Quality Of Maintenance Services Research Articles

Assessment of dispute causes in government building maintenance projects through adjusted importance rating and risk mapping

Despite the reliance of Saudi Arabian government facilities on private contractors for maintenance, there is a persistent rise in disputes between these contractors and government entities. This ongoing issue raises concerns about the efficiency and effectiveness of contract management, ultimately affecting the quality of maintenance services and operational continuity. This study investigates the primary causes of disputes in government building maintenance projects, using both the Frequency Adjusted Importance Index (FAII) and risk mapping methods to analyze and prioritize the causes. A literature review and a designed questionnaire survey were employed to rank dispute causes. Thirty-six responses were analyzed. Cronbach's alpha and coefficient of variation were utilized to assess the collected data's validity and reliability. Three case studies then were utilized as a validation tool, compared against the findings of the survey to integrate practical insights with the theoretical results from the survey. The findings reveal that issues such as (1) the lack of original as-built drawings, (2) constant government interference, (3) delays in decision-making, (4) poorly defined scope of work, and (5) mistakes in bidding or cost estimation are the most critical causes of disputes in these projects. Cross-method validation with real-world case studies further strengthens the reliability of these findings, as these top-ranked causes consistently align with issues encountered in practice. The findings of this study could assist local authorities adopt alternative approaches in managing and executing maintenance contracts, thereby mitigating the causes of disputes.

Optimal maintenance policy design considering learning effects under successive performance-based contracts

Successive short-term performance-based contracts (PBCs) would not only drive the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to improve maintenance service quality, but also decrease the financial burdens of the equipment owner. This paper presents the optimal maintenance policy incorporating both preventive maintenance (PM) and upgrade actions for continuously monitored degrading equipment under successive short-term PBCs. The improvement factor model is adopted to characterize the impact of the PM and upgrade actions. We also consider that the OEM’s learning effects will affect the cost and duration of the PM, as well as the upgrade cost. The learning effect increases as the period of the contract accumulates. To characterize the varied equipment production and degradation rates across different PBC periods, a Wiener process with covariates is developed. Meanwhile, we assume that the reward and penalty parameters of the performance-based revenue function varied each contract period, thus motivating the OEM to enhance the equipment availability. Based on that, the optimal maintenance plan for each contract period is determined to maximize the OEM’s expected net profit. Numerical examples show the superiority and examine the sensitivity of the proposed successive short-term PBCs. Managerial insights are also given to guide the implementation of the proposed maintenance policy.

Does facility-maintenance service quality drive tenants’ willingness to pay higher rent? Evidence from Indian residential real estate infrastructure

PurposeThis paper aims to empirically investigate the effect of facility–maintenance service quality on tenants’ satisfaction and their subsequent willingness to pay higher rent in the National Capital Region (NCR), India.Design/methodology/approachThe data for this study was collected from 1,692 tenants in NCR, India. SmartPLS4.0 was used to analyze the data using structured equation modeling.FindingsThe study findings indicate that all parameters of facility–maintenance service quality (tangibles, service personnel quality and empathy) positively impact tenants’ satisfaction. Further, satisfied tenants are willing to pay higher rentals. In addition, customer satisfaction partially mediates the relationship between facility–maintenance service quality and willingness to pay higher rent.Research limitations/implicationsThe study extends evidence-based research in the service industry to provide empirical evidence that facility–maintenance service quality positively impacts customer satisfaction in real estate settings in emerging markets (India). This research will guide future researchers to explore other dimensions to support evidence-based research in real estate settings.Practical implicationsBased on the data collected online after personal interaction in residents’ meetings, the study findings provide significant insights for stakeholders such as policymakers, practitioners, landlords, associations and builders. With rising housing demand because of rural migrations toward urban or metro locations coupled with the government’s inability to expand the infrastructure simultaneously, the government has enhanced the role of public–private partnership (PPP) in housing development. The findings will help policymakers incorporate the service angle into key performance indicators in PPP contracts. Additionally, with rising competition in the housing sector, understanding these factors will help landlords and resident associations improve service quality standards, thus enhancing the residential societies’ word-of-mouth publicity and attracting high-paying residents.Originality/valueTo the best of author’s knowledge, this is a pioneer study to empirically investigate the impact of facility–maintenance service quality standards on tenants’ satisfaction and willingness to pay higher rent in a residential setting in India.

