Engineering support issues for flexibility in maintenance : An SAP-LAP framework

Engineeringsupport issues

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Asia Pacific Journal of Marketingand Logistics

Vol. 22 No. 2, 2010pp. 247-270

# Emerald Group Publishing Limited1355-5855

DOI 10.1108/13555851011026980

Received March 2009Revised November 2009

Accepted December 2009

Engineering support issues forflexibility in maintenance

An SAP-LAP framework

Amik Garg and S.G. DeshmukhMechanical Engineering Department, Indian Institute of

Technology Delhi, Delhi, India

Abstract

Purpose – Flexible system management has brought a concept of flexibility in all spheres includingmaintenance management. Considerable literature is available on various facets of flexibilitymanagement, namely, production, supply chain, day-to-day activities, etc.; however, not muchliterature on flexibility in maintenance is reported. The purpose of this paper is to bridge this gaphighlighting various issues involved in flexibility on maintenance.Design/methodology/approach – A situation-actors-process (SAP)-learning-action-performance(LAP) model has been applied to understand and analyze the concept of flexibility in maintenance.The paper analyses a case study of ABC, a Government maintenance organization for repair ofautomobiles in India, to discuss the various issues arising out of maintenance flexibility.Findings – Various issues concerning flexibility in maintenance are: business or corporatephilosophy, systems and processes, inventory, manpower, performance measurements andinformation systems.Research limitations/implications – The concept of flexibility in maintenance has beendemonstrated using only two facets of maintenance, i.e. manpower and the repair scope in the case study.Practical implications – The SAP-LAP model presents the concept of flexibility in maintenanceadequately. The concept can be implemented while planning the maintenance in any organization forvarious issues like inventory stock levels, manpower, repair scope, etc. The technicians may be trained onmore than one specialty so that they can easily re-muster into other streams in case of flexiblemaintenance environment.Originality/value – This is an original approach to apply the concept of flexibility in the area ofmaintenance management. The issues affecting maintenance flexibility are identified and futureresearchers may find these gaps interesting.

Keywords Maintenance, Flexible organizations, India

Paper type Case study

1. IntroductionThroughout the years, the importance of maintenance functions and therefore ofmaintenance management has grown. As a result, the fraction of employees working inthe area of maintenance as well as the fraction of maintenance spending on the totaloperational costs has grown over the years. A glaring change in attitude towardsmaintenance from ‘‘a necessary evil’’ to ‘‘external and internal partnership’’ is noticed(Garg and Deshmukh, 2006). A consolidated summary highlighting various emergingtrends in maintenance is given in Table I.

Another trend that is fast catching up is that organizations are becoming moreflexible (adaptive, responsive and agile) at the level of strategy, structure, systems,people and culture. Flexibility has been defined as ‘‘the ability to respond effectively tochanging circumstances (Hamblin, 2002)’’. Japanese are ahead in recognizing thegrowing salience of flexibility (Grewin, 1993). While the costs of manufacturing havedropped dramatically in many companies, the costs of logistic services have not shownsuch improvements (Cunningham, 1996).

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Maintenance organizations now a ‘‘profit contributor’’ need to be equally flexible as themanufacturing systems to meet the maintenance challenges in a fast changing flexiblemanufacturing scenario. Various factors contributing to maintenance needs to bedesigned for flexibility under the overall framework of minimum maintenance costs.Inquiry into managerial situational, problems and issues is needed very often. A modeof inquiry using situation-actor-process (SAP)-learning-action-performance (LAP)models of flexible systems management is proposed by Sushil (2000).

The ‘‘situation’’ represents the present status, environment of an organization andthe driving forces for good performance of an organization. The ‘‘actors’’ are theindividual participants, or group of members, which influence the situation and definean organization culture to evolve business procedure. The ‘‘process’’ is an overalltransformation process that converts a set of inputs into outputs to recreate thesituation (Sushil, 2001a). A situation is to be dealt with by an actor or a set of actors viaa process or a set of processes. The interplay and synthesis of SAP leads to LAP inwhich various learning issues are brought out regarding SAP. Based on the learning,action is to be taken on the front of SAP or the interface. The impact of the action on theperformance can be analyzed for the improved performance of actors or processes orsituational parameters. SAP-LAP models can be of various types depending on thepurpose, application focus, comprehensiveness, time dimension, levels of inquiry andtools used for analysis and presentation (Sushil, 2001b) as given in Table II.

Table I.Emerging trends inmaintenancemanagement

Attribute Earlier Emerging

Attribute towardsmaintenance

Necessary evil Technical matter-profitcontributor-partnership

Maintenance strategy Corrective maintenance (CM) Integration of various approachesPreventive maintenance (PM)Reliability centeredmaintenance (RCM)Total productive maintenance(TPM)

Maintenance optimizationmodels

Mathematical with limitedapplication

Application oriented

Maintenance outsourcing Not existed Part of the maintenance strategyPerformance indicators Reference numbers, surveys,

indicatorsMaintenance management tool(MMT) model, integration ofmaintenance and supply chainperformance indicators

Performance measurementapproaches

Value based approach,systems audit approach, dataenvelopment analysis (DEA)

Balanced scorecard approach,quality function deployment(QFD)

PMS integration withinformation systems

Poor Developing

Evolution of maintenancemanagement informationsystems (MMIS)

Mainframe applications andmostly administration oriented

Workgroup computing, Interenterprise technology

Spare parts management Inventory administration Graphical users interface (GUI)New maintenance policies Techniques in isolation Integration of TQM, JIT, TPM,

neural maintenance managementFlexibility in maintenance Poor Emerging concept as a part of

flexible systems management


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This paper examines a case study of leading maintenance organization in India ABC[1]having large number of workshops geographically located at various places to analyzevarious issues related to flexibility in maintenance. SAP-LAP models have been usedby a number of researchers (Kak, 2004; Sushil, 2001b; Husain et al., 2002) through casestudies in automobile and pharmaceutical industry. Various quantitative andqualitative issue of supply chain coordination in a single model has been discussed byArshinder and Deshmukh (2006). Key issues relating to IT implementation in SMEstowards enhancing the capitulation of supply chains are also discussed using SAP-LAP approach by Thakkar et al. (2008a, b).

1.1 MethodologyIn this case study, scope of repairs for vehicles in various echelons belonging to themaintenance organization located at a particular station X[1] has been examinedincluding the number of maintenance personnel involved in the repair activity. Theimpact of learning on these issues, various actions taken and subsequent impact onthe performance of system, actors and processes has been covered. The study enforcesthe lessons learnt from implementation of SAP and analyses the performance of thenew system vis-a-vis old system.

The organization of this paper is as follows. After a brief literature survey,importance of flexibility in maintenance is highlighted in Section 3. Thereafter, inSection 4, the main issues related to the background of the case organization and theSAP-LAP framework are reported. Existing systems, actors and processes of themaintenance organization are studied with regard to vehicle repairs, number ofmaintenance personnel involved, number of echelons involved for repairs and the

Table II.Various types of

SAP-LAP models

Classification type Type of models Role

Purpose Exploratory model Managerial enquiry and case developmentguidelines for implementation e.g. strategyformulation, technology transfer, etc.

