procedures and requirements on their equipment? It seems this is an expensive way to be reminded. One survey showed that over 50% of the equipment malfunctions and breakdowns occur due to the neglect of the basics of maintenance. As discussed in the preventive maintenance chapter, if the basic issues are not addressed, then little, if any, sustainable improvements will ever be achieved in equipment reliability.
This topic...
