Advanced Processes Offer the Greatest Potential ROI

The above chronology emphasizes advanced processes which enhance asset reliability, workforce productivity, and job safety. The goal, as always, is to work on the right asset, using the right strategy, in the safest manner, at the right time, by the right resource, for the least cost. But installing software, even a best-of-breed product, will not get you there without a long-range plan and careful thought of the endgame.

The Asset Manager Role is Key

The Asset Manager position (or similar) identifies the vision for excellence. He/she is responsible for the vision/mission statement, SAMP, a CMMS utilization plan, and a long-range plan, plus the implementation of standards across the organization. The Asset Manager would provide a roadmap for the creation of a true knowledge base, the use of analytical reports to manage by exception, and continuous improvement therein.

20 Steps to Better Asset Management

1. The Asset Manager introduces a Reliability-Based Maintenance Program across the entire portfolio. All plants would be required to adhere to these standards.
2. The review team (led by the Asset Manager) will conduct an AS-IS assessment of the current CMMS design, create SAMP and utilization plan, build-out supporting process and roles, review KPIs and analytical report capability, and assess overall culture and buy-in to asset management.
3. The Asset Manager technical specialist will conduct technical training of CMMS support staff depending on the assessment. Also, make sure the CMMS admin staff is not under-utilizing any power features (e.g. auto part reorder at ROP; the Autosparepartadd flag; PM-to-WO generation cron; and SR-to-WO conversion).
4. The Asset Manager will work with HR to establish positions/roles for reliability engineer, business analyst, and gatekeeper. The CMMS database and accuracy therein has been questioned since the dark ages. It’s time to do something about it. Therefore, I strongly believe in the role of gatekeeper. This person would (1) process/dispatch urgent work, (2) perform WO accuracy/quality grading by submitter, (3) provide a WO relative ranking of importance, lead craft, and rough estimate, and (4) provide WO completions review to include failure mode and WO feedback. A business analyst would interview all groups involved with asset management, document essential analytical reports, and take these outputs to the core team to make sure the voice of “working level is heard.”
5. The Asset Manager will create an asset management core team. They will establish a definitions library, business rules, and activate data quality error checks. They will also begin tracking a prioritized action list and pursue on-going benchmarking in search of continuous improvement.
6. The Asset Manager would lead group discussions on the creation of a resource-leveled long-range plan.
7. Create a reliability team with charter and purpose. Instruct them to design the bad actor report with drill-down on failure mode and identify RCA trigger points. Combining powerful analytics with meaningful failure data about health/performance, management can make smarter decisions, increase reliability, and reduce O&M costs.
8. Set up work order main for failure mode capture (failed component + component problem + cause) as validated fields.
9. Start monthly reliability team meetings and run the bad actor report with multiple options for extracting the Top 10, including average annual maintenance cost divided by replacement cost. Drill-down on failure mode (cause) and take corrective action.
10. Identify site power users. Get their input on problems and their suggestions.
11. Implement chronic failure analysis training for all sites and power users.
12. Evaluate the planning process and backlog management. Implement a resource-leveled, weekly maintenance schedule (inside the CMMS) using a risk-based work order prioritization matrix.
13. Implement a defect elimination program.
14. Implement formal work order feedback to include capture of maintainability, safety issues, ergonomics, design flaws, PM strategy & frequency refinements, missing asset, and missing failure codes.
15. Design/build screen for capturing risk-based asset criticality.
16. Embed safety (HSE) program into the reliability-based maintenance program.
17. Design/build RCM failure modes and strategies screen for storing analysis results inside CMMS and create a living program.
18. Begin the on-going process of validating the existing PM/CBT program using RCM/PMO analysis and WO feedback.
19. Implement integrated project cost tracking for STO using WBS cost accounts. Provide scheduling software which facilitates total float calculations, progressing, automatic resource leveling, logic bar charts, histograms, and network diagrams.
20. Create reliability leaders throughout the organization (e.g. ReliabilityWeb CRL program)

The Purpose of a Plan

Planning, in this case, means schedule. The only perfect schedule is one that is 100% done. But to not have a schedule opens the door to poor craft coordination, not working the critical path, poor scope control, and increased risk. Dates might be missed, but at least you know what to work on, in what order, and by whom. Maybe the best reason to have a long-range plan is to not forget things, plus, it makes a great conversation starter!