Normative model

Application focus Generic model Enquiry into generic areasSpecific models Developed for any typical contexting new

product launch, etc.Comprehensiveness Naıve or atomic models All six component of SAP-LAP considered

without taking their interdependenceinto view

Integrative models All six components of SAP-LAP consideredtaking their interdependence intoconsideration

Time dimension Static model Single snapshotDynamic model Multiple snapshots

Domains of inquiry Singular Normally one model – can be quicklydeveloped and implemented

Plural Can be actors oriented models, processoriented models, multilevel or dynamicmodels

Analysis and presentation Bullet form models Models present the result in bulleted formTabular models Presented in the form of TablesMatrix models Relationships presented pictoriallyPictorial models Using tools like continuum, flexibility

influence diagrams, mapping etc.Multiple tools model

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scope of repairs at each echelon. In order to analyze these individual attributes of SAP,a separate questionnaire for each is formulated and presented. Subsequently, inSection 5, various learning issues from the study are analyzed and a comparison of theexisting and revised systems after implementation of SAP-LAP is undertaken. Section6 covers a discussion of results and the paper concludes in the last section withrecommendation for future researchers.

2. Literature surveyLiterature survey has been presented in three subheads of maintenance, flexibility andSAP-LAP models as below.

2.1 MaintenanceAll available literature on maintenance management has been consolidated by Gargand Deshmukh (2006). A total of 142 papers collected and analyzed in this paper intosix area-maintenance performance models, maintenance techniques, maintenancescheduling, maintenance performance measurement, maintenance informationsystems and maintenance policies. Each of these areas is subclassified and discussedin detail with important issues highlighted for each of the areas. Paper highlighted aglaring change in attitude towards maintenance from a necessary evil to ‘‘external andinternal partnerships’’.

Muller et al. (2008) highlight the importance of the maintenance function, whichhas increased because of its role in keeping and improving system availability andsafety, as well as product quality. To support this role, the development ofthe communication and information technologies has allowed the emergence of theconcept of e-maintenance. Within the era of e-manufacturing and e-business,e-maintenance provides the opportunity for a new maintenance generation. Paper alsohighlights integration of e-maintenance with existing telemaintenance principles, withweb services and modern e-collaboration principles.

2.2 Flexible systemsChandra and Grabis (2009) note the potential opportunities offered by flexibility of asystem in enhancing its functionalities and capabilities. After defining the nature offlexibility, paper describes flexibility in a supply chain, pertinent issues, and potentialtools and techniques utilized for designing and modeling flexibility in it. Some of thefuture challenges and issues in designing and operating flexible supply chains areevolution of global supply chains, concurrence of product, process and supply chaindesign processes and valuation of flexibility enablers. Flexibility has been achieved byrelying on relatively inexpensive workforce and low transportation costs.

Hamblin (2002) discusses the concept of flexibility as a managed performancemeasure through case research in the aerospace Defense industry in the UK and theUSA. Evidence shows that flexibility is regarded as important but is not explicitlymanaged and practitioners recognize further opportunities in this field. The nine typesof flexibility demanded in this industry are characterized under four groups andprioritized. The priorities depend on the dominant role of the organization in theextended enterprise, and there are influences based on the difference in marketstructure between the UK and the USA. In order to manage these flexibility types moreeffectively, a business process for flexibility management is proposed together withwork on a flexibility-cost model.


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2.3 SAP-LAPSushil (2000) highlights that inquiry into managerial situations, problems and issues isneeded very often. It is argued that in order to gain deep insight and for effective action,an SAP-LAP model of inquiry may be developed by identifying critical questions ineach element of SAP-LAP paradigm. Paper presents three generic SAP-LAP modelsfor inquiry into general problem solving, change and flexibility followed by anillustrative application. Paper also brings out that the real strengths and limitations ofsuch an enquiry will unfold in due course only often its implementation in wide varietyof contexts, which may help enriching this paradigm over time.

Arshinder and Deshmukh (2006) present a flexible model of SAP-LAP in which asituation of coordination is presented to the participants who may initiate theprocesses needed to be coordinated. This also helps in identifying flexibility gaps inadoption of coordination mechanisms. The paper presents a novel approach to analyzequantitative and qualitative issues of the supply chain coordination in a single modelcomprising various perspectives on coordination, and the impact of coordination onperformance of supply chain.

Thakkar et al. (2008a) investigate the issue of information technology (IT) adoptionand implementation in Indian manufacturing small and medium scale enterprise(SMEs) towards enhancing the capabilities of their supply chains. In this, paperhighlights SAP-LAP investigation on IT implementation for Indian SMEs in whichquestionnaire on all six variables of SAP-LAP were framed. This analysis helped toidentity and select enablers facilitating the implementation of IT in Indian SMEs.Thakkar et al. (2008b) propose a role interaction model for understanding a supplychain orientation of SMEs in which 13 possible combination of various roles areenlisted and defined on a coordinate geometry of a cube. Paper undertakes SAP-LAPanalysis of a case study and summarizes the outcome.

Following can be inferred from the literature survey:

. Literature on flexibility in maintenance management has not been adequatelyreported.

. Sufficient literature is reported on flexibility of production systems and supplychain.

. SAP-LAP models of enquiry are increasingly being used in wide variety ofcontexts thereby enriching this paradigm in flexible systems management.

In the next section, the importance of flexibility in maintenance is discussed.

3. Importance of flexibility in maintenanceIn an era of corrective maintenance, the maintenance function had an inbuilt flexibilitywherein all maintenance resources were directed to rectify the fault even thoughequipment down time, production loss and maintenance costs were high. Maintenancenow is more planned as basic concept of maintenance has been shifted to preventive orpredictive maintenance and its numerous forms and concepts.

On the contrary, in case the exploitation rate of equipment is not predefined,maintenance actions cannot be preplanned. Maintenance organization can be designedto cater for the failure rate arising out of full equipment exploitation. But, the cost willincrease, as keeping maintenance resources idle for the duration other than the fullexploitation may not be the optimum solution. The maintenance organization needs tobe flexible and designed in such a manner to divert its resources where exploitation is

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more. Some of the examples of varied exploitation of equipment are automobileindustry, telecommunication industry where the demands of the items keep changing.Another example is military application where the equipment exploitation cannot bepredicted and maintenance organizations need to be highly flexible.

If tomorrow’s automated factories are maintained by today’s maintenancetechniques, there may be great trouble (Knapp, 1987). The maintenance has also beenidentified as one of the economic issues that need to be considered in FMSimplementation (Rao and Deshmukh, 1993). It is therefore important that maintenancepolicies also become flexible with the changing flexible manufacturing environments.Maintenance flexibility therefore, merits greater research.

3.1 Essential attributes of an effective maintenanceLarge number of attributes contribute towards an effective maintenance as listed inTable III.

These attributes are identified based on expert opinions obtained throughquestionnaire in management of government maintenance organizations pertaining torepair of vehicles, earthmoving equipment, telecommunication equipment, etc. Whenan equipment is defect prone, there are a number of factors which decide on themaintenance strategy to be adopted and the equipment downtime before it is recycledback into the system.

First and foremost factor contributing towards an effective maintenance is timelyreporting of failure of the equipment. Even, a slightest manufacturing must be reportedimmediately, else damage to the equipment may increase leading to larger downtime.Detailed inspection on failure reporting using expertise of the trained personnelfollowed by proper documentation for allocation of jobs to trained personnel are factorswhich affect maintenance directly. Availability of repair facility, spares, tools andpolicy on outsourcing of spares/trained manpower influences the downtime of theequipment including the quality of repairs.

A good performance measurement system (PMS) with a sound information systemis another factor which helps maintenance managers to execute maintenance policieseffectively. Involvement of operators or users for undertaking minor maintenancetasks is gaining increasing acceptance. Necessary training to operators withcorresponding inventory of spares is given to them for this purpose. The informationsystem must be so instituted to enable effective documentation and also give theperformance of each stage of the maintenance activity performed. Mean time to repair(MTTR) and mean time between failures in addition to various performance measures

Table III.Attributes contributingtowards an effectivemaintenance

Maintenance attributes

Reporting of failure Information systemInspection Systems and proceduresDocumentation User or customerTrained man power Level of exploitationTools, jigs and fixtures Combat readinessAvailability of spares Inventory range and depthOutsourcing of material AuditsOutsourcing of expertise SecurityRepair and testing Lead timePerformance measurement Storage location


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for each of the sections must be available in the PMS. Knowledge of the technicians onthe equipment repair also needs to be arrested for future use. The level of inventoryand their range needs to be determined. Thus, there are large number of factors whichaffect the execution of the maintenance making it flexible.

