Identification and assessment risks in maintenance operations

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to identify the risks and methods for their assessment in the case of maintenance activities in Sri Lanka. The main objectives were to idenhfy theoc^pabonai risks in maintenance work and the risk assessment methods m place and their drawbacks in the Desiga/methodologyapproach - The identification and assessment of risks were undertaken through a study of three fast-moving consumer products manufacturing organisations. The relevant •data w£re collected through personal interviews and site visits. Findings - Most typical risks associated with maintenance are cute, slips and falls, with severe or fatal injuries as the result of negligence of SOP and failure to use the PPE. Checklists, brainstorming and decomposition techniques were identified as the preferred methods m maintenance for nsk identification while a risk rating matrix is used for risk analysis. Lack of awareness and indifference towards risk assessment; make effective risk assessment very difficult These drawbacks can be minimised by education, systematic training and enforcing rules, regulations and procedures for Originality/value - Studies on maintenance worldwide have identified several maintenance-specific risks such as working at heights, the pressure of time, etc However, there is a dearth of published research on risks and risk assessment methods in maintenance m Sri Lankan context The findings highlighted the safety risks and risk assessment tools entailed in the maintenance operanons of manufacturing organisations. The findings will be useful for those m maintenance operations in managing risks effectively through designing work environments that are nsk-tree.