10 Continuous Improvement

Many organizations have embarked on asset management programs and struggle to implement best in class practices, find it difficult to sustain the new ways of working and find it difficult to demonstrate the return on the investment in AM.  Success in Asset Management (AM)  Development and Sustenance of the AM Program depends of effective Change Leadership throughout the program. It requires a focus on the following areas:1. Program and Steering Team Charters2. Comprehensive Business Case3. Comprehensive Project Management  Plan4. An AM Framework and Policy that provides a clear vision for AM5. A Leading Change Plan (and an effective issue management process)6. Communications Plan7. Tracking and Reporting of BenefitsThis presentation will provide practical guidance to people who are embarking on an AM Program, in the throes of implementing one or trying to sustain the new way of working. Participants will hear abut real case studies where challenges in the areas listed above were successfully managed.

Electrical reliability requirements for facilities vary based on their criticality to the organization. Unplanned outages can cost millions of dollars in damages, directly and indirectly. Furthermore, it impacts the performance and compensation of a facility’s engineers, operators and plant managers. Although poorly understood among stakeholders, electrical system reliability is directly tied to productivity and operating cost. This presentation will demonstrate that by quantifying the statistical probability of an electrical system failure, maintenance resources can be prioritized to address the critical components of your system and therefore minimize maintenance costs. Participants will see that by understanding the type of inherent failure modes of your equipment, recommendations can be made to improve preventative maintenance programs, to implement on‐line and off‐line predictive maintenance programs and to eliminate ‘single points of failure’ all of which will contribute to minimizing downtime in the event of an unplanned outage.

Assessments are used to measure the current state of a program or system against a future or ideal state. A well performed assessment with detailed documented and practical recommendations can have a significant impact on an organisation. Many organisations offer services to perform such measurements; there are likely thousands of companies who solicit and pay for these services every year globally. However for many companies, particularly small to medium sized ones, funding such services can be challenging. With the growing amount of information that is readily available on the internet, best-practices and ‘ideal state’ definitions are no longer the privy of management consultants and industry gurus. This session presents the notion of a ‘self-assessment’ and the case study of one organisation’s decision to develop its own assessment tool and program. The lessons learned and unexpected benefits as a result are also discussed.

Most front line lead hands or supervisors are appointed to their positions because they are good at their jobs. But how often do they get management training to work effectively with people and build their teams? This presentation highlights five companies who invested in front line supervisor in-person leadership training to work effectively with diverse workforces. It describes their struggles, successes and explains what works to transform "good workers" into "inspired, confident team leaders".

​Fully understanding the maintenance and reliability strengths and weaknesses within a facility can be a huge undertaking.  Traditionally, a study to understand reliability is performed by either calculating, tracking, and comparing key performance indicators, or through a qualitative approach, observing compliance with best practices of maintenance and reliability activities to determine perceived strengths and weaknesses. Both approaches have downsides.  In this session, participants will learn about a more effective and repeatable reliability assessment that includes a quantitative assessment using plant CMMS work history to develop trends, key performance indicators, and comparisons that will either validate or invalidate strengths and weaknesses as determined in a qualitative assessment with plant personnel.  See how the ability to reliably gather and assess historical CMMS data will depend on determining a set of requirements or data signatures which can be used to validate strengths and weaknesses.  Additionally, the quantitative cost information can be effectively used to justify projects, programs, and personnel required to improve maintenance and reliability activities. Learn how a reliability assessment can most efficiently and effectively be administered in this way; the use of a qualitative assessment to better focus a quantitative analysis provides the best combination of overall understanding from personnel with the accuracy and reliability of historical data. 

In an effort to increase equipment reliability and reduce unscheduled downtime, many organizations have taken the proactive step of implementing a Predictive Maintenance (PdM) Program. Unfortunately, only an estimated 20% of these initiatives actually achieve the anticipated results.  This presentation will explore how to avoid the ten most common pitfalls substantially improves PdM results and provide participants with tools they need to implement a best practice preventative maintenance program.

Reliability is a powerful concept that applied properly makes the difference between success and failure of installations, processes and systems; nevertheless, reliability does not need to be difficult, complex and overwhelming. Quite the opposite: reliability applications  are more likely to succeed if they are easily understood by the different levels of the organization from trades to CEO. This is achieved by explaining reliability concepts easily understood by everyone within the organization.The general objective of the workshop is to provide theory and practical guidelines to the audience for identifying and addressing reliability issues that are impacting the productivity and profitability the assets they are responsible for.The workshop will provide basic knowledge and understanding regarding the tools and methodologies available within the reliability discipline, for the design, analysis and implementation of equipment strategies to systematically improve the performance of assets.At the end of the training the assistants will be able to:- Understand the current Reliability Engineering terminology- Understand and apply reliability concepts at all levels of the organization- Understand and overcome the typical reliability paradigms- Collect the adequate data and calculate basic maintenance and reliability Metrics- Understand the different reliability methodologies and the right application framework for each one- Combine different reliability methodologies to create an effective reliability program- Understand the role that Reliability Engineering plays within the Asset Management FrameworkThe workshop is specifically designed for current or future reliability engineers, maintenance supervisors and planners with maintenance, engineering and/or operations background that desire to be involved in improving reliability, availability and maintainability of assets through the application of modern reliability methodologies and tools.

Vibration condition monitoring programs play an important role in an organization's rotating equipment reliability and maintenance strategy.  While organizations may be in different stages of establishing their program, there are some common things to implement in order to get the greatest benefit from any program.  This workshop focusses on starting your program off on the right foot.  The workshop will use case histories to outline reasonable expectations, current vibration technology, and specific vibration standards for various industries.In addition to starting off on the right foot the success of a vibration condition monitoring program will depend on maintaining momentum.  This workshop will finish by addressing areas within the participants program where they can focus on improving the long term reliability of their assets instead of simply finding failures.

Many factors can influence the success of an Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) /Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) implementation; the most common problems provide the most effective opportunities for improving overall maintenance practices. In this session, learn from Infor Canada how many of its clients have adopted simple and effective strategies that have allowed them to achieve "competence" and "excellence" levels in the Maintenance Maturity Grid. Learn how EAM/CMMS solutions have assisted organizations that use equipment and machinery to produce products, in maintaining the health and life of their equipment. In this session participants will identify the common issues encountered in the implementation of an EAM/CMMS, and learn how to  develop successful strategies not only for a successful implementation, but also continuous improvement maintenance operations, extending beyond maintenance departments. Any EAM/CMMS has the potential to be the most powerful tool in the toolbox of maintenance practitioners. The right strategies will guarantee you succeed in realizing its full potential.

"Uptime - Strategies for Excellence in Maintenance Management" has been a best-seller since 1995. It's 3rd edition includes a number of significant changes from the earlier editions reflecting changes in successful practices, the emerging field of Asset Management and the new imperative that any changes become sustainable. This workshop will provide an overview of the new Uptime "Model of Excellence," introduce the book's new material, explain how it all works and fits within the broader asset management framework.