Organising Plant Engineering and Maintenance
There is no one-best maintenance organization that can be used in all cases. The organization should be tailored to fit the particular technical, geographical, and personnel situations involved. In establishing the maintenance organizations it should be recognized that the basic necessity is to maintain a plant at a level consistent with low cost and high productivity.
Considerable debate takes place among maintenance engineers as to the level to which they should report. Some are of the opinion that they should be under production whereas others think that they should be on equal footing with the production whereas others think that they should practice to have the director of the maintenance function report to the level that is responsible for most of the other plant groups that the maintenance engineers serve.
The nature of the industry, that is whether it is primarily electrical, chemical, or mechanical, will have considerable influence on the maintenance organization. Also, the size of the plant and the scope of activities to be performed are significant factors that will affect the organization. In a small plant utilizing a minimum of mechanical equipment, the maintenance department might consist of an all-around mechanic and a helper or two. In larger companies the maintenance group would be much more lavish and contain a variety of craftsmen.
The person in charge of the maintenance engineering activities is usually an engineer and most frequently carries the title of plant engineer. Other titles of designations in use include superintendent of maintenance and manager of maintenance. Plant Engineer in the maintenance organization is also expected to perform functions of supervising the power plant operation, the design of special pieces of equipment, the checking of installation specifications and the planning and scheduling of major maintenance projects.
One of the noteworthy features of most maintenance organizations is the large number of crafts represented in the group. This number will vary considerably depending on the variety of manufacturing processes present and the amount of work involved. Another factor that will influence the number of craftsmen required is the availability of skilled outside contractors and management policy regarding the use of outside maintenance organizations. It is difficult to present any basis for determining exactly how many people are necessary in each craft in the maintenance organization. The ratio of maintenance to production employees will vary with the level of machinery and capital investment per operating employee and the efficiency of the maintenance organisation.
An important part of the organization structure is the job and cost control section. This section is responsible for scheduling work for the maintenance personnel and for maintaining cost figures on all jobs. It makes possible the efficient utilization of the craftsmen anywhere in the plant but at the same time does not prevent localized routine daily assignments.
Machine and repair shops and storerooms provide essential supporting sections within many maintenance organizations. The shops commonly contain machinists and mechanics capable of repairing equipment, making new parts (otherwise not available) and rebuilding equipment. The storerooms maintain spare parts (bearings, shafts, electric motors, pumps, etc.) and general maintenance materials (pipe fittings, standard hardware, light bulbs, switches, lubricants, etc.) needed by the maintenance force.
Other service groups that are commonly under the supervision of the plant engineer are the utilities engineering section and the housekeeping and protective service groups. The former is responsible for the operation of the power and heating plant and the other group is responsible for keeping the plant clean and protecting the premises.