A Bread Products Manufacturer Relies on Maintenance Employees to Keep

Essay

A bread products manufacturer relies on maintenance employees to keep its rather old production equipment operating.Whenever the equipment breaks down,the maintenance team is able to repair the equipment quickly.However,they are less effective at avoiding these breakdowns and cannot predict when the equipment will break down.The maintenance group has modified the equipment over the years and,in any event,the manufacturer of the production equipment is no longer in business.The maintenance employees teach each other how to repair the equipment,but have refused to document any of this information (saying that it is too difficult to document these details).The company owner has thought about firing the maintenance staff unless they document the maintenance procedures,but realizes that there is no one else who can repair the equipment.Discuss the sources and contingencies of power among the maintenance employees in this situation.