How do you make sure your plant equipment is always ready?

I was working at Kennecott Utah Copper when the idea of using thermal imaging for preventative maintenance was introduced. A designated area was laid out in many locations for a thermal photograph to be taken of the equipment on a regular basis and compared to normal operating conditions from the past. These photographs were then catalogued for future reference to determine whether the equipment being surveyed was going to need to be repaired or replaced in the next shutdown in order to avoid unexpected events. The first few months were used as a control group until the history could be shown to show signs of fatigue in the thermal photographs. Equipment was maintained during a scheduled down, and the cost savings were impressive.

For a plant to Run effectively, a lot of things need to be right. First the design, in designing an equipment, reliability must be taken into consideration also maintainability as this goes a long way to affect MTTR. Secondly, there should exist a clear manual and documentation from OEM to client that will use the equipment, this includes drawings, electrical manuals etc, this helps in troubleshooting process and developing of PM strategies Lastly, equipment must be operated in the right conditions as advised by OEM. These conditions include right preventive schedules, CLIT ET al, these affect MTBF and life span on equipment as it eliminates forced deterioration.

Even with a good maintenance team that performs preventative maintenance on equipment, operators should still be aware of how the machine reacts during operation. This can be done with good training and a (SOP) standard operating procedure.

Preventive Maintenance plan/schedule shall be developed/enhanced on 3 basic inputs - 1. History of Equipment - How well the equipment has performed and how frequently an equipment has actually failed in the past. 2. Industry best practices - Follow the Industry best practices to maintain an equipment. 3. OEM Recommendation - It is important to understand the OEM recommendations and make it a part of the preventive maintenance plan i.e. adapt the same frequency for maintenance of a particular task.

Most of the contributions made here are summarized by Maintenance and Reliability Best Practices by Ramesh Gulati regarding Asset Performance. Asset Performance is determined by 3 factors: Inherent reliability - how it was designed Operating environment - how it will be operated Maintenance plan - how it will be maintained To ensure your plant equipment is Operation-ready you have to ensure that the operators are well trained and educated to operate it in the right way including performing basic maintenance tasks (Autonomous Maintenance). You need to develop a Maintenance plan that would sustain the inherent reliability of the equipment while ensuring the availability of the equipment.

technology is changing! knowledge is changing. in my experience contiguous improvement does not only matter for plant conditions. training is essential " in making sure the plant equipment is always ready"

Em situa??es difíceis sempre pergunto como identificamos o problema e como n?o vimos isso antes, enfim, devemos monitorar nossos equipamentos, mas qual o melhor processo de monitoramento frente às diversidades das instala??es produtivas, pois em todas vamos enfrentar dificuldades de acesso e de execu??o, temos operadores treinados tempo integral, temos monitoramento do processo e é crítico. Com as informa??es na m?o, podemos definir qual a melhor op??o de monitoramento ou se vamos ficar sem monitoramento, o que e mais viável. Defendo a implementa??o do processo de monitoramento, mas n?o somente, por ter um, mas ele realmente deve trazer resultados reais nos processos.

There are plenty of tools in market that allow monitoring of equipments electronically. Even disconnected and old equipments can be made smart and emit data to new age IoT Platform by means of putting camera in front of gages, using small and cheaper sensors like AWS Monitron. The cost of IoT Sensors and Computing has come down dranstically in last few year, that even cost prohibitive measure from 10 years ago are not commodity.

As a maintenance engineer, I champion the integration of condition monitoring (CM) and predictive maintenance (PdM) to ensure perpetual plant equipment readiness. CM involving continuous measurement of parameters like vibration and temperature, identifies early signs of deterioration. PdM, utilizing CM data and advanced algorithms, predicts component failures, optimizing maintenance and averting breakdowns. Effective implementation involves careful sensor selection, precise installation, calibration, data collection, and application of analysis tools. These strategies not only enhance reliability but also minimize unnecessary repairs, fostering an optimized, resilient, and consistently operational plant.

Past data of the equipment should be analyzed frequently to decide the next plan of action. Most wear & tear parts should be handy for replacement & keep downtime as min. as possible

Many times, the importance of continuous education for technicians is underestimated. Yet, it's crucial to foster ongoing learning, as it keeps staff engaged and drives their curiosity, paving the way for enhanced operations and maintenance.

Occasionally rotating plant operators can be a mixed blessing. It creates chaos short term. Having a different set of eyes for a month or a shift can really help shed light into some spaces another human might not put the same attention on or have the depth of experience with

1.Through, strictly preventative maintenance and services. 2. Through refresher training and specific equipment trainings for technicians and operators. 3. Constant updating your equipment as per OEM. 4. Use of standard parts . 5. Impact operators with mechanical knowledge to make sure they can address minor problems on equipment.

In rotating shift plant operations we have to ensure the safe work practices. In my opinion we may give operators itself to make a plan for their shifts( in my plant it works out) . Make them feel they are important asset of the company and share all good and bad aspects of plant operations. Training- Very important factor

Usually people aspect is what makes any initiative success or failure at plant level. Training and aligning employee is absolutely essentials. Gamification, incentivize practices like Kaizan, 5S, Quality circle are some of the methods considered effective for boosting employee morale and improving culture around quality and overall.

