Introduction
Maintenance and reliability are two key aspects that influence the success or failure of a business. Maintenance involves continuously repairing organizational equipment to ensure that it can continue to work for a longer time without breakdown. Such activities enhance the reliability of the equipment or organizational processes, enhancing the continuity of business operations.
Discussion
Poor maintenance can lead to the development of negative impacts on an organization since it can lead to disruptive business activities, which can be highly expensive in terms of money and time. Organizational systems are designed and maintained to enable the staff to reach the desired performance and products to attain the set quality standard. Therefore, the effectiveness of the maintenance and reliability management program within an organization influences the success or failure of the organization since such practices significantly impact the operations of the entire business.
Effective maintenance and reliability programs enhance the longevity of organizational equipment. When organizational equipment is not frequently serviced, there is the likelihood that the machine may uncertainly break down during operations (Lundgren et al., 2018). In such cases, the process may lead to the halting of business operations and production since the maintenance team will have to look for the items that are broken down to repair them. The breakdown process may destroy other connected parts that require replacement (Yoon et al., 2019). Due to the uncertain nature of the breakdown, the maintenance team may look for quick fixes, which may reduce the quality of the equipment hence its longevity. Frequent servicing and maintenance of equipment may make it easy for the concerned team to deliver a proper balance of maintenance activities which may identify impending failures before they occur (Chen et al., 2022). Such activities allow for timely corrective activities, which may reduce the equipment’s depreciation rate, enhancing its longevity and reducing repair costs which are higher, hence business success.
Frequent maintenance and reliability checks enhance production quality and quantity. Organizations that lack effective maintenance and reliability management teams will likely experience frequent machine breakdowns (Yoon et al., 2019). Such breakdowns or machine failures significantly influence the production process due to the occasional halting of business operations. In such events, the business cannot meet the target production goals since the breakdown or equipment malfunctioning interferes with their production timetable, increasing the chances of failure (Chen et al., 2022). In addition, poorly maintained equipment leads to low-quality outputs, which may fetch low prices in the market, leading to low or no profits and increasing the chances of organizational failure (Lundgren et al., 2018). Due to these reasons, organizations should execute regular equipment or machine checks to keep them in optimum operation conditions for them to succeed.
In addition, frequent maintenance and reliability checks reduce production costs. Smooth business operations significantly impact production costs since the business can attain continuous production. Consistency in the operations of any organization is likely to reduce production costs since no time wastages are experienced during production, and the quality of products remains high (Chen et al., 2022). Contrary results are evident when an organization performs poorly on machine or equipment maintenance. In the cases of poor maintenance, there are higher chances of experiencing breakdowns, leading to added costs from idle labor (Yoon et al., 2019). Additional costs like downtime and material costs are also likely to increase in the cases of machine breakdown. In other cases, businesses may be forced to replace the entire machinery as the one broken down is turned into scrap, increasing the production costs increasing the chances of business failure (Zhang et al., 2022). Continuous and frequent machinery maintenance may prevent the development of such scenarios leading to increased and continuous organizational production and reducing production costs.
Organizations with effective maintenance and reliability teams will likely have satisfied and highly motivated staff. Frequent maintenance activities motivate the team since the job becomes easier and safer due to reduced risks of injuries (Chen et al., 2022). Employees gain the confidence of working with machines that are frequently maintained as they are sure that the chances of breakdown are low. In addition, their satisfaction and morale increase, making them work more effectively and efficiently due to low cases of operational interruptions and disruptions (Zhang et al., 2022). Therefore, the workforce can channel all their focus on productivity, increasing the chances of business success.
Conclusion
In conclusion, maintenance and reliability have numerous benefits to an organization. An effective and standby maintenance and reliability team enhances equipment longevity, improves production quantity and quantity, and reduces production costs. In addition, frequent maintenance improves staff satisfaction and morale, making them focus on production. Such benefits are also likely to enable the organization to reap additional benefits like economies of scale, which enable it to survive the competition. The lack of effective and frequent equipment maintenance may lead to machinery breakdown, which may have negative implications for the business and may lead to failure. Organizations should therefore embrace continuous maintenance and reliability checks to enhance the success of their operations. They can also adapt new technologies that promote automatic maintenance scheduling, which effectively possibly assigns labor and time resources, enhancing business success.
References
Chen, L., Cheng, C., Dui, H., & Xing, L. (2022). Maintenance cost-based importance analysis under different maintenance strategies. Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 222, 108435. Web.
Lundgren, C., Skoogh, A., & Bokrantz, J. (2018). Quantifying the effects of maintenance: A literature review of maintenance models. Procedia CIRP, 72, 1305-1310. Web.
Yoon, Y., Yu, S., Hyung, J., Jeong, J., Jeong, U., & Lim, S. (2019). A study on the reliability of equipment system through case-study on the manufacture of machinery/electronic equipment using practical QRM (quality, reliability, maintenance) process and evaluation index. Microelectronics Reliability, 100-101, 113411. Web.
Zhang, F., Liao, H., Shen, J., & Ma, Y. (2022). Optimal maintenance of a system with multiple deteriorating components served by dedicated teams. IEEE Transactions on Reliability, 1-16. Web.