{"title":"Analysis of maintenance outsourcing challenges for belt conveyors in the Industry 4.0 era","authors":"Narendra Parmar, A. James, M. Asjad","doi":"10.1108/jgoss-06-2022-0050","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"\nPurpose\nThere is an increasing trend of outsourcing maintenance activities of heavy equipment, including belt conveyor installations. However, there are numerous challenges in maintenance outsourcing. This paper aims to identify and analyze various challenges of outsourcing maintenance activities associated with belt conveyor installations.\n\n\nDesign/methodology/approach\nThis paper identifies maintenance outsourcing challenges of belt conveyor installations through literature review, field visits and expert opinion. An integrated structural hierarchical framework of the identified challenges is developed through analytic hierarchy process and decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory.\n\n\nFindings\nThe paper has identified eight challenges, namely, attainment of organizational strength by contractors, legal and financial challenges for contractors, attainment of necessary technician skills by contractors, maintenance data acquisition and analysis challenges, facilitation with modern equipment, gadgets and instrumentation, service quality challenges, health, safety and environment-related challenges and spares supply chain management challenges. The segregation of driver and dependent challenges, including their hierarchical framework had been established in this work.\n\n\nResearch limitations/implications\nA comprehensive list of challenges and their prioritization in maintenance outsourcing of belt conveyor installations had been established. This will help the organizations who own and operate these installations to make judicious decisions regarding outsourcing maintenance.\n\n\nOriginality/value\nThis paper significantly contributes to the literature on maintenance outsourcing of heavy machinery installations like a belt conveyor system based on the input of different stakeholders. This study will lead to the development of frameworks for maintenance contractor selection for such installations.\n","PeriodicalId":43346,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Global Operations and Strategic Sourcing","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.8000,"publicationDate":"2023-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Global Operations and Strategic Sourcing","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1108/jgoss-06-2022-0050","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MANAGEMENT","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Purpose
There is an increasing trend of outsourcing maintenance activities of heavy equipment, including belt conveyor installations. However, there are numerous challenges in maintenance outsourcing. This paper aims to identify and analyze various challenges of outsourcing maintenance activities associated with belt conveyor installations.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper identifies maintenance outsourcing challenges of belt conveyor installations through literature review, field visits and expert opinion. An integrated structural hierarchical framework of the identified challenges is developed through analytic hierarchy process and decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory.
Findings
The paper has identified eight challenges, namely, attainment of organizational strength by contractors, legal and financial challenges for contractors, attainment of necessary technician skills by contractors, maintenance data acquisition and analysis challenges, facilitation with modern equipment, gadgets and instrumentation, service quality challenges, health, safety and environment-related challenges and spares supply chain management challenges. The segregation of driver and dependent challenges, including their hierarchical framework had been established in this work.
Research limitations/implications
A comprehensive list of challenges and their prioritization in maintenance outsourcing of belt conveyor installations had been established. This will help the organizations who own and operate these installations to make judicious decisions regarding outsourcing maintenance.
Originality/value
This paper significantly contributes to the literature on maintenance outsourcing of heavy machinery installations like a belt conveyor system based on the input of different stakeholders. This study will lead to the development of frameworks for maintenance contractor selection for such installations.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Global Operations and Strategic Sourcing aims to foster and lead the international debate on global operations and strategic sourcing. It provides a central, authoritative and independent forum for the critical evaluation and dissemination of research and development, applications, processes and current practices relating to sourcing strategically for products, services, competences and resources on a global scale and to designing, implementing and managing the resulting global operations. Journal of Global Operations and Strategic Sourcing places a strong emphasis on applied research with relevant implications for both knowledge and practice. Also, the journal aims to facilitate the exchange of ideas and opinions on research projects and issues. As such, on top of a standard section publishing scientific articles, there will be two additional sections: "The Industry ViewPoint": in this section, industrial practitioners from around the world will be invited (max 2 contributions per issue) to present their point of view on a relevant subject area. This is intended to give the journal not just an academic focus, but a practical focus as well. In this way, we intend to reflect a trend that has characterised the past few decades, where interests and initiatives in research, academia and industry have been more and more converging to the point of collaborative relationships being a common practice. "Research Updates - Executive Summaries". In this section, researchers around the world will be given the opportunity to present their research projects in the area of global sourcing and outsourcing by means of an executive summary of their project. This will increase awareness of the on-going research projects in the area and it will attract interest from industry.