The role of maintenance in company-specific production systems

Company-Specific Production Systems (XPS) are in use in several manufacturing companies around the globe, as a reference to variations of the Toyota Production System. XPS is a continuous improvement program responsible for increasing the general performance of companies. Maintenance has an important contribution to XPS by delivering technical availability at a rational cost. However, the connections between all the elements of the XPS and the corresponding contributions from maintenance are not crystal clear. Providing such clarity could increase the focus on improvements that would create real benefits for the company. The current study aims to bridge the XPS literature to maintenance applications, thereby substantiating the role of maintenance in XPS. Firstly, a theoretical framework of XPS is created and explained based on previous literature. The framework outlines three core elements of an XPS: content, management, and outcomes. Also, it presents the interconnections between the elements. Secondly, the framework acts as a guide to an empirical study at an automotive company in Sweden. The study maps the role of maintenance and its contribution to the XPS in place. For each of the XPS elements, a maintenance correspondent was selected and connected to the XPS framework. Thirdly, based on the results of the empirical study, the paper proposes a set of critical research directions, both guiding the design and execution of future research studies and supporting the long-term competitiveness of the company.