Inadequate equipment maintenance

Poor maintenance and repair generally cause economic losses through lower efficiency of the installed machinery, lower quality of products and higher costs of production. In addition, poor maintenance and repair lead to the deterioration and consequently the shortened physical lifetime of installed equipment, which therefore constitutes a significant waste of capital, particularly in developing countries. Industrial development in developing countries is therefore hampered and burdened with greater obstacles, which are aggravated by the financial limitations placed on the purchase of new equipment.

More than 3,600,000 books were destroyed by fire and water in February, 1988 when the library of the Academy of Sciences of the former Soviet Union at Leningrad burned down. Many pre-revolutionary volumes cannot be replaced.