Course Objectives

The objectives of the program can be summarized as follows:

• To focus on the techniques of optimization - the single most important thrust of this learning program. Whether the decision is about work-crew sizes, or the replacement of component-parts or entire equipment units, the concept of making the very best, most optimal, decision will be the principal concern of the training program. 
• To equip the participating maintenance managers, planners and schedulers and engineers with the know-how to select the most appropriate analytical tools for their maintenance decision-making. 
• Reflecting the growing focus of industrial safety and the profusion of safety-related litigation - think of transportation accidents, chemical spills, and mining disasters - the program will show how safety objectives relate to the optimization models, and will underline the advantages of having a well-documented and rigorously-executed program of maintenance and replacement. 
• To introduce the critical decision-making topics that can make a significant difference to the in-service time of equipment, to the costs related to doing maintenance too often or too seldom, and the optimization of asset utilization. 
• To not only cover the classic need-to-know material in the area, but to acquaint the participants with leading-edge and on-the-horizon approaches that they will encounter in the near future. 
• Educational versions of four software packages will be made available to participants. The packages are: 
• OREST for the optimization of component preventive replacement decisions 
• PERDEC for the optimization of the economic life of plant and equipment 

Who Should Attend?

The ideal candidate for this seminar is an Engineer, Professional of Plant operations, Facility Professional, Maintenance or Reliability professional who is responsible for maintaining and managing the physical equipment assets of a Plant/Facility. He or she represents large Facilities and Plants from industries such as Oil and Gas, Petrochemical and Fertilizer, Pulp and Paper, Cement and Ceramics, Power Generation and Utilities, Primary Metals, and Heavy Manufacturing and Facilities.

 Course Outline 

From Maintenance Management to Physical Asset Management

• Challenges of physical asset management 
• The maintenance excellence pyramid 
• Reliability through the operator: Total Productive Maintenance 
• Reliability by design: Reliability Centered Maintenance 
• Optimizing Maintenance & Replacement Decisions 

Reliability Improvement through Preventive Maintenance

• Analysis of Component Failure Data 
• Probability Density Function 
• Reliability Function 
• Hazard Function 
• Weibull Density 
• Infant Mortality 
• Bath-Tub Curve 

Exercise in Analysing Component Failure Data Using the Weibull Distribution 

• Estimating the Weibull Parameters 
• Using Median Rank Tables 
• The role of the RelCode software Package 

Dealing with Censored Data, the 3-Parameter Weibull, and the Kolomorgov-Smirnov Test

• Upper-End Censoring, Multiply Censored Group Data 
• Estimating the Location Parameter in the Weibull Distribution 
• Checking the Goodness-of-Fit of the Distribution 

Reliability Improvement through Preventive Maintenance(continued)

• Component Replacement Procedures including Glasser's Graph 
• Block Replacement Policies 
• Age-Based Replacement Policy 
• Setting Policies based on Safety Constraints, Cost-Minimization and Availability-Maximization 
• Repairable systems 

Case Studies in Component Preventive Replacement

• Including boiler plant, bearings, pumps, sugar feeds, compressor valves, and centrifuges 

Spare parts provisioning

• Fast moving spares 
• Emergency (insurance) spares 

Case studies in spares provisioning

• Including line replaceable units (LRUs), cylinder heads, repairable conveyor electric motors and utility transformers 

Group and individual exercises

Clinic: Hands-On Use of PC Software (OREST) for Preventive Replacement Strategies

• Participants will solve pre-set problems 

Reliability Improvement through Inspection

Inspection Frequency and Depth for equipment in continuous operation

• Inspection Intervals to Maximize Profit 
• Maximizing Equipment Availability 
• Inspection Intervals for Equipment Used in Emergency Situations (e.g. protective devices) 
• Case studies including oil and gas field equipment such as pressure safely valves (for protective devices) 

Health-Monitoring Procedures

• Proportional Hazards Modelling 
• Spectroscopic Oil Analysis Programs 
• Optimization of Condition-Based Maintenance Procedures 
• Role of EXAKT software for CBM optimization 
• Case studies including food procession industry (vibration monitoring), pulp and paper and shipping equipment such as compressors (vibration monitoring) and diesel engines (oil analysis), turbines in an electrical generating station (pressure measurements) 

Demonstration of EXAKT software for optimizing condition-based maintenance decisions

Reliability Improvement through Asset Replacement

Aspects of Discounted Cash Flow Used in Capital Equipment Replacement Analysis

• Estimating the Interest Rate Appropriate for discounting 
• Present-Value Calculations 
• The effects of Inflation in the Analysis 
• Calculating the Equivalent Annual Cost (EAC) 

Economic Life of Capital Equipment

• The "Classic" Economic Life Model 
• Before-and-After Tax Calculations 
• The Repair-vs-Replace Decision 
• Life-Cycle Costing 
• Technological Improvement 

Case Studies in Capital Equipment Replacement

• Including seamers in the food processing industry and combustion engines in the oil and gas sector 

Group and individual exercises

Clinic: Hands-On Use of PC Software (AGE/CON and PERDEC) for Capital Equipment Replacement Analysis

• Participants will solve pre-set problems 

Effective Use of Maintenance Resources

Organizational Structure, Crew Sizes, Workshop Resource Requirements

• Balancing Maintenance Costs against Plant Reliability 
• Establishing the optimal number of machines to have in a workshop 
• Resource Requirements Using Queuing Theory and Simulation 
• Utilization of Outside Resources 
• Lease-vs.-Buy Decision .

Maintenance Management Information Systems

• A 7-Step Methodology for Auditing a CMMS 

Discussion Period for Left-Over Questions

Summary of Issues Covered, Lessons Learned