The present paper aims at comparing the status of maintenance heads and the state of maintenance
practices in different industrial companies. Three personal features are analyzed relating the status to former
education, working experience and hierarchical position reached in the organisation; the state of maintenance
practices is shortly studied providing a focus on the share of corrective maintenance in the maintenance
hourly plan. The comparison is carried out by using typical key drivers such as industrial sector and company
size; besides, an insight is provided with respect to effects of plant locations in different regions of Italy,
thanks to a sample of companies interviewed in the North Western and North Eastern Italy.