Enhancing Maintenance Services Quality: A Study of Student Satisfaction and Maintenance Strategies in Student’s Residential College

Maintenance services play a pivotal role in maintaining existing facilities, structures, buildings, and real property, encompassing routine maintenance, repairs, and replacement. In the contemporary landscape, the quality of maintenance has emerged as a critical factor in ensuring the optimal function of buildings and their components. This research endeavors to ascertain the perceived levels of students’ satisfaction and expectation towards the quality of maintenance services at the residential college of Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia Pagoh Campus. This study also aimed to delineate maintenance strategies that leverage several technologies to enhance maintenance service quality. Through questionnaires, this study collected responses from a sample of participants and employed SERVQUAL approach, comprising five distinct elements, for analysis. Findings indicated that students' expectation and satisfaction levels, particularly in the realms of reliability, tangibles, and assurance, yielded high scores. However, responsiveness and empathy recorded comparatively lower scores. Additionally, the Importance Index (I) analysis measured the significance of maintenance strategies and revealed that all identified strategies were not only essential but also of paramount importance. The primary contribution of this study lies in the implementation of SERVQUAL model, which explained the relationship between maintenance service quality and various strategies employed. Recognizing the pivotal role of maintenance service quality in influencing student productivity, this study provides valuable insights for public institutions to enhance their maintenance services. The institutions can effectively elevate maintenance service quality towards advanced technology by emphasizing strategies that align with the five SERVQUAL elements.

A Fuzzy-Genetic Modelling Approach to Maintenance Scheduling for the Minimization of Fishing Vessel Idle Time in the Maritime Industry

As the marine industry becomes more complex and challenging to manage optimizing the idle time of vessels is critical. Although previous idle time reduction efforts in maintenance were through the evaluation of crisp numerical values in optimization models, none of the studies has considered the effect of uncertainty and imprecision on the system. Consequently, in this paper, a linguistic-based optimization model is developed using the fuzzy-genetic model for the discredited time-maintenance manpower-cost saving problem. The suggested model is moved for the following reasons: (1) it considers linguistic terms to express the optimization of vessels' idle time from a unique perspective of deploying genetic algorithm while considering the minimum and maximum number of times vessels may return for maintenance (2) it has an indirect measure of the quality of maintenance service which is absent in previous models (3) a cost-saving dimension is introduced where the ideas of low, medium and high-cost savings are examined. The results show the feasibility of the approach. The model advanced promises to provide vessel controllers with an idle time assessment framework, which enhances the chances of generating the utmost profit for companies.

Management system development

Aircraft prognostics and health management(PHM) technology is widely used in the domain of civil aircraft operation and maintenance. It's no exaggeration to say that the PHM is the engine of the prognostics maintenance and the intelligent maintenance. To meet the balance of high safety and low cost, the efficient and accurate maintenance decision shall be made after comprehending how the aircraft/system/equipment works in the complex environment, and knowing the accurate reason why the failure happened, the performance degradation law, and the method how to deal with the data generated during aircraft operation and maintenance used for health management and life cycle prognostics. This article will introduce the study of health management system architecture, health management system integration for the onboard health management system (OHMS) and the health management tool. The study will accelerate the civil aviation industry digital service in the maintenance scope, optimize Chinese civil aircraft system design, improve aircraft operation safety, upgrade operation and maintenance service quality, and promote market competitiveness.

