Up Time Magazine- February/March 2008

information technology upload Develop, Implement and Measure Raising an Asset Performance Management Program by John Mitchell H aving worked in the industry for more decades than anyone would want to admit, it is now amusing to observe first-hand a fast-moving, high-technology company that has an abundance of younger people just entering their parenting years. For an individual like me who has been through “the program” with both children and grandchildren, the enthusiasm and innocence I see in these new parents is often quite humorous. Drawing a parallel between developmental milestones and reliability improvements, one engineer integrated his child’s sonogram into a presentation – but totally neglected the crucial KPIs: sleeping through the night and potty training! through reliability optimization. There is a clear consensus about the APM process emerging from industry leaders, which incorporates the strengths of all the well-known asset care processes: Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing, Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), and Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM), as well as proven practices including Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and Preventive, Condition-Based and Proactive Maintenance. In a 2007 benchmark study, “Ground Up Strategies for Asset Performance Management,” Boston-based analyst firm Aberdeen Group found “Strategic actions implemented by the Best-in-Class tend to be focused on optimizing asset availability and utilization. Implementing advanced APM and analytical capabilities was the top strategic action of the Best-inClass (46%), followed by implementation of continuous improvement initiatives and continuous improvement teams.” An organization’s APM initiative also incorporates management strategies, such as planning and scheduling and stores management. Within the APM process, improvements to these best practices and strategies are implemented and improved in a value-prioritized sequence designed to exploit benefit opportunities identified by analysis. As another excellent example of why companies must devote resources to a comprehensive APM initiative, government regulators are becoming much more proactive in examining records related to the integrity, inspection, testing and leakage of pressure containment components, including thickness measurements, calibration history and pressure relief valve testing. Significant fines Parenting is clearly a top down activity – left to themselves the little darlings would eat sugary cereal, watch too much TV, leave their junk around, go to bed late, and never, ever help with the routine chores. Standards of behavior and household chores must be established by an authority – mom and dad! An asset performance management (APM) program shares many of the same characteristics with parenting. It must be a top-down process and management must establish and insist upon overall strategies, enforce standards of performance, drive behaviors and assure that tasks are accomplished with the right tools and on time. What is This Thing Called Asset Performance Management? Asset management, asset performance management, physical asset management and several other derivatives are quickly gaining urgency at the highest levels of corporate management. The question is: what do these terms mean and why are they of supreme importance to reliability and maintenance (R&M) professionals? And, most importantly, what is required to gain the full value and benefit expected by your corporate executives? In its broadest definition Asset Performance Management is safely gaining the greatest value and return from physical assets – in this case physical assets including, but not limited to, equipment, piping, pressure vessels, valves, instrumentation, electrical system components and structures. All this must be supported by the organizational commitment and drive to continually seek highest value Editors Note: We published this article with specific references to Meridium APM software in order to tell more people about what we think is the next phase in the evolution of maintenance and reliability information management. We did not want to make it generic. There are other unique software products that we will also be presenting to you in the coming months. In order to bring you the full impact of the capabilities of some of these new technologies - we have decided to allow product specificity - not as an endorsement - but to create an enhanced understanding of the rapidly changing landscape of Information Technology. Uptime is comfortable stepping out of the limited and traditional etiquette of magazine publishing and we hope you see the value in our decision. We certainly invite your feedback as we go. february/march 2008 22

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Up Time Magazine- February/March 2008

Up Time Magazine- February/March 2008 Contents Upfront Upclose: Lessons Learned from the Walter Reed Story Information Technology: Parenting and Asset Performance Infrared: It's Alive! Lubrication: A Sense of Change Maintenance Management: PdM, Standardized Motor Testing: Being Well Connected Precision Maintenance: How to be Marketable Reliability: The Voyage of Wells Dairy Ultrasound: Two is Better Than One Vibration: Diagnosing a Cracked Shaft Upgrade: A Different Kind of Journey

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