Asset Management and Design for Maintainability and Reliability

Part 1

The purpose and nature of an organization and the external and internal environment within which it operates depend on the type of assets the company requires, and the capability of asset management; this is vital to delivering its objectives. These influencing factors need to be taken into account when evaluating the goals and outputs of asset management, and the system. As such, the business should examine and understand the influencing factors such as its stakeholders, its mission and vision, and the regulatory, legal and crucial requirements that it needs to comply with. Maintenance and operation play a centralized role in asset management, and determine the structures and programs used.

Expectations and Needs of Stakeholders from Maintenance of Particular Assets

According to Hastings (2015), the systems of asset management should identify the competency requirements for individuals involved in the management. As such, the competency requirements influence the training, promotion, and recruitment of skilled employees in the asset management field. Therefore, the stakeholders expect the asset managers selected to be equipment knowledgeable in their respective areas, and that they are aware of the business processes and requirements. Furthermore, equipment knowledge will assist the asset managers to identify developments in their respective fields, and assess their business value. As such, stakeholders need the asset managers to recognize and provide accurate responses from customers and technology utilized.

Moreover, the stakeholders expect every person to understand their roles as it depends on the structure and size of the organization. For instance, the CAM plays a vital role in asset-associated activities and decisions. Thus, stakeholders expect the CAM to participate in development plans of the business, which ensures that the asset implication of an organization’s policies and objectives are considered by senior management. Nevertheless, the stakeholder requires the CAM to be responsible for numerous activities which assets need, especially in an asset-intensive organization. On the other hand, stakeholders expect asset managers to engage in particular assets. For example, Hastings (2015, p.48) notes:

In an electricity transmission organization, there are asset managers for Switchgear, Transformers, and Secondary Systems within the substation asset group. Asset managers require knowledge of relevant technologies and their operational context. They provide management and leadership for the group, and also provide input into business development about their technical area.

The scope of the Maintenance Organization to Meet Stakeholder’s Expectations

It is essential that the organization understands its stakeholders who affect the organization’s activities and outcomes (Harvard Business Review Staff, 2016). Furthermore, the organization needs to understand who will contribute resources such as space, capital and tools, and who may benefit from the outputs of the business. As such, the workload influences the shape and size of the maintenance organization, that is, the resource structure, administrative structure, and systems. The resource structure aims to achieve the most suitable resource utilized for effective responses and work quality (Kelly, 2006). Alternatively, As such, the following influence the maintenance and engineering roles:

Maintenance Manager

The person in a maintenance manager’s position is responsible for the general performance activities of the maintenance department, and budgetary control.

Maintenance Superintendent

There is a need for maintenance superintendents for several sections, and for different trades such as electrical and mechanical. As such, it is their responsibility to manage, direct, and review various maintenance activities; the organization’s turnarounds and shutdowns (Hastings, 2015). Moreover, they direct and manage suppliers contracted to tackle maintenance activities.

Documented System Level for Maintenance Department

Figure 1 illustrates some documentation system forms; interrogation, collection, storage, reporting, and analysis of information, which enable the operation of all maintenance management elements. Alternatively, figure 2 indicates the possible connection between systems of document maintenance, and other organization data systems. Kelly (2006) utters that some of the documentation systems give an audit of the maintenance costs to financial management, work planning to condition monitoring, and spare parts list to stores management.

Figure 1 illustrates a BCM methodology.

Figure 2 indicates a workload profile for fitters.

Leadership Support and Commitment for Risk-Based Maintenance Management

The strategy of risk-based asset management often combines with the standard of the work, condition-based maintenance, and risk management to appropriate resources. This ensures that proper controls and reliability analysis is utilized to provide progressive improvement. Consequently, using the RAMI model, the life cycle engineering partners with the organization to build a RBMM that helps the organization to prioritize on how it spends funds, time, and materials that amend majority of adverse issues (LCE Life Cycle Engineering, n.d) Also, the model assists the organization to meet its business objectives through regulatory compliance.

Utilization of LCC in Maintenance Decision Making

Using LCC as a decision making aspect requires good accessibility to input data that is reliable to the analysis at all design and planning processes. Conversely, the reliable generic and statistic information enables actual cost collection from buildings management, using standardized and particular cost categories. Krigsvoll (2007, p.427) suggests, “The Norwegian Standard NS3454 Life cycle costs for building and civil engineering work – Principles and classification (NS, 1997) does, as also similar German and Austrian standards, give a cost classification system.” As such, the Network owns the Norwegian database which benchmarks yearly actual cost collection from their members’ buildings. Thus, the database utilized focus on benchmarking and input to LCC calculations. Therefore, the LCC presents a “Net Present Values or Net Present Costs” and definition of calculation rules and cost categories.  