Concern for security in maintenance organization is an important as the operationof the equipment. Physical as well as information security of the environment and thenetworks must be ensured. Similarly, timely internal and external audits of themaintenance procedures and information systems are critical for effective maintenancemanagement.

When equipment is reported defect prone, there are a number of factors that decideon the maintenance strategy to be adopted. A conceptual framework as shown atFigure 1 (Garg and Deshmukh, 2009) suggests important dimensions contributingtowards flexibility in maintenance.

Each of the above dimension highlights the importance of flexibility for a particularattribute and their impact on the cost of maintenance. Higher the flexibility desired,more will be overall cost of the maintenance organization. However, not allmaintenance attributes need to be strengthened to the maximum potential which willcome at a price. So the amount of flexibility will depend on the cost involved and abalance is to be struck between the desired flexibility and the total maintenance cost.

4. Background to the case organizationThe case organization is a leading government vehicle/equipment repair organizationoperating in India for over 60 years. Number of maintenance personnel are more than10,000 which forms approximately 9 percent of the total manpower strength of theoperational manpower consisting of drivers and other supporting staff engaged inmiscellaneous duties as depicted at Figure 2.

In this organization, there are approximately 30 workshops of various typesranging for Type ‘‘A’’ to Type ‘‘J’’ located at different locations in the country.Classification Type ‘‘A’’ to Type ‘‘J’’ depends on the quantum of vehicle/equipmentmaintenance load at a particular location and varies between Type ‘‘A’’ (approx 100personnel) to Type ‘‘J’’ (approx 300 personnel). The responsibility entrusted on atypically selected workshop located at a station X is as follows:

. providing repair/recovery including inspection responsibility to vehiclebelonging to government organizations located in a particular station;

Figure 1.A framework of flexibility

in maintenance

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. providing repair to electronic modules/PCBs of telecommunications equipmentpertaining to these organizations; and

. providing repair to medical equipment and computers held.

Maintenance function is organized into three repair echelons as shown in Figure 3.Drivers or the operators operate vehicle or the equipment. They are trained to undertakerepairs of minor nature called operating repairs. Thus, operating manpower constitutesEchelon 1 who is also trained to undertake repairs to running faults. In case, the repairscannot be undertaken at this echelon, complete vehicle or the equipment is forwarded tothe maintenance base i.e. Echelon 2 consisting of maintenance personnel.

Echelon 3 is a maintenance center or a workshop having elaborate repair facilities.Technicians of all specialties are placed at the maintenance center so that detailedrepairs are undertaken. The scope of repairs at Echelon 1 is limited to only runningfaults. Echelons 2 and 3 are designed to undertake elaborate repairs includingoverhauling of major assemblies and undertake outsourcing. Scope of repairs betweenEchelons 2 and 3 is distributed to cover all assemblies/subassemblies. Themaintenance personnel at these echelons are accordingly distributed to undertake theentrusted scope. ABC is a pioneer and acknowledged leader in the field of automobileor equipment repair in India with the following strengths:

. Motivated team of operators of vehicles/equipment and the maintenance personnel.

. Scope of work between various maintenance echelons clearly defined usingpermissible repair schedules.

. Inventory of spares accordingly maintained at each of the maintenance echelonsas per the scope of work.

Figure 2.Percentage breakdownof personnel forvarious tasks

Figure 3.Vehicle/equipment repairsconsisting of threemaintenance echelons


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. Spares provisioning is through stores echelons, which are different frommaintenance echelons.

. Repair outsourcing is done at Echelon 3 if required to ensure vehicle/equipmentis repaired at the earliest.

. Local purchase of critical store is undertaken at Echelon 3 in case of non-availability through stocking echelons.

5. SAP-LAP modeThe case study is presented to understand the importance of flexibility in maintenancepertaining to the maintenance organization in India. The interviews were conductedwith the senior managers in the organization ABC on the basis of SAP-LAP mode ofinquiry (Figure 4). Present status of the maintenance organization is assessed on anumber of parameters like distribution of maintenance echelons in station X,distribution of maintenance personnel in these echelons, maintenance tasks distributedbetween various echelons for a light and heavy vehicle, etc. using situations (S), actors(A) and processes (P) modes of enquiry. In order to gather above information, aquestionnaire was prepared and given to the maintenance managers. Subsequently,actions are initiated to improve the system based on the learning’s gathered from theabove analysis. Performance of the improved systems, actors and processes is finallyassessed and continuous improvement in the organization undertaken. Thus, SAP-LAP model is effectively used as a tool for instituting maintenance flexibility.

A set of questionnaire was prepared to bring the issues related to flexibility inmaintenance as given in Table IV. The same consists of a set of 25 questions dividedinto three parts. First part consists of questions related to repair activities at aparticular station, number of maintenance and operating bases, vintage of vehicles,state of condemned vehicles awaiting for backloading, deficiencies of vehicles in theoperating bases, etc. The second part consists of the skill level of operators andmaintenance personnel, their strength at various echelons, requirement of additionalmaintenance personnel at certain echelons, etc. The third part consists of questions

Figure 4.Proposed model of SAP-

LAP for flexibility inmaintenance

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relating to distribution of scope of repairs for a particular type of vehicle over differentechelons, repair outsourcing facilities, etc.

5.1 SituationA large number of views about flexibility in maintenance have been gathered with theexecutives/employees of organization ‘‘ABC’’ located at station ‘‘X’’. There are a total of168 operating bases (i.e. Echelon 1) out of which only nine operating bases haveintegral maintenance bases (i.e. Echelon 2) to them. In all, 159 operating bases forwardtheir defective vehicles/equipment directly to maintenance centers (i.e. Echelon 3) asshown in Table V. Operating bases are of different types depending on the number ofvehicle holdings and are accordingly classified into four categories as mentioned in thistable. There are nine operating bases having more than 15 vehicles, 22 operating baseshaving vehicles between 11 and 15 vehicles, 15 operating bases having vehiclesbetween six and ten vehicles and 122 operating bases having five vehicles or less.Operating bases having more than 15 vehicles alone have integrated maintenanceelements with them in the form of Echelon 2 and rest of the 159 operating bases do not

Table IV.A template ofquestionnaire on SAP oforganization ABC withreference to flexibility inmaintenance

Situation� How are the repair activities at a particular station X organized?� How many total numbers of operating bases are present at a station X?� What are the different types of vehicle/equipment available at operating bases?� What is the vintage of vehicles and equipment held at operating bases?� What is the state of recovery vehicles at each of the operating bases, which are required for

evacuation of vehicle/equipment casualties in case of breakdowns?� What is the state of condemned equipment/vehicle awaiting disposed?� How many vehicles/equipment are deficient in operating bases and status of their new

releases?� What are the total numbers of maintenance echelons in the station X?� What are the distances between various echelons?

Actor� What is the strength of operators at operating bases?� What is the skill level of operators to handle maintenance tasks?� How many maintenance personnel are available with maintenance bases?� Is the skill level of maintenance personnel adequate to handle maintenance jobs at bases?� Is their a requirement of supplementing maintenance personnel of more specialties with

maintenance bases?� Are all maintenance personnel at centers adequately loaded with maintenance activities?� Do we require changing the specialties of few maintenance personnel at centers from one trade

to another?� Do we need to supplement strength of personnel at maintenance bases from maintenance

centers?

