Report on Maintenance Strategies and Asset Lifecycle at Ford Motors

This report examines the asset lifecycle methodology and maintenance strategies employed by Ford Motor Company. The asset lifecycle is divided into planning, acquisition, operations and maintenance, and disposal phases. Ford primarily utilizes a preventive maintenance strategy, which involves scheduled inspections and repairs to minimize equipment failure and ensure high-quality production. While this strategy supports smooth operations, it is labor-intensive and can be costly. The report analyzes the effectiveness of this strategy, identifying areas for improvement, such as adopting industry standards like ISO 55001, incorporating risk management, and optimizing maintenance schedules. The internal and external factors influencing maintenance strategy are also discussed, including budget constraints, worker capabilities, market demand, and economic conditions. The report concludes with recommendations for enhancing Ford's asset management practices and maintenance strategy to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

Maintenance strategies
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NAME OF COLLEGE:
AUTHORS NOTE:
Running head: MAINTENANCE STRATEGIES

MAINTENANCE STRATEGIES
Executive Summary
The asset lifecycle methodology which is being in the company consists of four stages namely
planning, acquisition, operations and maintenance and disposal and therefore the asset life cycle
methodology of the company ensures effective management of the asset of the company. There
is scope of improvements regarding the asset lifecycle methodology which will help in
improving the service delivery and effectiveness of the company. The maintenance strategy
which is being adopted by the company is preventive maintenance strategy which help in
ensuring that the equipment used by the company are maintained accordingly so that it helps in
ensuring high quality products of the company and also ensures smooth production process of
the company but the main disadvantage associated with the maintenance strategy of the company
is high costs as it is labour intensive in nature.
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MAINTENANCE STRATEGIES
Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................1
Contents...........................................................................................................................................2
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Discussion........................................................................................................................................3
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9
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MAINTENANCE STRATEGIES
Introduction
The process of optimizing the delivery of a value and making the correct decision is termed as
asset management. Asset management comprises of opportunities, balancing costs and threats
against the desired level of performance of the assets which ensures great return on investment of
the assets of the company. Asset management involves management of the asset life cycle which
is defined as the sequence of stages which an organization’s asset undergoes during the time
span of its ownership. The current report focuses on the asset lifecycle methodology and the
maintenance strategy followed at Ford Motor Company and also helps in identifying areas of
improvement.
Discussion
Asset Lifecycle Methodology
The asset life cycle methodology which is being followed at Ford in order to enhance the
lifecycle of the production equipment, used in the manufacturing process of the company is as
follows:
Planning- The first stage of the asset lifecycle methodology at Ford begins with planning, in
which the company establishes and verifies the asset requirements of the company, The
establishment of asset management in the company is based on the evaluation of the current
assets of the company and their capability to meet the service delivery needs of the company. It
is very important from the point of view of the company to identify management strategies in
order to include and analyse the need for an asset for the company.
Acquisition- The second stage in the asset lifecycle methodology at Ford is acquisition which
involves taking the best decision on choosing the best option for the company by defining the
cost and requirements of the assets of the company. According to PR Newswire (2018) through
the process of acquisition planning the company involves activities involved in purchasing an
asset for the company with the main objective of ensuring the cost effective acquisition of the
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asset. The acquisition planning process of Ford involves activing such as designing and
procuring an asset and the proper implementation of such activities ensures that the asset is fit for
use.
Operations and Maintenance- The third stage in the asset lifecycle methodology at Ford is
operations and maintenance of the assets which oversees the application and management of an
asset, including its maintenance, with the main objective of delivering services for the company.
As stated by Bandur, Katicic & Dulcic (2015) the asset management plan of the company highly
focuses on the asset management issues of the company. The maintenance of the assets of the
company ensures that the assets remain capable and effective to meet operational requirement.
Disposal- When the assets of the company reaches the end stages of its useful life, it is treated as
surplus or an underperforming asset by the company. As opined by Zhao, Angelov and Grefen
(2014) the disposal process is treated by the company in the context of the effects of the decision
on service delivery and any departmental responsibilities.
