Equipment reliability: a life-cycle approach

The dawn of the new millennium has seen a radical change in the manufacturing sector, where more and more companies are moving towards globalisation, restructuring and downsizing strategies. The impetus of this transformation has triggered organisations to reduce the manufacturing costs and produce more for less by making their plans increasingly reliable. Equipment reliability is not just another fad, or a buzzword, it is a competitive advantage in today´s global environment. Many companies are now developing reliability strategies at corporate levels rather than just dealing with plant maintenance activities at shop floor level. The overall objective of this article is to show that a simple model can help reliability practitioners to develop a comprehensive reliability strategy. This also gives them an insight into some of the tools and techniques that are essential in achieving the right strategy.