6.0 Work Management General

The world your business operates in is constantly changing. Supply chain disruptions, market pressures, budget constraints, regulatory changes, extreme weather, new technology, challenges retaining experienced engineers and maintenance technicians, and more can impact the operating context of your assets and equipment.Minimizing risk, and maintaining high performing assets in the face of constant change often requires organizations to accelerate the rate at which risk and criticality are re-assessed, maintenance strategies updated, people and systems enabled, and new maintenance plans put into practice; connecting the dots in a closed loop process.In this webinar, we will share practical approaches to help you connect the dots between strategy and execution, and ensure the investments you make in your reliability based maintenance program are put into action and deliver the intended results as the broader organization and asset management context continues to change.

The City of Winnipeg faced challenges with the condition of their Return Activated Sludge (RAS) piping within the North End Sewage Treatment Plant. Non-destructive and destructive condition assessment techniques were used to determine that the critical process piping was life expired, and required replacement or rehabilitation to maintain process level of service until the plant is upgraded. Replacement of a RAS piping system is akin to major heart surgery on a sewage treatment plant. To manage the process risk, in situ structural renewal using an engineered Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) external wrap system to encapsulate the original carbon steel piping was chosen. Selection of the rehabilitation method reduced the schedule by two years compared to the replacement option and minimized operational risk, as process outages were reduced to a few short-term events. Offline testing of mock-ups and emphasis on environmental and quality control further managed the risks associated with CFRP installation. The project faced unique challenges due to the complex configuration of the RAS piping, which was located inside a congested plant gallery with surrounding equipment, piping, and electrical services in continuous operation. To effectively convey information during planning, design, tender, and construction, a digital 3D model was developed using laser scanning to capture the detailed configuration of the piping and surrounding physical constraints. The 3D model was embedded with data to define the rehabilitation scope, locations of existing pipe leaks requiring immediate repair, rework of pipe supports to accommodate the CFRP installation, and other aspects relevant to the work. This model was a highly effective tool used for collaborative review by all project team members throughout design and construction, leading to successful completion of the RAS piping rehabilitation.

Shutdown is a generic term for what may be called an outage, turnaround (TAR), or overhaul. Running a shutdown well has always been key to the financial contribution of a business. However, something important has changed. The post-pandemic reality is that turnover and extended vacancies are eroding established maintenance processes that now struggle to yield the required plant availability. One tactic to mitigate this is to make the process “turnover-proof.” This is achieved through disciplined execution of documented processes backed by role definitions, training material, cross-training, and training the trainers, etc. The good news is, that tactic is entirely within the control of the maintenance area to create. This presentation proposes a framework to manage plant shutdowns in the mining industry and discusses four case studies, one of which is currently ongoing. The case studies are selected to show application over a range of different size shutdowns, from micro to mini to macro. Shutdowns vary immensely in nature, scope, and duration but all have four common objectives: do no harm (safety and environment); reliability restoration, (i.e., plant runs reliably until the next planned outage); schedule compliance—complete the work within the planned shutdown duration; and shutdown budget compliance. Like any other work, executing a shutdown is a process. It can be thought of as a combination of the weekly maintenance work cycle and a project, as it has elements from both, and any work process can be optimized. Shutdowns have two main loss drivers that impact production: shutdown duration, including schedule overruns; and unplanned outages, post-shutdown, due to work not done or work poorly done during the shutdown. While this presentation focuses on the management of shutdowns to control schedule and restore reliability, it should be noted that these improvements in execution will also benefit safety and cost.

Cameco Corp. has recently deployed approximately 1,500 wireless asset condition monitoring sensors across four of its operations. This presentation will explore all aspects of this project, from initial identification of business pain, all the way through to deployment and management of the system. Condition-based monitoring of rotating assets typically involves a route that is executed at a fixed interval to collect asset condition data. This data can include vibration, temperature, acoustic emissions, and others. This data is then downloaded into software and analyzed for faults and trends. This method has many shortcomings that can be solved with remote sensing technology. This presentation will take you through Cameco’s journey of identifying the limitations of traditional data collection and why an alternative was investigated. Some of the key topics will include problems and inefficiencies with the current system, methodology used to determine which sensor company to partner with, potential cost savings and benefits, deployment strategy and execution, and some screen captures of actual asset detections. Finally, we will conclude with lessons learned and benefits realized from deploying a sensor solution.

Presentation highlights the importance and interdependency of three pillars of success (people, processes, and technology) and Cameco’s asset management improvement efforts through each of these, including lessons learned. Audience will learn about the importance of organizational change management, business process management and agile methodologies, some of the technologies supporting asset maintenance and reliability, and its new Asset Management & Reliability Center of Excellence.