The asset lifecycle methodology being adopted by Ford is as follows:
Fig: Life cycle of Asset
Source- Author
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Life cycle of
Asset
Acquisiti
on
Operatio
n and
Maintena
nce
Disposal
Planning

MAINTENANCE STRATEGIES
Effectiveness of the Asset Lifecycle Methodology
As stated by Business Wire (2015) the current asset life cycle methodology followed by Ford is
effective in natures as it clearly defines the actions and activities which are associated with the
different phases of asset lifecycle management which ensures that the assets of the company and
designed, procured, used and disposed in a corrective manner which benefits the operations of
the company. Though the asset lifecycle methodology followed in the company helps in ensuring
that the goals and objectives of the company are accomplished but the asset lifecycle
methodology of the company lacks appropriate standards regarding asset management.
Areas of Improvement
The areas of improvement in the asset life cycle methodology followed by the company are as
follows:
 According to Lu (2017) the company should focus on adopting a high quality Asset
Management Standard such as ISO 55001.
 While purchasing equipment, the company must look to purchase equipment which
complies with high quality industry standards such as ISO 9000 which helps in
ensuring the high quality of the equipment.
 As opined by Rönnberg-Sjödin (2013) incorporating a risk management strategy in
the life cycle methodology in order to address the risks which are associated with the
vulnerable equipment of the company in order to safeguard the individuals handling
those equipment.
Plant Process and Operating Strategy
The plant process which is being followed in Ford is moving assembly. The operating strategy of
Ford is to build a network of flexible engine and transmission plants which can respond quickly
to the needs of the changing market while improving the quality and manufacturing efficiency of
the company.
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Current Maintenance Strategy
The current maintenance strategy which is being followed in Ford is Preventive or scheduled
maintenance strategy which involves periodically taking the assets of the company offline and
inspecting and repairing them at previously determined intervals. The maintenance of the assets
of the company based on this strategy is based on a time or usage trigger. As opined by Shafiee
(2015) the preventive maintenance strategy is adopted by the company in order to ensure that the
maintenance of the assets of the company, mainly the tools and equipment in performed on a
regular basis in order to reduce its likelihood of failing. The preventive maintenance strategy is
conducted when the equipment is still working so that it does not break down in an unexpected
manner while working.
The other known maintenance strategies are breakdown maintenance strategy, predictive
maintenance strategy and reliability centred maintenance. The percentage of work completed
within the 4 known maintenance strategy is 100%, among which 85% is planned and 15% is
unplanned.
Factors influencing Maintenance Strategy
There are various factors which influence the development of maintenance strategy in Ford. The
influences can be classified as internal influences and external influences.
The internal influences which impact the maintenance strategy of Ford are as follows:
Budget Constrains- According to Braglia, Castellano and Frosolini (2013) there is a high level of
cost which is involved in adopting the correct maintenance strategy of Ford and therefore while
determining the maintenance strategy to be used in the operations of the company, the company
takes into account the budget allocated by the top level of the company towards adopting the
strategy and therefore selection of the strategy is based on the budget.
Worker Capabilities- As opined by Velmurugan and Dhingra (2015) the capabilities of the
workers of the company regarding adapting themselves to the skill requirement of the
maintenance strategy influences the development and implementation of the maintenance
strategy of the company. As the workers of the company remain mostly responsible for
incorporating the maintenance strategy in the company, therefore the effectiveness of the
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maintenance strategy is dependent on the skills and capabilities of the workers of the company
and therefore selects the best maintenance strategy which matches with the skills and capabilities
of their workers.
The external influences which impact the maintenance strategy of Ford is as follows:
Demand in the market- The demand in the market of the maintenance strategy influences the
selection and development of the maintenance strategy of the company. If the popularity of the
maintenance strategy in a market are high owing to the benefits it offers to the company, then the
demand of the maintenance strategy is high in the market which influences other companies to
adopt that maintenance strategy.
Economic condition- As opined by Seecharan, Labib and Jardine (2018) the economic condition
of the market also determines the development of the maintenance strategy by the company as
the spending power of the customers of the company is determined by the economic condition of
the market. As the cost of a product of the company is slightly influenced by the maintenance
strategy followed by the company and therefore the economic condition of the market
determines the development of maintenance strategy as in case of economic downturn, the
company focuses on providing the product the company at a price which they could afford to
spend and therefore accordingly determine and develop their maintenance strategy.
