Design of an intelligent decision-making system for maintenance practices using fuzzy inference system in northern Indian SMEs

Purpose The paper aims to analyze the significance of key maintenance practices in effective implementation of the performance parameters in Northern Indian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach The present study deploys a fuzzy inference approach (fuzzy logic toolbox) to test the effective implementation of maintenance practices in SMEs. The significant maintenance factors are defined from applicable literature for this reason and validated by industry experts. Findings A model built into a fuzzy rule viewer and a surface view tool built into a fuzzy toolbox in MATLAB has highlighted the successful implementation of maintenance practices in Indian SMEs. The study highlights that corrective maintenance, general maintenance, preventive maintenance and breakdown maintenance problems have emerged as important indicator variables for effective synergistic implementation of maintenance practices in northern Indian SMEs. Originality/value An output assessment model is developed using a fuzzy set theory for maintenance practices, where performance evaluation is significant to the overall performance of SMEs.