Mike Sondalini — Thought Leader

THE VITAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN USING CONSEQUENCE OR CHANCE REDUCTION STRATEGIES IF YOU WANT OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE RESULTS, IS CONSEQUENCE REDUCTION REQUIRES REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE, WHEREAS CHANCE REDUCTION REMOVES REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE.

In reading “Enterprise Asset Management Success the Plant Wellness Way for CEOs and Senior Executives” I was interested in your table on page 15 that showed risk based inspection and condition based monitoring techniques as consequence reduction strategies.

My understanding is that both RBI and CBM are specifically designed to prevent failure through reducing the likelihood of failure i.e. by detecting failure before it happens within timescales that allow mitigation action to be taken. In the API 581 RBI standard, consequence is treated as a constant over time so the methodology specifically targets risk reduction through more effective inspection or design changes.

I appreciate that this is only a small point in terms of the overall approach and key messages challenging readers, but if you have time to reply I would like to understand the reasoning behind not viewing RBI and CBM as chance reduction.

Hello Paul,

When I developed the table I decided that if a technique or methodology required a failure to start in order to provide evidence that failure had been initiated, then it fell into the consequence reduction strategy. Once an embryonic failure existed then the eventual outcome COULD be complete failure if circumstances went badly. CBM and RBI look for evidence of failure, in fact they need a failure to have started in order to provide the signal that the P-F degradation has begun.

The Physics of Failure Factors Analysis for selecting maintenance strategy is a one-person exercise that identifies all ways a component can physically fail. Equally important to its simplicity is its ability to select the most effective life cycle strategies for maximising reliability. Another powerful business advantage is the failure-addressing solutions arrived at are universal solutions that apply to every other identical component, whatever equipment it is in. Do a Physics of Failure Factors Analysis for one part and you do it for all identical parts for the life of your operation. It is a highly accurate and cost-effective maintenance strategy selection methodology.

Charting historic equipment failure events visually shows the Failure Probability Density Function curve for that equipment. It is also known as a Failure Density Distribution Curve.

VALUE OF A DISTRIBUTION CURVE

Failure Probability Density Function curves, Failure Density Distribution Curves contain useful information about what has happened to equipment. These curves illustrate the chance of failure of an equipment over a period. Here, our fixed variables are the equipment’s components’ material-of-construction and design. As such, the only changing variable is the operating and maintenance strategies, including work processes, used by the company.

How to conquer the last frontier in equipment reliability, maintenance, and industrial engineering asset management: Our machines and materials of construction do not cause our equipment problems and failures. The real problem for industry is the ‘human factor’ in stopping people making mistakes. You gain control over the ‘human factor’ by providing clear and comprehensive work procedures that explain exactly how to deliver the performance required and that give users the means to check and improve their performance. The Accuracy Controlled Enterprise 3T procedure layout and content lets you provide your people with the details of how to do their work with exceptional quality, and the means to correct and improve their efforts until they are that good.

There is only one reason companies do maintenance on their physical assets—because it’s cheaper than not doing it. Unless doing maintenance makes a profit by saving money, it is wasting money. In the end, maintenance is about getting the best economics from physical assets. 

Keywords: plant maintenance management, equipment reliability, production risk management

The depreciation rate for equipment varies depending on the operational situation of the asset and the tax laws that apply to your company. The depreciation rate is more an accounting decision than an engineering one. The engineering aspect in the depreciation rate for equipment choice is deciding how long is the operating lifetime for an equipment item. 

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I want to know how we calculate the value for the depreciation rate of equipment. Want is done on other industrial sites, we apply an depreciation rate of 8 percent per year?

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 Overview the Plant Wellness Way EAM Methodology for a simple and successful Enterprise Asset Management System. Learn how to apply the Plant and Equipment Wellness enterprise asset management methodology. Follow the steps to get the best performance from your plant and equipment. Learn what systems and processes produce the optimal plant and equipment reliability results. From creating low stress component environment for lasting equipment health through to establishing the simplest and most effective business system and processes for world class asset management performance, this overview guide to the Plant Wellness Way takes you step by step in creating the outstanding asset performance needed for world class operational excellence. As with human wellness, the Plant Wellness Way requires you to build a healthy life for your machines. Learn to control your plant’s reliability by managing the stresses put on equipment parts and reducing the risk of failure so plant and equipment remains fit and healthy to produce its best performance. The Plant Wellness Way EAM methodology lets you find the ideal health conditions for your equipment and machines and makes you establish business processes and systems to achieve and maintain outstanding reliability performance. 

To get world class operation and profits your Asset Lifecycle Management System must prevent every opportunity for defect-creation in all life cycle phases, for all your operating equipment

Every physical asset has a lifecycle starting at conception through to its eventual disposal and site remediation. In each phase of the lifecycle errors can occur that cause defects within the asset. In operations with hundreds of assets there easily can be tens-of-thousands of defects. Each defect is a risk that eventually contributes to breakdowns, losses, wastes, safety incidents during operation, and shortens the asset’s service lifetime. Eliminating thousands of defects and risks forever is what Plant Wellness Way EAM does for its users.