6.01 Risk Assessment & Management

As the influence of the asset management approach continues to expand within Nova Scotia Power, we need a structured approach to ensure we continue to seek opportunities to optimize maintenance strategies. In a new installation, techniques such as failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) and reliability centred maintenance (RCM) can be used to develop an optimized maintenance strategy from the start, in a top-down approach. However, the vast majority of Nova Scotia Power’s equipment was in place long before the asset management office—and, therefore, the asset management approach—existed. The result of that is a collection of value-added, but developed after-the-fact maintenance strategies. Each maintenance strategy has components of operator surveillance (rounds), testing, predictive pattern recognition (also known as advanced pattern recognition, APR), predictive maintenance (condition-based monitoring and risk-based inspections), online monitoring, and preventative maintenance. While efforts had been made to “baseline” the equipment processes when maintenance strategies were developed (i.e., “clean out” existing activities), the organic growth of the approach and the distributed nature of assets and personnel have made this difficult to maintain. Therefore, we needed an approach to optimize existing maintenance strategies, without recreating them. Nova Scotia Power has therefore undertaken an effort known as maintenance strategy optimization, and has made this activity a core accountability for the asset management team, which recognizes the need to seek continuous improvement (vs. a one-time exercise). With a focus on digitization wherever appropriate, Nova Scotia Power has asked a number of questions to streamline, standardize, and optimize its maintenance strategies. Is there opportunity to reduce PM frequency? Is there opportunity to collect more information such that we can strengthen our APR models? Can our in-house standards be revalidated to sustainably reduce operating and maintenance costs? Nova Scotia Power is answering yes to these questions, and more, and pursuing opportunities to optimize its maintenance strategies—from the bottom up! 

Many organizations have implemented processes and tools to collect data to facilitate informed decision-making. Often, they will seek out best practices and measures to assist in decision-making or rely on technology to guide their basis. In many cases, however, these same organizations approach a gap in tactical deployment and in the ability to draw a connection to the follow-up or pre-emptive actions required to derive value from assets. We'll review the processes for establishing a framework for alignment and priority setting while looking at the techniques used for resiliency and risk management using a technology-agnostic approach. We'll review potential data sources that can be leveraged for decision-making and can reflect the needs and current state of the business environment. Additionally, we'll discuss the relationship and application to the decision-making process.  

Many maintenance and reliability staff are so busy fixing problems that they never get the chance to prevent them. In a reactive work environment, there is simply no time to spare. Root cause analysis (RCA) gives us an easy-to-implement approach to preventing failures that integrate with our current troubleshooting efforts and drives bottom-line business improvement. We can make our workplaces safer by reducing the number of unexpected failures, which will then result in improving our business performance, increasing our facility’s throughput and reducing the money spent on repairs – straight to the bottom line.

A criticality analysis is a systematic approach to evaluating potential risks, therefore consequences that can impact the business.  The criticality analysis has defined criteria that outlines the potential consequences so that they can be evaluated, categorised and prioritised.  Using the defined criteria for each major area of risk ensure all equipment is vaulted with emotion removed as much as possible.

Most organisations have implemented processes and tools to collect data to facilitate informed decision-making. Often, they will seek out best practices and measures to assist in decisionmaking or rely on technology to guide the basis of decisions. However, in many cases these same organisations approach a gap in tactical deployment and the ability to draw a connection to the follow-up or pre-emptive actions required to derive value from assets. This presentation will review the processes for establishing a framework for alignment and priority setting, while looking at the techniques employed for resiliency and risk management using a technology agnostic approach. We will review potential data sources which can be leveraged for decision-making and which reflect the needs and current state of the business environment. Further, we will discuss the relationship and application to the decision-making process. An overview of the fundamental outcome of key performance indicators and visualized metrics will be demonstrated. Finally, we will investigate the influence on decision making and the level of data confidence.

The tenets of reliability can be fun and messy. In this workshop, we’ll help you better understand these concepts and where the confusion creeps in. This session will be great for those studying for an exam or for those who want to geek out. You’ll leave with new knowledge, interesting facts, and explainable models that you can take back to your facility. We’ll look at turbo implementations; the criticality of criticality (both of them); the P-F interval; the funky failure curves of RCM; why root cause analysis is a lie; and why predictive tools can’t predict. Bring your own confusions and a willingness to participate in the dialogue as we break each of these down and toss out a few lies.

