An empirical study on the relationships between maintenance policies and approaches among Italian companies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose an empirical investigation targeting companies operating in Northern Italy and focusing on some main topics of maintenance. Design/methodology/approach – Through a combined application of factor analysis and cluster analysis, the paper first identified the main approaches implemented by Italian companies with the purpose of preventing failures and reducing their consequences. Then, the paper grouped companies on the basis of such approaches, and derived the profile of each cluster, in terms of both the company's characteristics and some key maintenance elements, including the maintenance policy or the use of advanced techniques to make maintenance interventions more effective. Findings – Results of this study suggest that the approach to maintenance management could be related to the implementation of specific maintenance policies, as well as to other topics, such as the company characteristics, the use of advanced techniques for enhancing maintenance effe...

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