A qualitative study of preventive maintenance practices in Malaysian oil and gas industry

Organisations in the oil and gas (O&G) sector are extremely susceptible to the forces of supply and demand. Therefore, their viability depends heavily on efficient maintenance procedures and technologies. Given the ever-increasing global competitive pressure, particularly for the O&G operators, it is vital that companies equip themselves with a proper understanding of maintenance management programmes to enhance both the overall equipment effectiveness and throughput. This study was conducted at Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC), PETRONAS’s most significant downstream investment. The objective of this study was to investigate the preventive maintenance practices, criteria for third-party vendor selection, the effect of preventive maintenance on PIC performance, and the preferred maintenance option for PIC. The qualitative paradigm was employed in this study with the triangulation method to explain the similarities of a phenomenon from the various study data collection methods, namely interview, observation, and document review. The study’s findings showed that maintenance staff members described their roles as “executors” and were well familiar with PIC's maintenance procedures. Respondents also cited that many criteria will be given consideration to select third-party vendors, such as experiences, adequate resources, and sufficient manpower. The findings also showed that PIC performance was at the desired level of 97% reliability score, which further supports why preventive maintenance is the preferred strategy for PIC. Even though limitations exist in maintenance activities, they can be overcome with the enhancement of the work procedures. This study highlighted the significant relationship between preventive maintenance and the intent to maintain a competitive edge, which ultimately leads to real performance. Study limitations and recommendations for future research are also covered in this study.