Effective maintenance plays a crucial role in today’s business. In order to manage costs, organizations attempt to get the most from their people and assets. Effective alignment between departments can dramatically improve asset reliability, reduce operation and maintenance costs and improve the effectiveness of the workforce.This presentation is intended to provide participants with the information and awareness they need to manage assets effectively. The need of cooperation between the operations and maintenance departments, as well as other departments such as supply chain will be discussed. Employees require more than high level principles; they must understand their role and how effective cooperation at all levels will provide value to the on-going operations, thereby allowing the business to remain profitable. Further, the presentation will examine the concept of Operational Excellence as the beginning of a transformation to a planned culture throughout the entire organization. Key to this topic is confirming who is in charge. Is the asset dictating how things should be done or are the people running it in charge?Asset management professionals often find themselves challenged by competing priorities in an effort to keep the system running. This session follows how maintenance tasks are initiated with work prioritization being a key element. Various roles will be discussed as well as the importance of scheduling and getting everyone on board with the schedule. Potential subtopics tailored to time restrictions: (1) Why do planned maintenance? (2) Cost of a break-in event, (3) Risk-based work selection, (4) Screening and approval of work, (5) Operators role in maintenance, (6) Operations, maintenance and supply chain departments’ role in scheduling, (7) Operations and maintenance coordination and roles, and (8) Managing the daily work list.  Presented at MainTrain 2017 

Risk-Based Asset Management is a strategic management approach to physical assets that leverages an enabling technology such as SAP Plant Maintenance coupled with risk and failure based controls. This approach ensures optimum asset care to drive increased availability that creates value, resulting in higher profits. Today, increasing asset utilization and decreasing total cost of ownership are standard corporate objectives. Organizations must optimize asset performance to survive tough business conditions. The focus on continuous improvement and lean events to increase OEE, improve availability and reduce life cycle costs is now common place - but this approach doesn't go far enough. Faced with the lack of technically qualified people, an aging work force, and shrinking margins, organizations must consider risk when applying resources to asset management. This presentation will describe the process of cataloging physical assets by hierarchy, criticality and risk. Participants will receive an overview of risk and failure analysis and their linkage to controls, and discover how some common reliability analysis techniques can used to ensure continuous improvement.

Organizations are under increased pressure to demonstrate due diligence in upholding H&S and protecting the environment.  With this, challenges exist in managing risk for new equipment/technology; where operating context specific maintenance requirements have not had the opportunity to be demonstrated or identified, in prioritizing future capital, and re-evaluation of the organization's risk exposure.This presentation will provide an overview of the development of the risk model, prefaced with a brief review of foundational elements which were required to implement the risk model at the Ontario Clean Water Agency.  The strategy employed uses a common matrix approach to probability and consequence of failure ranking, however, application of this approach has been defined to support rapid deployment for new infrastructure while providing an effective base for analysis.Topics covered will include establishing the end goals used for framework development and how these facilitate deployment within the agency.  This model allows the organization to support effective project identification and prioritization, while including mechanisms for continuous evolution of the method as well as the organization's asset and maintenance management program.

A practical and efficient condition based maintenance (CBM) program is built of two fundamental elements-one for rotating and dynamic assets in the adopted term of a (PdM) or Predictive Maintenance program and one for static assets known as Risk Based Inspection (RBI) program. This presentation will highlight these NSPI asset management programs for monitoring the state and reporting condition based (CBM) deficiencies on our physical assets. The discussion will review the development, management, integration and day-to-day application of our PdM/RBI programs including tools and techniques for VA, IR, MCA, HEP/FAC inspections and more. Participants will also discuss the general journey to condition monitoring for equipment over the thermal fleet. NSPI consciously chose innovative vendors, technologies and techniques. The audience will learn what challenges it faced internally and externally. The differences between how the CBM programs are integrated into our business today as opposed to piecemeal prior to AM program implementation starting in 2012.