Introduction to

Maintenance Engineering
Introduction

The Oxford dictionary meaning of to maintain is to

cause something to continue or to keep
something in existence at the same level.

Maintenance is the process of maintaining an item

in an operational state by either preventing a
transition to a failed state or by restoring it to an
operational state following failure
Introduction

Maintenance engineering is typically

defined as a staff function whose prime
responsibility is to ensure that
maintenance techniques are effective
equipment is designed and modified to
improve maintainability ongoing
maintenance technical problems are
investigated and appropriate corrective
and improvement actions are taken.
Purpose of Maintenance

The purpose of maintenance is to produce

reliable plant capacity. The company vision
for producing a profitable product should
understand that effective maintenance
provides reliable plant capacity. !ome of
the most important maintenance decisions
are made before a company even builds a
plant.
Purpose of Maintenance

"ifford #rown $%&&'( of )ord Motor

*ompany explains the %+%,+%,, -ule. This
rule means that every .% spent up front
during engineering to reduce maintenance
eliminates a later .%, cost to maintain
equipment properly or .%,, in breakdown
maintenance.
Purpose of Maintenance

/t means that every company has to maintain

operable with due efficiency and effectiveness of its
fixed assets. 0ncompasses all activities necessary
for1
+ Maintain a facility or equipment in operation
+-eset the operation of equipment to original
condition.
The maintenance impact therefore the quantity and
quality of production.
/ndeed the amount of production to a given quality
level is determined by the installed capacity and its
availability meaning that the ratio of the effective
time of production between this and the amount of
downtime for maintenance.
Responsibility of the
Maintenance

The principal responsibility of maintenance is to provide a service to

enable an organi2ation to achieve its ob3ectives. The specific
responsibilities vary from one organi2ation to another4 however they
generally include the following according to 5uffuaa et al. $%&&6(1

%. 7eeping assets and equipment in good condition well

configured and safe to perform their intended functions4

8. 9erform all maintenance activities including preventive

predictive4 corrective overhauls design modification and
emergency maintenance in an efficient and effective manner4

'. *onserve and control the use of spare parts and material4

:. *ommission new plants and plant expansions4 and

;. Operate utilities and conserve energy and environment.

Maintenance Philosophy

#ased on the timing and the work

contents involved in the maintenance
task different maintenance
philosophies can be put in the
following categories vi2.1
Maintenance Philosophy

%. Timing known content known1

preplanned maintenance $99M(
planned shutdowns routine
inspections and scheduled change+
outs fall in this category4
Maintenance Philosophy

8. Timing known content unknown1

statutory surveys third party
inspections and condition+based
maintenance4
Maintenance Philosophy

'. Timing unknown content known1

anticipated maintenance work
contingency work awaiting shutdown
and run to destruction4 and
Maintenance Philosophy

:. Timing unknown content

unknown1 break+down maintenance
immediate repairs arising from
inspection and run to failure.
Maintenance Scope Changed with
Time

In recent times, there has been tremendous

growth in maintenance concepts and
techniques. The change in emphasis includes:

Decision support tools, such as hazard studies,

failure modes and effects analyses, and expert
systems.

New maintenance techniques such as condition

monitoring or !!".

Designing equipment with emphasis on

reliability and maintainability.

# ma$or shift in organizational thin%ing towards

participation, teamwor% and flexibility.
Approaches to Maintenance

There are several approaches to maintenance

and different approaches are applicable based
on the expected use and maintenance schedule
of an item.

0conomic considerations are tightly related to

maintenance and the system lifecycle4 it is clear
that failure to consider a design<s effects on
maintenance and vice versa can have adverse
effects on profit.
Approaches to Maintenance

Maintenance has been categori2ed based on the

nature and purpose of the maintenance work and
on its frequency. "enerally there are four $basic(
types of maintenances in use vi2. preventive
corrective predictive and fault+finding.
Approaches to Maintenance

Maintenance can also be classified according to

the degree to which the maintenance work is
carried out to restore the equipment relative to its
original state. This leads to the following
categori2ation1

9erfect maintenance is maintenance which restores

the equipment to as good as new condition.

Approaches to Maintenance

Minimal maintenance results in equipment having the

same failure rate as it had before the maintenance
action was initiated. This is also called the as bad as
old state.

/mperfect maintenance is maintenance in which the

equipment is not restored to as good as new but to a
relatively younger state $a state in between as good as
new and as bad as old(.

Approaches to Maintenance

=orse maintenance1 This type of maintenance results

$unintentionally( in an increase of the equipment<s
failure rate or actual age but does not result in
breakdown.

=orst maintenance1 This type of maintenance results

$unintentionally( in the equipment<s breakdown.