Process� What are different types of assemblies/subassemblies in a particular vehicle or equipment?� What is the distribution of work scope for repair of a sub assembly between operating base,

maintenance base and maintenance center?� Are permissible repair schedules giving above distribution available for all vehicles/equipment?� How is the maintenance flexibility achieved?� Can some of the repair responsibility be shifted from maintenance center to maintenance bases?� What is the repair outsourcing level required at maintenance bases?� Can outsourcing facility be extended to maintenance bases?� Can maintenance bases be made stronger to undertake detailed repairs rather than sending

vehicle/equipment to maintenance centers, thereby increasing the down time?


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have any integral maintenance elements with them. In the present system, these 159operating bases are required to forward their vehicles/equipment directly tomaintenance center i.e. Echelon 3 for any type of repairs/maintenance activity.

There are different types of vehicles/equipment held at 168 operating bases mentionedabove ranging from light vehicle type 1, light vehicle type 2, heavy vehicle type 1, heavyvehicle type 2, communication equipment, generator sets, recovery vehicles, medicalequipment with the hospitals, etc. which are in the vintage of 0-ten years.

5.2 ActorsThere are a total of 332 maintenance personnel at Echelons 2 and 3 combined togetherin station ‘‘X’’. Echelon 1 i.e. operating bases have operators for all the vehicles/equipment held with them. Presently, there are 105 (32 percent) maintenance personnelwith nine maintenance bases out of a total strength of 332. It can be seen that 227(68 percent) maintenance personnel are held with one maintenance center alone.Distribution of maintenance personnel between maintenance center (echelon 3) andmaintenance bases (echelon 2) along with their specialization is given in Table VI. It canbe seen that operating bases having more than 15 vehicles only have the maintenancepersonnel while other operating bases with less than 15 vehicles do not have anymaintenance personnel as mentioned in Table V. It can also be seen that Echelon 3 has

Table V.Distribution of echelons

in station ‘‘X’’

Operating base typeOperating base

(Echelon 1)Maintenance

base (Echelon 2)Maintenancecenter (Echelon 3)

Operating basesnot having

maintenance bases

Base (>15 vehicles) 9 9 Only one maintenancecenter for alloperating bases

–Base (>10 vehicles) 22 – 22Base (>5 vehicles) 15 – 15Base (0-5 vehicles) 122 – 122

Total 168 9 159

Table VI.Existing distribution ofmaintenance personnel

at station ‘‘X’’

Technicianspecialty

Number ofmaintenancepersonnel atEchelon 3

Number of maintenance personnel at Echelon 2>15 veh

(Echelon 1)>10 veh

(Echelon 1)>5 veh

(Echelon 1)0-5 veh

(Echelon 1) Total

Vehicle mechanics 83 38 – – – 121Electrician 19 26 – – – 45Welder 13 9 – – – 22Generator mechanic 11 3 – – – 14Computer mechanic 18 13 – – – 31Recovery mechanic 11 4 – – – 15Instrument mechanic 16 8 – – – 24Carpenters 7 – – – – 7Upholsters 7 – – – – 7Machinist 4 – – – – 4Communication mechanic 38 4 – – – 42

227 105 – – 332

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227 maintenance personnel which are spread over 11 specialties or trades. The largeststrength is of vehicle mechanics which is 83 while the smallest strength is of machinistwhich are only 4 in numbers.

Some of the technicians from the three ancillary trades like carpenter, upholstersand machinist are not held at the Echelon 2. Thus, there appears to be an imbalancebetween the manpower held at different echelons.

5.3 ProcessThere are 19 different assemblies/systems in light vehicle 1 and 20 differentassemblies/systems in heavy vehicle 2. Summary of the scope of work distributedbetween various echelons is given in Table VII under sections 1-19 in case of lightvehicle 1 and sections 1-20 in case of heavy vehicle 2. The detailed scope of work foreach of the 19 sections for light vehicle 1 giving details on the actual job to beperformed is given at Appendix which is known as permissive repair schedule. Thesummary mentioned at Table VII is summarised out of this permissible repairschedule.

Repairs schedules are made for all types of vehicles and are based on therecommendations of the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or by the teamundertaking the trials of the vehicles at the time of induction into the service. Section 1(Engine assembly) in Table VII has a total of 18 maintenance tasks to be performedwith four tasks each for Echelons 1 and 2 and ten tasks for Echelon 3. Permissiblerepair schedule given by the OEM give the details of each of these 18 tasks on engineassembly to be performed by each of the above echelons. As a sample, only one taskout of total of 18 tasks is mentioned in the Appendix due to limitations of the space.However, this Appendix is considered essential to be enclosed to give a clear

Table VII.Summary of tasks forvarious echelons lightvehicle 1

Assembly/systemOperating

base (Echelon 1)Maintenance

base (Echelon 2)Maintenance

center (Echelon 3)

Section-1 (eng assy) 4 4 10Section-2 (exhaust system) 3 3 2Section-3 (cooling system) 6 5 4Section-4 (fuel system) 5 6 5Section-5 (ignition system) 4 4 2Section-6 (eng controls) 1 2 1Section-7 (instruments) 3 3 6Section-8 (electrical system) 10 10 11Section-9 (clutch assy) 1 6 5Section-10 (gear box) 1 3 5Section-11 (transfer case) 1 1 2Section-12 (propeller shaft) – 2 1Section-13 (front and rear axle) 1 1 4Section-14 (steering assy) 1 2 3Section-15 (brake system 2 3 6Section-16 (suspension sys) 2 3 3Section-17 (wheel and tyres) 4 1 2Section-18 (chassis and frame) 1 1 3Section-19 (body) 12 9 9

62 (29%) 69 (32%) 84 (39%)


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understanding of the permissible repair schedules. It can be seen that presently62 tasks (29 percent) out of total of 215 tasks are performed by the operating bases,69 tasks (32 percent) by the maintenance bases and balance 84 tasks (39 percent) by themaintenance center.

Similarly, for heavy vehicle 1, 76 tasks (27 percent) out of 279 tasks are performedby the operating bases, 101 tasks (36 percent) by the maintenance bases and balance102 tasks (37 percent) by the maintenance center. The permissible repair schedule forheavy vehicle 1 has not been enclosed. It is seen from the above Tables VII and VIIIthat large percentage of maintenance tasks is performed by maintenance centers i.e.Echelon 3 i.e. 39 percent for light vehicle 1 and 37 percent for heavy vehicle 2.

Technicians from Echelon 2 may accompany the vehicle/equipment beingforwarded to Echelon 3 to expedite the repairs and thereby reducing the MTTR.Maintenance bases have limited capability and no outsourcing facilities provided in thepresent set up. Scope of maintenance activities between Echelons 2 and 3 can beredistributed for achieving minimum MTTR. Accordingly, maintenance manpowerbetween these two echelons may be redistributed. This will also lead to redefining thespecialties or trades for some of the maintenance personnel.

