Realibility Engineering and Asset Management

Realibility Engineering and Asset ManagementThe Strategic Process rangeload Seems excessive for available resourcesKPIs Actual against planned performance non eternally recordedStandards/Procedures Lubrication not macrocosm performed properlyThe Work System intend seeming failure of entire unconscious processUtilisation of Manpower Staff seem to be overworked and/or not used properlyReliability Critical machinery is flunkReporting Too much expected on job closingWork Completion Excessive gather of PM and defects repairThe Feedback System shank elbow grease Analysis Not organism performedWork Order feedback R bely completed by fittersJob Completion floors Not being reviewedThe Continuous usefulness Process sore Technologies Condition monitoring probe request rejectedNew techniques Training for nourishment staff not pursuedInnovation No development of aliment practicesCorrective action No improvements being made to maintenance strategyThe Environmental Proce ss exertion Pressure Plant is being sweatedShortage of Resources Appears to be insufficient for current workloadThe Strategic ProcessMaintenance Strategy Derek is busy at organising this but to the detriment of his focus on everyday items at the plant.workload there seems to be an excessive amount in relation to the available resources. paddy field recounts that the fitters atomic number 18 struggling to complete premenstrual syndrome and fix machine defects. Harry mentions later that the situation is worse and that they atomic number 18 way behind on PMs and defects. Plant patrols, which are part of the strategy, are not being performed due to time shortages. at that place is a possibility that the initial allocation of resources was adequate when the plant was in a healthier state but since the state of machinery has deteriorated, the maintenance staff are now overworked due to the high number of dislocations. I believe that a collapse of the homework process is at the root of the ever increasing workload.KPIs Derek is aghast when he learns from Harry that Dougie wants to be consulted on new requirements for reporting. Derek reminds Harry and Mick that the maintenance strategy has always had a requirement for feeding back actual against planned performance. The fitters received a letter detailing job completion report requirements but sort of of motivating, it seems to use up riled them up.Standards/Procedures When quizzed about the cause of the compressor bearings seizure, Harry informs him that it was likely due to improper lubrication. There is each a failure of Standards or Procedures here i.e. any the lubricating standard was not correct or the lubrication procedure was not followed.The Work SystemPlanning There has been a complete collapse in the planning process. Charlie has been instructed to concentrate on shutdown planning with no ownership being taken of the corrective maintenance activities. The planning function also includes r eviewing job completion reports with the Maintenance Manager, this has also being neglected due to the focus on shutdown planning.Utilisation of Manpower There are certainly concerns with the utilisation of resources. Mick states this in no uncertain marges to Derek. There is a satisfying backlog of works to be completed and Mick and Harry believe that in any case much time is being spent on reporting and planning thus reducing tool time.Reliability Plant reliability is suffering extreme point adverse opinions. A failure of a critical piece of equipment has resulted in a minimum of five days downtime for the entire manufacturing surgery.Reporting Reporting on equipment condition is not consistent. A switching report was filled out by Mick for the compressor in advance of its failure. However job completion reports are not being completed by all fitters.Work Completion It is irradiate from the scenario, that non-completion of maintenance tasks is a serious concern. Lubrica tion of the compressor bearings was not performed (either at all or to the right degree). Harry states also that the team are behind with their PM routines and consider a serious backlog on defects.The Feedback SystemRoot Cause Analysis Not alone is root cause analysis not being performed at height, the maintenance supervisors are not even aware of the importee of the concept. Harry and Mick are keen to learn about it, which instigates the Dictaphone recorded conversation.Work Order /Job Completion reports Only well-nigh of the fitters are plectron in job completion reports despite it being part of the maintenance strategy. Derek is quite stunned when he learns this from Mick. To make matters worse one of the few fitters, Eddie Condon, that completes the reports is federal official up as he feels that his efforts are being ignored.Plant Patrol fault reporting This is not being performed by the fitters. Because of the backlog in PM workload and fixing defects, Mick states the y would befool to do overtime to carry out what he refers to as detective work.Fault reporting A report on the compressor fault was completed by Mick and submitted to the planning office. However it went unnoticed by Charlie due to prioritisation of shutdown planning.Disconnect with Maintenance Strategy From the to a higher place points it is clear that there is no action being taken with the feedback that is performed at ACME. Derek states that he is too busy organising the maintenance strategy but yet he has failed to notice the breakdown in this process.The Continuous Improvement ProcessNew Technologies Mick has been asking Derek for months to purchase the hand held condition monitoring probe. He believes that its go on technology could provide great assistance in solving the plants equipment issues. Derek dismisses the probe as fancy stuff and requests instead that the department get back to basics.New techniques Harry reminds Derek that he was promised he could attend a training course on compressors. Harry believes that, had this advanced training been