reliability engineering for maintenance

IMC-2017 Learning Session 49:16
by Ernest Newmes, Stepan Company.

Stepan is a chemical company producing specialty and intermediate chemicals such as surfactants, polymers, and other specialty products. Stepan Company has been maturing its Reliability program by developing all roles within the company to understand their part in Reliability.

Production Operator participation in Reliability is frequently referred to as Operator Driven Reliability or Autonomous Maintenance. Operators are integrally involved in operating equipment and have a unique opportunity, when equipped with tools and knowledge, to improve Reliability. Their frequent presence and familiarity of equipment can be leveraged to recognize equipment issues earlier in the P-F interval and operate them effectively. Audio, visual, and olfactory (AVO) indications are fundamental to heading off major equipment issues. Local and remote sensors are also used to recognize issues earlier on the P-F interval. In addition to having a presence, basic knowledge of equipment operation and function is essential to operating equipment within its operating envelop. Operating by procedure reduces the human impact on operations.

The topics covered will include:

• Overview of Operator Rounds at Stepan:
• Development of Rounds
• AVO
• Sensors/Visual Aides
• Electronic Rounds
• Activity Feedback
• Developing Operator Knowledge
  • New Operator Training
  • Knowledge “roadshow” for experienced operators
• Operating by Procedure
  • Procedures that need diligence for a successful outcome
  • Development of critical procedures
  • Electronic Procedure
  • Activity Feedback

IMC-2017 Learning Session  40:28
by Paul Durko, Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) Y-12.

Over the past several years a leveraged approach to re-establishing the maintenance history, feedback, and improvement process has reaffirmed the management and technician relationship required to build a sustainable effort. While not a perfect process, the technicians realize that there is a commitment to ensuring their efforts are acted upon which in turn has reignited the sense of asset ownership at the floor level.

This effort, a topic of a previous IMC presentation, became the springboard to the next initiative; Preventive Maintenance Optimization (PMO). The PMO effort has been implemented in key Production areas of the plant since 2015. Due to complexity of work execution in the Operating Environment the effort was implemented in two phases.

Phase I – Team Synergy, Work Instruction Standardization, Task Validation – Expansion of Task Instruction and Parts Identification
Phase II – System Performance Trending, Task Optimization, Continuous Improvement, Expansion of Condition Based Maintenance Activities

• IMC-2017 Learning Session - 37:10

by Jim Oldach, CH2M and John Tierney, Metropolitan Council Environmental Services.

Using the Uptime Elements as a guide, the Environment Services Division of the Metropolitan Council (MCES) is optimizing preventive maintenance activities in its largest treatment facility using an enterprise criticality framework. In 2016 MCES completed a Criticality Analysis (CA) pilot project focused on its Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant’s Solids Management Process (SMP), one of the largest solids disposal and energy recover facilities in the nation. MCES identified critical assets consuming a disproportionate amount of resources and implemented strategies to improve operational availability, free up critical maintenance resources for higher value activities, and reduce costs. MCES partnered with engineering firm CH2M to develop the pilot, document the process and train internal resources to sustain the strategy and implement it across $7 billion in infrastructure assets.

The presentation will detail the approach, the process, and tools including:

• Getting sponsor and executive support.
• Establishing internal resources for continued PMO implementation.
• Buy-in from the Operations and Maintenance staff.
• Using data to drive decisions.
• Achieving measurable results showing the return on investment, including cost savings, cultural improvement, system performance increase and deferred capital investment.

IMC Learning Session - 40:28 
by Michael Andrews and Luis Tirado-Maldonado, Bristol-Myers Squibb

The function of the reliability engineering program is to help deliver the company’s mission by ensuring its assets, systems and infrastructure run as designed and the highest possible uptime without compromising safety or quality to our patients. The reliability engineering program at BMS focuses on a system lifecycle approach to equipment from design, build, acceptance, use and disposal. Strategies for this approach are continually aligned to the business mission. Real-time key performance indicators (KPIs) to a strong failure reporting analysis and corrective action system (FRACAS) helps monitor the effectiveness of the program while also striving for continuous improvement. Reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) approaches are also employed - a main component being criticality ranking of equipment, which aids in the level of RCM assessment given to a piece of equipment. The RCM for high critical equipment may include: work order history analysis, FMEA, BOM, maintenance strategy optimization and life cycle costing. Condition monitoring strategies are also determined using the level of criticality. The criticality ranking is configured in the enterprise asset management system and allows for priority of work scheduling, as well as aiding in focus of failure analytics and reporting. Without question, this program is most effective due to the leadership and culture developed at BMS and at all levels in the organization. Cross-functional teams from engineering, operations, quality, management, maintenance, metrology and supply chain all take part in reliability forums and training on the Certified Reliability Leadership program using the Uptime Elements™ framework.