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A simulation modelling, using a simulation language SIMPLE++, was used to study the personnel capacity utilisation in a maintenance department. Input data included work orders with different throughput times, different personnel profile based on work order requirements, and different prioritisation rules. A decentralised maintenance department was assumed, whereby each department had its own maintenance unit. The effects of personnel organisational policies on the capacity utilisation of the personnel and on the throughput time of maintenance work orders were studied. The results of the simulation show that the best utilisation of the personnel and the best throughput time of maintenance work orders is obtained if the maintenance personnel are allowed to function across the borders of their department (here termed as exchangeability of personnel). Likewise, if there were universal maintenance personnel (i.e. who could take both electrical and mechanical work orders), then there would have been an optimum staffing of the maintenance department.

The main objective of this study was to analyse the economics of introducing IT in the maintenance department. The economics in this case was determined by conducting a quantitative analysis on the reduction of operational costs, on increase in productivity and on quality improvement. A comparison was made to analyse company performance in the maintenance before and after the introduction of IT in the maintenance department. The analysis shows that there were reductions of operational and inventory holding costs. Likewise, it was shown that there was also improvement in product quality and productivity.

The purpose of this paper is to present results of a research conducted to test the method developed by Ang et al. in a different environment and setting.

To conduct this study the approach developed by Ang et al. was used to examine the accrued benefits of using information technology (IT) in quality management. The interview and questionnaire method was mostly used; however, direct observation and archival records data collection were also used to extract more precise data towards a better conclusion. The focus was on the analysis of the use of IT on enhancing quality awareness, improving product quality, and reducing quality‐related costs.

The findings of the study show that the introduction of IT on quality management has contributed greatly to the enhancement of quality awareness, in the improvement of product quality and in the reduction of quality costs.

The research shows the importance of the existence of the right environment for the implementation of a quality system. It also shows that the introduction of IT has really reduced the quality cost and improved the product quality. The research developed constructs for the eight dimensions of quality, which helps to measure the impact of IT on quality management.

The paper reports systematic investigations on how companies can measure the impact of IT in quality management.

The paper presents a mathematical model that measures the profitability of the maintenance system based on the traditional accounting definition of profitability. There is currently a dire need for an article presenting a scientific‐based framework for practitioners in maintenance to make optimal instead of sub‐optimal decisions on profitability. Design/methodology/approach – A case study is presented to reflect the actual application of the proposed model. Different situations were considered in modelling to obtain optimal results. Simulation experiments were conducted to demonstrate that maintenance profitability is a reality through the use of differential calculus. Findings – It was observed that the approach presented is a holistic viewpoint of maintenance profitability measurement. Research limitations/implications – An adequate understanding of the maintenance system is needed to properly implement the model. Practical implications – The practical application of the model is that the maintenance system will now be viewed as a value‐adding activity instead of “a necessary evil” or “a bottomless pit for expenses”. Originality/value – This paper fulfils an identified need and offers practical help to managers in taking guided decisions that are optimal.

The aim with this paper is to describe current IT practices within maintenance in Swedish industry, and to outline the future possible developments.

The study is performed as a web‐based questionnaire survey consisting of 71 participants. A systems perspective is applied for capturing the most relevant aspects of IT utilisation.

The IT practices are characterised by high use of business‐specific IT solutions, low use of company‐wide IT solutions, low IT intensity and the client‐server architecture is dominating. The purchase decision and ownership of IT is to high extent tied to the maintenance function. Moreover, IT systems are apprehended as beneficial and connected to real needs. The findings imply a decentralised IT governance form and a mainly vertical (functional) IT support.

The socio‐technical approach suggested in this paper helps us to identify which areas to study, and also shows the tight interrelationship between different factors, layers and systems.

The study results could be used for benchmarking purposes or to highlight state‐of‐the‐art of IT utilisation in maintenance, and thereby set the topic on the corporate agenda.

Studies describing IT utilisation within maintenance in the form of case studies and surveys exist, but they mainly focus on one aspect. This study approached the problem from a socio‐technical perspective, covering several aspects connected to IT utilisation.

The purpose of this paper is to explore and identify the contextual quality management practices (QMP) and to empirically examine their underlying dimensions and its direct influence or association with performance in context to Indian IT enabled service small- and mid-size enterprises (SMEs).

The methodology adopted in this study is sequential exploratory mixed method approach. This study adopts two stage processes of capturing data, first identifying critical QMP/indicators as obtained from review of literature, followed by in-depth interview based on semi-structured questionnaire from sample of 20 select service SMEs. Based on comprehensive compilation of literature as well as through in-depth interview 21 QMP have been identified. Structured instrument has been developed taking measures as identified. The QMP relevant to SMEs have been derived from Kaynak (2003), Samat et al. (2006), Salaheldin (2009), Kim et al. (2012) and Talib et al. (2013b). The research instrument developed was customised and adapted to the background of Indian IT enabled service SMEs. Similarly for measuring quality performance five items have been identified from previous literature. Five-point Likert scale ranging from “5=strongly agree” to “1=strongly disagree” is used to show the agreement of the respondents. Exploratory factor analysis has been deployed to identify underlying dimensions of QMP. Thereafter, linear regression modelling has been done to better understand the relationships between QMP and quality performance.

