| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/M52922/01 |
| Title: |
A CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING APPROACH TO PLANT MAINTENANCE IMPROVEMENT |
| Principal Investigator: |
Thompson, Professor G |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Mechanical, Aerospace & Manufac Eng |
| Organisation: |
UMIST |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 August 1999 |
Ends: |
31 December 2001 |
Value (£): |
69,466
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Design Engineering |
Eng. Dynamics & Tribology |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| Aerospace, Defence and Marine |
Manufacturing |
| Energy |
Transport Systems and Vehicles |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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Maintenance problems exist in many manufacturing plants. There are a range of techniques that are used presently to make improvements to maintenance, eg RCM, TPM, FTA, FMEA, spares analysis. These techniques are 'bottom up' approaches, they are based on an analysis of plant details. They enjoy some success, but the volume of work involved tends to make them an expensive proposition.This proposal investigates an alternative approach using Creating Problem Solving (CPS) principles which are used in business applications to effect improvements. The aim of this proposal is to investigate if CPS principles can be applied in an intervention to improve plant maintenance.CPS is a 'top down' approach and comprises thinking and evaluation 'tools' for use within a flexible framework. An intervention would begin at a high level to explore the overall scenario as presented to define specific problem areas for examination. This approach is attractive because it widens the scope for solutions beyond those of 'bottom up' plant analysis. There are significant research issues. Can CPS identify key problem areas? Can CPS tools be applied to engineering problems, are certain tools suited to situations with particular engineering characteristics? Will the CPS process integrate effectively with engineering practice?
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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