Imagine your production facility as a 1950s pickup truck. It’s functional, but a lack of available parts, new regulatory standards, and an absence of modern sensors and electronics make diagnosing problems and improving performance difficult. Commissioned in 1954, Sherritt International Corporation faces many challenges characteristic of a classic car—challenges that not only include equipment lifecycles, but also human resources, software, workflows, and asset obsolescence. This case study will review the training, business process transformation projects, organizational design changes, and continuous improvement initiatives that Sherritt is implementing to modernize their work management processes. See how optimization of these processes have helped address the challenges presented by an aging site, and learn how projects were prioritized, which initiatives helped build organizational capability and improve performance, and what wasn’t worth the effort.

We are in unprecedented times. Covid-19 wreaked havoc on supply chains; decreased production during times of increased demand. Labor shortages, chip shortages, long lead items turning into “maybe next year, if you’re lucky” items. The Russia Ukraine war added further stress to supply chains through sanctions, port closures, fuel shortages and much more. What once was reliable is now unreliable. So how can companies overcome an unreliable supply chain to maintain their reliability? There are several ways to mitigate unreliability; scenario planning, supplier management, and technology. There is no one size fits all and what may work for one company will not necessarily work for another. Scenario planning involves reviewing every potential situation that could occur, then working through to see how the company would be impacted. Ultimately this results in mitigation plans for each scenario. These can then be reviewed and implemented. Proper Supplier Management includes ensuring all suppliers have their scorecards reviewed on a regular basis. Their information updated and kept current. It can also include reviewing which suppliers can become substitutes for others in the event one is not able to provide the required product in time. Technology is important as it links all the information together. Algorithms can be created to let management know that certain parts are low, equipment is wearing out sooner, it also collects information on suppliers for the scorecards. Overall technology is the glue that binds and provides real time information updates. This presentation will review how to best use technology to help mitigate reliability and supply chain issues.

We will be presenting a case study of why a new mobile Plant Maintenance application was required to replace their Agentry solution with the BlueWorx Plant Maintenance solution for their 1900 technicians at a large oil & gas organization in Canada. The need was to improve: executing work orders, raise notifications, execute proper inspections of their assets and equipment to meet their requirements and utilizing GIS to geo spatially locate work. One of the most important reasons on deciding to displace the Agentry solution is to help alleviate their previous cumbersome and frustrating process of slow transmit times and cryptic errors to a faster sync time combines with an administrator tool that’s an easy-to-follow guided process, to correct any processing error that the technician will encounter on a daily basis, to achieve more accurate data recorded to the backend. The pain points they faced were not having the ability to carry out and do inspections in an efficient manner, major transmit fails because of the non-ability to upload large data points and cryptic errors messages. The key driver for the client is the ability to easily enhance the out of box functionality to suit their business model and needs. This also gave them enhanced field capabilities and access digital documentation to assist in their daily tasks. We will showcase the implementation approach, associated project deliverables and ingredients to making this a success for both the customer and S4A IT Solutions. This was all achieved during an unprecedented pandemic which forced us to deliver this project from many continents, all while being delivered fully remote. What was to be achieved of the new solution? The solution helped transform and improve not only their current in-adequate maintenance solution, but also helped culturally shift, across multiple business units, a non engaged workforce into a fully engaged, collaborative team which resulted in increased efficiency. The new solution has transformed business processes into a paperless workflow to help with waste reduction, regulatory compliance, tool time productivity, downtime reduction and enhanced data driven decision making.

In service providing organizations, coordinating resources to minimize redundancy, manage cost to serve and combat employee disengagement becomes a differentiator. For larger organizations this can further support streamlined captial and operational investments such as facilities, speciality tooling and training. Within the maintenance industry we project that 35% of our trades persons time is actually on the tools (module 6), this is an alarming statistic that resonates with many professionals. Organizing resources intentionally, creating the customer experience while managing these investments can be achieved in a network strategy.  The network organizes resources between generalists and specialists and capitalizes on placing services that require specialization in labour markets that have depth. Organizing is only part of the equation,  having a comprehensive & fluid S&OP process and a mechanism (ex: a control tower) to bring real time visibility into capacity increases productivity and reduces overall cost to serve. At my organization, we have done just that. Beginning in 2019, we designed a hub and spoke model that would support a long term vision of creating capacity through strategic efficiency. This transformational pivot required considerable foresight, change management and Since the MRO articlehttps://www.mromagazine.com/digital-archives/september-2020/ (page 12) in 2020,  the focus on capturing internal & external demand signals to support the maturity of our capacity and capability (S&OP) planning,  we have been able to grow niche market shares by 300% in under 2 years. THe planning coupled with the increased/real time visbility through our contol tower has supported sustainable growth in an ever shifting economic climate.     

The Irving Pulp & Paper maintenance team was the recipient of the PEMAC Maintenance Team of the Year Award for 2021. The team was honored to be nominated based upon long term sustained performance improvements, professional development, controlling reactive maintenance and continuous improvement.