The most important objective of the maintenance function is the maximization of availability of equipment or facilities so as to extend help in achieving the ultimate goals of the organization. Another important objective of maintenance is the establishment of safe working conditions both for operating and maintenance personnel. The numerous other objectives maintenance are :
. Elimination of future defects
. Prevent breakdown during operation
. Forestall rapid wear of components
. Ensure safety during operation
. Enhance performance level
. Maximize operationall efficiency
. Reduce maintenance cost
. Reduce idle hours due to component malfunctioning.
In the present industrial organizations the importance of the maintenance function has increased many-fold. Therefore, it’s objectives should be formulated within the framework of the overall organization setup so that the goals of the organization are fulfilled.
The maintenance plan can be drawn up to provide guidelines within which the maintenance actions can be carried out effectively and judiciously without wastage of resources. For this, the maintenance personnel need to ensure that :
(a) The equipment or facilities are always kept in an optimum working condition with minimum operating costs.
(b) The time schedule of delivery to the customers is not affected because of the non-availability of machinery /service.
(c) The performance of the machinery /facility is dependable and reliable.
(d) The downtime of machinery /facility is kept to minimum in the event of any breakdown which means that the same can be repaired as quickly as possible.
(e) The maintenance cost is properly monitored to control the overhead costs.
(f) The life of the Equipment is prolonged while maintaining the acceptable level of accuracy of performance to avoid unnecessary replacements.
(g) The maintenance standards in terms of quality must be set to achieve desired reliability.
(h) The maintenance records keeping and function evaluation should be taken care of.
(i) The clean and hazard free maintenance facilities are made available.
(j) The effective maintenance inventory of spare parts is maintained at each level.
One of the important objectives of the maintenance function is to keep maintenance costs under control throughout the specified life cycle of the equipment. If the costs of maintenance increases to a great extent because of non-availability of spare parts leading to consequent delays in maintenance works, it is always advisable to propose the procurement of new equipment that can be used in place of the existing equipment with minimum operating costs to compensate its high procurement cost. The important merits and demerits of the new equipment must also be analyzed. This will help the organization to formulate its replacement policy for modernization of the plant.
Nesbas Facility 