The impact of the implementation of management system on the perception of role and tasks of maintenance services and effectiveness of their functioning

PurposeThe first goal of the article was to examine how the perception of the role and scope of operation of maintenance services in the enterprise changes, depending on whether the company has an integrated management system (IMS), only a quality management system implemented in accordance with ISO 9001 and in the absence of a formal, certified management system. The second goal was to propose a model for assessing the quality of maintenance service functioning in enterprise with IMS implemented.Design/methodology/approachThe author's experience of over 1,000 audits in enterprises in various industries: food, automotive, construction, petrochemical, electronic and so on was used in the work. The audits were carried out in three types of companies: which had IMSs (800 audits), which only had a system implementation certificate ISO 9001 (140 audits) and without any standardized management system implemented (so-called second-party audits, commissioned by the client of the audited company.FindingsThe most important conclusion is – the role of UR services in enterprises with the implemented IMS is much broader and goes beyond the classic framework for planning, implementation and settlement of maintenance and repair work. Maintenance is understood more broadly and includes in its scope also the safety of people and the environment, the efficiency of production and consumption of utilities as well as the quality of products and services. Maintenance issues include not only strictly technical aspects but also economic, logistic, legal and organizational and management aspects.Practical implicationsResearch shows that enterprises, especially those with high technical and organizational culture, should not treat management systems as costs, but as a driving force for the implementation of new technologies, new organizational solutions and the development of employees' competences.Social implicationsBroad views on stakeholders of maintenance services (including employees, their families, control institutions) and their requirements make enterprises begin to see the need to maintain the so-called lifetime balance, as well as the safety and comfort of work of employees of these services.Originality/valueThe author did not find in literature any reports on studies of the impact of formal, certified management systems on the quality of maintenance services; this article shows that this impact is large and, above all, positive; with such a broad understanding of the role of maintenance, there is a need to develop a common platform for such seemingly distant concepts as machine technical condition or fatigue life versus cost accounting and quality management.

ANALYSIS OF INDICATORS AND COST OF WORLD CLASS MAINTENANCE (WCM) IN FOREST MACHINES

The study was carried out at a forest company located in the Paraná State, Brazil, with the feller buncher, skidder and harvester. The following indicators were evaluated: mechanical availability, mean time between failures, mean time to repair, proactive maintenance index and maintenance costs, based on data obtained over a period of 18 months, contemplating the stages of implantation, maturation and stabilization of the WCM. The results showed an increase in the mechanical availability of the cutting and skidding machines from the implantation stage. The mean time between failures increased from the implantation stage, from 31.59 hours to 37.01 hours in the stabilization stage. As for the mean time to repairs, skidder and harvester presented an increase of 25.9% and 18.9% respectively; however, this increase in time represented an improvement in the quality of maintenance services, reflected in the results of mean time between failures. There was also a 31% increase in the proactive index of the machines studied, resulting in 9% reduction in maintenance costs between the deployment and stabilization stages.

Development and validation of multi-dimensional wind turbine service quality scale for measuring operations and maintenance service quality in wind energy sector

Service quality and customer satisfaction are very important concepts that organisations must understand in order to remain competitive in business and hence grow. It is very important for any organisation to know how to measure these dimensions from the consumers' perspective in order to better understand their needs and hence satisfy them. Service quality is considered very important because it leads to higher customer satisfaction, profitability, reduced cost, customer loyalty and retention. The aim of the study is to develop and validate a multi-dimensional scale for measuring wind turbine service quality (WTSQ). The instrument consists of 42 items operationalising three dimensions namely functional, technical and corporate quality. The psychometric properties of the questionnaire were assessed through a confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling using the responses from 352 customers of wind turbine industry in India. The study findings indicated that the assessed instrument had three oblige factor structure and also has good reliability and validity. The paper contributes to the development of multi-dimensional service quality model in the wind turbine sector.

Development and validation of multi-dimensional wind turbine service quality scale for measuring operations and maintenance service quality in wind energy sector

Service quality and customer satisfaction are very important concepts that organisations must understand in order to remain competitive in business and hence grow. It is very important for any organisation to know how to measure these dimensions from the consumers' perspective in order to better understand their needs and hence satisfy them. Service quality is considered very important because it leads to higher customer satisfaction, profitability, reduced cost, customer loyalty and retention. The aim of the study is to develop and validate a multi-dimensional scale for measuring wind turbine service quality (WTSQ). The instrument consists of 42 items operationalising three dimensions namely functional, technical and corporate quality. The psychometric properties of the questionnaire were assessed through a confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling using the responses from 352 customers of wind turbine industry in India. The study findings indicated that the assessed instrument had three oblige factor structure and also has good reliability and validity. The paper contributes to the development of multi-dimensional service quality model in the wind turbine sector.