A three-factor solution has been obtained and the individual practices could be reconfigured into three dimensions, namely, organisational management, capacity management and quality documentation and security management (QDSM). The findings reflect that strength of Indian IT enabled service SMEs pertaining to quality implementation lie with customer focus, training and service-level management (SLM). Regression analysis shows that all three factor dimensions are positively influencing quality performance. The predictor score of three factor dimensions clearly reflects that Indian SMEs in service sectors have been focusing more on organisational culture and QDSM. The overall findings resemble very interesting insights which gives indication of unstructured pattern of approach. Keeping in view the pattern of practices it can be predicted that Indian digital SMEs are not practicing continuous improvement. It could be inferred that Indian IT enabled service SMEs approach is non-continuous in nature.

Further analysis may be needed to measure the construct using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The research paper is limited by including only six service sub-sectors which may not be adequate to generalise the results for the entire IT enabled/digital service SMEs within India. The same study can be extended by incorporating more quality management (QM) variables and other contextual factors within the organisation and by involving other service sector SMEs. Future research could be done by incorporating multi-contingency framework and moreover researchers may deploy other sophisticated tools and techniques to investigate how individual QMP are interrelated and its influence on performance by means of linkage research. The conceptual model developed can be validated by incorporating other service sector SMEs by deploying CFA and structural modelling.

This study could be beneficial to entrepreneurs and managers of start-ups and other service industries towards understanding improvement and changing their implementation approach. The theoretically grounded conceptual framework developed could provide entrepreneurial insights to new service managers and entrepreneurs who can better allocate their scarce resources to build quality and scalability effectively.

This study adds to the literature in identifying and showing importance of QMP in Indian IT enabled service SMEs. This choice is appropriate for this study as no prior research has been found to be conducted on this particular sector from Indian context, especially from service SMEs point of view. This research contributes in identifying new QMP (i.e. service reporting; content management; SLM and information and security management). Overall, the results of this study contribute towards advancing the understanding of the dimensionality of QM. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first study being undertaken in context to Indian IT enabled service SMEs and is believed that the study provides valuable knowledge from the perspective of QM issues pertaining to Indian service firms.

The purpose of this paper is to review critical success factors (CSFs) of total quality management (TQM), and to rank these in the Indian manufacturing industry.

To rank the CSFs, Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) was used. The data were collected using questionnaires as the research instrument.

Process management, top management leadership and customer focus are the top three factors for implementation of TQM in the manufacturing industry in India. Quality citizenship is a relatively low‐ranked factor.

The findings will be useful in successful implementation of TQM in developing countries like India. Further research may be carried out into the CSFs in different national contexts.

The paper is the first to make use of TOPSIS approach to rank the CSFs of TQM.

The present study aims to draw on operations management and information technology literature to examine the effect of three information technology resources (electronic data interchange (EDI), computer‐aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM), and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems) and three related quality management capabilities (customer and supplier relations, product and process management, and quality data and workforce management) and their effect on a firm's quality performance.

Hypotheses derived from the key features of quality management and information technology presented by previous authors are tested using structural equation modeling through field research on a sample of 229 manufacturing companies in Spain.

Findings from this study indicate that there is significant evidence to support the hypothesized model in which information technology resources (EDI, ERP systems, and CAD/CAM systems) have a direct impact on related quality management capabilities (customer and supplier relations, product and process management, and quality data and workforce management) as well as an indirect impact on quality performance mediated through quality management capabilities.

The discrepant findings in the literature suggest the need to identify contingencies that may govern the IT‐performance relationship. This study focuses on the interplay between information technology, quality management, and quality performance.

The purpose of this paper is to describe a study conducted in Indian companies to evaluate the role of total quality management (TQM) of information systems (IS) in pragmatically realizing organizational goals. As the Indian customer becomes more and more brand savvy – largely owing to the globalization and advertising boom, quality consciousness is doomed to increase and if quality issues in the Indian industry are not addressed in time, competition might lead to its elimination.

This paper explains TQM philosophy on the basis of principles of top management commitment, customer centric advancements of processes, benchmarking for problem solving, relentless improvement and strengthening the employee base. Data were collected through a questionnaire‐based survey of managers. Results were interpreted by multivariate analysis of qualitative responses.

The paper argues that TQM and IS can be quite fruitful in improving the quality of products and services offered to the end customer. Further it quantifies the extent of top management support for TQM in IS, the extent of benefits realized by TQM, relationship between IS‐TQM realized benefits and top management support and relationship between the IS‐TQM realized benefits and TQM principles implemented.

Data are opinion‐based, hence respondents' bias could not be eliminated and difference of opinion within a firm has not been entertained. Research in the area may build upon these findings to further investigate the implementation of TQM principles specific to conditions of IS in Indian firms.

The paper adds to the knowledge on business in India as the nation invites foreign investment. The paper findings may help management of firms in the process of introducing TQM for IS as a measure to enhanced awareness for quality.

The purpose of this study was to assess the readiness of the Swedish manufacturing industry to implement dynamic, data-driven preventive maintenance (PM) by identifying the gap between the state of the art and the state of practice.

An embedded multiple case study was performed in which some of the largest companies in the discrete manufacturing industry, that is, mechanical engineering, were surveyed regarding the design of their PM programmes.

The studied manufacturing companies make limited use of the existing scientific state of the art when designing their PM programmes. They seem to be aware of the possibilities for improvement, but they also see obstacles to changing their practices according to future requirements.

The results of this study will benefit both industry professionals and academicians, setting the initial stage for the development of data-driven, diversified and dynamic PM programmes.

First and foremost, this study maps the current state and practice in PM planning among some of the larger automotive manufacturing industries in Sweden. This work reveals a gap between the state of the art and the state of practice in the design of PM programmes. Insights regarding this gap show large improvement potentials which may prove important for academics as well as practitioners.