Human error in maintenance: a review

Abstract

Purpose -The aim of the paper is to present the impact of human errors in maintenance as found in the literature in order for practitioners to be aware of their impact and develop actions to mitigate their effect. Design/methodology/approach -The paper systematically categorizes the published literature and then analyzes and reviews it methodically. Findings -Human error in maintenance is a pressing problem. Practical implications -A maintenance person plays an important role in the reliability of equipment. It is also a well-known fact that a significantly large proportion of total human errors occur during the maintenance phase. Human error in maintenance is a subject which in the past has not been given the amount of attention that it deserves. This paper will be useful to people working in the area of maintenance engineering, as it presents a general review of literature published on maintenance errors in various sectors of industry. Originality/value -The paper contains a comprehensive listing of publications on the field in question and their classification according to industry. The paper will be useful to researchers, maintenance professionals and others concerned with maintenance to understand the importance of human error in maintenance.

Defining line replaceable units

“…Human factors analysis helps to asses the effort to access the maintenance point and the risks involved, given a proceduralized task (see, e.g., Dhillon & Liu, 2006). Together with human factors, path and motion planing helps to reveal the best way for a service engineer to reach and route a part into or out of an assembly.…”

The Analysis of Human Error as Causes in the Maintenance of Machines: A Case Study in Mining Companies

“…The complexity of maintenance in modern mining systems is based on the combination and use of various resources and the characteristics of the dynamic environment in which they exist. Maintenance is usually categorised into preventive, corrective, and predictive types [1]. Maintenance extends the working life of machines, thus improving the cost efficiency of the system.…”

Factors that Influenced the Quality Inspection on the Production Line in Manufacturing Industry

“…Normally, the machine problems are due to the downtime or machine spoilt and cannot run [12]. Even if the machine can run, but the product quality will be affected.…”