5.4 Interplay of SAPThe system is presently rigid with larger MTTR for defective vehicles and equipmentunder repair. In the following section, all three aspects of LAP i.e. learning withreference to flexibility in maintenance, action plans to be executed and performance ofthe organization after implementation of actions are discussed. There are large numberof factors affecting the flexibility in maintenance i.e. inventory range and depth at eachof the echelons, strength of maintenance personnel, skill level, variety of specialties,

Table VIII.Summary of tasks for

various echelons forheavy vehicle 1

System/assemblyOperating base

(Echelon 1)Maintenance base

(Echelon 2)Maintenance center

(Echelon 3)

Section-1 (eng assy) 1 7 8Section-2 (lubrication system) 3 2 1Section-3 (exhaust system) 1 6 –Section-4 (cooling system) 8 7 6Section-5 (fuel system) 10 9 8Section-6 (instruments) 7 6 2Section-7 (electrical system) 12 13 11Section-8 (engine controls) 1 1 –Section-9 (clutch assy) 3 3 5Section-10 (gear box) 1 4 5Section-11 (transfer case) 3 3 3Section-12 (propeller shaft) 3 3 3Section-13 (front axle) 2 3 7Section-14 (rear axle) 1 – 5Section-15 (steering assy) 2 5 8Section-16 (brake system) 3 17 13Section-17 (suspension sys) 2 3 1Section-18 (wheel and tyres) 4 1 1Section-19 (chassis and frame) 1 – 3Section-20 (cab and body) 8 8 12

76 (27%) 101 (36%) 102 (37%)

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information systems, outsourcing of spares, outsourcing of repairs, performancemeasurements, number of echelons, etc. Few of these factors if altered may giveimproved maintenance performance.

5.5 Learning

Key learning issues of the SAP study of the organization ABC is discussed withreference to flexibility in maintenance.

5.5.1 Number of echelons. Presently, out of total 168 echelons (Table V) only nineechelons have maintenance base facilities which are colocated with the operating bases(Echelon 1). Rest 159 operating bases do not have any maintenance element integral tothem. Thus, vehicle mean time to repair (MTTR) is larger for these operating bases asvehicles have to travel larger distances to reach Echelon 3 for undertaking all type ofrepairs, maintenance effort among various echelons may be redistributed so as toincrease number of maintenance bases which will in turn lead to reduction in MTTR ofvehicles.

5.5.2 Manpower (Maintenance personnel). Strength of maintenance personnel has adirect influence on the maintenance approach to be adopted. The level of trainingimparted and level of acquired knowledge by the technicians also have a decisive affecton the maintenance approach to be selected. It is seen in this case study that number oftechnicians like vehicle mechanics, communication mechanics are too large incomparison to upholsters, carpenters, etc. (Table VI refers). The overall strength oftechnicians i.e. 332 is adequate but it may be redistributed.

5.5.3 Inventory. The range and depth of inventory at Echelon 2 may be increasedcorresponding with the scope entrusted to this echelon. Outsourcing may also beentrusted to this echelon in order to have overall reduction in MTTR. Similarly,Echelon 3 inventory will be revised corresponding to the new scope.

5.5.4 Scope of repairs. Operating bases are adequately loaded and no revisions arerecommended. However, Echelon 2, i.e. maintenance bases, appears to have a largerpotential for repairs which may reduce the load of the maintenance centers. Presently,only nine operating bases have integral maintenance bases. Therefore, any increase inthe number of maintenance bases may relieve Echelon 3 from maintenance base leveljobs and also spare them to undertake only the specialized jobs.

5.5.5 Performance measurements and information systems. Presently, the onlyperformance measure is MTTR. There are large number of performance measures,which may be incorporated while designing a suitable PMS for this organization. In thepresent case, information flow is poor and no maintenance information system inplace.

5.5.6 Knowledge management. The acquired expertise of technicians over a periodof time for repair of various vehicles is a very valuable resource which needs to bepreserved and analyzed. The vehicles behave differently in varying terrains andoperating conditions. Accordingly, certain types of defects occur in the vehicles/equipment while operating in a particular environment which needs to be recorded tofacilitate faster repairs and to reduce MTTR.

Various learning issues from the SAP study of the organization are given inTable IX. These issues were discussed with the senior managers of the organizationand action plans formulated which are discussed in the next section.


261

5.6 ActionsLearning from the SAP analysis was analyzed and few recommendations as per Table IXwere implemented. Total of 31 operating bases were provided maintenance basesleading to a total of 40 operating bases in comparison to nine before implementation ofSAP as given in Table X.

Initially, out of 168 operating bases, only nine bases had maintenance elements (i.e.Echelon 2) while 159 operating bases were directly forwarding vehicles to themaintenance center i.e. Echelon 3. This led to increase in MTTR for vehicles belongingto 159 operating bases. After the analysis of the above situation, it was decided tocreate 31 more maintenance bases, thus increasing their numbers to 40 maintenancebases from earlier figure of nine. It meant that out of 168 operating bases; now 40operating bases will have maintenance elements integral to them while 128 operatingbases will still forward their vehicles for repairs directly to maintenance center.

It is also evident from Table X that operating bases having ten or more vehicles willhave maintenance elements integral to them while bases with lower population willhave limited or no maintenance personnel. It can also be seen that nine operating baseshaving more than five vehicles out of a total of 15 will have maintenance elementsintegral to them and balance six operating bases will not have any maintenancemanpower. However, 122 operating bases having less than five vehicles still will nothave any maintenance personnel and shall have to forward their vehicles tomaintenance center i.e. Echelons 3. Thus, MTTR will reduce considerably with the

Table IX.Learning issues about

SAP analysis oforganization ABC

Issue Learnings

Number of echelon Number of Echelons 2 man be increased to reduce the vehicle/equipment downtime

Manpower Technicians may be relocated between various echelons andfew may necessitate change of their special

Inventory Inventory levels at all echelons needs to be in conformitywith the scope of repair entrusted

Revision of repair schedules The repair responsibility between Echelons 1 and 3 to beredistributed to reduce MTTR

Performance measurement An effective PMS may be instituted for performancemeasurement of the maintenance organization

Information system Presently, the information system is poor with limited exchangeof information between various levels of management

Knowledge management Acquired knowledge of technicians needs to be arrestedfor future use

Table X.Distribution of echelonsin station ‘‘X’’ after SAP

analysis

Operatingbase type(number of vehicles)

Number ofoperating

base (Echelon 1)

Number ofmaintenance

base (Echelon 2)


center (Echelon 3)

Number of operatingbases not having

maintenance bases

Base (>15 vehicles) 9 9 Only onemaintenancecenter for alloperating bases

–Base (>10 vehicles) 22 22 –Base (>5 vehicles) 15 9 6Base (0-5 vehicles) 122 – 122

Total 168 40 128

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262

revised arrangements. Accordingly, number of maintenance personnel was reduced atmaintenance center from 227 to 157 and for maintenance bases, numbers increasedfrom 105 to 175 as mentioned in Table XI. Comparison of Tables VI and XI highlightallotment of different specialties to few technicians who were given six monthstraining.

Initially, the distribution of 332 maintenance personnel in the station ‘‘X’’ was 227personnel with one maintenance center (Echelon 3) and 105 personnel with ninemaintenance bases (Echelon 2). After the reorganization, 70 maintenance personnelwere reduced from the maintenance center (reduced from 227 to 157) and redistributedto 31 additionally created maintenance bases (Echelon 2). The maintenance personnelin maintenance bases thus increased from earlier 105 (in nine maintenance bases) topresent 175 (in total 40 maintenance bases including 31 additionally created). Therevised specialties of all 332 maintenance personnel are given in Table XI. Some of thetechnicians were allotted different specialty/trade than before. These technicians wereimparted training into new trade for a period of six months and later ‘‘on the jobtraining’’ increased their skills periodically over a period of time.

In addition, the scope of repair tasks as mentioned in the repair schedules was alsorevised as given in Tables XII and XIII. Operating bases tasks have remained the same,while maintenance bases tasks have increased with corresponding decrease inmaintenance center tasks. The re-organization of the repair scope has resulted inreduction in load of maintenance center and corresponding increase in the load ofmaintenance bases. In case of light vehicle 1 (Table XII), maintenance center load hasdecreased from 39 to 11 percent while for maintenance base it has increased from 32 to60 percent. Similarly, for heavy vehicle 1 maintenance center load has decreased from37 to 15 percent while maintenance base load has increased from 36 to 58 percent.Thus, MTTR for vehicles will reduce considerably since more number of repairs shallnow be arrested at the maintenance bases itself.

