A comparative study of performance evaluation based on field failure data for food production lines

Abstract

Purpose

Food production lines consist of several machines in series, and for that reason if a failure occurs in a machine some or all of the in‐process material upstream of the failure will have to be scrapped due to quality deterioration during the stoppage, therefore the necessity of better maintenance strategy is required. This paper aims to address this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

Statistical analysis including the computation of descriptive statistics of field failure and repair data for four pizza production lines is computed. Also, a comparison study of performance evaluation between the lines is performed.

Findings

The pizza production lines are following the lognormal distribution for both times to failure and times to repair and if the repair process has not been completed in the first 45 minutes and goes on for a long time, then this indicates serious problems on the lines.

Practical implications

Maintenance has an important role on the efficiency of the food production line. By analyzing the field failure data of the four production lines the reliability and maintainability can be estimated and the maintenance policies of the lines may be evaluated. The study could be a fundamental tool for maintenance personnel and engineers for optimizing the maintenance strategy.

Originality/value

The collection and analysis of the lines' actual failure and repair data extended over a period of 12 months and will be very useful as a valid data source for food product machinery manufacturers who wish to improve the design and operation of their production lines.

Citation

Tsarouhas, P.H. (2011), "A comparative study of performance evaluation based on field failure data for food production lines", Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 26-39. https://doi.org/10.1108/13552511111116231