Maintenance functions
Each type of company justifies a maintenance organization corresponding to its field of activity and its specificity. In this sense, a cable factory that has a small number of very important machines is different from a machining workshop that has several identical machine tools, as is a company dedicated to the manufacture of large series and another that does custom-made products. In these different situations, the urgency in the event of a breakdown is very important for some and less so for others; the decisions to be taken will therefore be very different.
In addition, to improve the organization of maintenance, it is impossible to isolate this function from the other functions of the company. It is therefore necessary to integrate and involve in this new organization other functions that have more or less direct influence on the management and organization of maintenance, therefore on its costs and efficiency. These functions must have common or concerted objectives with the maintenance function.
These functions are:
Security: for the safety of personnel and equipment (work organization, workstation layouts, integrated prevention, etc.). In an SME where security does not have a separate department, it is considered normal to call on the maintenance department for interventions concerning security and the regulatory aspect.
Developments and works on the building for investment programs, study of installations, reliability and maintainability studies, standardization of equipment, technical documentation of manufacturers, choice of subcontractors and contractors, technical reception of equipment, etc.
Methods and manufacturing: for the procedures for use, operation of equipment, their rate of use, the level of safety of the equipment and manufacturing personnel, the technical documentation of the equipment and the reception of the equipment.
Purchasing: to issue and enforce the specifications and technical specifications of quality required for production equipment, to help resolve equipment warranty issues and to obtain the technical file adapted to the company’s maintenance policies (operation and maintenance documents).
Management of stocks of supplies and spare parts: to establish the spare parts store catalog, the choice of the management method and the classification of this store, the reduction of the cost of holding stocks (minimum and maximum quantities) and the collection of data allowing an assessment of reliability.
Quality control: for the management of measuring and metrology means as well as the exploitation of these measurements by maintenance personnel.
Standardization: for the nomenclature of equipment and the standardization of components, installations, identifications, etc., according to the standards in force.
Finance: for the economic relationships between depreciation and maintenance of equipment, the economic revision cycles of equipment and the replacement decision.
The strategic role of maintenance
- Automation
- Modernization
- Competition
- Quality
For the property management
The maintenance function within a company is often overlooked, underestimated or even despised and considered too costly for all sorts of reasons that are generally based on unfounded perceptions, however, maintenance is becoming increasingly important and will prove to be one of the key functions of the company in the coming years. We only have to consider the different trends towards a higher degree of automation and the increased complexity of machines. This only reinforces the need of a company to have a formal and structured approach to the maintenance function.
In the context of renewed maintenance, several important issues are at stake for the company manager who wishes to ensure its production, that is to say to maintain an industrial tool that undergoes both the constraints of increased competition and the obsolescence inherent in aging and replacement by modern equipment. Ultimately, to the extent that the quality of the final product depends on the manufacturing process, it also largely depends on the manufacturing machinery used and its operating condition active role.
For the health and safety of workers
Knowing that a mechanical incident, a failure, a breakdown, can cause an accident.
Knowing also that maintenance must preserve the condition of the protective equipment and the safety devices, it appears that the relationship between maintenance and safety is particularly tight. In addition, some maintenance operations are themselves dangerous. For all these reasons, as well as for his knowledge of the machines and equipment, the maintenance manager should participate in the company’s health and safety committee meetings.
For the staff
The nature of the tasks related to production and maintenance is expected to change within the company. Inevitably, this will result in both an increase in the level of qualification and a revaluation of the tasks.
