1.

0Introduction
The subject JJ 616 Maintenance Management undertaken by mechanical
student of Polytechnic Mukah covers important aspects of effective
maintenance management in a working organization, especially in industries
such as manufacturing and processing. In order to increase the
understanding of the students on the subject of maintenance management,
this case study is assigned where students are to visit and analyze several
aspects of maintenance management practiced by an organization.
For the completion of this case study, we have visited Press Metal
Sarawak Sdn Bhd based in Mukah, Sarawak. It specializes in the production of
aluminium billets and started its operation in 2009. The operation of the
smelting plant can be summarized into three stages, smelting, casting, and
heat treatment. In the smelting stage, alumina undergo smelting using the
process of electrolysis while in the casting stage, molten aluminium are cast
into billets by pouring them into moulds and cooled off using water. Billets
produced are then treated through a process called homogenization and later
prepared for shipping.
During the visit to the facilities, students are to identify and study on the
type of maintenance organization (MO), maintenance functions, type of
maintenance strategies, and the type of planning and scheduling applied in
the maintenance unit in the organization. These can be obtained by asking
the personnel directly or by observing the work operation in the facilities.
2.0Content of analysis
2.1Type of maintenance organization
Press Metal Sdn Bhd applied de-centralized MO for the maintenance works
of its facilities. This can be observed in how they organized their
maintenance personnel by departments, mainly production and
engineering. This is further divided by sections, such as electrolysis
section which consist of high voltage and low voltage area, and utility,
which covers the maintenance of utilities used in the plant. Examples of
such utilities are air-conditioning and water supply.
The company uses de-centralized MO instead of centralized MO
because of its size. As the size is much bigger than a regular sized
company, it is better for management if maintenance personnel are
divided into areas and sections instead of personnel reporting to a central
maintenance manager. This can reduce reaction time and make it easier
for management of resources used for maintenance.
2.2Maintenance functions
In Press Metal Sdn Bhd, there are many maintenance functions that the
maintenance personnel are in charge of. These maintenance functions are
important to keep machineries and components in good running condition

as well as prevent loss due to unnecessary breakdown. Examples of

maintenance functions in Press Metal Sdn Bhd are:
a) Inspect
Inspections are done to determine the serviceability of mechanical
components prior to any maintenance work
In Press Metal Sdn Bhd, the application of this maintenance function
can be seen in which the finished billets as well as the mould are
inspected to determine if the mould are fit to continue to be used or
need to be serviced already.
b) Service
Servicing is a periodic operation where items are kept in proper
operating condition by the maintenance personnel.
An example of this maintenance function in Press Metal Sdn Bhd is the
servicing of machineries, such as the cars used in the plant area.
c) Install
Installing is emplacing, seating, or fixing into position of an item, part,
module, or component in a manner to allow proper functioning of
equipment or system.
This maintenance function can be seen in the installation of new
electrode in the electrolysis pot when the old electrode has been
depleted.
d) Overhaul
Overhauling is a maintenance effort that restores an item to complete
operating condition as prescribe by standard.
In Press Metal Sdn Bhd, an example of this function is the overhauling
of electrolysis pot that is done every two years.
2.3Type of maintenance strategies
Based on the question and answer (Q&A) session with the maintenance
personnel as well as with the operation officers, we can conclude that the
strategies implemented by Press Metal Snd Bhd are Breakdown
maintenance and Preventive/ Scheduled maintenance.
This can be seen from the maintenance work done in the plant.
Each maintenance department has staff on standby, which shows that
maintenance work will be done in the event of a breakdown.
Preventive/ Scheduled maintenance can be seen from the
maintenance team having major maintenance work planned in advance.
For example, there will be a shutdown of every two years for the
electrolysis pot.
These maintenance strategies are applied because they are the
most effective and easy to implement. As a manufacturing plant,
breakdown and preventive maintenance are necessary to prevent losses
due to downtime of equipment. They also do not need complex monitoring
equipment in order to function correctly such as in the case of Predictive
maintenance.

2.4Type of planning and scheduling

As the manufacturing of aluminum billets includes processes that may
impose safety hazards to the student, movement throughout the facilities
are limited and information on the type of planning and scheduling can
only be obtained from the conversations with the personnel in charge
instead of physical proof such as a print-out of schedule tables. Therefore,
we can only make the following assumptions regarding the type of
planning and scheduling done in Press Metal Sdn Bhd.
2.4.1 Planning
Planning is a process of determining future decisions and actions
necessary to accomplish intended goals and targets. Amongst the
type of planning is the Long range planning which covers a period
of several years and sets plans for future activities and long range
improvement.
In Press Metal Sdn Bhd, an example of long range planning
can again be seen from the planned shutdown of electrolysis pots,
that is every two years for each pot.
2.4.2 Scheduling
There are three types of scheduling used in maintenance
management, which are master schedule, weekly schedule, and
daily schedule. Weekly schedule covers maintenance work for a
week.
An example of weekly scheduling in Press Metal Sdn Bhd is
the maintenance for the furnace.
3.0Conclusion
Maintenance management is an important aspect that needs to be taken into
account to achieve optimum productivity for an industry. Studying and
applying the suitable maintenance measures can offer increase production
value as well as prevent unnecessary losses due to downtime and wastage of
resources.
Our visit to Press Metal Sdn Bhd has increased our knowledge on the
application of maintenance management as well as giving an insight into the
working environment of an industrial organization. It has also enriched our
understanding on the importance of good maintenance management towards
the overall productivity of a company.
4.0References
1. Verawaty Ismail, JJ616 Maintenance Management Module, 2016.
2. http://www.pressmetal.com/pressmetal-v2/index.html