Industrial Engineering - MAINTAINABILITY

MAINTAINABILITY

MAINTAINABILITY: IT IS DEFINED AS THE EASE OF MAINTENANCE. PRODUCT SHOULD BE EASY TO MAINTAIN AND EASY TO REPAIR. IT IS ALSO RELATED WITH THE EASE OF OVER HAULING, PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE, EASY AVAILABILITY OF SPARE PARTS, AND EASY AVAILABILITY OF REPAIR MAN ETC.

QUALITY: QUALITY IS A RELATIVE TERM AND DEFINED AS THE DEGREE OF FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIRED OBJECTIVE. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COST OF QUALITY AND VALUE OF QUALITY FROM FIGURE IT CAN BE SEEN THAT RETURN FROM QUALITY IS DIMINISHING IN NATURE. MAXIMUM RETURN IS OBTAINED AT POINT Q. RETURN FROM QUALITY BECOMES ZERO AT POINT P. IT CAN BE SEEN THAT UNNECESSARILY HIGH QUALITY DOES NOT HELP ORGANIZATIONS IN LONG RUN. THEY HAVE TO SET QUALITY STANDARDS NEAR TO POINT Q TO MAXIMIZE THEIR RETURN.

LEGAL ASPECTS: WHEN A PRODUCT IDEA IS SELECTED, IT SHOULD ALWAYS BE CONSIDERED IF GOVERNMENT HAS IMPOSED ANY RESTRICTIONS ON ITS PRODUCTION (SAY ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES RELATED WITH PRODUCTION OF CHEMICALS, DEFENSE RELATED ISSUES WITH NATIONAL SECURITY ETC.). THE SELECTED PRODUCT IDEA SHOULD NOT VIOLATE ANY OF THE GOVERNMENT RULES AND REGULATIONS.

FINANCIAL ASPECTS: BEFORE EMBARKING ON THE MANUFACTURING OF A PRODUCT, MANAGEMENT HAS TO MOBILIZE REQUIRED FINANCES. THEY HAVE TO IDENTIFY THE SOURCES FROM WHICH REQUIRED FINANCES WILL BE GENERATED SUCH AS, COMPANY ACCOUNTS, GOVERNMENT LOANS, PUBLIC OFFERS (SHARES AND DEBENTURES ETC.).

ORGANIZATIONAL ASPECTS: EVERY PRODUCT NEEDS SKILLED PERSONS WORKING ON IT SUCH AS SKILLED WORKERS, AND SKILLED MANAGERS. MANAGEMENT HAS TO WORK OUT THE MANPOWER REQUIREMENTS AND ASSOCIATED COSTS CAREFULLY.

DISTRIBUTION ASPECTS: ONCE THE PRODUCT IS FINISHED, IT SHOULD REACH THE CUSTOMERS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. MANAGEMENT HAS TO ESTABLISH DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS FOR THE SAME. THEY HAVE TO APPOINT CAPABLE DISTRIBUTORS, RETAILERS, AND SALES PERSONNEL FOR THIS FUNCTION. THUS AVAILABILITY AND FEASIBILITY OF EFFICIENT DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS IS AN IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION IN PRODUCT ANALYSIS.

TECHNOLOGICAL ASPECTS: WHEN ANALYZING PRODUCT IDEA, MANAGEMENT SHOULD CHECK THE AVAILABILITY AND CAPABILITY OF NECESSARY TECHNICAL KNOW HOW AND CAPITAL GOODS (MACHINES ETC.) REQUIRED FOR THE CONVERSION OF THAT IDEA INTO A PHYSICAL PRODUCT. SOMETIMES IF NECESSARY RESOURCES ARE NOT AVAILABLE, THEY CAN BE ACQUIRED BUT WITHIN COMPANY'S FINANCIAL RESOURCES.

AESTHETIC ASPECTS: HOW DOES THE PRODUCT APPEAR AND IN WHAT WAY DOES THE APPEARANCE OF A PRODUCT AFFECT ITS DESIGN? THESE ARE THE TWO QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED BY THE DESIGNER DURING PRODUCT DESIGN. IT COULD BE A DOMINANT FEATURE IN MANY PRODUCTS (SUCH AS FASHIONABLE PRODUCTS, TOYS, AND FURNITURE ETC.). HOWEVER, IT IS AN IMPORTANT FEATURE IN MOST OF THE PRODUCTS AND SHOULD BE GIVEN DUE CONSIDERATION. PRODUCT AESTHETIC CAN BE IMPROVED BY: USE OF SPECIAL MATERIALS (I.E. PLASTICS, WOOD, GLASS ETC.), USE OF COLOR (NATURAL OR ARTIFICIAL) WITH DIFFERENT COMPOSITION AND CONTRAST, USE OF TEXTURE SUPPLEMENT COLORS TO GIVE BETTER APPEARANCE, USE OF FUNCTIONAL SHAPE OF THE PRODUCT (I.E. A LAMP SHOULD LOOK LIKE A LAMP), USE OF LINES TO BREAK FORM AND TO GIVE A SENSE OF CONTINUITY, SCALING AND STYLING OF THE PRODUCT, PACKAGING OF THE PRODUCT ETC. IT MAY BE NOTED THAT ALL THESE TOOLS HELP IN IMPROVING THE APPEARANCE OF THE PRODUCT MAKING IT MORE ATTRACTIVE.

REFERENCES:-www. nptel.iitm.ac.in