Elsevier

Computers in Industry

Volume 63, Issue 9, December 2012, Pages 960-971
Computers in Industry

A framework for warranty management in industrial assets

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compind.2012.09.001Get rights and content

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to suggest a management framework for a better organization of warranty assistance, using engineering techniques already developed for similar processes and according to a process-based quality management system. Therefore, a generic framework is presented that integrates management methodologies which will be gathered in four sequential steps, where each different technique will play a crucial role.

Following this scheme, a supporting framework for the management of a warranty program is defined. This offers a practical vision of the set of activities that each warranty management process consists of and focuses on the relationship between manufacturer and user. By reengineering managerial processes and/or by the application of a correct warranty management system it is possible to have a greater influence on product design and manufacturing, increasing product quality by sharing and boosting the information flow about product defects, their sources and possible solutions.

The result of the study is, in short, a classification of different engineering tools, focused mainly on warranty and product management. In addition to this it also demonstrates how aspects of maintenance and manufacturing can be enhanced before finally discussing briefly the proper use of each tool according to the available data or information. All this is illustrated through a comprehensive representation that will help the reader to understand in a practical way, the different information inputs/outputs among the proposed steps.

Highlights

► Application of advantages from methodologies successfully applied in other areas. ► Relevant information to making decisions regarding after-sales service. ► Specific attention to the warranty period including other types of assistance such as maintenance. ► Inclusion of the voice of the client as it allows to address tasks performed in the user's facilities.

Introduction

The main objective of this research is to develop a management framework that can be applied to the after-sales service of an industrial company. This framework should remain in alignment with the overall business objectives and be integrated with the rest of the organization. We make the claim that this management framework is specifically well suited to managing the warranty period of industrial products.

Since the objective of this work is quite wide, and in order to make our goals more specific, we consider it useful to break it down into smaller research questions:

  • 1st question: How the different studies, models and approximations… completed up to this point, have helped the identification, analysis, elimination and prevention of problems when there has been a failure in an industrial asset?

  • 2nd question: What systems are proposed for after-sales service so that we can take advantage of the methodologies that have been successfully applied in other areas?

  • 3rd question: What information must be relevant to making decisions regarding after-sales service and what future research arises from this line of questioning?

The questions mentioned above will be answered throughout this paper. Nevertheless it is important here to underline the boundaries and limitations that this study presents:

  • This research is about after-sales management in general terms, i.e. it is not focused on a specific sector therefore each sector presents different variations in how the model is applied.

  • In the detailed analysis of after-sales management, this paper pays specific attention to the warranty period, although such warranties (depending on the terms of the service contracts) can include other types of assistance such as preventive maintenance, repairs or the procurement of spare parts.

  • The suggested methodologies are presented here from a conceptual point of view. Therefore it is not the intention of this paper to provide any mathematical or computerized model.

  • The study is limited to the tools selected for the management framework that were available at the moment of research. Nevertheless, there are also other methodologies which could be useful in reaching the same goals.

During the development of this research a maintenance management framework was used that had already been successfully implemented by one of the authors in different companies [1] (reviewed in) [2], [3]. The resulting methodology not only uses the framework as a starting point but also now includes the voice of the client. Taking into account the customer's approach and criteria is a novel concept as it allows us to address tasks that are performed in the user's facilities. Furthermore it also considers new and updated tools that have been proposed at each stage of the process, using an IDEF representation in three levels of detail for a better comprehension.

All these stages should be described in company procedures, also taking into account that different kinds of warranties are appropriate for the different products that can be found on the market (consumer products, commercial and industrial items, standard versus custom-built products, etc.). Depending on the type of product [4], the warranty that should be applied could be:

  • Standard products: FRW (Free Replacement Warranty), PRW (Pro Rata Warranty), or a combination of both.

  • Commercial products acquired in volume: That is the warranty applied to a fleet or group of items.

  • Customized products: RIW (Reliability Improvement Warranty).

  • Base warranty and extended warranty.

After assessing the implementation of the warranty management framework, some suggestions will be made at the end of the paper for the application of this process to real cases.

