Up Time Magazine- August/September 2008

suited asset or production system. Effective utilization also minimize the number and frequency of changeovers and allocates sufficient time for effective preventive and periodic rebuild maintenance activities. • Proper Operation – The old joke that one operator can destroy a machine faster than ten mechanics can repair it, has validity. Proper operation, especially setup, startup, ramp rates and shutdown, is essential for reliability. • Controlled Modifications – A rigid engineering change management process once controlled a change in form, fit or function of plant systems. Uncontrolled modifications and changes account for almost 27% of reliability-related problems. • Proper Materials – This requirement includes both production and maintenance materials. In both instances, asset reliability depends on an acceptable range of materials. When off-specification materials are provided, reliability suffers. • Proper Maintenance – While its contribution is much smaller than most think, proper maintenance is essential. Is it reasonable to assume that any of these fundamental requirements will be achieved without trained employees who universally and consistently follow reliable work processes? Think about it for one minute and then read the definition of reliability again. Reliability is defined as: “The probability that an item can perform its intended function for a specified interval under stated conditions.” Doesn’t this also apply to the way we design, purchase, operate and maintain the asset? result from reliability issues. • Variation – Stability and repeatability of work processes is essential for effective, efficient planning, coordination, scheduling, execution and management of all work performed within the plant, as well as the corporation. Most quality and cost, as well as many reliability problems, can be directly tracked to excessive variation in one or more work processes. • Misuse or Abuse – Standardized work processes ensure that each asset is consistently and constantly operated and maintained according to a predefined plan, called an Asset Management Plan (AMP) that is designed to optimize the asset’s useful life as well as its Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Within the AMP are SWP for all facets of the asset’s use. These processes include: » Business Planning – The strategic and tactical business planning process governs the methods and logic used to plan the future of the plant and corporation. This process must include specific methods and logic trees that determine best utilization of physical and human assets, as well as to assure maximum reliability and Total Cost of Ownership for the entire enterprise. » Production Planning and Scheduling – This process governs how all revenuegenerating work is allocated and scheduled through the plant. This is a critical plant function whose impact on physical asset reliability is too often overlooked. » Production or Manufacturing – A series of SWPs are needed to cover all of the direct and indirect activities that are required to perform the production or manufacturing process. The more critical of these processes are for setup, adjustments, calibration and, of course, normal day-to-day operation. » Maintenance – The AMP also includes processes that assure adequate time, and the best intervals are allocated for sustaining maintenance activities. There is one other factor that must be incorporated into the definition of reliability – cost. The purely technical definitions and applications of reliability do not consider costs, even though it is part of the definition. When one says that the asset is capable of performing at stated condition, this condition must include the cost of operation, as well as the cost of goods produced. From a business standpoint, it does little good to have physical assets that produce the required number of quality parts when the cost is greater than the sales price or revenue that the parts will generate. Therefore in Reliability Excellence, Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) and Conversion Cost (CC) are both integral parts of the reliability equation. In conclusion, the definition of reliability is “the ability of physical assets and business/work processes to deliver its optimum level of performance, within the parameters defined in the company’s business plan.” Ideally, this means that physical assets are capable of operating at design or best demonstrated performance rates for 8,760 hours minus the appropriate downtime, typically 8% to 15%, for sustaining maintenance. Business and work processes do not require maintenance and therefore must be reliable continuously and forever. The Journey Begins Admittedly, I am old school, and many might consider me antiquated. But, it’s still a fact that the first step in any productive journey must start with a map and a clear understanding of the start and end point. It also helps to have some understanding of the journey’s length – you might want to pack a lunch for the journey to Reliability Excellence – it’s not going to be instant gratification, but then nothing worthwhile ever is. Status Assessment The first step in the journey must be a thorough understanding of where you are: your plant’s strengths and weaknesses, and the changes that must be implemented to build on strengths and eliminate weaknesses. While this might sound simple, it is not. Few corporations or plants have historical data with sufficient accuracy or level of detail to effectively quantify its performance level. Even fewer can isolate and quantify specific strengths and limitations. Before you revolt, the key word was “quantify.” All can give you their opinion or subjective reasons for their failure to achieve desired performance levels. We will come back to this later, but first we should look at the scope of the assessment. Business Process Reliability Reliability Excellence must include the means to evaluate your current business processes and upgrade or replace them with reliable processes that will eliminate: • Errors – Reliable business or work processes provide standardized work procedures that provide step-by-step guidance to the person or people executing the task or scope of work. While a procedure cannot totally eliminate human error, adherence to SWPs will greatly reduce the probability of errors. • Waste – While waste is not a direct indicator of un-reliability, it can and often does www.uptimemagazine.com 55 http://www.uptimemagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Up Time Magazine- August/September 2008

Up Time Magazine- August/September 2008 Contents Upfront Upclose Information Technology Lubrication Infrared Maintenance Management Motor Testing Precision Maintenance Reliability Ultrasound Vibration Upgrade

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