03 Asset Strategy Management

An integrated and aligned link between asset management and maintenance management practices is a key value driver for organizations. This session will focus on defining, understanding, and quantifying the value from cascading business improvement initiatives, how asset management, maintenance and reliability decisions at all levels contribute to organizational success and provide takeaways for calculating the impact on organizational performance measures.How does a corporate Asset Management program translate into processes, practices and procedures on the shop floor?Key Take AwaysAsset lifecycle and relationship between AM and M&R (end to end holistic asset management with the emphasis on contributions from lifecycle delivery)How M&R decisions and front-line improvement initiatives contribute to achieving overall organizational goals and objectives.  How is goal alignment to AM program established, managed, and reinforced at the M&R execution level?Measuring and moving the dial on M&R performance indicators and how they contribute to overall organizational key performance indicatorslinks between key asset availability, reliability, maintainability, uptime to SHEER – safety, health, environment, economics, regulatory; PESTLE, ESG)example of increased availability leading to more uptime and thus increased economics; include examples of how improved planning & scheduling can lead to increased availability, how PMO / RCM contribute to increased PdM and thus increased uptime (more online condition-based monitoring while assets are running)example of improved reliability and maintenance practices contributing to easier demonstration and reporting of regulatory complianceTCO, LLC

Reliability and maintenance teams in all manufacturing plants have a common goal; that is, to plan and execute initiatives that will help sustain the inherent reliability of the physical assets and increase the availability of the plant. Productivity and profitability of the manufacturing plant and overall organization are highly dependent on the reliability and availability of the plant. A thorough understanding of the importance of reliability has made the top management of major corporations invest in reliability and physical asset management. When the top management invests in reliability, they typically set the corporate strategy and directions for reliability through a road map for all the manufacturing plants that operate under the corporation. When the commitment or support from the top management is available for reliability initiatives, the onus is now on the individual manufacturing plant to develop a reliability plan that aligns with the corporate strategy and/or reliability road map and the current needs of the plant. The reliability and maintenance teams typically build all the strategic, tactical, and operational reliability plans that have initiatives that would make the biggest impact on continuous improvement in reliability and bring the desired benefits for the site. This presentation will explain the systems thinking approach, along with the seven golden rules and seven key factors, that will help reliability and maintenance teams to build an effective reliability plan. In addition, this presentation will also address the top three challenges in building a reliability plan and how to overcome those challenges through two case studies. The first case study is about developing a three-year reliability plan, and the second case study is about developing an annual reliability plan. Both the case studies will explain the application of the systems thinking approach, seven golden rules, seven key factors, and top three challenges that were dealt with and solved.

As maintainers, we know there is a lot of value in what we do. Without our work, plant, and equipment will soon stop and our companies will then go out of business. What we do impacts safety, health, revenues, costs, and company reputation. A dirty little truth about maintenance is that it is only we who work in it, that really know the value of what we do – or do we? We do know our value in qualitative terms, but can we quantify it? Most maintenance can be improved and we know it. We can do things more efficiently, and we can keep things running more reliably. We often know how to do that, but when we want to make those improvements there is no money for them. Why? Most business people know very little about what we do and how it impacts their business. They see maintenance as a repair shop. We fix what breaks. And they know little, or nothing, more. They may know that maintenance represents a significant cost, and they may even know that they can’t get away with cutting it too much. But they do not know the full value of what maintenance can deliver, nor what it takes to deliver it. If you want to make improvements you need a decision-maker, someone with executive-level authority, to back you up. To get that, you will need to explain what value you can deliver, and in terms they can understand. You will need to show them the savings that are possible from doing things more efficiently, and the added revenues that can arise from investment in defining the right work. You will also need to show them how their support is needed to bring operators and the supply chain into the team with you to make those changes happen so that benefits are fully realized. Quantifying value and being simple in how you say it matters.

Recently there was a lot of discussion on various forums around the term ‘Human Asset’. It was prompted by a paper/presentation made by Dr. Monique Beedles in Australia where she questioned the term and the appropriateness of using it based on the definition of an asset in ISO 55000 – ‘an item, thing, or entity that has value or potential value to the organisation (ISO, 2014)’.There were questions posed on the various forums as to the use of ‘thing’ to describe humans – it’s legal meaning, it’s cultural implications and though most posting felt the term was appropriate, there was definitely a difference of opinion. What wasn’t brought out in most of the discussions was the intent or suitability of the decision to word the definition that way. No-one disagreed with the idea that a human ‘has value or potential value to the organization’ and so rather than argue about the term, I’d like to explore how we could apply the tools and lifecycle approach we use for physical assets, to humans. Let’s walk through the lifecycles and see if we can find how it might apply to humans.Concept Design Acquire Operations and Maintenance Decommission So as I said I won’t address the term ‘human asset’ but hopefully you can see that taking the same approach to ensure that the ‘value or potential value to the organization’ is certainly a good alternative.

