Title: A critical analysis of maintenance training regimes for an industrialised economy

Authors: Adrian Chaplin; Frances Hardiman; Daragh Naughton

Addresses: Department of Mechanical & Automobile Engineering, Limerick Institute of Technology, Moylish, Limerick, IRL, Ireland ' Department of Mechanical & Automobile Engineering, Limerick Institute of Technology, Moylish, Limerick, IRL, Ireland ' Department of Mechanical & Automobile Engineering, Limerick Institute of Technology, Moylish, Limerick, IRL, Ireland

Abstract: As a management paradigm, it is accepted that maintenance management is less well developed than other management activities. One of the reasons for this underdevelopment can be traced to the way maintenance personnel are trained during their vocational, undergraduate and initial professional development phases. Historical records for all vocational training and all current undergraduate courses in Ireland that include a maintenance training element were reviewed. This course of research aims to discover the reasons why such training is poorly resourced, especially in an era where access to statistical modelling and predictive maintenance tools is commonplace. Ireland provides an interesting locus for the research as Ireland has a rich manufacturing topography. The research has shown that despite a well-funded third level and further education sector, Ireland still suffers from poor levels of maintenance personnel training. This research will be of interest to senior managers concerned with enterprise optimisation.

Keywords: maintenance training; production optimisation; predictive maintenance; FDI; foreign direct investment; Ireland; oil analysis; engineering management; engineering economics; maintenance management; vocational training; undergraduate courses; higher education; maintenance personnel training.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEME.2014.066944

International Journal of Engineering Management and Economics, 2014 Vol.4 No.3/4, pp.249 - 266

Received: 25 Oct 2013
Accepted: 08 Mar 2014
Published online: 17 Jan 2015 *

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