You have successfully completed the commissioning and startup of your plant, but your work is not over yet. Maintaining a plant after commissioning is a critical task that requires careful planning, execution, and monitoring. In this article, we will share some of the best practices for keeping your plant in optimal condition and avoiding costly breakdowns and downtime.
The first step in maintaining a plant after commissioning is to define your maintenance objectives and strategies. What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) that you want to achieve and measure? How will you allocate your resources and prioritize your activities? What are the risks and opportunities that you need to consider? Your maintenance objectives and strategies should align with your plant's operational goals, regulatory requirements, and stakeholder expectations.
Maintaining reliability after a facility has been commissioned demands a maintenance regimen tailored to operating goals. Through careful equipment monitoring, look for early warning signs of failure. To extract insights, digitise maintenance logs, standardise reporting metrics, and interact with planning systems. Adjust PM job intervals and overhaul cycles based on need. Reduce downtime by adjusting part stocks and vendors. Maintain maintenance team competences through cross-training and skill development. Open communication routes to promote alignment between maintenance, operations, and management.
Post-Commissioning Plant Maintenance Keys 1. Predict & Prevent: Move from fixing breakdowns to predicting them. Use sensors and data to schedule maintenance before failures, slashing downtime and repair. 2. Lubricate & Protect: Use high-quality lubricants, implement corrosion protection, and prioritize cleanliness to extend life and reduce costs. 3. Tech It Up: Embrace digital tools, remote monitoring, and automation to streamline tasks, improve efficiency.Data Driven Decisions. 4. Continuous Improvement: Train your team, encourage feedback, and benchmark against industry standards to evolve your maintenance strategy and keep improving. 5. Cost-Effective Balance: Prioritize critical assets, consider outsourcing. Leverage better investments.
The next step in maintaining a plant after commissioning is to implement preventive and predictive maintenance programs. Preventive maintenance involves performing scheduled tasks to prevent failures and extend the life of your equipment and systems. Predictive maintenance involves using data and technology to monitor the condition and performance of your equipment and systems and identify potential issues before they become problems. Both types of maintenance can help you reduce costs, improve reliability, and enhance safety.
The third step in maintaining a plant after commissioning is to train and empower your maintenance team. Your maintenance team is the backbone of your plant's performance and efficiency. You need to ensure that they have the skills, knowledge, and tools to perform their tasks effectively and safely. You also need to foster a culture of continuous improvement, collaboration, and communication among your maintenance team and other stakeholders. Your maintenance team should be able to troubleshoot problems, suggest solutions, and report feedback.
The fourth step in maintaining a plant after commissioning is to use digital tools and systems. Digital tools and systems can help you streamline your maintenance processes, optimize your resource utilization, and enhance your decision-making. For example, you can use computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) to automate your work orders, inventory management, and documentation. You can also use sensors, smart devices, and cloud platforms to collect, analyze, and share data on your equipment and systems.
The fifth step in maintaining a plant after commissioning is to conduct regular audits and reviews. Audits and reviews can help you evaluate your maintenance performance, identify gaps and areas for improvement, and verify your compliance with standards and regulations. You can use various methods and tools to conduct audits and reviews, such as checklists, inspections, surveys, interviews, and benchmarking. You should also involve your maintenance team and other stakeholders in the audit and review process and solicit their feedback and suggestions.
The sixth step in maintaining a plant after commissioning is to plan for future upgrades and expansions. As your plant operates, you may encounter new challenges and opportunities that require you to modify or enhance your equipment and systems. You need to anticipate these changes and plan ahead to ensure that your plant can adapt and grow without compromising its performance and efficiency. You should also consider the environmental, social, and economic impacts of your upgrades and expansions and consult with your stakeholders and experts.
Someone once told me, "with new technology comes new problems". You just dont know what those problems are going to be. For a new facility it is important to document equipment BOM's, purchase maintenance parts, and build an inventory. This is a commonly overlooked aspect of a new facility, most companies think that because the equipment is new they have time to wait. You don't have time to wait. Especially in todays market with long lead time issues, some critical spares can take over a year to arrive.