Effective Maintenance Management. V. Narayan

Chapter 1

       The Production and Distribution Process

      This book deals with the management of risks through the life cycle of a process plant. We will address the question of why we do maintenance, what tasks we actually need to do, and when we should do them, so as to reduce these risks to a tolerable level and an acceptable cost. We will examine the role of maintenance in obtaining the desired level of system effectiveness, and begin this chapter with a discussion of the production and distribution process. After going through this chapter, the reader should have a better appreciation of the following:

      •The production and distribution process and its role in creating value as goods and services;

      •Difficulties in measuring efficiency and costs; understanding why distortions occur;

      •Determination of value and sources of error in measuring

      •Reasons for the rapid growth in both manufacturing and

      •Understanding the systems approach; similarities in the manufacturing and service industries;

      •Impact of efficiency on the use of resources;

      •Maintenance and the efficient use of resources;

      •Maintenance—the questions to address.

      We need goods and services for our existence and comfort; this is, therefore, the focus of our efforts. We change raw materials into products that are more useful. We make, for example, furniture from wood or process data to obtain useful information. By doing so, we add value to the raw materials, thereby creating products that others need. We can also add value without any physical material being used. Thus, when a nurse takes a patient’s temperature, this information helps in the diagnosis of the illness, or in monitoring the line of treatment.

      Another instance of adding value is by bringing a product to the market at the right time. Supermarkets serve their customers by stocking their shelves adequately with food (and other goods). They will not be willing to carry excessive stocks as there will be wastage of perishable goods. Overstocking will also cost the supermarket in terms of working capital, and therefore reduce profit margins. By moving goods to the shelves in time, supermarkets and their customers benefit, so we conclude that their actions have added value. The term distribution describes this process of movement of goods. It adds value by increasing consumer access.

      Production processes include the extraction of raw materials by mining, and their conversion into

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