Permissible repair schedule listed in the Appendix contains both existing andrevised scope for various sections of light vehicle 1. Section 2 (exhaust system)highlights that repair of exhaust pipe and brackets has now been shifted from

Table XI.Distribution ofmaintenance personnelat station ‘‘X’’ after SAPanalysis

Technician specialty


personnelat Echelon 3

Number ofmaintenancepersonnel atEchelon 2

>15 veh(Echelon 1)

>10 veh(Echelon 1)

>5 veh(Echelon 1)

0-5 veh(Echelon 1)

SubTotal Total

Vehicle mechanics 49 28 10 9 – 47 96Electrician 19 16 10 4 – 30 49Welder 13 7 2 – – 9 22Generator mechanic 6 3 3 2 – 8 14Computer mechanic 11 13 4 3 – 20 31Recovery mechanic 9 2 2 2 – 6 15Instrument mechanic 9 8 4 3 – 15 24Carpenters 7 3 4 2 – 9 16Upholsters 7 5 5 4 – 14 21Machinist 4 1 1 – – 2 6Communication mechanic 23 9 3 3 – 15 38

157 95 48 32 – 175 332


263

Table XII.Comparison of tasks forlight vehicle/before and

after SAPimplementation

Ex

isti

ng

task

sP

rop

osed

task

Ass

emb

ly/

syst

emO

per

atin

gb

ase

(Ech

elon

1)M

ain

ten

ance

bas

e(E

chel

on2)

Mai

nte

nan

cece

nte

r(E

chel

on3)

Op

erat

ing

bas

eM

ain

ten

ance

bas

eM

ain

ten

ance

cen

ter

Sec

tion

-1(e

ng

assy

)4

410

412

2S

ecti

on-2

(ex

hau

stsy

stem

)3

32

35

–S

ecti

on-3

(coo

lin

gsy

stem

)6

54

68

1S

ecti

on-4

(fu

elsy

stem

)5

65

59

2S

ecti

on-5

(ig

nit

ion

syst

em)

44

24

51

Sec

tion

-6(e

ng

con

trol

s)1

21

13

–S

ecti

on-7

(in

stru

men

ts)

33

64

53

Sec

tion

-8(e

lect

rica

lsy

stem

)10

1011

1016

5S

ecti

on-9

(clu

tch

assy

)1

65

110

1S

ecti

on-1

0(g

ear

box

)1

35

17

1S

ecti

on-1

1(t

ran

sfer

case

)1

12

12

1S

ecti

on-1

2(p

rop

elle

rsh

aft)

–2

1–

21

Sec

tion

-13

(fro

nt

and

rear

axle

)1

14

13

2S

ecti

on-1

4(s

teer

ing

assy

)1

23

15

–S

ecti

on-1

5(b

rak

esy

stem

)2

36

28

1S

ecti

on-1

6(s

usp

ensi

onsy

s)2

33

26

–S

ecti

on-1

7(w

hee

lan

dty

res)

41

24

3–

Sec

tion

-18

(ch

assi

san

dfr

ame)

11

31

31

Sec

tion

-19

(bod

y)

129

912

18–

62(2

9%)

69(3

2%)

84(3

9%)

63(2

9%)

130

(60%

)22

(11%

)

APJML22,2

264

Table XIII.Comparison of tasks forheavy vehicle before andafter SAPimplementation

Ex

isti

ng

task

sp

rop

osed

task

s

Sy

stem

Op

erat

ing

bas

e(E

chel

on1)

Mai

nte

nan

ceb

ase

(Ech

elon

2)M

ain

ten

ance

cen

ter

(Ech

elon

3)O

per

atin

gb

ase

(Ech

elon

1)M

ain

ten

ance

bas

e(E

chel

on2)

Mai

nte

nan

cece

nte

r(E

chel

on3)

Sec

tion

-1(e

ng

assy

)1

78

112

3S

ecti

on-2

(lu

bri

cati

onsy

stem

)3

21

33

–S

ecti

on-3

(ex

hau

stsy

stem

)1

6–

16

–S

ecti

on-4

(coo

lin

gsy

stem

)8

76

812

1S

ecti

on-5

(fu

elsy

stem

)10

98

1014

3S

ecti

on-6

(in

stru

men

ts)

76

27

71

Sec

tion

-7(e

lect

rica

lsy

stem

)12

1311

1220

4S

ecti

on-8

(en

gin

eco

ntr

ols)

11

11

–S

ecti

on-9

(clu

tch

assy

)3

35

35

3S

ecti

on-1

0(g

ear

box

)1

45

18

1S

ecti

on-1

1(t

ran

sfer

case

)3

33

35

1S

ecti

on-1

2(p

rop

elle

rsh

aft)

33

33

6–

Sec

tion

-13

(fro

nt

axle

)2

37

29

1S

ecti

on-1

4(r

ear

axle

)1

–5

14

1S

ecti

on-1

5(s

teer

ing

assy

)2

58

211

2S

ecti

on-1

6(b

rak

esy

stem

317

133

237

Sec

tion

-17

(su

spen

sion

sys)

23

12

31

Sec

tion

-18

(wh

eel

and

tyre

s)4

11

41

1S

ecti

on-1

9(c

has

sis

and

fram

e)1

–3

1–

3S

ecti

on-2

0(c

aban

db

ody

)8

812

813

7

76(2

7%)

101

(36%

)10

2(3

7%)

76(2

7%)

163

(58%

)40

(15%

)


265

maintenance center (Echelon 3) to maintenance base (Echelon 2). Similarly, there hasbeen a shift of various tasks for Echelon 3 to Echelon 2 as should in the Appendix.However, for operating bases (Echelon 1) having no maintenance bases (Echelon 2), allthe maintenance tasks will continue to be undertaken by maintenance center (Echelon3). Thus, maintenance center will perform the task of maintenance base for thoseoperating bases which do not have any maintenance bases integrated with them.

It may be noted that the load on Echelon 3 has considerably reduced for operatingbases which now have maintenance bases integrated with them. Rest of the 128 baseswill have no change and therefore load of these bases on the maintenance center willcontinue to remain as before.

5.7 PerformanceThe actions emanated from the learning improved the performance as follows:

. Vehicles/equipment repairs could be undertaken in locations close to theoperating bases. This reduced the movement of vehicles/equipment tomaintenance center, which improved the MTTR considerably.

. The technicians were distributed between maintenance echelons depending onthe quantum of maintenance activities to be undertaken at each echelon.

. The revised scope distribution between maintenance echelons ensured thattechnicians are utilized adequately.

. The system has improved within the existing resources.

6. Discussion of resultsMaintenance organization now a ‘‘profit contributor’’ needs to be equally flexible as themanufacturing systems to meet the maintenance challenges in a fast changing flexiblemanufacturing scenario. A conceptual framework for maintenance flexibility has beenproposed by Garg and Deshmukh (2009).

SAP-LAP made of enquiry is an effective tool for general problem solving, changeand flexibility. In this paper, SAP-LAP model has been used to demonstratemaintenance flexibility using a case study. There are a total of 168 echelons of amaintenance organization ABC in station X. All 168 echelons are operating bases aswell. Presently, only nine echelons have maintenance bases while 159 echelons forwardtheir vehicles directly to maintenance center (Echelon 3). This leads to increase indowntime of the vehicles when they are in unserviceable state. Presently, 332maintenance personnel have been distributed as – 105 personnel to nine maintenancebases and 227 personnel with the maintenance center. Using SAP-LAP mode ofenquiry, the rationalization of these recourses has been undertaken. Total numbers of168 echelons have been redistributed – maintenance bases have been increased fromnine to 40 and with these operating bases with no maintenance personnel have beenreduced from 159 to 128. Similarly, maintenance personnel strength with maintenancebases have been increased from 105 to 175 and with maintenance center reduced from227 to 157. Some of the maintenance personnel shifted from maintenance center tomaintenance bases had the change in their specialization through six months trainingin the new specialty.

