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Chapter 1

Introduction

Nowadays, machines play a very important role in the production of goods and

services and they reduce or eliminate the amount of human work required to accomplish a

task that is why it is very important to keep up with the maintenance on machinery. The

efficiencies and effectiveness of the whole of a manufacturing operation are dependent on

the sustainable performance of systems or equipment, which can lead to valuable

improvements in terms of quality, cost and time (Khan and Darrab, 2010).

According to Y. Yusop and A. H. Hamidon et. al., machine efficiency is one of the

factors that are frequently over looked by the management and this can lead towards losses

which reduces the yield. Improper maintenance of machines will result in low standards of

produced parts and increases the maintenance of machines. Machines are meant to work

efficiently, but in some circumstances machines can be less productive due to improper

preventive maintenance. Preventive maintenance is a key factor that keeps the machine

running efficiently through the production process. The maintenance activity on machines

needs extra attention by the management along with the responsible personnel to ensure

optimum usage of machineries which will eliminate unwanted wastages due to machine

stoppages.

Preventive maintenance is a schedule of planned maintenance actions aimed at the

prevention of breakdowns and failures. Its main goal is to prevent the failure before it

actually occurs. Preventive maintenance activities include partial or complete overhauls at

specified periods, oil changes, lubrication and so on. The ideal preventive maintenance
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program would prevent all equipment failure before it occurs. Preventive maintenance is

considered to be a kind of time-driven maintenance management; the maintenance

scheduling has been and, in many instances, is predicated on statistical trend data or on the

actual failure of plant equipment. This PM method can greatly is labor intensive, ineffective

in identifying problems that develop between scheduled inspections, and is not cost-

effective. All equipment breaks down due to normal wear and tear. But implementing

preventive maintenance program will keep machines and systems in good working

condition while extending their lives. Parts replacement, fluid and oil changes and quality

inspection make sure everything works as it should. Neglected equipment can use more

energy and resources than equipment that is running efficiently, and the gains in efficiency

could lower your company’s power costs (Hanchen Shao, 2009).

Most management now see maintenance efficiency as a factor that can affect

business effectiveness and risk-safety, environment integrity, energy efficiency, product

quality and customer service and that it is not constrained only to plant availability and

cost. Thus, as the climate of doing business changes, so does the need for better

maintenance programs (Matthew Aladesave, 2008).

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Definition of terms

For better understanding of this study, the following terms are operationally defined:

Batch roller machine is used to roll a confectionery batch of candy mass so it can easily

be worked into a final product.

Breakdown Maintenance is a maintenance strategy wherein an equipment is only be fixed

when breakdown or lost its functioning capabilities occur.

Cause and Effect Diagram identifies many possible causes for an effect or problem.

Conveyor is used to carry the candies to the wrapping machines.

Cost Performance is a measure of the efficiency spent on a project or on a system.

Die former machine is used for forming the candies to a desired shape.

Downtime is a time when a machine is not in use.

Failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) is a step-by-step approach used to identify

all possible failures in an equipment.

Failure rate is the number of times that an equipment fails in a specified period of time.

Frequency of Breakdown is the number of times within a particular period when a

machine suddenly loss its ability to function.

Labor Cost is the cost incur on repairing the machines.

Machine Performance is evaluating how effectively a machine operates or function in its

intended purpose or capability.

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Material Cost is the cost incur on buying new materials or parts of a machine that will

replace the broken part of the machine.

Mean Time before Failure (MTBF) is the predicted elapsed time between inherent

failures of the machines during a production process.

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is a measure of manufacturing operations

performance and productivity.

Preventive Maintenance is a maintenance strategy wherein the machines are taking care

of to prevent machine breakdown.

Preventive Maintenance Program is a schedule of planned maintenance actions aimed

at the prevention of planned breakdowns and downtime.

Process Performance is a measure of how efficient or effective a process is.

Reliability is the ability of the machine or component to function under stated conditions

for a specified period of time.

Rope Sizer is used to form the batch of candy into a consistent rope for feeding the candy

into the next stage.

Wrapping machines are used to wrap the hard candies in a wax paper.