Engineering interventions in automotive maintenance, repair and operations (MRO)

Abstract

Abstract. This article investigates the gap between idealized OEM maintenance schedules and the harsh reality of machinery operation under continuous “24/7” cycles. Based on a retrospective analysis of Big Data covering a 15-year operational history of 350 units of equipment operated at the critical infrastructure facility - separate subdivision “Svitlichanske Regional Utility Enterprise “Luhanskvoda”, the study demonstrates the failure of linear mileage-based maintenance planning. The paper details the physics of “stationary depletion”, where machinery wears out without movement and introduces the author`s proprietary “Chuikov Adaptive Maintenance Framework (CAMF)” for converting engine hours into equivalent mileage. Special attention is paid to the evolution of diagnostics: from simple error code reading to the creation of a “digital shadow” of the aggregate and the implementation of methods analogous to medical diagnostics - spectral analysis of the machine`s “blood” (oil) and listening to its “pulse” (vibroacoustics). The article also reveals non-obvious factors of resource reduction, such as hydraulic heat saturation, vibration resonance of attachment and the managerial phenomenon of “lack of ownership” in shift work. As a solution, a complex of engineering interventions (wear mitigation) is proposed: from the implementation of “kidney loop” oil filtration and cavitation control to surface shot peening. The result of the work is the justification that a modern mechanical engineer must manage the physicochemical processes of material degradation, relying on digital analytics to minimize the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).