attended, ACME may not have had the compressor breakdown. However Derek reneged on his promise stating that he could not lose Harry for three weeks.Innovation There seems to be an utter lack of innovation in how maintenance is practiced at ACME. Derek appears to be disconnected from his subordinates and perhaps this is why they are stuck in a rut when it comes to changing how they do things.Corrective bodily process Because the feedback and feed forward loops have been severed, there are no corrections to the maintenance strategy taking place. Derek appears to be asleep at the wheel and is not aware of the challenges facing his troops. In Dereks defence, Jim Gordon has insisted that ACME embark on a time consuming World Class Maintenance Program this could be significant factor in distracting Derek from introducing the required corrective actions to the maintenance strategy.The Environmental Pro cessProduction Pressure It is clear in the scenario that production pressure has been ratcheted up. Derek has been castigated by Jim Gordon, the managing manager of ACME. The plant is not travel rapidly, due to equipment failure, and will not be operating for at least five more days. Such is the managing directors anger with the situation that Derek believes that his manner would be in danger if a suitable weapon were present.When Derek, Mick and Harry are discussing the root cause of the compressor bearings failure, it comes up that operations have been lbf. the plant due to a big order from Korea. Derek confirms that the plant has been running fifteen percent above nameplate capacity. He also feels that it may have been a factor in the compressor breakdown. His concerns were mentioned in a management strategy meeting but he was told to find a way to work around operation requirements.Shortage of Resources Harry states to Derek that the maintenance department is probably unde rstaffed. Mick feels that they are not using the fitters in the best way. As stated earlier, ACME either does not have enough maintenance staff or how they are using them has caused the current situation of excessive work backlog to develop. There could thoroughly be a combination of shortage of resources and not optimum utilisation of the resources they have.The Strategic ProcessWorkloadReason for high anteriority There are mentions throughout the scenario of the mismatch between the work that requires completion and the resources available to action it.Specific adverse effect A build up in the backlog of PMs and correction of defects.Responsible mortal Derek Piper. As maintenance manager, he mustiness own the strategy and ensure that it is fit for purpose.The Work SystemPlanningReason for high priority I believe poor or non-existent planning is at the root of the work trunks issues and it has created knock-on effects in manpower utilisation, work completion and ultimately poor machine reliability.Specific adverse effect Compressor failed because the planner was not focussed on operations and completely missed the fault report prior to its failure.Responsible psyche Derek Piper. Although it is Charlies role, Derek has instructed him to shift his focus to shutdown activities.The Feedback SystemPlant Patrol Fault ReportingReason for high priority It is imperative that potential equipment failures are reported to the planning office.Specific adverse effect Impending failures were not recorded for processing by the planner.Responsible person Harry Warner and Mick Brice. They only informed the maintenance manager that the fitters were not performing this activity after the compressor had failed.The Continuous Improvement ProcessCorrective reachReason for high priority Corrective actions are required to align the maintenance strategy with the changing availability/reliability requirements of the plant.Specific adverse effect The maintenance strate gy has stagnated and is not fit for purpose in the operating environment that ACME has moved to.Responsible person Derek Piper. He could p mavin some defence here based on the directive from Jim Gordon to pursue the World Class Maintenance Program which is consuming his time. But ultimately he must be held accountable as maintenance manager.The Environmental ProcessProduction PressureReason for high priority ACME is running the plant 20 four seven and fifteen per cent above nameplate capacity.Specific adverse effect Operations are not releasing the equipment for necessary maintenance.Responsible person Jim Gordon. For the managing director to not listen to the concerns of the maintenance manager regarding the sweating of the plant is inexcusable. Of particular note is Jims instruction to Derek to simply stop moaning.The Strategic ProcessWorkloadRecommended change The strategy needs to be reviewed by the maintenance manager in terms of dealing with current and medium term workl oad. An assessment on this workload will help decide the required resources to complete it. ACME may have to consider hiring temporary or sub-contracted maintenance resources to clear the backlog. There is also a minimum of five days immediately available for opportunity maintenance due to the compressor failure bringing the plant down, ACME should strive to capitalise on this and add a silver lining to the cloud that hangs over operations.Estimated cost High. Especially if ACME hires additional maintenance staff to clear the backlog.Feasibility Medium. There will be some difficulty in planning terms to coordinate self-delivered and outsourced resources.The Work SystemPlanningRecommended change aim a specialist temporary resource to support Charlie in the planning department. This will allow corrective and shutdown work to be planned concurrently. As part of this change, the weekly job completion reports review meetings will have to be immediately reinstated. In the longer term , a review will have to be undertaken on the level of planning detail for minor works as Harry states that it is excessive.Estimated cost Medium. If the shutdown is less than two weeks