Quality Maintenance of Production Equipment: A Case Study of Bendel Feeds and Mills, Ewu, Edo State

Abstract

This paper analyses the quality maintenance in Bendel Feeds and Mills, Ewu, Edo State, with a view of designing a robust maintenance process and schedule to enhance production equipment in the company. The specific objectives were to determine the failure rate in the company production equipment, establish the appropriate maintenance process needed to reduce failure rate, investigate whether the current material handling methods and practices permit high maintenance turnover and to proffer useful suggestions and ideas on how to effectively maintain production equipment in the company. Data obtained were used to analyse the materials handling equipment failure rate, MTTR, MTBF, availability, failure mode and work station. The results showed that the failure rate is more in bucket elevator equipment than other materials handling equipment. It was observed that the plant organisational structure is area controlled instead of centre controlled organisation, which is one of the problems of the plant maintenance policy adopted by the company. Maintenance of materials handling equipment of the plant can be better achieved through modified planned preventive maintenance, condition base maintenance (predictive) and equipment inspection. This analysis will be of tremendous help to practicing maintenance engineering.