Analysis of key factors to improve maintenance management in the oil & gas industry in Latin America

Abstract

This article analyses the application of maintenance

management (MM) in the oil and gas industry in Latin

America. We conducted a web-based expert panel to develop

a set of consensus activities that managers consider when

managing maintenance projects. A heterogeneous group of

96 professionals related to maintenance tasks was selected

to represent all the relevant perspectives (top management;

maintenance; production; quality; logistics; and finance).

Some 396 maintenance practitioners took part in a second

online survey aimed at establishing the key MM factors that

summarised the correlations among the previously defined

maintenance activities. Moreover, an equation to discover the

influence that these factors have in MM improvement was

obtained. Finally, maintenance practitioners were classified

into groups with similar MM styles according to previously

defined MM factors. Results showed that three latent factors

encompassed all MM activities: manpower efficiency; project

management and IT; and asset performance optimization.

Project management and IT was the most influential factor in

MM improvement. Four groups were identified as representing

different MM styles. The MM framework outlined in an

inductive manner enables maintenance practitioners in the oil

and gas industry to find out their strengths and weaknesses

and plan their maintenance strategy accordingly. Moreover, the

outlined procedure can be generalized for use in any industry.