Section snippets

Brief summary of current practices

Our literature review is instrumental in identifying contributions related to the interaction of warranty management with the tools, models and techniques used by other disciplines. See [4] (for a review of P. Murthy Book [4] on Warranty Management, the reader is referred to [5]). Our idea is to benefit from this when defining the supporting structure of our warranty management framework. With this intention some important contributions to mention, are (in chronological order) Refs. [6], [7],

The warranty management process

Warranty management is a process that sets out the course of actions, series of stages or steps to follow, in order to lead and direct the organization of a warranty program [1], [4]. Due to the fact that the after sales support is frequently offered while the production lines are open, the information obtained from that service can be very helpful for production and, of course, useful in improving the design and development of the product [21]. In such a context a proposal for a reference

Management framework proposal for a warranty program

The reference framework is considered here as the essential supporting structure and the basic system needed to manage a warranty program, and influencing the engineering/manufacturing phase [31].

Comprehensive representation of the warranty framework

The proposed framework for the warranty management may achieve a very high level of maturity becoming a cyclical process (see Fig. 4) whose decisions are taken according to the whole business targets. This would adopt the feedback of quantitative and qualitative data for the improvement of the whole productive system, and apply well-known methodologies, already developed for other fields. As in Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, we will now try to characterize those processes related to the warranty

Framework implementation

Once the framework proposal has been described, it is now the intention of this section to briefly outline how it would be applied in a real case. In general terms, the reference framework described above for the warranty management requires the following conditions or features for a successful implementation:

  • 1.

    General management support. The implementation of this framework requires the agreement, support and understanding of the whole organization.

  • 2.

    Complex industrial assets. This framework will

Conclusions

Currently, it is possible to find in the relevant literature interesting contributions about models and frameworks related to the management of warranty programs. As the business world becomes more and more competitive, only those new management philosophies can make a difference. Therefore, the purpose here has been to adapt and to apply well-known methodologies to a field which was not yet in the focus of many executives. The present paper has summarized the process and the framework needed

Acknowledgments

This research is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Project EMAINSYS (DPI2011-22806) “Sistemas Inteligentes de Mantenimiento. Procesos emergentes de E-maintenance para la Sostenibilidad de los Sistemas de Producción”, besides FEDER funds. Also, special thanks to Prof. Pra Murthy for his review and contribution to the quality of this work.

Vicente González-Prida works currently for the company GD-ELS as a Project Manager for the MBT Leopard 2E Program. He is an industrial engineer (specialized in mechanical engineering) by the University of Seville and member of the Spanish Research & Development Group in Industrial Management of the mentioned University. He has also authored publications and collaborations in journals, books and conferences, national- and international-wide. His research and work interests are focused on the

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    Vicente González-Prida works currently for the company GD-ELS as a Project Manager for the MBT Leopard 2E Program. He is an industrial engineer (specialized in mechanical engineering) by the University of Seville and member of the Spanish Research & Development Group in Industrial Management of the mentioned University. He has also authored publications and collaborations in journals, books and conferences, national- and international-wide. His research and work interests are focused on the integration of technical, commercial and asset management issues, connected with the industrial organization, particularly with reliability (specification in design, failure data analysis), maintenance (outsourcing, e-maintenance) and after-sales (cost analysis, logistics, and management). Regarding the practical application and experience, and together to other responsibilities, he has managed the Integrated Logistic Support and the Configuration Management of the Leopard Program for the Spanish Army, coordinating and following-up the companies involved in the program as well as the internal resources, the economic control and the customer relationship.

    Adolfo Crespo is currently a full professor at the School of Engineering of the University of Seville, in the Department of Industrial Management. He holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering from this same University. His research works have been published in journals such as the International Journal of Production Research, International Journal of Production Economics, European Journal of Operations Research, Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, International Journal of Agile Manufacturing, Omega, Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, Decision Support Systems, Computers in Industry and Reliability Engineering and System Safety, International Journal of Simulation and Process Modeling, among others. Prof. Crespo is the author of 4 books, the last two with Springer-Verlag in 2007 and 2010 about maintenance and supply chain management, respectively. Prof. Crespo leads the Spanish Research Network on Dependability Management and the Spanish Committee for Maintenance Standardization (1995–2003). He also leads a research team related to maintenance and dependability management currently with 5 PhD students and 4 researchers. He has extensively participated in many engineering and consulting projects for different companies, for the Spanish Departments of Defense, Science and Education as well as for the European Commission (IPTS). He is the president of INGEMAN (a National Association for the Development of Maintenance Engineering in Spain) since 2002.

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