Plant maintenance

In the process of production of fixed assets wear out. To remove the effects of the physical wear and tear, employees shall carry out proper maintenance and renovations. Actions are taken out to prevent excessive wear and keep equipment on standby to work. Renovations and repair of machines extend life of fixed assets. Rational asset management requires proper planning and precautions.

Plant maintenance tasks

Plant maintenance refers to the tasks and activities that are performed to keep a manufacturing or production facility in good working condition. Some common tasks related to plant maintenance include:

• Preventive maintenance: Scheduled inspections, tests, and maintenance tasks that are performed on a regular basis to prevent equipment failure and prolong the life of the equipment.
• Predictive maintenance: Using data and analysis to predict when equipment will fail and performing maintenance tasks before the failure occurs.
• Equipment repairs: Fixing or replacing broken or malfunctioning equipment to keep it in good working condition.
• Calibration: Adjusting and testing equipment to ensure that it is operating within specified tolerances and parameters.
• Lubrication: Applying lubricants to moving parts to reduce friction and wear, and prolong the life of the equipment.
• Cleaning: Cleaning equipment, tools, and facilities to maintain a safe and efficient working environment.
• Safety inspections: Inspecting equipment and facilities to ensure that they are safe to operate and meet all relevant safety regulations.
• Compliance: Ensuring that equipment and facilities comply with all relevant environmental, health, and safety regulations.
• Upgrades and retrofits: Upgrading or retrofitting equipment to improve performance, efficiency, or safety.
• Documentation: Keeping detailed records of all maintenance tasks, including when they were performed, what was done, and any issues that were identified.
• Inventory management: Maintaining inventory of spare parts and tools needed for maintenance and repairs.
• Training: Training employees on proper maintenance procedures and equipment operation.
• Emergency response: Being prepared to respond quickly to equipment failures or other emergency situations to minimize downtime and disruption to operations.

Objectives

Main goal of plant maintenance is keeping machinery, equipment and other fixed assets in proper condition and constant readiness to work. Particular importance of plant management can be seen in the elimination of variability of results produced by machinery and equipment. Neglecting to repair and maintenance could disrupt work and production processes.

Plant management supports the company in:

• planning of repairs, maintenance and restoration works.
• control of warranty service terms, validity of the insurance.
• servicing repair requests,
• records of events associated with equipment,
• repair and maintenance cost accounting,
• servicing transportation equipment.

See also:

• Operational management

Plant maintenance — recommended articles

Autonomous maintenance — Control plan — Non-conformity — Planned maintenance — Quality improvement — Organization of production — Seven principles of HACCP — HACCP system — Jidoka

References

• Christer, A. H. (1999). Developments in delay time analysis for modelling plant maintenance. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 1120-1137.