THE ORGANIZATION OF MAINTENANCE IN JAPANESE INDUSTRY

This paper presents the results of an enquiry, conducted by the Japan Institute of Plant Engineers in 1979, into maintenance management in Japanese industry. The results are compared with those of an earlier British enquiry. Questionnaires were sent to 355 corporations and the response rate was 34. 9%. The corporations were divided into five industrial groups and the collected data were summarized according to each group: heavy process, light process, heavy assembly, light assembly and miscellaneous. Forty-five questions were asked, covering organization, personnel, maintenance system, maintenance cost, measurement of maintenance performance and improvements achieved. Maintenance cost, maintenance personnel and maintenance organization are summarized.