Maintenance Technology April 2016 - (Page 6)

UPTIME Asset Reliability and Costs: Take a Life-Cycle Approach Bob Williamson Contributing Editor 6| F undamental, early-design-phase decisions set the stage for life-cycle asset reliability and costs in plants. How new physical assets, i.e., equipment, systems, and facilities, are designed can be a testament to engineering prowess and/or observing the awesome, life-long performance of other assets-or neither. In many cases, though, budgetary constraints and construction/installation shortcuts can limit reliability and increase life-cycle costs. The result is high periods of unreliable operation, added maintenance, and modifications and workarounds to make the assets perform as needed. What if the elements of life-cycle asset reliability and costs are unknown, not addressed, or ignored in initial-project conceptual definition and design? Chances are pretty good that reliability, operating and maintenance budgets, and planned asset life would all be a huge gamble. While the project could come in on schedule and under budget, is that what defines business success? Conversely, what if there were an overall template or a management system that outlined and specified all elements important to the business, short- and long-term, over an asset's life cycle? Chances are pretty good that the reliability, operating and maintenance costs, and planned life of the equipment, system, or facility would contribute, by any measure, to business success. Here are five big questions to help us begin thinking about establishing a life-cycle physicalasset management system. Use them with your site's top-management team, engineering group, and/or operations and maintenance leadership. 1. What are your physical assets supposed to do in support of the organization's goals? 2. What physical assets put the achievement of the organization's goals most at risk? 3. What processes are in place to assure that these physical assets perform as expected throughout their planned life cycle? 4. What processes are missing that may be preventing these physical assets from performing as expected throughout their planned life cycle? 5. What are the life-cycle physical-asset manage- MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY ment processes that should be established to guarantee the answer to the first question ("organization's goals") is predictably and consistently assured? This is exactly what the ISO 55000:2014 Asset Management Standard is asking organizations to define: an asset-management system that covers the entire life cycle of physical assets. According to ISO 55000:2014, "An assetmanagement system is a set of interrelated and interacting elements of an organization, whose function is to establish the asset-management policy and asset-management objectives, and the processes, needed to achieve those objectives. An asset-management system is used by the organization to direct, coordinate and control asset-management activities." (ISO 55000:2008, 2.4.3 & 2.5.1) With such a system in place, a project team would be responsible for executing and held accountable each step of the way for assuring that the organization's goals are met-even with regard to its most-at-risk physical assets. Life-cycle reliability From a reliability and cost perspective, the life cycle of a physical asset can be divided and sub-divided into numerous phases and activities. For purposes of simplicity and brevity, let's highlight four major ones and look at elements of each that have a direct impact on cost and reliability. Project Design Phase. Management of a new physical-asset project, be it related to equipment, systems, or facilities, requires a team of highly qualified and specialized thinkers to focus on the foundations for life-cycle reliability and costs. The project-team leadership must understand and internalize "life-cycle thinking" throughout the Project-Design phase. Remember, 95% of life-cycle costs are determined during this phase ("Uptime," March 2016 MT). In this phase, life-cycle reliability- and costcritical elements required to assure the new design will perform as expected include: ■ goals of the organization, i.e., financial (P&L), longevity of the assets, go/no-go criteria APRIL 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maintenance Technology April 2016

My Take
Uptime
On The Floor
Culture Changed At This Indiana Refinery
She Ignores The Glass Ceiling
Loadability Studies Aid PRC-025-1 Compliance
Look System-Wide For Cost Savings
Reliable Pumping Supplement
Fund Lubrication Program With Energy Savings
Emergency-Stop Choices
Cyber Security
Backup Generators
Infrared Safety Tips
Internet Of Things
ISO 55000
Motor-Testing Tools Expand Services
Products
Showcase
Ad Index
Final Thought

Maintenance Technology April 2016