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.

This presentation is a holistic approach to precision machinery installation. We all know very well that the installation has direct impact on the performance and the operating life of the rotating equipment. In my presentation first I speak about the importance of standardization of the installation procedures based on existing standards such as API, ISO, NORSOK, ASME and ANSI. Second I speak about the importance of trainings in Installation procedures and the culture of teaching and sharing the knowledge among the team members including the suppliers. And finally the importance of documentation. The collection and transfer of data during the installation phase, though Commissioning and Site testing and then handing over the equipment to the Operations. I also provide a suggestion how to improve and optimize the installation work.

The energy landscape is shifting with the rise in electrification of transit and the rise of renewable energy shaping a new energy era that is changing the way we think about infrastructure decision making. This presentation will articulate how electrification of transit and an increase in renewables will impact medium and long-term infrastructure planning by providing examples and a practical perspective (case study) to demonstrate how Asset Management decision-making played a vital role in a utility company’s response to this change. This utility company is a key contributor to several electrification initiatives. They recognized the challenge associated with these initiatives and the overall success of the first implementation phase with minimal disruption to current operations. They are also preparing for electrification of the government transit’s first all-electric bus garage to support future procurements of battery-electric buses (eBuses) and will be working on the design and implementation of charging systems infrastructure across the city(?). Over the past 20 years, more than 50 renewable energy systems have been installed on City buildings and properties. In 2020, the city developed recommendations for the utility to achieve greater outcomes for energy efficiency, demand management, and renewable energy. The city also mandated installation of renewable energy systems on all buildings, where feasible, by 2020. The rate of development in electrification and technology in the transit sector is faster than implementation of major infrastructure developments; changes in demand patterns impact everything from the transmission and distribution networks to generation, dispatch and peak-load system capacity design; so it is not possible to “wait and see” before committing to infrastructure investment decisions. This presentation will cover how the utility is dealing with these changes by ensuring an appropriate long-term decision-making framework is in place to assure business continuity and reduce the impact on climate because it poses a particular risk for asset owners and operators. AMCL will present best practices for long-term decision-making and how the impact of change should be taken into account during the development of long-term infrastructure planning processes, in the context of a public utility.

We’ve all heard time and time again the value that Planning and Scheduling brings to a Maintenance organization. But, is your organization fully realizing this value? If Planning and Scheduling is intended to be a “wrench time multiplier” of you Maintenance Technicians, have you looked at the “wrench time” of your Planners and Schedulers? What are the potential barriers preventing them from achieving the ultimate goals of their roles? Can one Maintenance Planner really bring the same effective value as 15-17 tradespersons in your organization? Likely not, and it isn’t the fault of your Planners and Schedulers. In this presentation we’ll review the planning and scheduling function, define what it really is, and more importantly what it is NOT. We’ll also take a close look at many of the “value vampires” common in Planning and Scheduling that detract from the intended value generation. We’ll compare what an ideal Day-in-the-life of a Maintenance Planner should be against the realities they so commonly face. The intent of this presentation is to help you understand Why Planning and Scheduling is likely less effective than it could be in your organization. More importantly, this will hopefully trigger changes that help the Planners and Schedulers in your teams do more of what they do best.

Ian Flood, Asset Manager at Northwest Territories Power Corporation, is a recent graduate from PEMAC's Asset Management Professional program. His AMP Course 6 Capstone Project was nominated by his instructor, and selected as this year's AMP Capstone Award winning project. The AMP Capstone Award encourages and recognizes excellence in the Asset Management Professional (AMP) program final project, the Capstone. During this presentation, Ian will share more insights into himself, his organization, his award winning AMP capstone presentation and how his learnings in the AMP program have impacted his organization.

At the recent MRO/DE Expo, first MRO stream session was on Effective Asset Management Starts with Good Assets by Leonard Middleton, Consultant, Asset Management Solutions.“There seems to be a vast difference in perspective between those who approve projects, those who execute projects, and those who need to operate and maintain those assets that projects deliver. The presentation was delivered by someone who has worked in each of those areas, and has direct knowledge of the linkage and implications of decisions made,” said Middleton.“The presentation intended to provide a pragmatic high-level overview that provided insights on the issues and what changes can be made to improve the situation for the benefit of the organization and the individual groups,” said Middleton. “Virtual conferences are the new normal. There is no longer the immediate feedback from the body-language and attention of the audience indicating whether they are engaged and following the presentation, and that takes some adjustment.”