04 Asset Information

Applying agile data governance and leveraging 21 century tools and methods to create an ecosystem that supports the success of asset data management strategies. This approach addresses challenges in resourcing for developing strong governance that considers strategic, tactical and operational needs while providing a unique approach to data gathering, quality and quantity of data at a program level.

Recent developments in AI, ML and related techniques see wide adoption in many industries. However, in the asset management area, such technical advances are still in their infancy, especially in the maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) area. Part of the reason is that, contrary to production, MRO data has its unique characteristics (e.g. incompleteness, inconsistency and heterogeneous), and most organizations are still planning to introduce diagnostic sensors dedicated to maintenance and equipment reliability. We face both challenges and opportunities in advancing data-driven continuous improvements within the asset management world. This presentation shares the findings of our current research and development focus. Titled “How to use historical data to find opportunities to improve the effectiveness of equipment reliability programs, optimize MRO inventory operations, and enhance MRO workflow management processes”, we will first examine the characteristics of MRO data as their uniqueness to a specific company, plant or equipment and their commonality across all sectors. Then we evaluate the feasibility of applying AI/ML techniques with MRO history for better operational efficiencies. We need to understand what data is related to human knowledge, human interaction and process, and what data is associated with the actual condition of the asset, and if there are patterns and models that can be learned. Last, we will demonstrate that AI/ML can find equipment agnostic models and patterns which help continuously improve MRO operations across different industries. Based on the findings, we will also show how AI/ML models learned from historical MRO data can be translated into prescribed actions for improvements in equipment reliability, MRO inventory and workflow operations for individual organizations.

Asset management focuses on adding value as a form of an investment in the physical preservation of the asset, financial stewardship, and data analytics. We will share experiences and best practices in evidence-based asset management that strengthens smart outcomes and strategies. Gain insights and knowledge of successful strategies to ascertain owner support

An Asset Health Index or AHI refers to analysis performed using various asset data to determine the state or condition of the asset. AHI can be used to better assess asset condition, used and useful life, progression toward potential failure, and failure probability. Further, using AHI can also enable the development of optimized maintenance and replacement strategies for assets using a set of objective criteria to assess the true health of the asset. However, entities vary widely in whether they develop Asset Health Indexes (AHIs) for their key assets. For those that do, there are marked differences in the level of rigour and sophistication employed in developing and applying AHIs for effective asset management decision-making. AHI calculations involve identifying and collecting data which may include a review of core asset attributes such as manufacturer, inspection data including field observations, destructive and/or non-destructive test data, maintenance data including historical records, operational records, and asset failure/refurbishment data. In other words, some are core inventory data, some work records, and some inspections or tests. This presentation will go through how to make the best use of asset SMEs and how you can start to develop useful AHIs from what you already know/have. Technically, the process begins with identifying the most critical assets and determining which can best benefit from AHI formulation development. The next steps are used to develop proposed condition factors (CF) and weighting factors (WF) that provide insight into the condition of the assets. Finally, CFs and WFs are used to develop a mathematical algorithm or formulas for the Health Index. We will also discuss how AHI can be used to develop asset management and maintenance strategies – the whole point of the data and analysis in the first place.

The presentation will show the 21 specific harms to business that arise from ad hoc, weak, and unstructured spare parts (MRO materials) identities. The focus will be on the 6 specific harms to the maintenance. 1. Confusing material searches in WO planning 2. Extra validations used in WO planning 3. Work scheduling delays when planned parts are out of stock but are available under a different number in the warehouse 4. Job schedule interruptions from mis-identified materials 5. Production loss from wrong parts issued to a job (bigger impact than just work schedule impact) 6. Work to return wrong materials to the warehouse from a job The presentation will cover what the identifying elements of an MRO material or item record are. The necessary elements to solve the MRO material identity problem will be discussed. Useful MRO identities are structured based on rationalized noun classes. Applying the taxonomy to an MRO catalogue makes items comparable in a way that was not possible before. This allows for the removal of duplicates, assignment of items to equipment / functional locations and then removal of clutter items. Finally, the beauty of life in the Maintenance Department with a rational effective MRO material catalogue will be revealed!