Before the SAP-LAP model application, the tasks earmarked for light vehicle 1 were29 percent (operating base), 32 percent (maintenance base) and 39 percent(maintenance center). After the SAP-LAP model implementation, these tasks were

APJML22,2

266

revised as 29, 60 and 11 percent. Similarly, revisions for a heavy vehicle 1 have alsobeen demonstrated in Table XIII. The revision of scope with maintenance bases has ledto reduced repair time and better utilization of resources which is an essence of themaintenance flexibility. The SAP-LAP mode of enquiry when applied to maintenancesystem proved to be an effective tool to analyze the concept of maintenance flexibility.

7. Concluding remarksImportance of maintenance functions has grown over the years. The concept offlexibility to maintenance organization has been less explored in literature and that iswhere this paper is novel in approach. Another, trend is that organizations arebecoming more flexible i.e. adaptive, responsive and agile at the level of strategy,structure, systems, people and culture. The case study highlights the importance offlexibility in the field of maintenance, which is an area less explored. The maintenanceresources of an organization were reorganized using SAP-LAP model. The modelanalyzes the system, actors and processes in detail and its learning put in action toview the improved performance. It was demonstrated that by imparting flexibility tovarious maintenance resources, performance of the maintenance organization hasimproved considerably. The paper shall be of immense benefit to the future researchersworking in this area. Designing PMSs for maintenance organization, which are flexiblein nature, may be another interesting area for detailed scrutiny.

Note

1. For technical reasons, name of the organization and the station have not been revealed.

References

Arshinder, K.A. and Deshmukh, S.G. (2006), ‘‘Supply chain coordination issues: an SAP-LAPframework’’, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 240-64.

Chandra, C. and Grabis, J. (2009), ‘‘Role of flexibility in supply chain design and modeling –introduction to the special issue’’, Omega, Vol. 37, pp. 743-5.

Cunningham J.B. (1996), ‘‘Designing flexible logistics systems: a review of some Singaporeanexamples’’, Logistics Information Management, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 40-8.

Garg, A. and Deshmukh, S.G. (2006), ‘‘Maintenance management: literature review anddirections’’, Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 205-38.

Garg, A. and Deshmukh, S.G. (2009), ‘‘Flexibility in maintenance: a framework’’, Global Journal ofFlexible Systems Management, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 13-24.

Gerwin, D. (1993), ‘‘Manufacturing flexibility’’, Management Science, Vol. 39 No. 4, pp. 395-410.

Hamblin, D.J. (2002), ‘‘Rethinking the management of flexibility – a study in the aerospacedefence industry’’, Journal of the Operational Research Society, Vol. 53, pp. 272-82.

Husain, Z., Sushil, and Pathak, R.D. (2002), ‘‘A technology management perspective oncollaborations in India automobiles industry: a case study’’, Journal of EngineeringTechnology Management, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp. 167-201.

Kak, A. (2004), ‘‘Strategic management, core competence and flexibility: learning issues for selectpharmaceutical organisations’’, Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Vol. 5No. 4, pp. 1-16.

Knapp, D.L. (1987), ‘‘Preventive maintenance first step towards automated factory success’’, inHartman, E. (Ed.), Maintenance Management, Industrial Engineering and ManagementPress, Norcross, GA, pp. 37-45.


267

Muller, A., Marquez, A.C. and Lung, B. (2008), ‘‘On the concept of e-maintenance: review andcurrent research’’, Reliability Engineering System Safety, Vol. 93, pp. 1165-87.

Rao, K.V.S. and Deshmukh, S.G. (1993), ‘‘Strategic framework for implementing flexiblemanufacturing systems in India’’, International Journal of Operations and ProductionManagement, Vol. 14 No. 4, pp. 50-63.

Sushil (2000), ‘‘SAP-LAP models of inquiry’’, Management Decision, Vol. 38 No. 5, pp. 347-53.

Sushil (2001a), ‘‘SAP-LAP framework’’, Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Vol. 2No. 1, pp. 51-6.

Sushil (2001b), ‘‘SAP-LAP models’’, Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Vol. 2 No. 2,pp. 55-61.

Thakkar, J., Kanda, A. and Deshmukh, S.G. (2008a), ‘‘A conceptual role interaction model forsupply chain management in SMEs’’, Journal of Small Business and EnterpriseDevelopment, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 74-95.

Thakkar, J., Kanda, A. and Deshmukh, S.G. (2008b), ‘‘Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) ofIT-enablers for Indian manufacturing SMEs’’, Information Management and ComputerSecurity, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 113-36.

Weihrich, H. (1982), ‘‘The TOWS matrix-a toll for situational analysis’’, Long Range Planning,Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 54-60.

Further reading

Narus, J.A. and Anderson, J.C. (1996), ‘‘Rethinking distribution: adaptive channels’’, HarvardBusiness Review, Vol. 48 No. 3, pp. 414-26.

About the authorsAmik Garg is a Research Scholar at Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India. He is working asa maintenance engineer in the Indian Army for the past 20 years and has dealt with managementof electronic repairable extensively. His research interest is maintenance and performancemeasurements in multiechelon repair inventory systems.

S.G. Deshmukh is a Professor of industrial engineering in mechanical engineeringdepartment of Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India. He earned his PhD from IndianInstitute of Technology Mumbai, India. His research interests include supply chain management,quality management, information systems and system optimization. He has published a largenumber of articles in various refereed journals including European Journal of OperationalResearch, International Journal of Enterprise Information Systems, International Journal ofIndustrial and Systems Engineering, International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management,International Journal of Industrial Engineering, and International Journal of Production Research.He is on the editorial board of international journals such as International Journal of Systemsand Engineering, International Journal of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management,Value Chain Management, and Opsearch. He has conducted several Management Development/Training programs for leading organizations. He has been active in developing web-basedpedagogy and resource material and was responsible for developing modules under the NPTEL(National Program for Technology Enhanced Learning) funded by the Ministry of HumanResource Development. S.G. Deshmukh is also affiliated with IIIE, ISME, POMS, ASI, NCQM andother professional societies. S.G. Deshmukh is the corresponding author and can be contacted at:[email protected]

To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: [email protected] visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints

APJML22,2

268

Table AI.

Rev

ised

scop

e

S.

no.