運用保守におけるサービス品質管理と顧客満足推進の事例報告 : 顧客評価を元にした保守サービス品質管理手法を中心に( プロジェクトの品質と顧客満足)

運用保守におけるサービス品質管理と顧客満足推進の事例報告 : 顧客評価を元にした保守サービス品質管理手法を中心に( プロジェクトの品質と顧客満足)

AR-guided Product Disassembly for Maintenance and Remanufacturing

Product disassembly is an inevitable operation during the two essential modules in realizing a sustainable product life cycle: routine maintenance and end-of-life strategies particularly remanufacturing. In this paper, an AR-guided product disassembly (ARDIS) framework with an automatic content generation module is proposed to improve the efficiency of the disassembly process performed by human operator without expert intervention. Through intuitive AR-guidance in disassembling a product, the quality of maintenance services and effective core-retrieval during remanufacturing can be improved. A disassembly sequence table is first generated based on product ontology. Next, an automatic content generation domain will link the generated sequence with appropriate virtual information based on the taxonomy of visual cues. The final virtual content rendered on the real scene serves as straightforward step-by-step guide to the human operator. A case study of Nespresso machine is presented to demonstrate the preliminary workflow of the proposed framework.

Ranking of aircraft maintenance organization based on human factor performance

Aircraft maintenance organisation is a complex socio-technical setup, where human factors influence the quality of aircraft maintenance service. Maintenance service quality is assessed based on the commitment of management and its ability to provide suitable facility, tools, spares and manpower supported with comfortable environment and maintenance procedures. Assessment of the service quality of the aircraft maintenance organisation is a complex process. Airlines, regulators, insurance companies and other agencies need decision support system, to assess the performance of a maintenance organisation. This paper provides criteria and scientific approach for assessing the maintenance organisation; it presents a methodology of applying Analytical Hierarchy Process to prioritise the key functions and to rank the maintenance organisations under study. The study has established that maintenance service quality in airline is directly correlated to its fleet size.

Study on Scheduling Algorithm of Field Maintenance Service for Agricultural Machinery

According to the characteristics of maintenance service for agricultural machinery, the combinational optimization problem about uncertain number and travel routes of maintenance vehicles was studied. In order to improve the quality of maintenance service for agricultural machinery while reduce the total cost of maintenance service, a mathematical model of maintenance vehicles scheduling was constructed by considering both the constraint of customer’s need and maintenance cost. To solve specific problem of predicting the number of maintenance vehicles, a scheduling method based on genetic algorithm was proposed, including new chromosome coding scheme about uncertain number of vehicles and new crossover and mutation strategies that are used to ensure the diversity of the population. Then the coordination of customer satisfaction and maintenance cost was achieved by punitive action. Finally, compared with different cost parameters in the numerical case, the algorithm performance was analyzed. The experiment results showed that the algorithm could provide effective advices to agricultural machinery manufacturing enterprises about the number and routes of dispatching maintenance vehicles in field maintenance service especially in real-time environment.

Measuring the Performance of Maintenance Service Outsourcing

The aims of this paper are (1) to identify the characteristics of maintenance service providers that directly impact maintenance service quality, using 18 independent covariables; (2) to quantify the change in risk these covariables present to service quality, measured in terms of equipment turnaround time (TAT). A survey was applied to every maintenance service provider (n = 19) for characterization purposes. The equipment inventory was characterized, and the TAT variable recorded and monitored for every work order of each service provider (N = 1,025). Finally, the research team conducted a statistical analysis to accomplish the research objectives. The results of this study offer strong empirical evidence that the most influential variables affecting the quality of maintenance service performance are the following: type of maintenance, availability of spare parts in the country, user training, technological complexity of the equipment, distance between the company and the hospital, and the number of maintenance visits performed by the company. The strength of the results obtained by the Cox model built are supported by the measure of the Rp,e(2) = 0.57 with a value of Rp,e= 0.75. Thus, the model explained 57% of the variation in equipment TAT, with moderate high positive correlation between the dependent variable (TAT) and independent variables.

