Maintenance and Reliability Best Practices. Ramesh Gulati

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СКАЧАТЬ examples of people who were unwilling to accept or adopt the industry standard as the best way to do anything. The enormous technological changes since the Industrial Revolution bear witness to this fact. For example, at one time horses were considered the best form of transportation, even after “horseless carriages”were invented. Today, most people drive a gasoline (petrol), electric, or hybrid vehicle—all improvements on the original horseless carriage. In turn, concerns over oil costs, supplies, and global warming are driving the next group of transportation improvements.

      In the 1968 Summer Olympics, a young athlete named Dick Fosbury revolutionized the high-jumping technique. Using an approach that became known as the Fosbury Flop, he won the gold medal by going over the bar back-first instead of head-first. Had he relied on “standard practice,” as did all his fellow competitors, he probably would not have won the event. Instead, by ignoring standard practice, he raised the performance bar—literally—for everyone. The purpose of any standard is to provide a kind of reference. Therefore, that standard must be “What is possible?” and not “What is somebody else doing?”

      In real-world applications, a best practice is a very useful concept. Despite the need to improve processes with changing times, a best practice is considered by some simply to be a business buzzword used to describe the process of developing and following a standard way of doing activities that any organization can use or implement to get better results. Implementing best practices in the area of maintenance, reliability, and asset management can help an organization to:

      • Increase output with the same set of assets

      • Reduce the need for capital replacements

      • Reduce maintenance cost per unit

      • Reduce the total cost per unit of output

      • Improve performance—cost, productivity, and safety

      • Reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO)

      • Increase competitiveness

      • Increase market share

      A best practice tends to spread throughout an industry after success has been demonstrated. However, demonstrated best practices could be slow to implement, even within an organization. According to the American Productivity and Quality Center, the three main barriers to the adoption of a best practice are a lack of:

      1. Knowledge about current best practices

      2. Motivation to make changes for their adoption

      3. Knowledge and skills required to do so

      The objective of this book is to provide knowledge of best practices in the areas of maintenance, reliability, and asset management. Cost-effectively implementing and sustaining best practices requires a culture of reliability excellence that is a journey and takes time. In later chapters, we will discuss what we can do to eliminate barriers and create a sustainable reliability culture in an organization.

Key Terms and Definitions

      Asset

      A component or device, software, or a system that has potential or actual value to the organization. Value can be tangible or intangible, financial or nonfinancial.

      Asset Management

      An organizational process that maximizes value from an asset during its life.

      Benchmark

      A standard measurement or reference that forms the basis for comparison. This performance level is recognized as the standard of excellence for a specific business process.

      Best Practice

      A technique, method, or process that is more effective at delivering the desired outcome than any other technique, method, or process. It is a documented practice used by the most respected, competitive, and profitable organizations. This practice usually becomes a benchmark.

      Maintenance

      The act of maintaining or the work of keeping an asset in proper operating condition. Also called capacity assurance.

      Organization

      A group of people (or an individual) that has its own functions with responsibilities and relationships to achieve its objectives. The organization includes, but is not limited to, sole trader, company, corporation, enterprise, department, plant or factory, partnership, charity or institution, or part or combination thereof.

      Reliability

      The probability that an asset or item will perform its required functions for a specific period under stated conditions. It is usually expressed as a percentage and calculated using mean time between failures (MTBF).

What Do Best Practices Have to Do with Maintenance and Reliability?

      In any organization, assets are needed to produce products or provide services. An item or asset, as defined here, could be an electrical/electronic or mechanical hardware component or device, a building, a software product, or a manufacturing system or process.

      A well-designed, robust M&R program is required to ensure that assets are available and cost-effectively performing to their designed capacity when needed in an organization. The performance of an asset is based on three factors (see Figure 1.1):

      1. Inherent reliability—how it was designed

      2. Operating environment—how it will be operated

      3. Maintenance plan—how it will be maintained

FIGURE 1.1 Asset Performance

      Usually, assets are designed with a certain level of reliability. This designed-in (or built-in) reliability—inherent reliability, the first factor in the list above—is the result of the individual components’ reliability and the way they are configured. We cannot change or improve the reliability of an asset after it has been installed unless we replace or modify it with better and improved components (with the exception of redesigning it).

      The second factor, the asset’s operating environment, considers both the operating conditions under which the asset has to operate and the operator’s skills. Several studies have indicated that 40% or more of all failures are the result of operational errors or lack of understanding. Organizations need to ensure that operators are appropriately educated and trained in operating these assets without causing operational errors that lead to failures. In fact, operators should be the first line of defense both in monitoring the asset’s performance and any abnormal conditions and in initiating timely corrective actions.

      The third factor is a maintenance plan that defines how the asset will be maintained. The objective of a good maintenance plan is to sustain asset reliability and to improve its availability. The plan should include the necessary maintenance and service-type actions needed to detect potential failures before they lead to unscheduled downtime.

      Reasons for Not Implementing Best Practices

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