In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world, the foundations of business operations shifted instantly. With ripple effects continuing today, organizations continue to strive to adapt to the changing landscape. In these times, the principles and practices of asset management are more critical than ever and can be a framework for embedding resiliency. This presentation will delve into the relationship between asset management principles and three focus areas impacted by COVID, while sharing real life examples from water and wastewater operations. First, we will explore how facility lockdowns and supply chain disruptions impacted equipment repair parts availability. We will dive into how facilities with strong critical spare parts management techniques weathered these disruptions with less panic and time spent chasing parts. And, how techniques such as predictive maintenance programs and planning scheduling better accommodated longer lead times before equipment intervention was required. Second, we will discuss what happens when only a few individuals own the asset management program and they are suddenly absent for health or family support obligations for an extended period. We will interconnect how building a strong ownership of asset management across disciplines and embedding processes and procedures ensures a lasting culture of asset management. Finally, lockdowns and travel bans forced our team to explore new methods for deploying technical support without onsite visits. Innovative approaches from virtually facilitated risk review workshops to augmented reality condition assessments have been developed and implemented over the past year. With advancements in technology, as the accumulation of data grows there has been a concentrated effort to leverage this data toward making data-justified decisions. Over the past year there has also been an increasing emphasis to leverage these analyses to bring decision teams to agreement as managers and client interact virtually. With an interdependent global economy it is only a matter of time until the next disruption hits, and implementing the core principles of asset management can enhance the resiliency of your organization.

The successful use of the technologies associated to Building Information Management (BIM) depends on the interest and levels of investment that owners are willing to put into their projects. According to U.S. and Australian studies, the costs of poor information management in construction for each of these countries are nearly 15 billion U.S. $. The largest losses (almost two-thirds) were found among property owners. The implementation of BIM technologies for facility management focuses mostly on the technological aspect and often neglects the change management required to migrate from traditional approaches to asset management processes. BIM leverages the generation and use of digital representations of buildings and infrastructures in design, construction, and operations. The cost, efficiency and communications benefits that accrue from fostering single source of truth integrated data sets throughout infrastructure project lifecycles are forcing engineering firms, construction companies and public policy offices to rethink their processes and actions. The biggest potential opportunity for leveraging BIM processes following design and construction is for Facilities and Assets Management. Potential benefits include higher quality overall results, improved data preservation and transfer between life-cycle actors, effective predictive maintenance and energy efficiency. Leveraging the benefits of BIM technologies is easier said than done. There are few generally recognized best practices and many outstanding questions. How can we better plan the integration of BIM and FM into future projects? How can we integrate BIM into the management of existing infrastructure and real estate inventories? What best practices can we learn from existing global trends? This presentation offers some insights on how to transition towards BIM-enabled facility management. Success on this digitization path requires strong leadership from owners and operators, from project inception to operations phase. It investigates the transfer process of information technologies in place as well as changes in the business culture and organizational structure through case studies. Ultimately, a robust process to seamlessly create and transfer data across a facility lifecycle lays the ground for leveraging advanced Construction 4.0 technologies to further optimize the operations and improve the occupancy conditions for facility users.