Developing a robust and detailed maintenance concept, is a great starting point for ensuring future equipment reliability and availability. However regular reviews of the maintenance concept will ensure it continues to be effective. It's highly likely that as the equipment ages, PM frequencies and the details of the PM will also need to change.

Audit and technical asset verification activities can help to identify areas for improvement, ensure adherence to regulations, and enhance overall performance. Auditors should be independant from operations, maintenance and project teams.

Conducting regular audits and reviews is an essential practice for robust plant equipment management. These assessments offer a comprehensive look at equipment performance, condition, and regulatory compliance, helping identify gaps and areas for improvement. Clearly defined scope, criteria, and frequency for these evaluations set the groundwork for actionable insights. Choosing the right auditors and reviewers ensures a thorough, unbiased analysis. Gathering empirical evidence and systematically analyzing it provides a strong basis for confirming the effectiveness of existing maintenance and operational strategies. Following up on findings and recommendations completes the loop, driving continuous improvement.

Use of documents such as equipment check lists is one way that has proved to be effective. Operators can be encouraged to fill in such checklists at start of operations as they carry out inspections. There must be a Senior person to verify that the checklists are filled correctly.

"Audits and reviews are integral components of an asset management system. Adhering to these industry best practices, and conducting cross-functional audits and reviews, provides us with valuable opportunities to identify and rectify any gaps."

Always be willing to roll back improvement projects if they have a negative impact. Too often, pride and politics forces you to degrade to massive losses before admitting that a change was a mistake. All changes can cause disruption that has to be fine tuned but some changes will have a negative impact to the process that are not worth experiencing. Reserve the right to work smarter.

One thing I found helpful is to set up regular meetings with operators and LISTEN to their thoughts and observations. Be willing to make changes based on these observations. Let them know also that sometimes there will be changes that don’t meet expectations but there will be no actions against them. Rather these errors will be a recorded for future and experience will be gained. Don’t make people afraid to try potential improvements.

Continuous improvement is only possible when the team involved in the process adapt to PAT methodology. USFDA defined as a mechanism to design, analyze, and control pharmaceutical manufacturing processes through the measurement of critical process parameters which affect the critical quality attributes (CQAs). Its an overall product knowledge management method among many teams involved and work towards a core objective of CI. Adopting PAT methodology tools has direct and measurable impact on reduced process costs, improved product quality, safety and consistency, elimination or reduction of product rework, optimized energy, and material usage, quicker processing cycle times which are considered as the benefits of CI.

"Embrace a philosophy of continual improvement over mere continuity. Operational enhancement is not a fixed destination; it's an ongoing journey. Strive to instill these practices as an integral part of your organizational culture. There exists a multitude of exemplary industrial practices, such as 5S, Lean, Kanban, Six Sigma, and WMS, among others."

Adopting a continuous improvement (CI) mindset is pivotal for sustaining high levels of reliability, efficiency, and productivity in plant operations. Engagement from staff, customers, and suppliers is essential in fostering a CI culture. Monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) serves as a quantitative measure of success, while identifying and prioritizing problems gets to the root cause of inefficiencies. Implementing solutions and testing their impact affirms the effectiveness of chosen strategies. Lastly, standardizing successful new practices ensures long-term benefits. Embracing CI isn't just a one-time effort but a commitment to ongoing operational excellence.

As manuten??es sensitivas baseada no conhecimento e "felling" dos manutentor/operador devem ser realizadas frequentemente, pois essas inspe??es ajudam a planejar uma corretiva programada ou por oportunidade evitando maiores transtornos aos clientes internos. No entanto para esse método dar certo o engajamento da equipe e habilidades e conhecimentos dos manutentores/operadores s?o crucial.

Even when budget constrained, make sure that identified repair parts are available by getting them coming as soon as possible with unreliable lead times. Ensure that they are ready to be installed at a moment's notice even if you cannot budget the repair yet. It can mean the difference between a few minutes/hours of production loss and days waiting for them to arrive. Make informed decisions early. Maintenance does not increase production... it decreases loss of production. Planned and well scheduled maintenance and repairs can be the hardest to justify because the production losses are never felt by those writing the checks.

Assessing equipment criticality and how it effect the system when it failure will give an idea to eliminate those activity thats is not give added value to the production. By eliminating thos none added value activities, the operators or technicians available time can be allocated more to added value activities.

1. Ensure that the equipment washing process is carried out according to schedule. 2. Daily, weekly and monthly inspections of all components 3. Implementation of condition monitoring of equipment components 4. Ordering of spare parts without error 5. Make a periodic service plan along with the work backlog program. 6. Ensure work in accordance with the plan from all teams, mechanical, electrical, welding and washing after completion of periodic maintenance.

Un buen control de stocks. Básico para gestionar una intervención y cumplir tiempos y percances imprevistos. Revisando excesos de repuestos en averías frecuentes, sustituyéndolos por otros más adecuados y actualizando cada día de manera eficiente las intervenciones.