What maintenance means for some people

In my experiences there are still some people who interpret maintenance as a machine or a piece of equipment has failed and we need to send some technician or mechanic to fix it, that’s it, or so far our plant operates and we hear the sound of machines and equipment then everything is okay.

These people belong the old classic school because they did not update their knowledge regarding maintenance strategies, issues, approaches, achieves, methods etc. Most of cases it’s a lack of competences but in other cases the culture is the main cause.

Maintenance in today’s challenge is more broader than what I have mentioned above. It takes care of the assets from the inception to disposal. Nevertheless it must be a clear and suitable concept in place that include all necessary activities and highlights all small important details to avoid misinterpreting and ambiguity.

The new school of maintenance consider all other objectives such as reliability, availability, maintainability, safety, operation, logistics etc. and work hardly to integrate them within a horizontally approach to be able to optimize availability and operation which in turn leads to optimize production. On the other hand to optimize maintenance and reduce its costs.

Moreover, the data gathering, analysis and fact-based decisions are essential steps for building a solid foundation that embraces the above mentioned  approach.

Best regards

Hamid/

The economy is the most considered aspect!

In general there are several common elements and aspects such as training, analysis, leadership, safety, environment, quality, economy etc.  those are considered by all organizations regardless of the organization is a manufacturer or deliver services, because these aspects and elements play a huge role on organization’s profitability and competitiveness.

If we breakdown and analyze each process that involve these aspects and elements, we are going to see that all of these aspects and elements lead in the end of the day to ECONOMY.

Quality, why companies care about quality?

Well, the answer is, to make their customers satisfied, and when the customers are satisfied they are going to buy the products/services those company offers, and when the company sell a large amount of products, it makes revenue and might it will increase profit margin if the costs are controlled, and when the profit margin increases it will enhance organizations profitability and enables it to stay longer in the market. Although, it’s obvious that the last piece in the chain is the “economy”.

Safety, why companies do care about safety?

 Well, the answer is to prevent personal injuries and environment's pollution within assuring the machines, equipment, systems, product and facilities.

Why? The organization will pay penalty or compensation if any accident occurs during the operation that could lead to personnel injuries and or environment’s pollution due to radiation, explosion, chemicals etc. On the other hand it will also impact customers, partners, stakeholders and also organization’s reputation and credibility are in danger. 

Environment, why organizations do care about Environment?

The main reason is to avoid other costs such as penalties that occur due to emission and other wastes exceeding the boundary that determined by the state. However, the organization could lose its permission to operate if the amount of emission exceeds the boundary that world/Europe legislation has determined. That’s mean the business will be shut down.

Training, why should organizations consider training?

The answer is very simple. Trained or qualified operators/personnel know how to deal with specific problem(s) and can also handle stress with less faults comparison with untrained staff. Moreover, when problem(s) occurrence decreases, the costs will automatically decrease too. This in turn leads to maximize revenues.

Leadership, why should companies consider leadership?

Examples of problems that organizations face in day-to-day work are unscheduled downtime, recurring failures, huge amount of backlog, unfinished tasks, increment of rejected products due to defect etc. All of these can might be linked to demotivated and immoral-operators, lack of knowledge, misuse and abuse, however these are not the final causes. In many instances there is another cause(s) that lies behind such problems such as management/leadership.  Although, the selection of right leaders those can add a value is beneficial, because it can lead in the end of the day to minimize the costs and maximize the revenue.

LCCA (Life Cycle Cost Analysis)

Why organizations consider LCCA?

The purpose of conducting LCCA is to estimate whether the project is worthy or not within conducting a comprehensive study, analysis and comparison that include all available alternatives from inception to disposal. That means, the final decision regarding what alternative would be chosen will be based on profitability. However other aspects and criteria have also been taken into account.

RAMS (Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety)

Why it is important for organization to consider RAMS?

RAMS-analysis focuses mostly on asset's condition, because unreliable, unavailable, unmaintainable and last but not least unsafe system or organization means a huge amount of money in the end of the day.

Obviously, the analysis shows that the economy is the core component that clarifies organizations concern regarding the above mentioned elements  and other involved issues those I did not mentioned, because it will be too long article such as Maintenance, Operation, Supportability (storage, logistics, competence etc.) etc.

 

I can conclude that it’s obvious the economy is the most important aspect. On the other words, the economy is actually the core motive that lie behind each element or aspect , however the consideration of the above mentioned elements when conducting studies or making decisions will contribute to enhancement of organizations profitability and competitiveness strongly.

Hamid Al-najjar

Maintenance impact from RAMS point of view

http://www.mataha.se/sida1.html

RAMS-Ten-Matrices Approach

RAMS-Ten-Matrices Approach

In order to identify and establish a proper approach that takes care of Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety, one should consider the intersections points among RAMS and other matrices and how they affect each other and can be affected by other matrices, factors and elements. That enables the company to reduce or eliminate failures, minimize costs and improve processes and quality which in turn leads to enhance company’s profitability and its competitiveness.