Effectiveness of Maintenance Strategy
The current maintenance strategy of preventive maintenance which is followed in Ford, is highly
effective in nature to meet the requirements of the company as the preventive maintenance
strategy is the best strategy to implement in a company as it can be implemented in the company
without any expertise which helps the company to reduce its costs of maintenance which
ultimately contributes to the profitability of the company. As opined by Filatov and Kolibaba
(2016) the preventive maintenance strategy can also be considered as effective in nature as it
helps in extending the useful lifecycle of the assets of the company which decreases the need for
capital requirements which also contributes to the profitability of the company.
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Areas of Improvement
The areas where the current maintenance strategy of Ford fails to meet the requirements of the
company are as follows:
 The preventive maintenance strategy adopted by Ford is labour intensive in nature
and therefore it increases the labour costs of the company leading to reduced
profit and therefore the company should focus on providing training to the labours
of the company so that they become multitasking in nature which will help in
decreasing the amount of labour in the maintenance and ultimately contribute to
the profitability of the company.
 The preventive maintenance strategy adopted by Ford causes hindrance to the
operations of the company which affects the output of the company and therefore
the company must focus on effectively scheduling the maintenance process of the
company so that no hindrance is caused during the operations of the company
which will help in ensuring standard output levels of the company.
 As opined by Kirubakaran and Ilangkumaran (2016) the preventive maintenance
strategy adopted by Ford leads to faster plant deterioration which increase the
expenses of the company and therefore the company must access the quality of
the equipment during the time of purchase and focus on purchasing high quality
equipment so that it does not deteriorates at a fast rate which will help in
preventing expenses of the company.
Conclusion
From the above report it can be stated that though the asset lifecycle methodology and
maintenance strategy which being followed in the company is effective in meeting the goals and
objectives of the company but there are scope of improvements for the company such as by
adopting high quality asset management practices in the company and by enhancing the
maintenance strategy of the company.
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References
Bandur, K. M., Katicic, L., and Dulcic, Z. (2015). Physical asset management - a new approach
in industrial management. International OEFL Conference on Governance, Management and
Entrepreneurship: Zagreb, [Online] 616-625. Available:
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Braglia, M., Castellano, D., and Frosolini, M. (2013). An integer linear programming approach
to maintenance strategies selection. The International Journal of Quality & Reliability
Management,[Online] 30(9), 991-1016. Available at Accessed as on 22/11/2018
Business Wire (2015). Southland industries offers analytics, building automation, and
equipment lifecycle management through new subsidiary, Envise. Business
Wire [Online]Available at Accessed as on 22/11/2018
Filatov, A. A., and Kolibaba, V. I. (2016). Theoretical approaches to developing a strategy for
managing the assets of a transmission and distribution company. St. Petersburg State
Polytechnical University Journal. Economics, [Online] (6) Available at
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.5862/JE.256.16 Accessed as on 22/11/2018
Kirubakaran, B., and Ilangkumaran, M. (2016). Selection of optimum maintenance strategy
based on FAHP integrated with GRA-TOPSIS. Annals of Operations Research,[Online] 245(1-
2), 285-313. Available at doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10479-014-1775-3 Accessed as on
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Lu, Y. (2017). Public capital asset management: A holistic perspective. Journal of Public
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2017-B002 Accessed as on 22/11/2018
PR Newswire(2018). A top ten global pharmaceutical company implements ValGenesis'
industry-leading paperless validation lifecycle management system to streamline their equipment
validation lifecycle process. PR Newswire [Online] Available at Accessed as on 22/11/2018
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MAINTENANCE STRATEGIES
Rönnberg-Sjödin, D. (2013). A lifecycle perspective on buyer-supplier collaboration in process
development projects. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, [Online]24(2), 235-
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Seecharan, T., Labib, A., and Jardine, A. (2018). Maintenance strategies: Decision making grid
vs jack-knife diagram. Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, [Online] 24(1), 61-78.
Available at Accessed as on 22/11/2018
Shafiee, M. (2015). Maintenance strategy selection problem: An MCDM overview. Journal of
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22/11/2018
Velmurugan, R. S., and Dhingra, T. (2015). Maintenance strategy selection and its impact in
maintenance function. International Journal of Operations & Production
Management, [Online]35(12), 1622-1661. Available at doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJOPM-01-
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Zhao, X., Angelov, S., and Grefen, P. (2014). Dynamic service contracting for on-demand asset
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