A tailorable framework of practices for maintenance delivery

Scope – This research focused on the development of a tailorable framework of practices for Maintenance Delivery (MD): i.e. a flexible business process design tool which was developed in order to resolve a series of specific gaps identified in the sponsor’s Asset Management System (AMS). Methodology – The framework was developed in two stages: firstly via a systematic review of existing MD practices from the literature in order to establish a preliminary version; this was then developed further via a Delphi study utilising the opinion of experts from industry to critique and improve the initial framework design. Key Findings – The framework was implemented and tested in the sponsor company in order to demonstrate its ability to successfully improve MD practices across multiple sites in different industry contexts. A post-implementation assessment demonstrated significant improvement, sufficient to close all of the high-risk gaps that were originally identified. Contribution to Industry – The framework covers the entire subject area of MD in detail and offers a wide range of optional practices throughout, complete with expert guidance to facilitate the decision-making process. This means it can be utilised by any business to design an effective MD process that is tailored to suit their specific context. Alongside a tailored MD process, the framework will also generate a fully aligned implementation specification for the supporting CMMS (Computerised Maintenance Management System), which is also tailored according to the same contextual requirements. This will enable the end user of the framework to procure, implement and configure a CMMS that has the complete range of functionality required to fully support their business requirements. Innovation – A tailorable framework that is flexible enough to be utilised in many different industries is novel, because existing MD processes are generally designed for a single, specific case and cannot adapt to different contexts. The size and scope of the framework also validates the innovation claim – i.e. a series of flowcharts covering multiple AM subject areas, with 157 core process steps, 109 contextual options, and 30,000+ words of guidance. The fact that framework has already been successfully utilised to develop and implement an effective MD process in a very specific context (i.e. a maintenance-intensive, highly regulated nuclear site with a relatively small workforce) further strengthens the claim for innovation.