This presentation will describe Nova Scotia Power Inc.’s (NSPI’s) Asset Management journey – comparing the progression for our Power Production division, with that current in play in support of our Transmission, Distribution and Delivery (T&D) division. NSPI has deployed a fully-integrated, technology-enabled Asset Management approach for its Power Production fleet of assets. The journey to undertake that development was staged, with key components of the asset management approach integrated in a step-wise fashion, each building up on the other. Carefully designed visuals were used to communicate and gain asset owner (plant management and field-level) support for the initiative, and resources from the organization migrated to the centralized asset management team over time, providing centralized, fleet-level support vs. plant-level support. Over approximately 8 years, the “Asset Management Office” team grew from 3 to 10, including dedicated operational technology resources, technical subject matter experts focused on generation assets and performance, and field level support resources. Major programs were deployed such as condition-based monitoring, predictive analytics and digital Operator rounds. There was room for trial-and-error, and continuous improvement with significant field engagement. A very bottom-up approach. In 2017, the Asset Management team’s mandate expanded to include NSPI’s T&D assets. The mandate included an organizational change, which gave the Enterprise Asset Management (TEAM) division (which includes Asset Management, but also Capital Management and Planning) elevated status via Sr. Director leadership. Some resources from the T&D division of the organization changed their reporting point to the AM team “en masse”. An EAM Integration Management position was created to have consistent leadership over the integration of the asset management approach across T&D, including integration into existing Asset Performance Management systems and framework, ensuring alignment with, and building on successful work completed for Power Production. The expectation for successful transition at a higher level, with minimal bumps along the way, was very different. A very top-down approach. Each approach has its highs (“…the best of times..”, and lows (“…the worst of times…”). But while different, there are common learnings and lessons that can be applied. Each approach can be effective – and in fact has been effective for NS Power. Perhaps you are starting small…. Or perhaps you are starting big… or somewhere in between. In any case, our Tale of Two Deployments will share with you NSPI’s experiences, and share of the benefits and challenges of each.Originally presented at MainTrain 2021 

In operating large or multisite portfolios, there are significant resource constraints which result in limited or a misallocated application of financial and time investment; this in turn, provides either unanticipated or high risk results. I will guide session attendees through the process of developing a decision making model for initiative prioritization - whether it is capital works projects, maintenance activities, continuous improvement initiatives, or potentially the day to day routines already established. We will begin with the journey of defining operational context in the view of the customer, the levels of service and focus areas for maintenance teams and capital teams. It becomes challenging with fiscal constraints, and the charge to implement continuous improvement often doesn’t result in value; how do we prevent ourselves from reacting to the latest trend or quick solution? How do we identify everything that needs to happen vs everything we want to happen? Understanding where you are is key in being able to define how you get to where you want to be. However, prioritizing the purpose of what you do is paramount to focus efforts on activities which add value to not only the organization but the customer, and to form a strong culture of positive support for our people. The decision making model you use and the role as a facilitator amongst the varying stakeholders and opinions is key to achieving success.

Often organisations are conflicted on where to direct capital and resources, given constant request and competing priorities requiring resources and money, many initiatives and maintenance activities are deferred or cancelled all together in order to meet the constraints of budget and available capability expectations. How do you know if the allocation of your money/capital and resources are being directed to the areas of greatest need and also delivering greatest value? How do you evaluate value? A deep dive into capital and resource allocation may uncover wasted effort where valuable resources have been allocated to initiatives and activities that are not as value add as some activity that has been deferred or cancelled. These decisions are often made with little or no consideration of the vast amount of information being held within the company’s CMMS. Every initiative and job can be justified but is it the best use of time and money? What data do you use to decide where best to allocate your valuable money and resources? I will share the principles behind real life examples of where failure data has been sorted to demonstrate both micro and macro impacts on a business bottom line, allowing for managers to make better decisions on resource allocation, and decisions that will deliver high value outcomes for the business. These decisions were made using information freely available, but largely ignored, within the CMMS. The information was sorted into failure modes/types and overall cost of unreliability and presented in the form of a pareto chart. When organised in this simple manner the data clearly identifies areas requiring attention that have significant impact on the business performance, and also leading to reduced wasted effort on jobs that are less important. This approach also removes some of the countless debate over the order of priority when people within the organisation feel they are competing for the limited resources up for grabs, instead allowing people to focus on what is best for the overall organisation and not just their patch.