Process and knowledge management in a collaborative maintenance planning system for high value machine tools

Abstract

Product manufacturers are extending their responsibilities in the whole life cycle by providing services to their customers. In recent years, product service system has become an important research topic to address the special requirements in the new service driven business model. High value machine tools in modern manufacturing factories are special products: they are regarded as 'products' from maintenance point of view, and they also manufacture other products. In the new business model, the quality and behavior of a machine tool not only affect the quality of the parts it manufactures, but also affect the profits of the machine tool's manufacturer. However, in the research area of product service systems and related computerized maintenance systems, there is a lack of investigation into the special nature, problems and requirements of high value machine tool maintenance, which are very important in modern digitized manufacturing systems. Therefore, this research investigated the various relationships between different stakeholders in the machine tools' lifecycle, focusing on knowledge management, communication and the decision-making processes. This research also explored the potential application of advanced content management systems, which are widely implemented in the financial, business and government organizations, in the manufacturing engineering domain which has been dominated by traditional engineering information systems. A prototype collaborative maintenance planning system is proposed, developed and evaluated using an example machine tool, which indicated that significant improvement could be achieved and the content management technology has a number of advantages over the traditional engineering information systems, such as computer aided engineering, product data and lifecycle management, and enterprise resource planning systems, in managing machine tool maintenance and service information including dynamic and unstructured knowledge.

Advantages and potential challenges of data management in e-maintenance

“…al., 2016, Murthy et al, 2015, Aljumaili et al, 2015 who discuss specific data management issues in the context of E-Maintenance, this research has studied all common data management challenges and listed different types of data which need to be acquired in E-Maintenance systems. Additionally, In line with Wan et al, (2017), the role of close collaboration among all involved stakeholders in E-Maintenance has been highlighted in this study.…”

Computerised Software Systems in Replacement Maintenance Information Management: A South African Case Study

“…The application of the technology in the data management of almost every organisational sphere to execute a computerised information system properly has recently been canvassed, even though the usual resistance of employees to change was feared as a possible hindrance [16]. The basic subdivisions of a CMMS plan are already documented [17]. The authors specifically point out that the efficacy of the tool in the data analytics aspect of maintenance can transform the mode of planned and unplanned maintenance interventions.…”

Innovating the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Phase through Digitalization

“…MRO in aviation requires obtaining product and processing knowledge in order to optimize time and quality of maintenance [21]. Such knowledge is not always accessible and can be difficult for users to search and get the right information quickly, and this leads to delays in delivery [23]. Therefore, it is of great importance to have the chance to get, from the shop floor, accurate and up-to-date information about the (physical) parts constituting engines and components, regarding both their localization and their processing status.…”