Maintenance management: literature review and directions

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on maintenance management and suggest possible gaps from the point of view of researchers and practitioners.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper systematically categorizes the published literature and then analyzes and reviews it methodically.

Findings

The paper finds that important issues in maintenance management range from various optimization models, maintenance techniques, scheduling, and information systems etc. Within each category, gaps have been identified. A new shift in maintenance paradigm is also highlighted.

Practical implications

Literature on classification of maintenance management has so far been very limited. This paper reviews a large number of papers in this field and suggests a classification in to various areas and sub areas. Subsequently, various emerging trends in the field of maintenance management are identified to help researchers specifying gaps in the literature and direct research efforts suitably.

Originality/value

The paper contains a comprehensive listing of publications on the field in question and their classification according to various attributes. The paper will be useful to researchers, maintenance professionals and others concerned with maintenance to understand the importance of maintenance management

Citation

Garg, A. and Deshmukh, S.G. (2006), "Maintenance management: literature review and directions", Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 205-238. https://doi.org/10.1108/13552510610685075