Abstract:
As a consequence of their relative magnitude with respect to overall
organisational expenditure, potential sources for significant cost savings
involve maintenance costs, raw material costs and energy consumption.
Previously conducted but inconclusive research indicates that there may
be a relationship between maintenance activities and resource
productivity. If this is the case, knowledge of such a relationship may
unveil opportunities for direct productivity enhancement. Moreover, it
may also serve as an aid in making improved measurements of the true
value of the maintenance function. This in turn may enable practitioners
to recognize when resource reallocation may be required to achieve
greater levels of productivity.
The objective of this research is to explore the relationship between
maintenance activities and resource productivity. It aims in part to
assess if opportunities for productivity enhancement exist as a result of
such a relationship. It also aims to establish if resource productivity can
serve as a representative measure of maintenance performance. This
study is based on rigorously proven theoretical propositions which are
tested empirically on data procured from a metallurgical plant in South
Africa.
The conclusion of this study is that the maintenance function enables
equipment to process resources productively. Resource productivity may
thus have the propensity to serve as an encompassing and cost effective
measure of maintenance performance. In terms of its potential in this
regard, decreases in resource productivity may offer valuable signals
which indicate that corrective action is warranted.
In terms of productivity enhancement, this study elucidates the fact that
machinery should always be kept in the best operating condition
possible. When machinery malfunctions are discovered, it should be
repaired in a timely manner to prevent unnecessary wastage from
occurring.
