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Keywords Service delivery system, Maintenance, Strategy
Abstract The contemporary business environment has raised the strategic importance of the maintenance function in organizations which have significant investment in physical assets. Four strategic dimensions of maintenance management are identified, namely service-delivery options, organization and work structuring, maintenance methodology and support systems. The alternatives available are reviewed: the guidelines for selection of these alternatives, the key decision areas in each of the four dimensions, as well as the critical success factors for the transformation process are discussed The two factors that permeate in these strategic dimensions are human factors and information flow; the latter can be made more efficient by embracing the e-maintenance model
Practical implications
Maintenance is often regarded as a necessary expense that belongs to the operating budget. It is a common item on the hit list of cost-reduction programs. With asset availability and reliability becoming critical issues in capital-intensive operations, the strategic importance of maintenance in such businesses should be recognized. This paper identifies four strategic dimensions of maintenance management. Making the right decisions that relate to these dimensions will enable organizations to rise to the challenge of the new business imperative. The thorough review of options and detailed discussion of key decision areas offer managerial insights into ways for achieving business success through excellence in maintenance operations.
Introduction
Turbulence is the hallmark of the contemporary business environment. In such a trying time, organizations are hard pressed to enhance continuously their capability to create value to customers and improve the cost effectiveness of their operations. Maintenance, as an important support function in businesses with significant investments in physical assets, plays an important role in meeting this tall order. It has been found that in the UK manufacturing industry, maintenance spending is between 12-23 per cent of the total factory operating costs (Cross, 1988). In refineries, the maintenance and operations departments are often the largest and each may comprise of about 30 per cent of total staffing (Dekker, 1996). Acquiring the right mix of physical assets and making the best use of those already in place to meet business needs are the ways maintenance can contribute to improving competitiveness of capitalintensive organizations.
The developments that have made the performance demanded of maintenance ever more...