The Table below exhibits the ten matrices approach that is divided into three major sections, Non-defense, Manufacturer and Defense. In addition to that it also shows how RAMS - influence other matrices, and how it can be affected by them.

The Table Is Confidential:

An assumption:

All elements that in column “Defense-sector” already are existing in “Non-defense-sector”, however the elements that in column “Non-defense-sector” are not necessarily existing in “Defense-sector”.  The reason behind this division is to avoid the duplicating. Furthermore, the colored cells are main maps, which means it contain some elements.

Ex:

Maintenance can be affected by manufacturer when OEM is not proper, inaccurate documents or data, poorly test etc. and can be also affected whether the manufacturer did not considered (maintainability, Supportability and Safety early at design’s phase). On the other hand it can also be influenced if company/defense does not take into account the following:

1.       Maintenance Concept that include the following issues such as (maintenance strategies, maintenance instructions, maintenance documents, maintenance planning & scheduling etc.)

2.       Spare Parts Management that includes the following issues such as (logistics, storage, integrations etc.)

3.       Local Environment

4.       Out sourcing (i.e. poor communication with maintenance crew, insufficient skills, unclear vision(s) etc.)

5.       Tools, Systems & Instruments

6.       Vision(s)

7.       People, including the following issues such as (leadership, motivation, training, management, skills, training, competences, administration etc.)

8.       Economy

The interpreting of the table should be based on the above mentioned Example in order to understand the whole concept.

The figure below exhibits the direction of decision making “Bottom-up” because the assumption is based on that Safety, Environment and Economy are the foundation for every decision that company/defense makes.

The Figure Is Confidential:

The figure below shows the dependence, reciprocation and the relationship among RAMS-matrices, on the other hand it also shows how they could affect each other and become affected by other matrices, factors and elements.

The Figure Is Confidential:

High tech and well-designed systems and equipment are vital to have in place, however people are the most important asset that must be taken into account in order to achieve the desired result, because they operate these system(s), thus if they haven’t the sufficient motivation, good leadership, training, knowledge, skills, resources etc. then the strategic goals of the compnay will not be achieved.

Best regards

Hamid Al-najjar

The requirements for establishing a proper maintenance program/procedure

There are some vital steps that must be taken into account in order to establish an effective maintenance program that leads to the reduction or elimination of problems and unscheduled downtime. Additionally, this in turn leads to increased profitability and improved competitiveness by reducing maintenance costs and optimize plant’s reliability. Furthermore, the production process and quality will reach the optimum level with the respect of other business’s KPI such as safety, environment, reliability, availability, quality and economy. The steps are as showing below:-




1. An identification and mapping of all systems and subsystems that are in place using the documentation, data that is already in CMMS "IFS" and inspections.

2. A comprehensive analysis of data collected from the above sources to identify the following:-

• Identification of the systems / subsystem’s function, errors, Failure’s effect and the causes.
• Identification and classification of the systems / subsystems that have the most trouble.
• Identification of significant systems / subsystems (systems or subsystems that have a major impact in the production process).
• Assessment of (RPN) Risk priority Number by the aid of FMECA- methodology.

3. A well detailed planning which includes PM and PdM instructions (Preventive and Condition-based maintenance instructions) based on and include the following:-

•  The manufacturer's recommendations, failure’s analysis- history that brings from the CMM”IFS”, MTBF, MTTF, MTTR and maintenance personnel experience in compliance with data gathered.
• Implementation of Pro-active culture that includes the following:-

• Improvement of maintenance’s staff analysis mindset and ability when conducting inspections that include (where to look, what tools should be used and what approach).

•  Establishment of a procedure that facilitates the assessment of the maintenance work such as what strategy should be used when an error or failure occurs.

• Streamlining the current rounds if they exist or create new ones if necessary based on Condition Based Maintenance strategy with the help of predetermined procedures and specified tools and approaches.

• Identification and planning of various maintenance strategies that should be used based on machinery and equipment, crew’s skills and availability, work load and business aspects such as (safety, environment, accessibility, quality and economy).

4. A comprehensive analysis that lists out all the resources needed to carry out maintenance plan such as personnel, tools, instruments, training, etc., and all obstacles that may stand in the way regarding poor communication with customers (handling companies), job’s approval "centralization", role definition, good planning margin with suppliers, project involvement, spare parts planning and co-operation with inventory and more.

5. A Clear and distinct vision and work instructions, which are all in clear text such as , who does what, how often (frequency), in which way, using what (tools if needed) competences, skills and security rules should be taken into account.

6. A reset should be done when implementation of this procedure, which means that one stops doing anything else.

7. A measurement should be done that include (Productivity and Efficiency, on the other hand company’s KPI should be considered).

8. A Continuous control over the process in case it needs any adjustments if necessary.

9. Another measurement should be done after a predetermined time in order to identify the appropriate process is on track, identify obstacles, if any adjustment needs, etc.

10. One should also keep in mind if possible (QuickTimeWinning) therefore, firstly to bring rapid gains in terms of error reduction, accessibility increment, quality improvement, process efficiency etc. Secondly to justify maintenance staff, and to get the support required by management.

