In order to be successful in today’s world-class manufacturing environment companies have to fulfill
several requirements. Maintaining a reliable manufacturing process is a key success factor to satisfy these
requirements which can be achieved through implementing a proper maintenance strategy.
Any operation or process done on machine or its parts to enhance the efficiency of machine before or after
the breakdown is called maintenance. In the recently released European Standards regarding maintenance[22],
maintenance is defined as “the combination of all technical, administrative and managerial actions during
the life cycle of an item intended to retain it in, or restore it to, a state in which it can perform the required
function”. A manufacturing business is said to be prosperous over the years, when it runs non-interrupted
and always maintains a stable and high productive production flow. Plant can achieve productivity up to a
satisfactory level by proper maintenance work[4]. An efficient maintenance strategy not only reduces the probability
of breakage of machine elements or shutdown of machines which hinders the production’s schedule,
but also such a strategy enhances the efficiency and life-span of machines, process quality and labor force
productivity