Many significant quotes come from ReliabilityWeb pertaining to asset management. The ISO-55000 standard is a key part of this roadmap. Some notable quotes are:

• Line of Sight is all about how an organization is organized around its core reason for being.
• Asset management is about applying engineering logic specifically to the ownership of physical assets.
• Brilliant asset management presents a clear line of sight.

But what if everyone does have a clear line of sight from the executive level down to the working level? Then what should happen? What results should we expect at that moment?

Software, Process, and Organization

The software may be world class, but the surrounding process is still critical. Even a best-of-breed CMMS product can be missing the necessary design elements to perform advanced processes essential to making more informed decisions. The Core Team needs to close these gaps. And without clear roles/responsibilities the data won’t be populated, making analytical reports impossible. And suddenly, we are back in the stone age.

Three Examples

Organization #1

The CMMS was embedded inside the ERP. The software implementation was focused around financial management. The project team lacked knowledge of asset management principles and practices. The asset portfolio was slim, no location hierarchy existed, and there was no inventory storeroom management in place. But the team knew how to install software and train users on screen navigation. At the end of the day, all they could do was capture costs against financial assets.

Organization #2

The CMMS team had 15-20 years of experience using the product. There wasn’t nothing they couldn’t configure (or customize). Unfortunately, this was an IT driven project, meaning no core team, no executive sponsor, and no reliability team. The working level and functional side were not involved and lacked buy-in. The CMMS team may attend venues to gain knowledge, but these were solely software related. 20 years later, still no failure data, or weekly schedule.

Organization #3

This organization had a core team with proper functional group representation. However, they performed little to no benchmarking. They didn’t really understand asset management, nor were there any certifications in reliability. They lacked knowledge in advanced processes where the greatest potential for return on investment resided. They relied primarily on the software vendor roadmap as to where time would be spent “massaging the product” and implementing new features. And they lacked a long-range plan which provided the shortest path to value.

A CMMS Utilization Plan Says What?

This document, created by the core team, states what advanced processes and power features will be implemented and used. The conversation starts with a roadmap on a whiteboard linking prerequisites to the endgame. These tasks are then transferred to a scheduling tool to establish durations, resource estimates, project assignments, and critical path. You may not get there over night, but that is the purpose of having a plan – to not forget what, why, and when. Example product goals might include:

Note that these goals are not just software related. There is also surrounding process and procedure. And from an organizational perspective, the business analyst role is all the more important if you plan to actually leverage any data to make more informed decisions. And in order to make real progress in the world of asset management, the benchmarking activity will be essential to support continuous improvement.

Commissioning

The secret to proper commissioning is to write a construction contract that not only talks about data capture requirements but mandates a specific format for subsequent load to CMMS. Otherwise you will get a hodge-podge of Excel, Word, paper documents, and even email at the 11th hour, which I will call the worst case scenario. Then, leadership will have to create a new project team to walk-down the buildings and systems. A better approach is listed below:

1. Identify assets early and create a primary key, capture purchase price, create an asset tag at receipt, take a picture of the asset and nameplate data. NOTE: It may be necessary to write down a definition of “what really is an asset.”
2. Link spare parts to the asset.
3. Identify suggested maintenance tactics per OEM.

Operational Phase

1. Create location hierarchy, link assets to location, capture installation date (or date operational), and populate replacement cost.
2. Create failure codes and link failure class to locations and assets.
3. Document mission/vision, create SAMP, create a CMMS utilization plan, and select CMMS.
4. Identify your Core Team & Reliability Team.
5. Document endgame and strategies to optimize ROA, create a roadmap to excellence, and define analytical reports.
6. Configure CMMS to support endgame and analytical reports.
7. Perform RCM analysis on critical systems/assets and store RCM analysis results (maintenance strategies & failure modes) inside the CMMS.
8. Document advanced processes: RCA trigger points, chronic failure analysis, future scheduling methods, WO feedback, risk-based prioritization, and defect elimination.
9. Create a program to establish “reliability leaders” throughout the organization.
10. Create a long-range plan (some of the above may take years to implement).

Data Quality Can Be an Issue

Analytics depend on data quality. But is it even the right data to begin with? Inputs need to be linked to outputs. Accountability starts with a RACI chart, followed by training and data checks. Data quality is only achieved by constant monitoring, which includes Business Analyst interviews, SQL error checks, and process audits.

Asset Performance Management

As with any asset management system, this is one of the key areas to extract value. Using a closed-loop process, you can create a “living program” to identify bad actors and continually refine maintenance tactics and failure modes. The four main feedback loops are shown above:

• Defect elimination
• Root cause analysis
• Chronic failure analysis
• Work order feedback