Table 1 shows the cost classification for LCC in the proposition to the new Nordic standard.

Issues a Maintenance Engineer Faces in Any Organization in LC Decisions  

Lack of a Reliable Database

The hard data required to make a concrete decision on management are difficult to find. As such, there is no available method of measuring the reliability of systems that the maintenance engineer can utilize. Therefore, it is exhausting to make comparisons about good practices and share results among cooperating measure, and operations of ERM performance trends. In spite of this, lack of a standard ERM measurement and utilizing reward systems do not encourage supervisors to record maximize equipment performance.

Lack of Appropriate Skills

The lack of skills and software maintenance emerge as primary challenges to a maintenance engineer, which term mechatronic equipment less reliable compared to electromechanical ones. Therefore, organizations that are unprepared to tackle these issues stand a high risk of losing funds. Nevertheless, the lack of appropriate manufacturing systems makes it difficult for the maintenance engineer to effectively make decisions regarding their tasks because most organizations depend on system integrators. Furthermore, the maintenance engineer may be experienced at data collection, but they may be unable to interpret the data. For instance, a UK team monitors an underwater structure in a foreign country. The team constructs a mathematical model utilized to control the structure’s conditions (University of Cambridge, 2013). However, they rely on a local group of divers to evaluate the structure, and report any new cracks that may appear.

Data Quantity

It may be possible for a maintenance engineer to acquire information, which only addresses certain objectives of the business, but there is a considerable challenge when it comes to the quantity of data collected (University of Cambridge, 2013). As such, the maintenance engineer may collect inadequate data that may be useful during future decision-making processes.

Data Sharing

During data collection, the quality of the information is very important, and this may present some challenge to some maintenance engineers. Furthermore, adopting a standard sharing system is fundamental because it enables organizations to share data effectively. Hence, data sharing standards may influence the quality of information transmitted. As such, a maintenance engineer may lack a suitable data sharing pathway that may make it difficult for them to share vital information.

Conclusions with Opportunities for Improvement on Asset Management

Asset Management needs to focus on quality rather than quantity. As such, developing a comprehensive information source such as a database, software, and computerized tracking provide resolution to problems maintenance engineers encounter (Maintworld, n.d). Alternatively, establishing a national benchmarking database and identifying relevant metric suites for comparing and examining an organization’s performance may enable it to understand its position in the industry sector. Consequently, supplying the necessary standards, coordination, and administrative facilities will assist in minimizing duplication and inconsistency of the structure. Also, improving the analysis of data through prioritizing on accurate information rather than estimations will contribute in the maintenance and operation of the organization’s assets.

References

Harvard Business Review Staff. (2016). The Four Phases of Project Management. Harvard Business Review. Available from: https://hbr.org/2016/11/the-four-phases-of-project-management 

Hastings, N. A. J. (2015). Physical asset management: With an introduction to ISO55000. Springer International Publishing Switzerland. Available from: https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=wxnGBgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR6&dq=Hastings,+N.+A.+J.+(2015).+Physical+asset+man 

Kelly. A. (2006). Maintenance Systems and Documentation. Elsevier. Available from: https://tpm4u.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/maintenance-systems-documentation.pdf 

Krigsvoll, G. (2007). Life Cycle Costing as part of decision making-use of building information models. Portugal SB07 Sustainable Construction Materials and Practices-Challenge of the Industry for the New Millenium, Amsterdam, 433-440.

LCE LIfe Cycle Engineering. (n.d). Risk-Based Asset Management (RBAM). LCE Life Cycle Engineering. Available from: https://www.lce.com/RiskBased-Asset-Management-209.html

Maintworld. (n.d). Continuous Improvement in Maintenance Strategies. Maintworld. Available from: https://www.maintworld.com/Asset-Management/Continuous-Improvement-in-Maintenance-Strategies  

University of Cambridge. (2013). Engineering Asset Management: Issues and Challenges. University of Cambridge. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260059412_ENGINEERING_ASSET_MANAGEMENT_ISSUES_AND_CHALLENGES