Sy

stem

/cop

onen

tO

per

atin

gb

ase

(Ech

elon

1)

Ex

isti

ng

scop

eR

epai

rle

vel

Mai

nte

nan

ceb

ase

(Ech

elon

2)M

ain

ten

ance

cen

ter

(Ech

elon

3)

Op

erat

ing

bas

e(E

chel

on1)

Rep

air

lev

elM

ain

ten

ance

bas

e(E

chel

on2)

Mai

nte

nan

cece

nte

r(E

chel

on3)

Sec

tion

-1:

engi

ne

ass

y(1

8ta

sks

–on

lyon

eis

men

tion

edbe

low

as

sam

ple)

1E

ng

assy

––

Ch

ang

e/to

pov

erh

aul

––

Ch

ang

e/to

pov

erh

aul

Sec

tion

-2:

exhaust

syst

em(8

task

s–

only

one

ism

enti

oned

belo

was

sam

ple)

2E

xh

aust

pip

ean

db

rack

ets

Gas

ket

chan

ge

Ch

ang

eas

syR

epai

rG

ask

etch

ang

eC

han

ge

rep

air

–

Sec

tion

-3:

cool

ing

syst

em(1

5ta

sks

–on

lyon

eis

men

tion

edbe

low

as

sam

ple)

3R

adia

tor

assy

Flu

shan

dd

esca

le,

cap

chan

ge

Sol

der

leak

sC

han

ge

assy

Flu

shan

dd

esca

le,

cap

chan

ge

Sol

der

leak

s,ch

ang

eas

sy–

Sec

tion

-4:

fuel

syst

em(1

6ta

sks

–on

lyon

eis

men

tion

edbe

low

as

sam

ple)

4F

uel

tan

kan

dfi

ttin

gs

Cle

anta

nk

,d

rain

plu

gch

ang

eR

epai

r–

Cle

anta

nk

,d

rain

plu

gch

ang

e

Rep

air

–

Sec

tion

-5:

ignit

ion

syst

em(1

0ta

sks

–on

lyon

eis

men

tion

edbe

low

as

sam

ple)

5Ig

nit

ion

swit

chC

onn

ecti

ons

tig

hte

nIg

nit

ion

swit

chch

ang

e–

Con

nec

tion

sti

gh

ten

Ign

itio

nsw

itch

chan

ge

–

Sec

tion

-6:

engi

ne

contr

ols

(4ta

sks

–on

lyon

eis

men

tion

edbe

low

as

sam

ple)

6A

ccel

erat

orp

edal

and

lin

kag

esB

olts

tig

hte

nB

all

join

tch

ang

eR

epai

r/

chan

ge

Bol

tsti

gh

ten

Bal

ljo

int

chan

ge,

rep

air

–

(con

tinued

)

Appendix

.S

am

ple

perm

issiv

ere

pair

sch

edule

(PR

S)

giv

ing

repair

scope:

light

vehic

le1


269

Table AI.

Rev

ised

scop

e

S.

no.

Sy

stem

/cop

onen

tO

per

atin

gb

ase

(Ech

elon

1)

Ex

isti

ng

scop

eR

epai

rle

vel

Mai

nte

nan

ceb

ase

(Ech

elon

2)M

ain

ten

ance

cen

ter

(Ech

elon

3)

Op

erat

ing

bas

e(E

chel

on1)

Rep

air

lev

elM

ain

ten

ance

bas

e(E

chel

on2)

Mai

nte

nan

cece

nte

r(E

chel

on3)

Sec

tion

-7:

inst

rum

ents

(12

task

s–

only

one

ism

enti

oned

belo

was

sam

ple)

7O

ilp

ress

ure

gau

ge

Con

nec

tion

sti

gh

ten

–C

han

ge

assy

Con

nec

tion

sti

gh

ten

Ch

ang

eas

sy–

Sec

tion

-8:

elec

tric

al

syst

em(3

task

s–

only

one

ism

enti

oned

belo

was

sam

ple)

8A

lter

nat

oras

syC

onn

ecti

ons

tig

hte

nC

han

ge

assy

[CE

and

DE

bea

rin

gs,

bu

shes

,ar

mat

ure

chan

ge]

,[O

ver

hau

l,re

win

dar

mat

ure

,st

ator

and

roto

r]

Con

nec

tion

sti

gh

ten

Ch

ang

eas

sy,

[CE

and

DE

bea

rin

gs,

bu

shes

,ar

mat

ure

chan

ge]

Ov

erh

aul,

rew

ind

arm

atu

re,

stat

oran

dro

tor

Sec

tion

-9:

clutc

hass

y(1

2ta

sks

–on

lyon

eis

men

tion

edbe

low

as

sam

ple)

9A

ssy

hou

sin

gcl

utc

h–

Ass

yd

isc

clu

tch

chan

ge

Pre

ssu

rep

late

assy

chan

ge,

over

hau

l–

Ass

yd

isc

clu

tch

chan

ge,

rep

air

Ov

erh

aul

Sec

tion

-10:

gear

box

(9ta

sks

–on

lyon

eis

men

tion

edbe

low

as

sam

ple)

10A

ssy

Bol

tsti

gh

ten

Ch

ang

e,ov

erh

aul

Bol

tsti

gh

ten

Ch

ang

eO

ver

hau

l

Sec

tion

-11:

transf

erca

se(4

task

s–

only

one

ism

enti

oned

belo

was

sam

ple)

11A

ssem

bly

Bol

tti

gh

ten

s–

Ch

ang

e,ov

erh

aul

Bol

tti

gh

ten

sC

han

ge

Ov

erh

aul

Sec

tion

-12:

prop

elle

rsh

aft

s(3

task

s–

only

one

ism

enti

oned

belo

was

sam

ple)

12S

haf

ts–

Du

stb

oot

chan

ge

Ch

ang

e–

Du

stb

oot

chan

ge

Ch

ang

e

(con

tinued

)

APJML22,2

270

Table AI.

Rev

ised

scop

e

S.

no.

Sy

stem

/cop

onen

tO

per

atin

gb

ase

(Ech

elon

1)

Ex

isti

ng

scop

eR

epai

rle

vel

Mai

nte

nan

ceb

ase

(Ech

elon

2)M

ain

ten

ance

cen

ter

(Ech

elon

3)

Op

erat

ing

bas

e(E

chel

on1)

Rep

air

lev

elM

ain

ten

ance

bas

e(E

chel

on2)

Mai

nte

nan

cece

nte

r(E

chel

on3)

Sec

tion

-13:

fron

tand

rear

axl

eass

y(6

task

s–

only

one

ism

enti

oned

belo

was

sam

ple)

13A

xle

assy

Wh

eel

nu

tsch

ang

eW

hee

lb

rgch

ang

eC

han

ge,

over

hau

lW

hee

ln

uts

chan

ge

Wh

eel

brg

chan

ge,

chan

ge

Ov

erh

aul

Sec

tion

-14:

stee

ring

ass

y(6

task

s–

only

one

ism

enti

oned

belo

was

sam

ple)

14S

teer

ing

colu

mn

and

stee

rin

gb

oxM

oun

tin

gs

tig

hte

n–

Rep

air

Mou

nti

ng

sti

gh

ten

Rep

air

–

Sec

tion

-15:

brake

syst

em(1

1ta

sks

–on

lyon

eis

men

tion

edbe

low

as

sam

ple)

15H

and

bra

ke

Ad

just

Bra

ke

ban

das

sych

ang

eR

epai

r–

Bra

ke

ban

das

sych

ang

e,re

pai

r

–

Sec

tion

-16:

susp

ensi

onsy

stem

(8ta

sks

–on

lyon

eis

men

tion

edbe

low

as

sam

ple)

16R

oad

spri

ng

–C

han

ge

Rep

air

–C

han

ge,

rep

air

–

Sec

tion

-17:

whee

land

tyre

s(7

task

s–

only

one

ism

enti

oned

belo

was

sam

ple)

17W

hee

ld

isc

assy

Ch

ang

e–

Rep

air

Ch

ang

eR

epai

r–

Sec

tion

-18:

chass

isfr

am

e(5

task

s–

only

one

ism

enti

oned

belo

was

sam

ple)

18F

ram

eas

sy–

–R

epai

r–

–R

epai

r

Sec

tion

-19:

body

(30

task

s–

only

one

ism

enti

oned

belo

was

sam

ple)

19R

ear

bod

y/d

vr

cab

Mou

nti

ng

sti

gh

ten

Rep

air

–M

oun

tin

gs

tig

hte

nR

epai

r–

Engineering support issues for flexibility in maintenance : An SAP-LAP framework

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