Attributes and critical success factors for tasks selection of the maintenance function: a multiple case study in integrated steel mills

Abstract

The objective of this article was to identify and validate the attributes and Critical Success Factors for tasks selection of the maintenance function in integrat ed steel mills located in s outheastern of Brazil. Thus, the following research problem was elaborated: What are the attributes and Critical Success Factors for effec- tive tasks selection of the maintenance function in steel plants? These attributes and Critical Success Factors were identified by means of literature, subsequently va lidated by the mills managers according to the level of importance (very important, important, less important, and not important at all), based on a study of multiple cases in three integrated steel mills.

Therefore, the methodological approach used in this article combined two different techniques of data collecti on: a literature review and a field re search by sending questionnaires to the managers of the steel plants. The study was conducted und er the concept, attributes and Critical Success Factors as internal or external parameters which can seriously affect the organization for better or worse. The literature research revealed a set of attributes and Critical Success Factors. The field research demonstrated that many of the attributes and Critical Success Factors identified were carefully prioritized and vali dated by the managers of steel mills, according to the level of importance for the tasks selection of maintenance function. This study, based on the fundamental assumptions of the set of presented attributes and Critical Success Factors, contributes to an effective tasks selection of the maintenance function in steel plants.