Title: Continuous maintenance quality improvement using analytic maintenance quality function deployment technique

Authors: C. Sugumaran; S. Muthu; S.R. Devadasan; V.R. Pramod; K. Srinivasan

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jayam College of Engineering and Technology, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu State – 636 813, India ' Arulmigu Meenakshi Amman College of Engineering, Vadamavandal, Tamil Nadu State, Thiruvannamalai, 604 410, India ' Department of Production Engineering, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu State, 641 004, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, NSS College of Engineering, Palakkad, Kerala State, 678 008, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Adhiyamaan College of Engineering, Hosur, Tamil Nadu State, 635 109, India

Abstract: This paper reports a module of research in which a model named analytic maintenance quality function deployment (AMQFD) was designed to integrate quality function deployment (QFD) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) techniques with total productive maintenance (TPM) concepts. In order to explore its practical implementation feasibility, AMQFD was subjected to an implementation study in a sugar manufacturing company. Due to lack of literacy on TPM among employees and absence of support by the top management towards implementation, AMQFD could not be actually implemented in this company. Yet this implementation study was useful to evolve the steps to be actually followed in practice to implement AMQFD and achieve corporate success. This paper is concluded by suggesting that future researchers may actually carry out AMQFD implementation in several organisations and develop knowledge-based software packages to support its mathematical calculations.

Keywords: continuous improvement; maintenance quality improvement; total productive maintenance; TPM; quality function deployment; QFD; analytical hierarchy process; AHP; sensitivity analysis; knowledge-based systems; KBS.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSOM.2013.052841

International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 2013 Vol.14 No.4, pp.509 - 543

Published online: 30 Aug 2013 *

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