Assessment of Demand for Services Relating to Repair & Maintenance of Instruments

The main objective of this report was to review and analyse the present and past arrangements on country-wide basis for service and maintenance of instruments, their effectiveness and the difficulties in achieving maximum uptime. In the light of growing installation base of instruments of conventional as well as more advanced and sophisticated types, it was felt necessary to analyse the adequacy and effectiveness of such services in the country to minimize down time of instruments for maximizing productivity. A field survey of 265 users, manufacturers, service providers and experts led to meaningful productivity. A field survey of 265 users, manufacturers, service providers and experts led to meaningful suggestions of ways and means for achieving stated objective. Recommendations are made for viable “National Program On Instrumentations” to meet present & future requirements of such services by restructuring existing facilities and through adoption of new management methodologies.

Range of Service

Services generally required by instrumentation users are installation/erection, repair and maintenance, calibration, reconditioning and warranty services. Practices employed during implementing these services at various stages of installation and operation have a considerable bearing on efficient and effective running of the plant. Moreover with increasing automation and sophistication which is penetrating in all sectors of the economy, it has now, become even more important to improve on these services to make them more effective and productive. The scarcity of equipment and high cost of capital makes it mandatory to ensure adequacy of services to keep instruments in top working condition and fully utilized.

Installation/ erection is generally the responsibility of instrument supplier. In over 55% cases this service is entrusted on the supplier to ensure servicing in case of instrument malfunction after installation. In about 40% cases, it is undertaken by user himself while in 5% cases outside help is taken. Warranty services are invariably procured by the user almost exclusively from the instrument supplier or his agent.

The urgency of the need of provide repair and maintenance services in a competent manner on a country wide basis is brought out by large quantum of instruments lying in a state of dis-use in various areas of instrumentation usage. The cost wise proportion of dis-used instruments as related to the total cost of existing instrumentation in various user categories ranges from minimum of 2.55% in process industry to the maximum of 5.1% in service sector (mostly hospitals). A total value of disused instruments covered during the survey. It means that if ways and means are devised to enable repairs at reasonable costs, a large proportion of instrumentation could be put into productive use.

R&M services are needed by all users for all categories of instruments. A wide variety of arrangements are also noted to have been made by various instrument users to obtain such services. On an aggregate basis over 50% of users rely on in-house maintenance of their instruments, 42% users take help of instrument suppliers/agents and the remaining 8% sub-contract these services to independent parties/organizations. The level of satisfaction for these services is not that high and there is a dare need for services as about 75% of respondents have shown ‘willing ness’ to subcontract these services.

Another activity closely allied to R&M services is overhaul or reconditioning of outdated equipments. Undertaking of such services require in-depth expertise and technical knowledge about the respective areas of instrumentation. Techno-commercial out-look will be an important aspect in deciding the success in this area. Substantial additional resources in terms of facilities and manpower are required for this activity. It is also necessary to keep in mind a comparatively required for this activity. It is also necessary to instrumentation (in contract with other capital goods). Any attempt at reconditioning of instrumentation must aim at a higher echelon of product technology of course, at reasonable cost.

Another facility found to be in good demand was the facilities for regular calibration and recalibration of existing instruments. For all except the very large instrumentation users, an in-house facility for the calibration or recalibration of their instruments is too expensive to install or maintain. In many cases such periodic recalibration of equipment should be a contractual or legal requirement. In any case, it is always advisable for users of critical instruments to get their key instruments regularly checked and up-dated