duration, recruitment cost should not exceed 10k.Feasibility Medium. The maintenance manager will need to make a case to senior management that justifies this course of action and associated cost. If this natural selection proves to be a success, it can be built into the strategy for future shutdowns.The Feedback SystemPlant Patrol Fault ReportingRecommended change Plant patrol fault reporting must scoop up. ACME may have to wait until the maintenance backlog is cleared before re-implementation. One option would be to resume it at a reduced frequency e.g. if its currently a daily activity, move it to a weekly activity in the medium term.Estimated cost Low. No additional expense should be incurred.Feasibility High.The Continuous Improvement ProcessCorrective ActionRecommended change The mainten ance manager has to be receptive to both(prenominal) feedback and feed forward information. He must use these inputs to align the strategy with the needs of the company.Estimated cost Low. It is part of the maintenance managers job.Feasibility High.The Environmental ProcessProduction PressureRecommended change All stakeholders including the managing director, operations manager and the Chairman need to work with the maintenance manager in creating a medium to long term maintenance strategy. This will help facilitate achieving the required production targets.Estimated cost High. Equipment investment and additional maintenance staff recruitment is highly likely in order to increase and maintain the nameplate capacity of the plant.Feasibility Medium. If Jim Gordon is serious about keeping the plant running at all costs, then the investment cash in hand should be made available.The compressor failure and resultant plant downtime seems like an accident that was waiting to happen. When we analyse the circumstances surrounding the event, its clear that the maintenance system had failed. through all of this, Derek Piper was lost at sea and to clash metaphors had his head buried in the sand. As a consequence, the planning process collapsed, feedback was not acted on and the maintenance strategy became unfit for purpose.He can claim that external pressure from the managing director, with the demand of increased plant output and reduced windows for PM activities, caused the system to fail. Although there may be some validity in this claim, I believe that every manager has two high level challenges the first is to lead subordinates, the second being to manage the expectations of superiors. Times will come when a manager has to push back and stand up to unreasonable demands of company bosses. If a manager does not display this inner strength and backbone, he will likely be trampled on at some stage. Its clear at ACME that Jim Gordon had subdued Derek Piper and I be lieve Derek would not have had the strength to resist when the decision was made to sweat the plant and run it above nameplate capacity.If I was to apply a percentage weighting of blame for the situation that ACME finds itself in, it would be 65/25/10 for the maintenance manager, managing director and maintenance supervisors respectively.Its arouse that the question states if you were appointed maintenance manager as I believe the only option that will rescue the situation is the replacement of Derek Piper in his role. A rebuilding process is required in the ACME maintenance department. This should start from the top down with a new manager. Derek is in the unenviable amaze that football mangers often find themselves in, he has lost the confidence of both senior management and the dressing room the dressing room equivalent being the shop floor fitters. He now very much remains an isolated figure at ACME. A carefully chosen new date to the role of maintenance manager would bring a fresh impetus. The candidate should come from outside the company as such a person would not carry any baggage from the current ACME situation. In the Recommendations section of this paper, I have deliberately avoided mentioning Derek Piper by name and referred to the role of maintenance manager instead. This is because I do not see him as part of the solution. He may be required to get the compressor repaired and the plant back running but once this is achieved, his removal and succession should be planned.If I was appointed maintenance manager, I would look to introducing a new style of leadership to the maintenance department. My approach would be to lead from the front, engage with the fitters and regularly visit their turf to get a feel for their daily challenges.A strong focus would have to be applied to resuming the effectiveness and efficiency of the planning function. Feedback and feed forward lines would have to be reconnected and the maintenance strategy would require i mprovement action when necessary. lastingness of character and assertiveness would be required to deal with Jim Gordon in order to explain to him both the limits of production equipment and the necessity for appropriate maintenance.As maintenance manager, I would also have to ready myself for battle in securing investment for new equipment and possible recruitment of additional maintenance staff. Immediate consideration needs to be given to introducing redundancy for critical equipment. If there was a spare compressor to switch over to, the plant would have kept running. If the expense of a standby compressor is not approved, contingency needs to be made can we roll in a temporary machine and connect it in the event of a breakdown? The challenge here is to convince ACME senior management of the benefits of investment and consequences of not spending i.e. a repeat of the last major equipment failure.I retire its very easy to state these high level objectives and will be much harder to drive them through to implementation but the job can only be tackled with the confident belief in success. ACME seems to be in a good place regarding sales orders, all that is needed now is a companywide belief in the importance of a sustainable maintenance system.