Preventive Maintenance is a plan for the cost determination and the cost control responsibility of maintenance is both needed and possible. To discuss Impact of this maintenance issue, I should say that Preventive Maintenance reduces operating losses significantly due to machine breakdowns. The two considerations regarding this issue are:
1. If you do Preventive Maintenance (PM) too frequently, quantity will go down and cost will go up unnecessarily.
2. If you do PM too infrequently, quality and quantity go down and cost goes up unnecessarily.
It is suggested that management, the supervisors of producing and service departments, and the maintenance engineering department reach an agreement on the overall maintenance policy to be followed by the plant.
This approach constitutes a maintenance program with the objective of keeping equipment in such condition that breakdowns and the need for emergency repairs are at a minimum time and money.
Preventive maintenance facilitates the scheduling of maintenance work and helps to obtain better utilization of the maintenance work force and the productive equipment.
Preventive Maintenance also reduces operating losses due to machine breakdowns, extensive damage, or serious injuries to personnel. A preventive maintenance program can work automatically so that inspection, minor repairs, adjustments, and lubrication are completed as a matter of course.
The method further provides for a check on the effectiveness of the maintenance work by the foreman of the serviced or buying unit. The Preventive Maintenance foreman, in turn, is responsible for the inspection and the upkeep of the facilities.
This Maintenance discussion has intentionally dealt with factory overhead items only, since their assignment and control occupies the attention of many executives, department heads, supervisors, and foremen.
Not only are production people made responsible for the costs of their departments, but other departments and functions in administration and marketing require the same kind of responsibility accounting. Besides factory overhead, the other cost elements also need watching and controlling by responsible managers.
