• 
• 
• 

We are going to explore the nature and the importance of maintenance costs and how other businesses, especially those in the manufacturing sector, would manage it in a cost-effective, efficient manner.

Obviously, during the initial period repair and maintenance costs will remain low. However, we must remember that maintenance costs depend very much on how hard a machine is driven.

In other words, the further the buses are driven, the higher will be their maintenance costs.

However, these costs can be tracked, monitored and determined regularly on a per-kilometre basis.

The only way to keep repair and maintenance costs down is to implement a prevention concept instead of the correction one, which supports the notion of "don't fix it if it's not broken".

The prevention concept would not only cut down costs by avoiding sudden breakdowns but would also ensure the safety of commuters. In order to make sure that repair and maintenance costs are kept low, the bus-operating company should consider setting up key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the performance of its maintenance team. These KPIs may include the team's response time, the number of breakdowns, cost per unit etc.

For ageing machines or equipment, the management may expect the repair and maintenance costs to increase every year, and a tight budget might adversely affect the maintenance schedule, which could end up hurting the company with higher than expected damage. For instance, postponing or delaying the purchase of key spare parts might result in the plant having to shut down when its machines breakdown.

When high maintenance costs cannot justify keeping old machines running, the management should consider replacing them with newer, more efficient ones.

All fixed-asset investments need sound financial justification and a proper evaluation of the project's viability before it is officially approved. It is crucial that each project be reviewed closely before approval. Therefore those concerned should be able to challenge a project's viability until a satisfactory conclusion can be reached.

Whether the bus-leasing project is successful or not depends on several factors, not just sound financial justification.

The project's non-financial aspects need to be taken into account as well, and there is one key phrase that everyone should keep in mind: "understanding customers' needs".