Assessing the Sustainability of an Aluminum Roofing Sheet Corrugating Machine by Reliability Centered Maintenance and Cost Reduction Technique

In any organized manufacturing firm, maintenance of the operational machines or equipment is prominent since adequate maintenance prevents the system from unnecessary breakdown, hence promotes productivity. This study thereforeassessed the capability and sustainability of an aluminum roofing sheets corrugating machine by reliability centered maintenance cost approach ina manufacturing firm in Port Harcourt. For data acquisition, breakdown and maintenance records of selected components of the machine was collected from the company. Exponential distribution was used for analysis of failure trend, reliability, and mean time between failures of the components. Maintenance cost was also analyzed. Results shows that the minimum rate of failure of roll bearingswas 0.00050403yr-1 in 2014, while the maximum was 0.00996678 yr-1in 2020. The maximum reliability of the system due to cutting device for the period investigated was 0.367. The maximum reliability of the corrugating machine from the perspective of electric motor was 0.3678. Similarly, the minimum mean time between failures of the machine components were: rolls 100 hours; cutting device 151 hours; de-coiler121hours; electric motor 151hours. The maintenance cost of the system for the period investigated follows: 5,749,421.21 Naira, 3,795,238.92Naira, and 4, 783,796.05 Naira for 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively; 3,844,911.48 Naira, 4,637,049.52 Naira and 6,582,397.53 Naira for 2019,2020 and 2021, respectively. The proposed technique enhances a reduction of maintenance cost by 3.6%.