A review and analysis of plant maintenance and replacement strategies of manufacturing firms in Nigeria

Maintenance is important to the success and continuity of firms, particularly in the changing society as ours. The effectiveness and the survival of organizations are largely enhanced by the ability of management to ensure that there is functional equipment, lands and building, infrastructure and fixtures. In the manufacturing setup, there is wear and tear of machines and equipment in periods of usage that require sufficient maintenance to enhance their useful life. This ensures reliability of the machines and equipments in the production plants as to uninterrupted production runs. Most manufacturing firms have lost their effectiveness and productivity, because of poor equipment maintenance. Poor attitude towards equipment maintenance hamper firm’s operation. This study examined the principles of preventive and breakdown maintenance aimed at addressing the issues of negligence and lack of equipment maintenance. Also, the study focused more on maintenance and replacement problem solving, and the main difficulties are reported along with probable solutions. Key words: Maintenance, preventive maintenance, breakdown maintenance, reliability and replacement.