11. A Continuous documentation.

12. Improvement of the current IFS-object-structure to streamlining maintenance works and applies the analysis concerning economy, finance, logistics, inventory and maintenance activities.

13. Roll and accountability definition within maintenance organization to avoid interaction, overlap and gab.

14. Procurement department should involve maintenance staff when investing, expansion and new installation regarding maintainability, reliability and supportability.



Observe that this procedure is intended for a specific plant, but it could be implemented at other plants as a base in order to optimize the current maintenance program or in case to establish a new one for the same purposes that are mentioned above, however the generalization is not recommended due to the differences among plants and branches. However, cost-effective methodology has been considered, within integrating all involved working areas and factors and focused more on maintainability, supportability, reliability and availability. That enables us addressing everything and streamlining the process which in turn leads to cost minimization and performance optimization, and achieving our strategic goals. By the way, I didn’t mentioned what techniques, approaches or methods should be used throughout the process, because I already know there are many out there. The main purpose is the method, technique or approach you select helps you to accomplish your goals.

Best regards

Hamid Al-najjar

The benefit(s) of conducting risk analysis

Risk analysis is one of most valuable methods that could be used to establish an appropriate maintenance program from the scratch or to improve the current one.


Moreover the conducting of risk analysis enables engineers and managers to make the correct decision based on the following:

1. Identifying all systems and sub-systems that are in place.

2. Identifying most critical system, sub-system and components that have most problem(s).

3. Specifying and classifying failure’s type to be able to identify chronic and recurring failures.

4. Identifying failures effect such as internal, external, economical, safety, operational, and environmental.

5. Identifying the reason(s) that lies behind it to be able to find out the root cause(s) and eliminate it.

6. Identifying if there is any need for outsourcing of a certain maintenance activity in case maintenance department cannot deliver it due to lack of resources, skills, tools etc. On the other hand, an evaluation regarding what alternative should be followed must be conducted that is based on company’s strategic goals and aspects that mentioned in point 4 in order to assure that the project is profitable.

7. Conducting an economical calculation that exhibits the total cost due to failures”Assuming that all data required is available” otherwise estimation could be done.

Furthermore, if the company already has a maintenance program but it doesn’t give the desired function, then the current maintenance program should be reviewed and corrected by the aid of the data gathered throughout the analysis. A measurement should be carried out when implementing the new planning whose result can be used after a specific time from the start point of the project. Firstly, to ensure that the planning is on the right way and secondly to be able to make any adjustment at good time if it needs.

However it’s maybe easier to establish a maintenance program from the scratch especially if there is a sufficient support from the management and the front line with respect to data availability.



Best regards

The benefit(s) of establishing a logical system structure on CMMS

When talking about the system structure means the physical layout of the assets that include machines, equipment and acquisition and how it look like on the graphic structure within CMMS.


All organizations have some strategic goals (Vision) that they want to achieve. These goals vary depends on company’s branch, but a common goal that almost all companies want to reach is minimizing maintenance costs.

One of the most vital steps that must be taken into account when minimizing maintenance costs is to identify systems/subsystems that are in place. Additionally, the data could be gathered in several ways considering its availability and reliability, however the circumstances that the company experiences could also play a crucial role.

The system structure should be divided into logical parts that identify the assets on the CMMS in compliance with system graphic layout that exhibits all outstanding sub-systems, at the same time the structure break down should be balanced. In other words, there is no need to show all components that each sub-system contains, because it leads to confusing and other problems. Although, the information such as spare parts, drawings, guaranty etc could be feed under each sub-system.

Thereafter all costs that are related to repairing, replacement, outsourcing, development, purchasing, material, man power, installation, rebuilding, license, expansion, guaranty etc must be tracked, specified and linked to each asset. Therefore, it enables engineers, owners and stakeholders to conduct LCCA on each asset to ensure whether it’s worthy and also could be used for other goals. Below shows what benefits the company should achieve when implementing this approach:

• Simplifies the communication and the integration among different departments such as maintenance, operation, store and logistic, purchasing and other involved departments.

• It enables the planners and technicians to easy identify in which part of the building or sub-system the fault is, that in turn minimizes time and energy.

• Work orders can easily be linked to the right asset based on this path, graphic part (company name)/ building / plant /system/sub-system/component.

• Improvement of maintenance work and minimizing of work orders backlog.

• It easily to follow-up and conduct measurement and analysis concerning costs, MTTF, MTBT, guaranty, and agreements for each system/sub-system, on the other hand performing LCCA. That enables stakeholders and owners to easy make an estimation regarding profitability and competitiveness.

• It enables across searching among different plants within the company regarding redundant spare parts, sub-systems that have the same or similar function and can be used in different places when it requires. That leads to avoid process stoppages, and doing rapid purchasing that almost costs a lot.

• It’s easy to use and to search a piece of information. Moreover, there is no need to be engineer to understand how you get there, because the information must be available and easy to find for all involved people within the company regardless of their education’s level.

• Eliminating of waste in all its forms.

Best regards