The Use of Machine Age Periods to Measure Effectiveness in Maintenance Programs

This paper deals with information as a resource to be used together with direct observation and personal experience in the management of equipment fleets. Argument is presented against the use of information systems which collect and review data on a monthly basis and a 250 hour machine age period is proposed as a more appropriate period. A simple procedure for converting data from calendar months to machine age periods is presented and it is shown that this simplifies the ratios frequently used to measure equipment performance. A case study is used to prove the concept and show how decision making can be improved when emphasis is placed on defining life and measuring performance in terms of hours worked.