English

The National Department of Public Works has the responsibility of providing office accommodation to all state departments nationally, The objectives of the paper are to establish a base for evaluating the performance of the process and secondly investigate the performance against this base. Critical success factors were found to be: Better site search and space management, Effective maintenance policy, Extensive feasibility studies, Standardised lease agreements, Effective property management, Sustainable site procurement and Client-driven service delivery. In the performance evaluation it was found that turn-around times were poor due to lack of resources, asset registers were incomplete, the frequency and quality of maintenance services rendered were unsatisfactory, and the implementation of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the procurement of new sites were not seen as adequate partly due to political pressures. Key words: Office accommodation; state departments; provision of accommodation; process of accommodation, state departments.

Monitoring of quality of maintenance service and repair of road and transport means

Substantiates the manufacturing process flow diagram of road transport companies and the importance of monitoring its components on the basis of the process approach. An algorithm for monitoring the technical and technological capacity of the enterprise

Estudio Comparativo de los Servicios de Mantenimiento Utilizando Técnicas de Minería de Datos

The main goal in this research was comparing two hospitals' maintenance service quality. One of them had a contract service; the other one had an in-house maintenance service. The authors followed the next stages when conducting this research: domain understanding, data characterisation and sample reduction, insight characterisation and building the TAT predictor. Multiple linear regression and clustering techniques were used for improving the efficiency of corrective maintenance tasks in a clinical engineering department (CED). The indicator being studied was turnaround time (TAT). The institution having an in-house maintenance service had better quality indicators than the contract maintenance service. There was lineal dependence between availability and service productivity.

Securing customer satisfaction through component service specifications: Purchasing maintenance services for social rented housing

Many companies nowadays buy services that they pass on to their customers. A specific example is a housing association that buys maintenance services to be delivered to their tenants. These services are referred to as component services and have a large impact on end customers, and this should be taken into account when developing the specifications for the service. The main objectives of this article are to (1) find out what end customers perceive as important for their customer satisfaction for component services; and (2) investigate whether the buying company gives sufficient attention to these characteristics in their service specifications. We investigate these issues in the context of maintenance services bought by Dutch housing associations and conduct a survey among tenants to determine the relative importance of different characteristics of the maintenance they receive on their dwellings. Subsequently, we investigate service specification documents to verify whether they sufficiently reflect the characteristics that are important for tenants. The survey results show that determinants of maintenance service quality that add to perceived tenant control are more important in case of reactive maintenance than in case of planned maintenance. Based on our analyses, we conclude that the selected housing associations only to a limited degree take these aspects into account in the specifications of maintenance services. Although replication in other settings is required, the results of this study suggest that buying companies are not always aware of the specific characteristics of component services, and how this affects the purchasing process.

Adopting non‐privately funded public‐private partnerships in maintenance projects

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to establish whether this type of approach is suitable for maintenance schemes from the perspective of both the public agent and the service provider. Until recently, non‐privately funded public‐private partnerships have been adopted for the maintenance of infrastructure facilities.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, stakeholders involved in a trial of a non‐privately funded public‐private partnerships project were invited to express their opinions on the success and pitfalls of this type of scheme. Semi‐structured interviews were carried out with 12 management and front‐line staff of the public and private partners to capture their opinions on the project. A questionnaire survey was also conducted to uncover the views and standpoints of other stakeholders on PPP. A total of 33 respondents completed the questionnaire.FindingsThe results indicate that the non‐privately funded PPP approach is more cost‐effective and efficient in the delivery of maintenance services when compared with the traditional term contract. The performance‐based payment mechanism adopted could help improve the quality of maintenance services performed by the contractor. The inspection and programming tasks are transferred to the service provider relieving the workload of the public agency. Most stakeholders who participated in this study agreed that the non‐privately funded PPP approach can allow higher flexibility, encourage innovation, enhance cost‐effectiveness and improve the efficiency of work when compared with the traditional term contract in the delivery of maintenance services.Originality/valueThis paper provides a general introduction to the method adopted in the non‐privately funded public‐private partnerships approach with particular reference to the maintenance of infrastructure schemes. More important, the potentials and pitfalls of using this type of mechanism with maintenance projects are examined, which helps enhance understanding of this rather unexplored topic.