Model of a service cluster for industrial equipment maintenance

The article considers the solution to the issue of improving the quality of maintenance of industrial equipment by forming a new integrated structure, including representatives of manufacturing companies and independent service organizations. A high proportion of physically obsolete equipment at enterprises, a low level of qualification of the personnel servicing it, a low share of automation of the control over the state of equipment puts managers in charge of maintaining its operability, timely maintenance, repair and modernization. All technical and organizational measures have to be carried out promptly and to a high standard, which makes forming a separate structural unit providing the full range of services (warranty or post-warranty repair, information support of consumers, sale of spare parts, introduction of automated systems and equipment modernization) all the more important. In the course of the study the authors substantiate the importance of an integrated structure using the cluster approach that may increase the competitiveness of manufactures and the region in general. The appropriateness of creating the service cluster is justified by the need of improving the current processes of technical support. The article considers the main directions of the service cluster’s functioning. It contains all processes and operations of complex equipment maintenance from design stage to modernization and total utilization. The authors prove the need to involve science organizations for methodical support. A model of the structure of a service cluster is proposed, with a concept of the cluster management system through the creation of a coordination council introduced, and the basic requirements for the organization of service processes defined.The authors give the directions for further research in the theory of integrated structures, the suggestions of development of this system including the algorithms for choosing the participants of the cluster by assessing their utility for the cluster in general.