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Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering

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ISSN (Print) 1355-2511
Published by Emerald

[307 journals]

Guest editorial
- Authors: literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Li-Rong Cui; Yu Hayakawa)
  PubDate: Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +000
2012 Awards for Excellence
- PubDate: Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +000
Production and maintenance performance analysis: manual versus semi-automatic LHDs
- Authors: literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Anna Gustafson; Håkan Schunnesson, Diego Galar, Uday Kumar)
  Abstract: Abstract
  
  Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and analyse the production and maintenance performance of a manual and a semi-automatic load haul dump (LHD) machine to find similarities and differences. Design/methodology/approach – Real time process-, operational- and maintenance data, from an underground mine in Sweden, have been refined and aggregated into KPIs in order to make the comparison between the LHDs. Findings – The main finding is the demonstration of how production and maintenance data can be improved through information fusion, showing some unexpected results for maintenance of automatic and semi-automatic LHDs in the mining industry. It was found that up to one third of the manually entered workshop data are not consistent with the automatically recorded production times. It is found that there are similarities in utilization and filling rate but differences in produced tonnes/machine hour between the two machines. Originality/value – The originality in this paper is the information fusion between automatically produced production data and maintenance data which increases the accuracy of reliability analysis data. Combining the production indicator and the maintenance indicator gives a common tool to the production and maintenance departments. This paper shows the difference in both maintenance and production performance between a manual and semi-automatic LHD.
  PubDate: Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +000
A geometric process maintenance model and optimal policy
- Authors: literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Yeh Lam)
  Abstract: Abstract
  
  Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study a geometric process (GP) maintenance model and policy for a repairable system. Design/methodology/approach – Lam first introduced the GP and its application to maintenance model. Assume that a replacement policy N is applied by which the system will be replaced by a new, identical one following the Nth failure. Findings – For a deteriorating system, an optimal replacement policy is determined analytically, and the monotonicity properties of the optimal replacement policy are then studied. Originality/value – For an improving system, the paper shows that the optimal replacement policy is the 8 policy, i.e., the policy without replacement.
  PubDate: Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +000
Skills for the management of turnaround maintenance projects
- Authors: literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Christopher C. Obiajunwa)
  Abstract: Abstract
  
  Purpose – The aim of this study is to identify and establish management skills/knowledge required for the successful management of turnaround maintenance (TAM) projects. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed-method research approach was adopted for this study involving questionnaire survey and case studies of major continuous process plants in the UK. Data were collected through questionnaires from 160 process plants and the case studies of six process plants in the UK. These data were triangulated to improve on the findings. Findings – The findings show that there are specific management skills very specific towards ensuring the successful management of TAM projects. The findings also show that TAM managers are mostly at present appointed without assessing them with any specific skills set. Practical implications – This study developed a set of management skills required for turnaround maintenance projects. These specific appropriate management skills established for TAM management should help to reduce mismatching of skills and the job. This is of paramount importance in the selection of the TAM manager to ensure the individual with the right skills is given the responsibility of managing the project. Originality/value – Operators of process plants and hence engineering facilities still appoint their TAM manager without reference to any skill set. Most of the time, maintenance managers or project managers are appointed to manage TAM without considering any set of requirements. This study which is the first of its kind in this area is a major contribution to the field.
  PubDate: Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +000
Life cycle cost analysis on the operation of power generation
- Authors: literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Ngapuli I. Sinisuka; Herry Nugraha)
  Abstract: Abstract
  
  Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the life cycle cost (LCC) on the operation of power generation. LCC is the total cost of ownership including the cost of the project or asset acquisition, operation and maintenance, and disposal. LCC includes both deterministic costs (such as acquisition costs, improvement costs and disposal costs) and probabilistic (such as the costs of failure, repairs, spare parts, downtime, lost gross margin). Most of the probabilistic costs are associated directly with the reliability and maintenance characteristics of the system. Design/methodology/approach – To be able to analyze failure data using appropriate cost profile in order to represent the fact that each failure has different prices, in different time periods at an economical cycle the new methodology of LCCA Diagram is proposed. Developing criticality ranking of sub-system, calculating values of Weibull Shape Factor ß and Weibull Characteristic Life ? for each sub-system, calculating the time to failure of sub-system, calculating the mean time to failure of sub-system using Monte Carlo simulation, determining several alternatives, failure mode and effects analysis and root cause failure analysis are parts of the methodology. Findings – To give a sample of case study, the LCC on the operation of coal fired power plant (CFPP) 330 MW is analyzed. Five alternatives calculation of LCC will be simulated. Graph of cash flow, break-even graph, and graph of cost/benefit versus risk made for a period of 30 years can be used to asses an effective management program and costs of power plant with a low risk. Originality/value – The paper suggests that LCC can be used to asses an effective management program and costs of power plant with a low risk.
  PubDate: Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +000
Optimal maintenance policies for cumulative damage models with random working times
- Authors: literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Xufeng Zhao; Syouji Nakamura, Toshio Nakagawa)
  Abstract: Abstract
  
  Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider maintenance policies for an operating system which works at random times for jobs. Each job causes some damage to the system and these damages are additive, and the system fails when the total damage has exceeded a failure level K. Design/methodology/approach – Using techniques of cumulative damage models, the maintenance is made at the N-th completion of working time for the first model and at a damage level Z with a limit number of working times N for the second model. Findings – The system is maintained at the first completion of the working time over time T for the third model. The system fails with probability p(x) when the total damage is x and undergoes minimal repair at failure for the fourth model. The expected cost rates are obtained and optimal maintenance policies are discussed analytically and computed numerically. Originality/value – The paper discusses four maintenance policies for an operating system which works at successive random times for jobs, where the system fails due to damage that can be additive caused by jobs.
  PubDate: Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +000
Minimal cut sequences and top event probability of dynamic fault tree
- Authors: literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Tetsushi Yuge; Taijiro Yoneda, Nobuyuki Tamura, Shigeru Yanagi)
  Abstract: Abstract
  
  Purpose – This paper aims to present a method for calculating the top event probability of a fault tree with priority AND gates. Design/methodology/approach – The paper makes use of Merle's temporal operators for obtaining the minimal cut sequence set of a dynamic fault tree. Although Merle's expression is based on the occurrence time of an event sequence, the paper treats the expression as an event containing the order of events. This enables the authors to treat the minimal cut sequence set by using the static fault tree techniques. The proposed method is based on the sum of disjoint products. The method for a static FT is extended to a more applicable one that can deal with the order operators proposed by Merle et al. Findings – First, an algorithm to obtain the minimal cut sequence set of dynamic fault trees is proposed. This algorithm enables the authors to analyze reasonably large scale dynamic fault trees. Second, the proposed method of obtaining the top event probability of a dynamic fault tree is efficient compared with an inclusion-exclusion based method proposed by Merle et al. and a conventional Markov chain approach. Furthermore, the paper shows the top event probability is derived easily when all the basic events have exponential failure rates. Originality/value – The methodology presented shows a new solution for calculating the top event probability of dynamic fault trees.
  PubDate: Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +000