PREFACE BY

Charles M.M. Ondieki, T.T.C, Msc. (Mech. Engg.)

Production Manager EDSC.

Importance of Maintenance and Repair of Capital Equipment to

Industrial and Economic Development

Increasing attention is given to the fostering of economics and Industrial growth in Kenya and other
developing countries through a high investment ratio and transfer of capital, and technical know-how
from industrialized countries. However, industrial development does not confine itself to investment
in new production facilities. To achieve industrial growth, the installed facilities must be used
efficiently. One of the prerequisites for the efficient use of equipment is systematic maintenance and
repair.

Industrial surveys of Kenyan industries show that the installed equipment is to a great extent poorly
utilized. This is even more pronounced in public organization using such facilities. Admittedly, the
reasons for low utilization of installed capacities can be bad project planning, low labour productivity,
poor management, unfavourable general economic conditions etc. But to a large degree the
considerable downtime of machinery caused by breakdowns and stoppages contributes to the low
utilization of capacity. Thus, poor maintenance and repair generally cause economic losses through
lower efficiency of the installed machinery, lower quality of products and higher costs of production.

In addition, poor maintenance and repair lead to the deterioration and the consequently shortened
physical lifetime of installed equipment, loss of energy, industrial pollution, and poses danger to the
safety (and health) of workers and other machinery. This clearly is a significant waste of capital the
most scarce factor in our industries. Owing to this squandering, industrial development in Kenya is
hampered and burdened with greater obstacles and higher costs than would appear necessary. The
increasing country indebtedness tends to aggravate the situation, since it puts serious financial
limitations on the purchase of equipment and material.

Improving maintenance and repair in Kenyan industries would thus be one of the most important and
effective ways of stimulating industrial development. With relatively small inputs considerable gains
could be achieved both in the short run and, above all, in the long run.

According to the industrial surveys done by UNIDO (in the developing countries, Kenya being one of
them) the problem does not lie only in the actual maintenance and repair operations, but also in the
planning and managerial activities at both the enterprise and the national levels. Maintenance should
not only be in terms of shop-floor activities, such as the tightening of a nut, lubrication of a bearing or
repairing of a machine part when it breaks. In fact, this limited approach is one of the main reasons for
inadequate maintenance performance in Kenyan industries. Therefore, it would be of little use to help
industries to improve repair facilities or build up new ones without establishing an adequate
maintenance management and stimulating maintenance mindedness at all levels.

For this reason it was decided that EDSC should give special attention to improving maintenance and
repair of capital equipment by way of technology transfer, the design and production of spares parts for
maintenance and repair purposes, the technical training in maintenance and production techniques, etc.
This Seminar was the first step towards the promotion of maintenance and repair by creating a better
understanding of its implications and requirements.
 Key Note Address Seminar at Sirikwa hotel, Eldoret

It gives me .particular pleasure to be with you this morning to officiate at the opening of this seminar
on Maintenance and Repair of Capital Equipment and the role of Engineering Development and
Service Centre. During your deliberations you will be discussing a very important subject that is
normally not appreciated beyond the precincts of a factory that is "Maintenance and Repair
Management". Yet this is one area which is critical to industrial production and growth.

Well-organized maintenance and repair of machinery and equipment is fundamental to Industrial

Development. Yet, for one reason or another, the majority of development projects suffer from poorly
organized maintenance. An increasing proportion of development loans are spent on replacing
machinery, equipment, roads and buildings that failed before they should have.

In Kenya lack of attention to maintenance is not only confined to manufacturing industry but is also
apparent in tractors and farm equipment resting in fields, in potholed roads that were built at great
expense only a few years ago, in road transport vehicles, scrapped after half or less of their design life,
right through to the hotels which drive tourists away because of the defective plumbing and other
engineering services. Further more the effect of faulty maintenance on the costs of oil imports is worth
noting. The overall energy consumption can be reduced by good housekeeping measures such as
repairing damaged insulations, repairing and readjusting thermostats, cleaning lighting fixtures,
repairing steam and compressed air leaks etc. All these are basic routine maintenance tasks. Besides,
good maintenance greatly reduces environmental pollution.

Most industries in Kenya can, therefore, increase their profits and assist in reducing environmental
pollution by adapting a good maintenance culture. All that is needed is a certain amount of training, a
good deal of education and indoctrination, and competent management. To acquire the maintenance
culture that is a result-oriented is not an easy task. It requires the services of an industrial maintenance
and repair centre that will provide maintenance consultants and industrial research finding in the
relevant areas. The industrialized countries have achieved very high maintenance culture by constant
use of maintenance consultants, supported with proven industrial maintenance and repair research
findings. The benefits from the services of such consultants far out-weigh the cost of hiring them as
machine life availability increase, costs of maintenance of spare parts is reduced considerably and the
morale of workers is also increased. Although Kenya has achieved a remarkable impressive overall
industrial growth since independence, very little has been done in the field of Industrial Maintenance
and Repair.

In this era of liberalization, industries have to cut down their production costs, improve the quality of
their product, and process the local exportable raw materials, so as to have better end-values and still
be able to compete in the international markets. This can be achieved by improving the maintenance
and repair of the industrial equipment. Moreover, since the formulation of Session Paper No. 1 of 1986
on Economic Management for Renewed Growth, important policy changes have occurred in the
country's economic policies. Some changes have had positive impact while others have had negative
impact to industrial development especially in the short term, due to implementation of liberalization
policy measures. Due to the changes of the Structural Adjustment Programmes on the country, and to
enable industries to offer quality services to its customers and compete favourably, it was found
necessary to establish Engineering Development and Service Centre - EDSC. Its objectives is to make
readily available necessary technical information for development and promotion of the industries and
at the same tune offer technical services on industrial maintenance and repair, the design and
production of spare parts and prototypes and maintenance and training consultancy.
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In order to appreciate the magnitude of the maintenance and repair problem internationally, its worth
mentioning the following:
1. In 1978 a UNIDO Symposium in Tokyo, Japan estimated that in developing countries the cost of
reduced life of plant and equipment due to faulty maintenance practices amounted to about US$ 6
billion per year. This cost was estimated to be more than US$ 20 billion in 1987 and following that
trend it was estimated that the figure was to be more than US$ 26 billion in 1993. (The present (2007)
cost is definitely far higher than this figure). This figure refers only to plant life; it does not include the
loss of production due to breakdowns and to plant being forced to run below capacity or the loss of
revenues from both natural and export markets because of defective product quality, just to mention a
few. All these are attributable to defective maintenance. Summed together, the cost of all these are
definitely expected to be much more than US$ 26 billion per year.

2. In recognition to the critical role planned maintenance and repair will play in developing countries,
the 1970 UNIDO Symposium held in Germany recommended among others, that developing countries
set up centres for maintenance and repair with the assistance of UNIDO so as to improve maintenance
and repair of capital equipment to obtain a maximum possible return. This lead to the establishment of
Africa Centre for Design and Manufacture (ARCEDEM) in NIGERIA and Engineering Design and
Service Centre (EDSC) in KENYA

In order to appreciate the magnitude of the problem at a national level, it is worth mentioning that the
demand for capital and intermediate goods has been growing at a very fast rate. Latest statistics
indicate that, of the total import bill of 1,765 million Kenya Pounds recorded in 1988, the importation
of the capital and intermediate goods accounted for 1,280 million Kenya Pounds. This is 73% of the
total import bill compared to only 14% for mineral fuels. Projections indicate that by the year 2000, the
two categories of industrial imports would represent 86% of the bill compared to 8% for fuels, leaving
only 6% for the rest. This is a direct result of industrial policies pursued over the last two or so decades
which tended to favour capital - intensive production of "final touch" goods. These policies permitted
the importation of goods into Kenya in SKD or CKD form for assembly.

The objective was in meeting industrial maintenance requirements through importation of industrial
and mechanical components and spare parts. As a consequence, the industrial sector is dominated by
medium and large scale firms, which contribute about 90% to the manufacturing value added and also
employ 90% of the workers in the sector. These shares are much higher than in other low income
countries.

The economic problem facing these countries in recent years, and in particular the shortage of capital,
have led to a slow down in the process or renewal of production equipment by new investment. Hence
the positive change of attitudes towards the life span of equipment and innovations. Maintenance has
thus become critical particularly in industrial activities where demand for replacement materials have
been increasing.

From the technical point of view, a growing population of the new generation of machines is
characterised by higher levels of mechanisation and automation. Thus, the average age and
performance requirements of machines in use, is also increasing. These factors have led to a need to
improve quality and operational efficiency of maintenance.

The following examples might be already familiar to you:-

(a) A change from one shift to multi-shift operation of machine tools and metal forming machines
increase maintenance demand by approximately 30% within a period of two years.
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 (b) An extension of the working age of machine tools from 5 to 10 years will be reflected in an
increase of as much as 40% in maintenance demand.
(c) In an average engineering plant, shut-downs of machines for routine maintenance account, on
the average, for 4% - 7% of the time of performance of conventional machines. However, if
such maintenance is neglected, machine capacity declines substantially amounting to as much
as 20-25% of available production time.

These examples are important enough to justify the increasing interest in the adoption of efficient and
comprehensive measures aimed at providing adequate maintenance services.

In a developing country like Kenya, the above mentioned factors are accompanied by other influences
such as; low standard of machine attendance, lack of qualified maintenance personnel, demanding
climatic conditions, location of establishments in remote areas and lack of knowledge of modern
methods of work. Against this background, the need for a more efficient, low cost and high
productivity manufacturing sector, has been given top recognition in the Sessional Paper No. 1 of
1986. We are talking about a sector that is able to compete with imports in Kenya under moderate
protection so that consumers do not pay undue costs for industrialisation. The manufacturing sector of
our economy must be able to export its products within the COMESA and other parts of the world; on
the other hand, new industries that are being set up in Kenya, must conserve capital and thereby create
more jobs than in the past if they are to serve the established development goals.

A fundamental task that is evident in order to accelerate Kenya's economic growth lies in substantial
increases in industrial investment and the productivity of labour. However, where these investments
have been made, maintenance as part of enterprise activities should assume a higher priority than has
been accorded to it before. This is not to suggest routine operations, but rather, incorporating
maintenance in the organisation of the enterprise by defining its relationship to plant management and
further investment.

I am confident you will put into application the useful knowledge you will have gained during this
seminar. I am happy to declare this seminar on Maintenance and Repair of Capital Equipment
officially open. In doing so I would also like to thank KIRDI-EDSC for having organised and funded
this important seminar.

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 Maintenance Engineering Management
1. Introduction
Industrial organizations exist to make profit. They use equipment and labour to convert raw materials
into finished goods of higher value. Profitability is influenced by many factors, including customer
demand, product price, equipment output, equipment capital cost and life as well as equipment running
cost, etc.

Maintenance is a combination of actions carried out to return an item to, or restore it to an acceptable
condition. Maintenance is related to profitability through equipment output and equipment running
cost. Maintenance work raises the level of equipment performance and availability but at the same
time it adds to running costs. The objective of an industrial maintenance department should be the
achievement of the optimum balance which maximizes the departments contribution to profitability.

Maintenance management is the organization of maintenance within an agreed policy. Maintenance

engineering is concerned with the day-to-day problem of keeping plant facilities and equipment in
good operating condition and thereby yield a product of high quality at reasonable cost. It is an
essential activity in every manufacturing establishment, because it is necessary to insure the
availability of the machined, buildings and services needed by other parts of the organization for the
performance of their functions at an optimum return on the investment whether this investment is in
machinery, materials or employees. Maintenance management is the responsibility of plant
engineering.

2. Fundamental Aspects of Maintenance

No function is likely to have a greater impact on the overall cost of equipment than maintenance. Yet,
good maintenance management has often been an elusive objective with maintenance effectiveness
conditioning operational performance.

Facilities and equipment are becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex in both new automated
equipment and in equipment of old design which has been modernized. Today's equipment is highly
capital-intensive and contains complex parts which require greater reliability. The cost of equipment
failure and downtime necessitates that prevention and prediction dominate the maintenance activity;
this is why the maintenance function is stepping in, more and more, at the beginning of the supply
process. Every machine has a life cycle which follows a similar trend, going through the following
phases:
The first period consists of the conception, development and construction of the equipment;
the second is called the start up and testing phase, involving training and learning;
the third period is the productive one where efficiency reaches its maximum, and is stable for a
relatively long period depending on the quality of the maintenance programme;
The fourth and last period of the cycle shows a rapid decrease of efficiency leading to
obsolescence and/or de-commissioning or retiring of the equipment.

Several factors will obviously affect the life of the productive third period. Here are some important
ones: the quality of design, the material used and the construction process or technology. It is important
to make sure that the equipment meets all the normal requirements of expected quality.

The other factors affecting the productive life of equipment are the way this equipment is used
throughout its useful life period, as also the type of maintenance given to the machine during that
time. The maintenance factor is of capital importance. Assuming that there is no maintenance at all, the
useful life of the equipment will be reduced drastically. On the other hand, excessive maintenance
will make the equipment last beyond the expected time for which it has been designed, perhaps leading
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to inefficiency as compared to newer technologies. It can be concluded from this that maintenance
must be organised and well managed. Concern for maintenance effectiveness is compounded in light of
the great technological advances reached within the last decades.

As it is in other phases of management, maintenance must be defined and measured. The word
"maintenance" can be defined as the sum of surveillance measures and actions which keep equipment
or facilities in good operating condition. It is a means of achieving greater use of equipment for greater
benefit.

[Maintenance and repair are commonly used to mean the same thing. But in the strict sense Repair is
the restoration or replacement of a deteriorated item of plant/equipment, such that it may be utilized
for its designated purpose. The cost of repair, which is normally charged to an operating expense
account and includes amounts for labour and associated supervision and materials, as well as indirect
and other costs incurred in such repairs, may include the costs to replace items of plant/equipment
designated as retirement units. On the other hand Maintenance is the recurring day-to-day work that
is required to maintain and preserve plant/equipment in a condition suitable for it to be utilized for its
designated purpose. It differs from repair in that it normally works required to correct wear and tear
before major repair is required, and it is usually less involved than repair work. Maintenance work is
typically also charged to an operating expense account].

2.1 Maintenance Policies

Fundamentally, maintenance policy must answer the question of size and extent of the maintenance
facilities. Points worthy of consideration in establishing maintenance policy are:-
a) Contracting out some work during peak periods to avoid getting too far behind and also to limit the
need for temporary workers. Deferring some maintenance work to slack periods so as to keep the
work force intact during such periods. For example, overhauling work and painting projects are
often handled on this basis.
b) Replacing machines and equipment at the optimum time. This time is difficult to determine, but
many machine tool manufactures can assist in such determination. The point is to replace
machines before they get too old and require too much repair work.

2.2 Maintenance Objectives

The maintenance and repair function has a variety of aspects in industries. In many cases, equipment
is operated at only a fraction of capacity, equipment downtime is excessive, and machinery is
sometimes damaged beyond repair. The reason is not only insufficient care on the part of operators,
but also indifference on the part of the management. Maintenance is considered an unnecessary
burden since it does not yield immediate results. The over-all result of inadequate maintenance and
repair is lost income for enterprise, slower growth for the country and excessive capital investment.

The principal objectives of maintenance and repair policies in modern industry are:
a) To ensure that all available machinery and equipment are being used for production.
b) To preserve the value of machinery, equipment and plant by keeping deterioration to a minimum.
c) To accomplish the above objectives as economically as possible for as long as possible.
d) To protect the safety of all employees.

These objectives can be best achieved, broadly speaking, by ensuring that:

i) proper selection of machinery and equipment for long useful life;
ii) the availability of replacement parts for trouble-free performance during normal life of
machinery and equipment;

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 iii) the availability of qualified maintenance and repair personnel and operators to obtain
reasonable life expectancy for machinery and equipment, and;
iv) a correct choice and adaptation of most suitable maintenance and repair systems and
techniques.

2.3 Forms of Maintenance

The functions of maintenance and plant operation are so inter-related that any effort to reduce the cost
of either one or these functions may easily incur increased costs in the other, to an extent where all
savings are eventually lost. To obtain the required objective, therefore, three main forms of
maintenance are used:
a) Planned Maintenance
i) Preventive Maintenance (including routine maintenance),
ii) Predictive Maintenance, and
iii) Breakdown Maintenance,
b) Corrective or Emergency Maintenance,
c) Replacement instead of maintenance
i) Planned replacement, and
ii) Unplanned Replacement.

Besides the three main forms, there are also two other forms of maintenance, but infrequently, used:
d) Opportunistic Maintenance, and
e) Design-out Maintenance.

3. Planned Maintenance
Planned maintenance is not a specific type of maintenance, but the application of maintenance tackled
in a scientific manner. It is the comprehensive planning of the maintenance. By its definition planned
maintenance is maintenance work that is organized and carried out with forethought, control and
records. It includes the whole range of maintenance and can apply equally to any type, including
replacement, breakdown, and preventive. This is possible provided that the maintenance policy has
been considered carefully, the application of the policy is planned in advance, the work is controlled
and directed to conform to the pre-arranged plan and historical and statistical records are compiled and
maintained to assess the results and to provide a guide for further policy.

The fundamental basis of any planned maintenance system is deciding in advance:

i) The individual items of plant and equipment to be maintained.
ii) The form, method and details of how each item is to be maintained.
iii) The tools replacement, spares, personnel and time that will be required to carry out this
maintenance.
iv) The frequency at which these maintenance operations are carried out.
v) The method of administering the system.
vi) The method of analyzing the results.

To achieve the above, there must be:-

a) A schedule of all the plant and equipment to be maintained.
b) A complete schedule of all the individual tasks that must be carried out on each item of plant.
c) A program of events indicating when each task must be carried out.
d) A method of recording the results and assessing the effectiveness of the program.

In the process of installing any planned maintenance system, the following factors should be indicated
clearly:
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 What is to be maintained,
How it is to be maintained,
When it is to be maintained,
Who is to maintain, and
Whether the maintenance is effective.

3.1 Benefits of Planned Maintenance

Planned maintenance can be applied successfully to all types of industry but its ultimate effects and
benefits will differ depending upon the industry, the local conditions, the depth and scope, and form
of application. The essence of company planning is the optimization of its resources men, money,
materials and machinery. Planned maintenance can contribute to this objective as follows:-
1. Great plant availability because:
a) Fewer breakdowns will occur in plant that is regularly and correctly maintained.
b) Maintenance is carried out when it is most convenient and will cause a minimum loss of
production.
c) Regular, simple maintenance results in less downtime than in frequent expensive ad hoc
maintenance.
d) Excessive length of downtime is reduced; spares and equipment demands are known in
advance and are available when necessary.
2. Regular, simple servicing is cheaper than sudden expensive stop gap repairs.
3. Regular, planned servicing and adjustment maintains a continuously high level of plant output,
quality, performance and efficiency.
4. Greater and more effective labour utilization.
a) The volume of maintenance work is planned so that it is spread evenly throughout the year,
thus fluctuating demands upon the labour force are reduced.
b) The weekly work load is known in advance so that its allocation can be controlled effectively.
c) The effects of a positive maintenance policy are frequently reflected in an improved personal
attitude of the staff hence higher staff morale.
5. The servicing and adjustment of equipment contained in the program are not overlooked or
omitted.

4. Preventive Maintenance
This is maintenance that is carried out at predetermined intervals, or to other prescribed criteria, and
intended to reduce the likelihood of an item not meet an acceptable condition. This requires that
regular maintenance is carried out and carefully planned in conjunction with production requirements
to prevent the failure of the equipment during the production runs. This is suitable where a process is
continuous or highly automated such as chemical plants, steel rolls, oil refineries, mass production and
transfer line the cost of lost production due to breakdown can be extremely high. The failure of a
small but vital piece of equipment can arrest the whole process.

Alternatively, the failure of other types of equipment boilers, pressure vessel, lifting gear (cranes)
can be dangerous. The aim of preventive maintenance is to effect the work of inspection, servicing and
adjustment and so prevent the failure of equipment during operation.

There are two types of preventive maintenance:

Time based
Condition based.

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4.1 Time-Based Maintenance
These include all actions of a periodic nature which are performed regardless of the equipment
condition, and which actually restore or improve equipment condition (e.g. excluding periodic
surveillance). For example, when lube oil is changed in accordance with pre-set schedule rather than
being based on oil analysis. Other examples include periodic replacement of seals, ball bearing, etc.,
during overhauls.

Importance of Time-based Preventive Maintenance (TPM): There are multiple misconceptions

about time-based preventive maintenance. One such misconception is that TPM is unduly
costly. This logic dictates that it would cost more for regularly scheduled downtime and
maintenance than it would normally cost to operate equipment until repair is absolutely
necessary. This may be true for some components; however, one should compare not only the
costs but the long-term benefits and savings associated with time-based preventive
maintenance. Without TPM, for example, costs for lost production time from unscheduled
equipment breakdown will be incurred. Also, TPM will result in savings due to an increase of
effective system service life.

Long-term benefits of time-based preventive maintenance include:

Improved system reliability.
Decreased cost of replacement.
Decreased system downtime.
Better spares inventory management.
Long-term effects and cost comparisons usually favour TPM over performing maintenance actions
only when the system fails.

When Does Time-based Preventive Maintenance Make Sense: Time-based preventive maintenance
is a logical choice if, and only if, the following two conditions are met:
Condition 1: The component in question has an increasing failure rate. In other words, the
failure rate of the component increases with time, thus implying wear-out.
Condition 2: The overall cost of the time-based preventive maintenance action must be less
than the overall cost of a corrective action. (Note: In the overall cost for a corrective action, one
should include ancillary tangible and/or intangible costs, such as downtime costs, loss of
production costs, lawsuits over the failure of a safety-critical item, loss of goodwill, etc.)

If both of these conditions are met, then time-based preventive maintenance makes sense. Additionally,
based on the costs ratios, an optimum time for such action can be easily computed for a single
component.

4.2 Condition Based Maintenance

This is a preventive type of maintenance that involves the use of sensitive instruments (e.g. vibration
analyzers, pressure, temperature and resistance, NDT gauges). In this method, the condition of the
equipment or some critical parts of the equipment is continuously monitored so that the failure may be
predicted well before it occurs and corrective steps are taken to prevent failure. Monitoring of system
is done by machine operator, who makes visual and sound checks, and reads the gauges installed
directly on the system. Conditions can be measured periodically or on a continuous basis, and this
enable the maintenance staff to establish the imminence of need for overhaul. This will allow an
extension to the services life without fear of failure. This type of maintenance prevents unplanned
downtime that disrupts production schedules.

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This type of maintenance will get increasingly attention as better instrumentation is developed to detect
flaws in operating conditions. Condition-based maintenance is more feasible today because of
technology that is available for equipment surveillance and diagnosis of problems while the machines
are still operating. The modern practice is to use PIM (Preventive and Inspection Maintenance, which
is a combination of condition-based maintenance and predictive maintenance).

The objectives of Condition-based maintenance are:

To detect the failures before they occur;
To carry out maintenance only when required; and
To reduce the maintenance and downtime costs.

The methodology of CBM consists of following steps:

Proper identification and location of machines/equipments by codification,
Select the critical machines and systems,
Identify the components/elements to be monitored,
Fix condition parameters,
Choose the monitoring techniques,
Fix the monitoring schedule and frequency,
Trend the monitoring process,
Fix repair schedule and execution, and
Follow up.

The condition monitoring techniques are broadly classified as:

Visual,
Temperature,
Vibration,
Lubricant monitoring,
Leakages monitoring, and
Noise and sound monitoring.

Benefits of condition monitoring are:

Increased system availability,
Improved plant operation and safety,
Improved maintenance, and
Improved product quality

4.3 Routine Maintenance

It is the simplest form of preventive maintenance, which is very essential. Routine maintenance means
carrying out minor maintenance jobs at regular intervals. It involves minor jobs such as cleaning,
lubrication, inspection and minor adjustments. Routine maintenance needs very little investment in
time and money.

Planning a Preventive Maintenance Programme

Planning a preventive maintenance programme is essential to its success. A correct balance must be
achieved between the cost of preventive maintenance and that of corrective maintenance, aimed at
keeping overall costs as low as possible and ensuring effectiveness. Management continuously seeks to
establish good preventive maintenance programmes. There is, however, no predetermined system
which would fit all situations. Each facility must have its own system, although some basic principles
can be outlined, as follows:
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 Preventive maintenance is a system which, as any system, requires planning and execution.
There is a cost to such a system but experience has proven that it is less costly than downtime.

Objectives of a Preventive Maintenance Programme

Some of the objectives that one might have for such a programme include lowering total maintenance
costs by setting the ratio of preventive to corrective maintenance and the reduction of downtime, which
has the effect of reducing the total operating cost but not necessarily the total maintenance cost. The
collection of records of such costs can supply the proper information for decisions on maintenance
alternatives. Other objectives may include safety for machines such as pressurised vessels, electrical
distribution systems, compressed air systems, gas lines and the like. Different objectives may exist for
a maintenance system on a production line and for another on a fleet of trucks. The objectives of each
maintenance system should be clearly established to achieve the intended results.

Basic Rules Governing Preventive Maintenance Programmes

Step One: Inventory and Selection of Equipment Following the establishment of objectives comes the
selection of the equipment to be included in the maintenance programme. Several criteria might be of
some guidance in making this selection, and can help in deciding the types of maintenance to be
carried on individual pieces of equipment:
a) A complete inventory of each piece of equipment in operation must be made to facilitate
decisions as to what type of maintenance to be considered.
b) A few major facilities may be initially included in the maintenance programme, and additions
to these made once the programme is off the ground.
c) Cost reductions expected through the maintenance programme must be identified, in line with
the established objectives, including the relative economics of repeated expenditure on
maintenance.
d) The type of system must be decided upon, based on the kind of operation involved, i.e. office,
trucking, school, production.
e) The characteristics of the machinery must be taken into account including age, condition and
value.
f) The service conditions must be considered, such as: machines operating on a continuous basis
versus intermittently and environmental factors, i.e., wet rather than dry, dusty rather than
clean, etc,. to determine those conditions requiring a higher lever of maintenance.
g) The critical nature of the machinery must be appraised, including the importance of
interruption-free operations. Some failures can cause long stoppages for repair creating a great
impact on operations. On the other hand, some short stoppages can be detrimental to quality.
There are some problems involved in establishing which the critical machines are. These can be
resolved with the assistance of staff from the concerned unit and other specialists within the
organisation. Note: Use reverse side for any additional marks or sketches showing piping
connections to machine including any control devices used. Spare parts: Please attach list.
h) The type of maintenance utilised must be established. Decisions must be taken as to the
availability of machines for preventive maintenance shutdown, and this brings up scheduling
problems. Some maintenance is seasonal and the times and schedules for carrying out such
repairs will be dictated by this factor. Consideration should also be given to non-destructive
testing on bearings, for instance on motors, etc.
i) Other factors include: the importance of prolonging the life of the equipment: as the equipment
becomes obsolete, the benefit for prolonging its life diminishes;
The frequency of breakdowns and other trouble;
The danger for personnel in case of failure, as in some cases its importance may outweigh
other factors;

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 The relative economics of running equipment until it fails or becomes unusable versus
carrying out repeated inspections.

Step Two: Equipment Performance Data: To prepare and schedule a maintenance job on a piece of
equipment, there are several sources of information which might be considered.
a) Equipment manual: this manual is provided by the equipment supplier and is always the best
source of information.
b) General literature on the subject such as specialised magazines or books.
c) General practices: often times general practice will dictate the type and frequency of
maintenance, such as daily draining of a compressor tank which is a good practice and should
be included in a maintenance schedule.
d) Lubricant suppliers' recommendations: this is a very good source of information. Lubricant
manufacturers often have expertise and interest in making good use of their products, and can
help in the planning of a substantial part of a preventive maintenance programme as to the type
of inspection, frequency and type of lubricant to be used.
e) Other buyers of similar equipment, and their experiences with maintenance requirements and
costs.
f) Experience and judgement: A maintenance programme should be dynamic, not cast in concrete.
The programme should be changing and be revised from time to time to reflect actual needs
rather than estimated requirements.

Step Three: How Much Preventive Maintenance: The context of a given system will dictate the
sufficiency of preventive maintenance. The consequences of an engine failure are a lot more serious in
an aircraft than in a car; the corresponding levels of maintenance will thus be quite different. Other
factors also contribute to decision making, such as the budget allowed for maintenance functions and
the cost of inventory of spare parts and other materials.

Step Four: Estimating the Cost of Preventive Maintenance: The cost of preventive maintenance is
always dependent on the size of the programme. However, the programme should grow from a
relatively simple beginning to attain a level of sophistication determined with practice. The beginning
serves as an experimentation period for all personnel involved in the programme, and the cost is then
limited to those actually required to operate the programme on either a full or part-time basis.

The costs of materials and spare parts are often rather high. Some of these costs will apply whether or
not a good programme exists. An experienced maintenance man identifies the need for stocking spare
parts for critical machines and, at the same time, controls these costs. Well looked after, a good
programme offsets these costs. It is certainly less costly than no system at all, or a "hit and miss"
system.

Functions of a Preventive Maintenance Programme

a) A preventive maintenance programme should be organised to reduce and eliminate repetitive or
expensive repair work.
b) It should also provide an economically justified programme of lubrication so as to reduce the
requirements for mechanical maintenance. Such a programme should provide for:
Review and establishment of the items to be covered.
Development and implementation of schedules including standard practices, frequencies,
quantities, types of lubricants, and routes to be followed.
Control of the work done by means of a check list that will assure that the lubrication was
carried out and recorded.

12
 Analysis and control of the quality of the lubricants, (i.e., sampling and testing of all
lubricants from transformers, gear boxes and critical gear drives).
Where feasible, re-design of the lubrication system and installation of an automatic system
to minimize manual lubrication.
c) Periodic inspections: The purpose of regular inspection is to discover and correct unfavourable
situations in their developing stages and thus prevent breakdowns. A reduction in the number of
stoppages will result in a better machine performance and will reduce maintenance cost by
avoiding major damages. Such inspection should be justified for economic reasons and should
thus be well planned and organised, covering aspects such as the determination of the type,
extent and interval of inspections, the review of check lists or practices and the optimisation of
procedures.
d) Operating procedures: Start-up failures, whether on new facilities or on existing equipment, are
legion. In most cases, these failures are due to improper procedures or procedures not properly
followed. In the case of existing equipment, the data system is very important, as described
earlier. Proper information should be transmitted to the maintenance operation group. In the
case of new equipment, the supplier is generally the best source of information on operating
procedures.
e) Data accumulation and reporting: Preventive maintenance requires a good system of records
and reports. The data system may be manual or computerised. It is usually possible to develop
suitable information from either approach. The input document is obviously basic to any
information system, and should provide a complete history of each piece of equipment for
review as necessary. An equipment numbering system is fundamental to the equipment cost
records necessary for good control. Good information permits the identification of recurring
and high cost repairs, the adjustment of the frequency of preventive maintenance work, and the
review of the job content.
f) Other techniques: There are other ways to help implement a good programme of preventive
maintenance. They involve finer techniques which may be added to the basic system, such as:
Equipment testing: non-destructive testing;
Maintenance manuals: procedures and practices;
Standardisation: tools, materials, spare parts, procurement specifications;
Design changes: minimize moving parts, better materials, automatic lubrication, sealed
units, etc.;
Materials analysis: better materials, salvaged materials;
Maintenance mechanics and operators training: demonstrations, films, on-the-job training,
courses, etc.;
Warehouse: reduced inventory, spare parts control, and improved reliability.

Any good maintenance programme will more than live up to expectations. It will increase availability
of process equipment and at the same time reduce total maintenance costs. Efficient maintenance will
always provide a high return on investment and help to improve the quality of the final product or
service.

5. Predictive Maintenance
Predictive maintenance as the name implies simply means predicting the failure before it occurs,
identifying the root causes for those failure symptoms and eliminating those causes before they result
in extensive damage of the equipment. This type of maintenance is based on monitoring system
operating characteristics for early detection of indicators that system performance is degrading.

Predictive maintenance helps to detect equipment anomalies early, allowing immediate actions to avoid
later corrective maintenance. Predictive maintenance can be a powerful tool for extending equipment
13
operability when used properly. An increase in vibration, for example, may lead to a decision to
monitor more frequently. However, combined with oil containment, and increased pump heat, a
decision to react sooner to equipment repairs may be appropriate. Predictive maintenance is a form of
planned maintenance (carried out continuously) especially where condition-based maintenance is not
used; predictive maintenance can also be used even when condition-based maintenance is in place in
case the instruments (that are used in condition-based maintenance system) fail to detect an imminent
failure due a fault in the instruments.

6. Breakdown Maintenance
The principle of this type of maintenance is that the given equipment is operated until it breaks down
and then it is repaired. This method is suitable where many items of plant and equipment operate as
individual units, or are separated to the actual manufacturing process, so their failure would not
immediately or greatly affect the overall production process or constitute a safety hazard. The cost of
preventing their failure may be more than the cost of the breakdown.

7. Preventive versus Breakdown Maintenance

Preventive maintenance is the routine inspection and service activities designed to detect potential
failure conditions and make major adjustments or repairs that will help prevent major operating
problems whereas breakdown maintenance is repair, which involves higher cost of facilities and
equipments that have been used until they fail to operate.

An effective preventive maintenance programme for equipments requires properly trained personnel,
regular inspection and service and should maintain regular records. It is planned in such a way that it
will not disturb the normal operations, hence no down time cost of equipment. Breakdown
maintenance stops the normal activities and the machine as well as the operators is rendered idle till the
equipment is brought back to normal condition of working.

8. Corrective or Emergency Maintenance

This is maintenance that is carried out to restore an item which has ceased to meet an acceptable
condition. When a failure occurs, it usually causes an emergency interruption of service, and this must
be repaired and/or replaced immediately. This is usually a very expensive operation, certainly more
costly than scheduled repairs.

There are two types of corrective maintenance. The first type is called primary maintenance and is
essentially the replacement of a failed part with a good one. Usually, the plug-in concept is used when
the whole section containing the failure is unplugged and a new section is plugged into the system to
replace it. Thus, system downtime is not used to repair the actual failure. This can be done in the
workshop at a later time. The purpose of primary maintenance is to get the system up and running
again as fast as possible. It is used in critical systems, such as aircraft, computers, missiles, etc. and
where the time to locate and repair the failure is larger.

The second type of corrective maintenance is called secondary maintenance. This type of
maintenance usually consists of the following up repair (in the workshop) of a failed plug-in; one that
has already been replaced. Occasionally, this secondary maintenance can be done at the site of the
failure, but only if the repair times are short, the system is not too critical, and downtime is not
important.

9. Emergency versus Breakdown Maintenance

Occasionally there is a misunderstanding between the use of terms emergency maintenance and
breakdown maintenance. Both terms are synonymous with sudden, unexpected breakdowns. When
14
these occur, all available resources are urgently utilized to restore the facility to its normal operational
standard in the shortest possible time.

Emergency maintenance is a form of corrective maintenance that is carried out to rectify a type failure
that has not been foreseen and to which no advanced thought has been given; it is failure that is
thought could not possibly happen.

On the other hand, breakdown maintenance is a form of planned maintenance that is carried out after a
facility has failed, but its failure has been considered in advance and provision made by planning the
method or repair, tools, spares and replacements.

10. Running Maintenance

This is maintenance that is carried out whilst the plant or unit is in use (on-line maintenance); this is a
form of either preventive or corrective maintenance.

11. Shutdown Maintenance

This is maintenance that can only be carried out when the plant or unit is not in use (off-line-
maintenance); this is a form of either preventive or corrective maintenance.

12. Replacement instead of maintenance

In this type of maintenance failed equipment is replaced instead of repairing i.e. it is scrapped and
replaced with a new one. This type of maintenance can either be planned or unplanned.
Planned replacement is where given equipment is operated for a given duration and thereafter
is sold before it either breaks down, or requires expensive overhaul. The method is suitable
where the equipment operates as individual unit machine tools, contractors plant (mobile
generators, compressors and cranes), small power plants and motor vehicles.
Replacement instead of maintenance can also be planned where given equipment is operated
until it breaks down, then it is scrapped and instead a new one is bought. This is suitable where
a factory using small, easily-replaceable and cheap equipment may find that the cost of repair
exceeds the cost of replacement.
Unplanned replacement or emergency replacement occurs when failed equipment (due to a
failure that has not been foreseen i.e. a failure that is thought could not possibly happen) is
scrapped and instead a new one is bought.

12.1 Equipment Replacement Analysis

Equipment replacement decision plays an important role in the economic running of any organization.
There are three types of replacement decisions:
(a) The replacement of capital equipment, as it wears out,
(b) The capital equipment required for expansion,
(c) The replacement of equipment due to obsolescence i.e. the introduction of an improved
technology/equipment in the market, which may produce cheaper products.

Equipments are used to produce at profitable rate, so that the production can stand competition.
Replacement decision is not an easy job, it requires several considerations. Since it involves large
capital investment, a wrong decision may adversely affect the profitability of the whole concern.
Therefore, a scientific approach to solve this problem is essential. For this purpose the Break-Even
Analysis is very useful.

Almost all the equipments are subjected to deterioration and obsolescence in varying degree with the
passage of time. Thus with the passage of time operating inferiority increases. Hence the old machine
15
has this operating inferiority high and book value as low. A new machine to be purchased will have
operating inferiority at minimum and costs at a maximum. Hence the problem before the decision
maker is to choose between more capital cost and less imperfection on one hand, and less capital cost
and more imperfection on the other.

Although replacement reduces maintenance cost, it involves high capital cost. Therefore an equipment
is replaced when the maintenance and capital cost of the existing equipment is more than the average
capital and operating cost of the new equipment.

12.2 Reasons for Replacement of Equipment

The main reasons for replacement of the equipment are:
(a) Deterioration
It becomes necessary to replace the machine when it wears out and does not function properly. Such
machine starts lowering the quality of products, decreasing the production and increase in labour and
maintenance cost.

(b) Obsolescence
Whenever new equipment (due to new technology) comes in the market, which is capable of producing
more good quality products with less labour and has more efficiency, the existing machine is to be
replaced with this machine even though it is functioning well. Generally this is necessitated because
the products manufactured by the new machine will be cheaper.

(c) Inadequacy:
With the change of product design to meet the customers demand or quantity to be manufactured, old
machinery become inadequate and therefore call for different manufacturing equipment.

12.3 Equipment Replacement Policy

Sometimes a manufacturer has to face a very serious problem of replacing equipment. This is a
continuous process and therefore a set system or policy for this process must be evolved. The main
consideration is when to replace, but this when requires many considerations to reach at suitable
conclusion.

When replacing equipment before the expiry of the estimated life, the following reasons or factors
should be considered:
(i) To reduce production cost,
(ii) To reduce fatigue,
(iii) To raise quality,
(iv) To increase output, and
(v) To secure greater convenience, safety and reliability.

13 Opportunistic Maintenance
When an equipment or system is taken down for maintenance/changing of one or few worn out parts,
the opportunity can be utilized for changing/maintaining other parts which are wearing out even
though they have not yet failed. The opportunity can also be used to repair or replace an item which
will otherwise take long and therefore expensive to repair when its scheduled time comes. This
maintenance system is useful for non-monitored components.

14. Design-out Maintenance

It is a design oriented curative means aimed at rectifying a design defect originated from improper
method of installation or poor choice of material etc. It calls for the strong design and maintenance
16
interface. Design out maintenance aims to eliminate the cause of maintenance. It is suitable for
items/equipment of high maintenance cost.

15. Difficulties of Maintenance

a) If a machine is taken out of productive use, it may cause acute embarrassment to the production
control department, who may have a very tight machine-loading schedule. If maintenance is
deferred because of this, breakdown may occur anyway.
b) Although maintenance attention may be carefully planned, it cannot be always accurate, because a
great deal depends on the usage of the machine.
c) Normal preventive maintenance may be upset by unscheduled calls for repairs.
d) Difficulties if priority arises where several repairs are required simultaneously.

16. Methods of Minimizing the Difficulties of Maintenance

These are various ways of avoiding these problems:-
i) Weekend maintenance, even if it means paying overtime to maintenance staff, since in this way
normal production is not delayed.
ii) Overtime working when the machine operators have finished work.
iii) Continuous consultation with the production control department to ensuring that downtime is
allowed for maintenance purpose when planning machine loading i.e. Maintenance
requirements should be included in machine-loading schedules and constant liaison must be
maintained with the production control department.
iv) Increased use of predictive maintenance.

17. Main Strategies for Optimizing Maintenance

Considering the importance of maintenance, it is imperative to optimize it i.e. to minimize both repair
time and cost. There are six main strategies for doing this:
i) Fault location and isolation - This is frequently the most time-consuming task of all
maintenance, especially with complex systems. This problem can be minimized by preventive
maintenance where likely trouble spots are noted and logged, by built-in test equipment (push
button line test, for instance) to locate deteriorating circuits by simplicity in design of parts and
components making trouble spots more easily visible, and by properly trained and experienced
personnel.
ii) Repair time - Trained personnel, design simplicity, proper tooling and repair facilities, and use
of interchangeable and replaceable units are some of the more important means of reducing
time to repair.
iii) Accessibility - A part that is easier to get to not only reduces maintenance time, and therefore
costs, but, perhaps more importantly, will minimize system downtime (reduce the time to get
the system up and running again).
iv) Interchangeability - This refers to plug-in devices where spares are instantly interchangeable
with failed parts and to the ability of one unit to be used as replacement for several different
components. This not only minimizes system downtime, but also reduces inventory costs and
inventory stock-outs.
v) Trained Personnel - With the increase in technology and system complexities, properly trained
personnel are a must.
vi) Redundancy - In large complex systems parallel components and subsystems can be built in to
be used while the failures are repaired. (This parallel component can continue the service of the
failed component so that the entire system can continue to operate while the failure is repaired).
Even entire systems can be used in parallel in this way to allow for more efficient maintenance
actions.

17
18. Maintenance Planning and Scheduling
Once the list of the defect is known and the type of the maintenance is decided, the next step is to plan
and schedule the maintenance jobs in order to execute the jobs properly and to get the desired results.
Planning and scheduling of maintenance jobs/activities are the important components of maintenance
functions.

18.1 Maintenance Planning

Maintenance planning basically deals with answering two questions "what "jobs/activities to be done
and "how" these jobs/activities are done. The various steps in job planning include:
a) Knowledge about equipment, job, available technique and facilities;
b) Job investigation at the site - to ascertain the physical access and space limitations, assessing if
the available lifting and handling tackles/facilities are enough or special facilities are required
etc.;
c) Development of the repair plan - preparation of a step-by-step procedure, which would
accomplish the work with the most economical use of time, manpower and material;
d) Preparation of list of materials required;
e) Preparation of list of special tools and equipments;
f) Estimation of the time required to accomplish the job or work; and
g) Provision of necessary safety devices and safety instructions.

18.1.1 Strategic Maintenance Planning and Performance

In todays global competitive environment every manufacturer feels cost and price pressure.
Performance improvement is required and it must happen immediately. As companies implement Lean
manufacturing, the challenge is that the assets must perform well and maintenance must accomplish
this on a limited budget. Maintenances mission is to have the equipment available when it is required
to run.

Strategic Maintenance Planning is the process of working on the things that improve the plants
business condition, not just doing good maintenance. It means making choices about where we focus
our time and effort, where we spend our money. It is the business solution that maximizes our limited
resources to the fullest. And it is a thought process that enables us to target on the key success factors
that keep our plants operating successfully.

Strategic Maintenance Planning is a process that allows us to make investments that have great returns.
It enables us to target the large areas of waste on the factory floor by investing in asset improvement
efforts driven by the maintenance team. Costs like unscheduled overtime, or scrap and rework talk
about the wasted production money that is a result from poor asset maintenance. The true cost of an
under funded maintenance effort goes beyond the maintenance spend.

Strategic Maintenance Planning Procedure is as follows:

i) The first step is to understand the plants business goals. That is what it will take to improve
the plants financial performance. Find out how these goals will be measured and ensure you
can get the measurements regularly because they will be maintenances goals also.
ii) Secondly, ask what maintenance processes must be really good at in order to drive plant
performance toward those goals. Will it be fixing preventive maintenance, predictive
maintenance, training operators on cooperative maintenance, or some other activity?
iii) The third step is to ask what tools, training, or technologies will the maintenance team
require in order to execute those key processes well enough to make a difference.
18
 iv) And lastly we must answer the question what are the financial ramifications to executing
this plan; what will the investment in maintenance be and what impact do we expect on
production? Be prepared to answer these questions and be prepared to talk about how each
activity will be measured. There are a couple tools you should use to help you answer these
questions and they are a Balanced Scorecard and A Strategy Map.

The Balanced Scorecard is a set of measurements you put together to measure your plans performance.
They are the measurements developed when you answer the previous questions. The measurements
have four perspective and they are Financial, Production or Customer, Maintenance Processes, and
Innovation & Learning or People. These four perspectives make up the overall strategy plan. It is the
result of answering the previous questions. The process of answering these questions is done with the
use of a Strategy Map. A Strategy Map is a pictorial representation of the four perspectives and how
they interrelate to one another.

The Strategic Plan is based on several cause and effect relationships. This is known as the hypothesis
of the plan. Basically the plan explains that if the plant needs improved financial performance then
some production measurement must improve. If the production measurement is to improve,
maintenance must perform some process or processes to make the assets perform better by improving
production performance. And if maintenance is to improve its processes, certain learning or innovation
must take place.

This flow of cause and effect relationships is what explains the plan. Also the cause and effect has
timing dynamic to it. The Learning and Innovation measurements will improve first. Next the
maintenance process measurements will improve. Then the production measurements will improve.
And lastly the financial performance of the plant will improve. Its important that everyone
understands the timing in order to set proper management expectations. This timing dynamic is known
as leading and lagging indicators. Leading indicators are the Learning and Innovation along with the
Maintenance Process measurements. When the leading indicators react as planned we can feel
confident we are executing a good plan. When they dont behave as we wish we may need to revisit the
plan and our hypothesis for the plan.

Strategic Maintenance Planning should be done prior to the budgeting process, and should involve
both maintenance team and production people in developing it; the production people are involved
because nobody knows the equipment better than the people who work with it everyday. Regardless of
how well you know what the plan should be, if you dont have maintenance and production people all
buying in and helping out, it will most likely fail. Also the more people buying in the better chance you
have of getting any investment money.

18.1.2 How to Measure the Benefits of Strategic Maintenance Planning

One way to think about improving factory performance is by looking at the Value Chain for
maintenance. The Value Chain for maintenance is derived from a well functioning Maintenance
System that impacts Asset Performance. When Asset Performance improves, it has a positive impact
on Direct Labour cost and the Quality (Direct Material Yield) of the product. When all three of the
major cost drivers - equipment, people, and direct material - are positively impacted the plants
financial performance improves.

By its very nature, an effective maintenance and planning function will move away from reactive
toward proactive maintenance work. The benefits to this type of environment are increased safety,
worker morale, and job satisfaction.

19
18.2 Maintenance Scheduling
Scheduling of maintenance job basically deals with answering the two questions "who" is to do the job
and when is the job to be started. Realistic schedules are the functions of realistic thinking,
availability of the data and records. 'The scheduler should obtain knowledge about 'the following facts
before starting his job:
Availability of competent manpower by trade, location, shifts etc.;
Availability of equipments, spares and proper tools where the work is to be carried out; and
Starting data for the job and past schedules and charts.

Scheduling techniques like bar charts and network techniques are used.

18.2.1 The Key Personnel in Successful Maintenance Scheduling

Communication is the key to successful maintenance scheduling this involves everyone from the
Planner, Scheduler, Maintenance Supervisor, Craftsman, Storeroom personnel, Operations
Superintendent, to the Operator who is responsible to have the equipment secure and ready for
maintenance. Any breakdown in this communication diminishes the probability of success. The role of
each stakeholder needs to be clearly identified whats expected from them and what do they bring to
the table:

Planner ensures the work is properly planned with trade requirements, stores material, direct
purchase material, and specialty service(s) identified on the work order. Any safety concerns or
requirements are documented, as is the description of the work to be carried out.

Scheduler ensures that the trades are available to conduct the work during the schedule duration. The
Maintenance Supervisor attends to the specifics as to who-what-where-when. The Scheduler also
ensures that the material and/or services are available. He also communicates this information with all
concerned parties in Maintenance and Operations etc.

Maintenance Supervisor looks after the day-to-day activities comprised in the weekly schedule. He
assigns his Technicians in a best-fit fashion to the various Work Orders. He also determines the trade
availability for the week using a simple Spreadsheet and forwards that on to the Scheduler.

Craftsman carries out the assigned work and communicates the results as well as any discrepancies
in planning or scheduling of the work back to Maintenance for further analysis.

Storeroom Personnel notify Maintenance of receipt of goods and any deviation from the expected
standards such as damaged packaging. This affords Maintenance an opportunity to job stage and
inspect the material prior to executing the work order and then finding out it is damaged.

Operations Superintendent must be informed well in advance so that the equipment can be
released to Maintenance. This individual is aware of production schedules and can determine the
opportune time with Maintenance to release the equipment.

Operator is the person responsible for securing the equipment by performing the proper lockout and
any block and bleed requirements as well as any vessel entry preparations such as purging and gas
detection.

20
Short daily scheduling meetings must be held to update the schedule and communicate deviations from
the schedule. Planning and scheduling are crucial to maintenance management. Being proactive as
opposed to reactive cannot be stressed enough.

Doc Palmer, a noted authority in the area of Maintenance Scheduling, cites six points that comprise
good scheduling principles:
i) Job plans providing number of persons required, lowest required craft skill level, craft work
hours per skill, and job duration information are necessary for advanced scheduling.
ii) Weekly and daily schedules must be adhered to as closely as possible; proper priorities
must be placed on new work orders to prevent undue interruption of these schedules.
iii) A Scheduler develops a one-week schedule for each crew based on craft hours available,
forecast that shows highest skill available, job priorities, and information from the job
plans; consideration is also made of multiple jobs on the same equipment or system and of
proactive and reactive work available.
iv) The one-week schedule assigns work for every available work hour. The Schedule allows
for emergencies and high priority, reactive jobs by scheduling a significant amount of work
on easily interrupted tasks; preference is given to completing higher priority work by under-
utilizing available skill levels over completing lower priority work.
v) The crew supervisor develops a daily schedule one day in advance using current job
progress, the one-week schedule and new high priority, reactive jobs as a guide. The crew
supervisor matches personnel skills and tasks; the crew supervisor handles the current days
work and problem even to rescheduling the entire crew for emergencies.
vi) Wrench time is the primary measure of work force efficiency and of planning and
scheduling effectiveness. Work that is planned before assignment reduces unnecessary
delays during jobs and work that is scheduled reduces delays between jobs; schedule
compliance is the measure of adherence to the one-week schedule and its effectiveness.
[Doc Palmer: Maintenance Planning and Scheduling Handbook: McGraw-Hill: New York: 1999 Page
3.2].

18.2.2 Weekly Scheduling Meetings

Scheduling cannot happen in a vacuum - it is imperative that weekly scheduling meetings take place
involving the following individuals: Scheduler, Maintenance/Electrical Supervisor(s), Operations
Supervisor (or representative), and Engineering. Communication between these individuals in
determining which Work Orders make the schedule as well as the availability of the equipment to be
released to Maintenance is crucial. Production runs and demands are vital.

18.2.3 Daily scheduling meetings

These meetings help plan for the upcoming day and provide a means to review the events of the past
24 hours. This allows for any new urgent work orders to be addressed. This meeting involves the
following individuals: Scheduler, Maintenance/Electrical Supervisor(s), Operations Supervisor (or
representative), and Engineering. The communication that takes place at this meeting allows first line
Supervisors to assign the work for the day and provides Operations direction as to which equipment
needs to be released to Maintenance. Contingency plans are formulated where equipment cannot be
released.

Following this meeting the Maintenance Supervisor can hand out the Work Orders to the Crew for the
day and post a daily Schedule of the work that is taking place. Bear in mind that maintenance
technicians are not sitting idly by waiting for work assignment from the morning meeting. They will be
performing PM Work Orders or working on carry over work from the previous day. The daily Schedule
provides collaborative information as to what is happening or about to happen on the plant floor. It
21
helps formulate a big picture view of whats happening and the potential impact of each individual
maintenance technicians activities.

18.3 Maintenance Manuals

Job manuals are permanent records about methodology, spares, tools and facilities etc. for all
maintenance jobs, which may have to be done for the future. The following steps are generally
involved in preparing the job manuals:
a) List of all major and medium maintenance jobs of the plant and prepare codes for proper
identification.
b) For each coded job, a separate job manual is to be prepared which includes the following:
Sequence-wise break of the job into activities with instructions to carry out those jobs,
List of tools, tackles, spares and consumables needed to perform the activity,
List of jigs and fixtures and handling facilities for each activity,
Safety instructions, and
Time estimate for the job or job activities.
c) Make available the manuals to all the users and update the manuals as and when needed.

Systematic maintenance - The various elements of systematic maintenance are:

Codification and Cataloguing,
Equipment/machine history cards and sheets.
Instructions manuals and operating manuals,
Standard operating practices and work instructions,
Maintenance time standards (MTS),
Maintenance operation liaison,
Maintenance work order and work permit,
Job cards and job cards procedures,
Job execution, monitoring, feed back and control, and
Maintenance records and documentation.

18.4 Basic Maintenance Decisions

Centralized versus decentralized maintenance,
Contract versus in-house maintenance,
Repair verses replacement,
Individuals versus group replacement,
Standby equipments,
Amount of maintenance capacity,
Preventive versus predictive maintenance.

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 Failure Due To Poor Management of Maintenance and Repair of Industrial Equipment
By Charles M.M. Ondieki, Production Manager, KIRDI-EDSC

4.1. INTRODUCTION:
Failure may be defined as the termination of the ability of an item to perform its required or specified
function. It can also be defined as a significant deviation from the expected (designed) performance of
a system. There are two categories of failure:
(a) Catastrophic failures which result in an immediate inability of a system to achieve its function.
(b) Performance failures associated with a reducing performance of the equipment.

4.2. SYSTEM FAILURE AND COMPONENT FAILURE

In practice it is very important to distinguish failure of the system from failure of a component within
the system. System failure refers to the entire system or mission failing, whereas component failure
refers to failing of individual components of a system. Component failure may not necessarily imply
complete failure of the system or mission. There are many such examples in practice. For example, if
the shock absorber on your car completely breaks down, you can still drive the car for quite some
distance but slowly of course.

To decide when a complex system has failed is by itself a complicated exercise which could include
the knowledge of the expected level of performance, safety regulations in use, control systems used
and protection systems used e.g. automatic shutdown, restricted plant operation.

4.3. FAILURE CLASSIFICATION

The term "failure" or "fault" may be viewed from different angles according to the effect which the
lack of performance has on the overall functional capability. Such aspects as economic viability, safety,
engineering complexity, speed, causal influences provide classifications leading to a description of
failure. There are six types of classification of failures

4.3.1. Classification according to engineering complexity

According to engineering complexity, there are two distinct classes of failure:
(a) Intermittent failure: failure which results in a lack of some function for a short period of time,
the component reverting to its full operational performance later.
(b) Permanent failure: failure which results in total lack of some function. This will last until the
component is replaced or repaired.

4.3.2. Classification of Permanent failure according to the Degree of Failure

Permanent failures may be further subdivided into two, namely:
(a) Complete failure: failure which causes a complete lack of a required function. Note that in
some cases the limit when a lack of function is said to be complete is debatable depending on
the application;
(b) Partial failure: failure which leads to a lack of some function but not such as to cause complete
lack of the specified function.

4.3.3. Classification of permanent failure according to the speed of failure

Both complete and partial permanent failure may be further classified according to the speed
(suddenness) with which failure occurs:

23
 (a) Sudden failure: failure which could not be forecast by prior testing or examination i.e.
unpredictable failure;
(b) Gradual failure: failure which could have been forecast by thorough and careful testing
examination i.e. predictable failure.

4.3.4, Classification according to the degree and speed of failure

Both failure from in 4.3.2 and 4.3.3 above can be combined to give the following further
classifications:
(a) Catastrophic failures: failures which are both sudden and complete,
(b) Degradation failures: failures which are both partial and gradual, the term degradation here
refers to deterioration of performance.

4.3.5. Classification according to the cause of failure

Failure can also be classified according to the manner by which the failure develops as:
(a) Wear-out failures: failures due to the normal processes of wear and tear as expected when the
equipment was designed.
(b) Misuse failure: failure attribute to the application of stresses (loads) beyond the specified
capabilities.
(c) Inherent weakness failure: failure attributable to poor design or construction of the system or
component when subjected to normal stresses (loads) within the specified capabilities.

4.3.6. Classification according to the hazard

Faults (major or minor failures) may be divided into two broad hazard groups, namely dangerous-
failures or safe-failures as exemplified below:
(a) Dangerous faults:
protection system - failure to protect when needed;
machine tool - failure causing damage to work-piece and/or operator
Traction system - failure to brake.

(b) Safe faults:

protection system - failure to operate when not needed,
Machine tool - failure of brakes to apply when not needed or failure of fuel supply.

4.4. TYPES OF FAILURE

Three types of failure are recognized in system and component reliability studies. These are infant
mortality, random and time-dependent failures.

4.4.1. Infant mortality (early failures)

This refers to failures that occur very early after commissioning of the equipment. These failures are
invariably inherent component weakness failures. For example, the average strength of components in
the total population should normally be equal to the design strength, but sometimes there arises a sub-
population of weaker components i.e. having strength below the operational stress value e.g. sometime
ago a heat exchanger for a boiler in Arusha Tanzania failed after just a few months of operation. On
inspection it was found out that one of the tubes was damaged during manufacture. The manufacturer
agreed to supply the heat exchanger.

4.4.2. Random Failures

These are failures which occur at random i.e. without any identifiable pattern. These are very difficult
to analyse for cause even statistically.

24
4.4.3. Time-dependent Failures
These are failures which are known to occur after a definite lapse of time. Normally the time to failure
is known from previous statistical studies. For example, components subject to alternating stress can be
studied in operation and establish the statistical average number of cycles to failure.

4.5. FAILURE INVESTIGATIONS

In practice when major failures (usually catastrophic) occur the causes of the failures will be required
by the management or by law. Therefore scientific failure investigations have to be carried out. In some
countries the law requires that failure investigations of all major failures have to be carried out. For
example, components subject to alternating stresses can be studied in operation and establish the
average number of failure.

4.5.1. Failure Investigation Principles

The following are the main principles of procedures for a scientific failure investigation:
a) The investigation has to be started as soon as possible after the failure.
b) Do not destroy evidence. Do not disturb or tidy on the scene of failure or accident; in particular
do not touch fracture surfaces or their immediate surroundings.
c) Interfere with evidence only after thorough documentation (report, photographs etc.) has been
completed. Ensure that dismantled parts can be identified individually, reassembled, and
repositioned relative to each other.
d) Do not concentrate on the point of fracture to the exclusion of its surroundings and of
environmental conditions.
e) Do not guess or draw easy conclusions. Collect all the facts and then eliminate inessentials.
Rely on site photographs, notes and sketches rather than memory.
f) Try to obtain the true history from objective evidence and from interviews. Do not take any
statements or opinions on trust. Human perceptions, judgements, and decisions are all fallible
and subject to subconscious prejudices.

4.5.2. Organised Failure Investigation Groups

In some countries engineering failure investigation is so well organised that national associations have
been formed to deal with the issue. In the U.S.A. such an association is called National Academy of
Forensic Engineers (NAFE). In other countries the institutions of engineers, e.g. Institution of
Engineers of Kenya (IEK), Institution of Engineers of Tanzania (IET), as well as the faculties of
engineering at the national universities can be asked to investigate major failures when they occur.

4.6. CAUSES OF FAILURES

4.6.1 Main causes of failure
The failures experienced most frequently in machinery are fracture, excessive deformation and surface
failure. A typical review of failures and their causes are given in Table 1

Table 1: Service failures and their causes

CAUSES TYPICAL COMPONENTS
1. Corrosion Plain bearings; gas turbine blades; hydraulic systems;
spark plugs.
2. Fatigue Bearings (plain and rolling elements); gears;
crankshafts, crankpins; steam turbine blades.
3. Contamination Hydraulic system; pneumatic systems
4. Overheating Bearings; spark plugs; cooling systems
5. Overstressing Gear teeth; bolts; transmission components.
6. Seizure Bearings; pistons; gear trains
25
 7. Wear Plain bearings; splines; clutches, brake pads; liners;
gears, valves and valve seats; hydraulic systems, etc.

4.6.2 FATIGUE FAILURE

This occurs under the action of cyclic loading when a crack initiates and grows. Although the fatigue
limit of a material may be considered as a material property, it can be greatly influenced by the
operating conditions. Fatigue starts with the formation of surface micro-cracks (whether by surface
roughening, grain boundary cracking, or by cracking around hard inclusions) with subsequent
extension across and penetration into the body of the material until final fracture.

a) Fatigue crack propagation: Small cracks in a component can be detected by non-destructive

techniques (NDT) at an early stage in its expected life. They can be regularly inspected such that
knowledge of the growth rate may enable a component to have a longer useful life before replacement.

b) Stress concentrations: Failure from fatigue frequently originates from geometrical shape changes
which cause intensive stress concentrations, thus causing local failure (crack initiation) at the region of
geometric discontinuity. Thus sharp comers in manufacturing components should always be avoided.

c) Fatigue fracture identification: The appearances which characterise a fatigue failure during a post-
mortem examination are as follows:
a) Little permanent deformation.
b) Break marks showing the growth progression of the crack can be seen under a microscope.
c) The break marks are smooth as a result of rubbing.
d) The fracture propagates in a direction normal to the principal tensile axis.

Thus the fatigue surface comprises two distinct regions: one smooth (the fatigue zone), the other coarse
and crystalline (the instantaneous fracture zone).

4.6.3 OVERLOADING OR OVERSTRESSING

Loads which impose stresses in excess of the elastic limit will result in excessive deformation and lead
to functional failure. This may not necessarily involve fracture although fracture is most usual.
Overloading may arise by accident, poor design, or deliberate carelessness. There are three modes of
loading a component namely static, repeated and dynamic.

a) Static loading
Static loads may be applied gradually so that at any instant in time all parts are essentially in
equilibrium. It typically arises when the load slowly and progressively increases to its maximum
service value which is held for a limited time and gradually removed. Also static loads may,
alternatively, be applied and held at the maximum load value for such a lengthy period that the creep or
flow characteristic of the material are influential in determining the ultimate life.

b) Repeating loading
Repeated loads are generally associated with fatigue as the stress is applied and wholly or partially
removed.

c) Dynamic loading
Dynamic loading involve a state of movement and is classified as follows:
a) Sudden loads: sudden loading occurs when a mass or "dead load" not in motion is suddenly
applied to a body. It can be proved that this can create stresses approximately twice as great as
if the same load were applied gently. [When a load W is applied gradually the force increases
26
 from zero to a maximum of W; thus work done when the load moves through a distance x is
given by WD = Wx. This work is stored as strain energy. But when the same load is suddenly
applied and moves same distance x, the work done is given by WD = Wx, which is twice when
gradually applied].
b) Impact loads: these are associated with motion as one body strikes another such that
exceptionally high stresses can be generated as the impact kinetic energy is transformed to
strain energy.

4.6.4 WEAR
Most life deterioration of a machine is the result of friction wear between two surfaces between which
there is a relative motion. It is well-known that wear is proportional to speed and therefore wear
between two surfaces increases as the relative velocity between them increases. Wear is a process of
surface damage producing wear debris which may have secondary effects. When two surfaces are in
rubbing contact the complex processes which occur in the surface layers may involve one or more of
the following activities: surface fatigue; local heating; oxidation; and molecular interaction. The
different types of wear are:

a) Abrasive wear: This is caused by the ploughing or gouging action of hard particles against a
relatively soft surface. This is probably the most serious single cause of wear in engineering practice.
Lubricant filtration and efficient sealing of bearing are therefore very important in reducing this type of
wear.

b) Scuffing wear: This arises when the mating surfaces come into contact when hydrodynamic
lubrication cannot be maintained under sliding conditions. It is characterised by the formation of local
welds between sliding surfaces. It can lead to catastrophic failure by seizure in plain bearings; and to
excessive wear in piston rings or cylinder bores.

c) Fatigue (pitting) wear: This occurs in rolling friction and is caused by fatigue of the surface layers.

d) Molecular wear (Galling or adhesive wear): This is characterised by local adhesive metal joints
and adherence of particles to the rubbing surfaces. This occurs usually at high pressures and it is rapid.
If there is considerable heating in the sliding zone, this type of wear is also known as thermal wear.
Thermal wear occurs if the surfaces have relative high sliding velocities.

e) Mechanical-corrosion (oxidation) wear: Occurs if oxidation processes are significant. The

plastically deformed and oxygen-saturated surface layer of the component fractures as a result of
repeated loading, and fresh sub-layers of metals become exposed.

f) Cavitations wear (Cavitations erosion): The collapse of minute vapour bubble involving
impingement and associated chemical or electro-chemical surface activity is the cause of cavitations
failure. It is likely to occur in hydraulic machinery.

g) Wear-rate variations with time - There are three distinct wear-rate phases of a component during
its working life:
a) Phase I wear (Run-in wear) - During phase I the components are run in. The wear rate
developed during this phase should be kept to a minimum so as to reduce wear in phase II.
b) Phase II wear is the normal erosion as a result of the above mentioned processes.
c) Phase III wear results from a change in the surface structure coinciding with stress variations
and the metallurgical strength such that fatigue develops.

27
4.7. CORROSION
Corrosive deterioration arises from electrochemical or chemical-erosion attack due to environmental
conditions In addition to the loss of load-bearing material as exemplified by the rusting away of
oxidized material, much primary corrosion in the form of rust occurs during erection when the working
parts of machines may be exposed for long periods in a moist or wet atmosphere leading to the
formation of a considerable amount of iron rust (FeO). Most manufacturers use appropriate rust
protective to protect components from corrosion. With plant after erection, corrosive activity related to
operating conditions is usually identified as:
a) Stress corrosion: This causes cracking under the action of a steady stress in a corrosive
environment.
b) Corrosion fatigue: This arises under fluctuating stress in a corrosive environment.
c) Cavitation corrosion: See 4.6.4 (f) above.

4.8. OVERHEATING
When components overheat damage can occur to them due to metallurgical changes of the metal or
due to thermal stresses arising from excessive thermal expansion. Because of this, most systems are
protected by control systems which will automatically shut them off when a certain temperature is
reached.

4.9. BLOCKAGE
Failure in machinery can be caused by blockage of essential components or systems e.g. fuel system,
water cooling system, oil cooling system, etc. Blockage is normally due to contamination and can arise
in two ways as follows:
a) Formation of sludge: Sludge is internally formed by the circulating medium in operation and
gradually blocks the system. For example, low quality industrial heavy fuel oil may contain
water, dirt, asphaltic precipitates and wax. When in use such fuels gradually form sludge which,
if not removed frequently, eventually blocks the circulating medium.
b) Contamination by foreign matter: Foreign bodies can find their way in a circulating medium
and, if not removed in time, will block the system, e.g., water cooling or oil cooling. This
problem can be solved by proper straining and filtration of the circulating medium.

4.10. DESIGN, MANUFACTURING AND ASSEMBLY

Apart from the operational causes discussed above a wide range of premature failures can be attributed
to deficiencies of design, manufacture and assembly.

It has been found that most commonly causes of premature plant failure arise from the existence of
minor items of equipment such as drain cocks; screwed couplings; switches; pipe joints; gland
packing, etc.

Design faults can be minimized by proper designs by qualified and experienced staff. Manufacturing
faults can be reduced by the use of qualified and experienced staff complemented by the use of quality
control techniques. Assembly faults can be reduced by using qualified, experienced, dedicated and well
motivated staff.

4.11. FAULT DETECTION

To avoid systems failing catastrophically as a result of the above mentioned operational causes of
failure, fault detection techniques should be used. For example, fatigue can be detected by NDT
techniques of components regularly; overloading can be detected by load cells; wear can be detected
28
by regular examination of parts; corrosion by regular inspection or by a corrosometer; blockage can be
detected by regular inspection or by contaminant and sludge monitoring.

Energy Losses And Poij.Ution Due To Poor Maintenance

And Repair Of Industrial Equipment By Ogada T.P.M.

ABSTRACT
In this paper, the importance of proper management of the maintenance and repair of capital
equipment as a way of reducing energy losses and pollution is discussed. It has been shown that all
equipment in which various forms of energy usage (energy conversion, transfer, conveyance and
storage) take place may lead to energy losses and environmental pollution if proper maintenance and
repair is not undertaken. Simple housekeeping procedures such as repairing of leakages, poor
insulation and keeping the heat transfer surface dean are very effective in reducing energy losses.
Other factors like excess vibration and overheating of prime movers may also lead to excess energy
losses. In all cases, extra energy input must to be supplied in order to offset the losses and where fossil
fuel such as coal or oil is used; this leads to increase in fuel consumption. Due to the presence of
nitrogen and sulphur compound in the fuel, increased emission of SO2, NOx and CO2, would result.
These substances lead to global environmental problems such as acid rain, ozone destruction and
global warming.

7.1. INTRODUCTION

All industrial processes require energy input for their realisation. The quantity and form of energy used
varies from one product to the other but in most cases the energy costs form a reasonable part of the
production cost. Industrial use of energy involves different processes such as energy conversion from
one form to another, energy transfer from one medium to another, energy conveyance from one source
to a point of application and energy storage. These processes are normally associated with energy
losses some of which depend on the current level of technology and thus the maintenance engineer
may not be in a position to eliminate. However, some losses normally occur due to poor operational
state of the equipment especially where the maintenance and repair requirements are ignored or
'discovered' too late. In such cases, extra energy input must be supplied in order to offset the losses
Where fossil fuel such as coal or oil is used, this leads to increase in fuel consumption. Due to the
presence of nitrogen and sulphur compound in the fuel, increased emission of SO 2, NOx and CO2
would result. These substances lead to global environmental problems such as acid rain, ozone
destruction and global warming. Attempts to improve the quality of maintenance and repair would
therefore lead not only to improved operational conditions of the energy equipment but also lead to
reduced energy consumption and pollution of the atmosphere. In this paper, these interrelating factors
are discussed

7.2. LOSSES DURING ENERGY CONVERSION, TRANSFER, CONVEYANCE AND

STORAGE

7.2.1. Energy conversion from one form to the other

Energy used in the industrial process can be in various forms such as chemical, thermal, electrical and
mechanical. In the process of production energy must be converted from one form to the other suitable
for a given application. For example, the chemical energy of the fuel is released during combustion in
the furnaces into thermal energy which may then be converted into mechanical energy in the turbines
and used for electrical generation through a generator or air compression in a compressor. Electrical
29
energy may also be converted into mechanical energy with the help of an electrical motor or to heat
energy using a heating element. The energy conversion equipments include compressors, turbines,
boiler, generators, electrical motors, heating elements, solar collectors. The design efficiencies of these
equipment range from 40-95 %. The rest is lost to the surrounding in various forms of energy and this
agrees with the first law of thermodynamics "It is not possible to design a machine which would
convert all the energy input into useful work". The maintenance engineer therefore has no chance of
increasing the efficiencies of these equipments beyond the manufacturers specifications. However,
poor maintenance and repair of these equipments may lead to operation efficiencies significantly lower
than the design ones.

7.2.2. Energy transfer from one medium to the other

Another method of industrial usage of energy is the transfer of energy from one medium to another in
heat exchangers. Such processes take place in various industrial equipments including dryers,
evaporators, distillers, steam generators, cooling and healing plants, economisers, air pre-heaters,
refrigerators, etc. The efficiency of these energy transfers depends on the rate of heat transfer which is
a function of hydrodynamic characteristics of the heat transfer mediums as well as the conditions of the
heat transfer surface. Good design of heat exchangers limits the temperature difference between the
mediums to 5 -20 degrees after heat transfer. Poor operation, maintenance and repair of the heat
exchangers (e.g. the presence of condensate or/and air films, scaling and fouling on the heat transfer
surface) may lead to a significant increase in temperature difference with the heating medium leaving
the system at a higher temperature and consequently at a reduced efficiency of heat transfer. This
energy loss can be reduced if proper maintenance and repair procedure is in place.

7.2.3. Energy conveyance from one point to the other

In several industries there is a network of pipe system conveying energy carrying fluid from one point
to the other. For example, the steam produced in the boiler must be carried to the turbine or process
equipment and the compressed air from compression station must be delivered to the user points.
These consumer units may be positioned many metres away from the source of steam or compressed
air. Similarly, hot or chilled water, syrup or liquor may also need to be conveyed. Heat losses from the
conveying pipe work into the surrounding is normally due to poor insulation and leakages. If not
corrected in time, losses of energy through these leakages may be significant.

7.2.4. Energy storage in a given storage system

Thermal storage is the collection of the heating or cooling energy available for use at later times. For
example, surplus heat or waste energy may be stored as thermal energy and later, when energy for
heating or cooling is required, is drawn out of the storage, thereby reducing the facility's energy
requirements. Potential sources for thermal storage include; hot or cold water drained to a sewer, hot
flue gases, exhaust air streams and solar collectors. Thus substantial energy saving can be realised by
taking advantage of the thermal storage if heat losses through insulation and leakages are minimised.

7.3. EXAMPLES OF ENERGY LOSSES DUE TO POOR MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS

7.3.1. Energy management opportunities

There are several opportunities in the industrial processes through which energy saving could be
realised by undertaking proper maintenance and repair of the energy equipment. They are classified as
housekeeping, low cost and retrofit opportunities.

30
3.1.1. House keeping opportunities
These are energy management opportunities that are done on a regular basis and never less than once a
year. The opportunities must be "discovered" through walkover auditing in which the facilities are
carefully examined by an energy specialist. Typical examples of these include leakages, damaged
insulation and dirty heat transfer surfaces.

3.1.2. Low cost opportunities

Implemented low cost opportunities for energy management are actions that are done once and for
which the cost is not considerably great. The need for such action may be known but the
implementation may not be immediate due to the cost involved. An example of this is the addition of
measuring and monitoring equipment to provide operating data to assist in improving the operation of
the system.

3.1.3. Retrofit
Implemented retrofit opportunities are energy management actions which are done once and for which
the cost is significant. This becomes necessary when the performance of a given unit is significantly
lower than those currently in the market due to improved technology e.g. the replacing of an old oil
burner with a new and more efficient oil burner.

7.3.2. Energy losses due to leakages, insulation and heat transfer surface factors

Housekeeping opportunities provide those cases in which energy losses could be reduced through
normal maintenance and repair exercises. Such cases include attending to leakages, poor insulation and
low rate of heat transfer.

3.2.1. Energy losses through leakages

This is one of those improper operation conditions of machines which may often be neglected but its
effect on energy losses may be significant. This is particularly true if such leakages are small but from
several points. Leakages (steam, air, water and gases) can be from valves, fittings and gaskets or
through worn-out parts of the conveying pipe, pipe burst, flanges, hose, and shut-off valves. The
energy lost due to the leakages would be equal to the potential energy contents of the fluid leaked.
Leakages from gas such as refrigerants, NH3, Ozone, SO2, and CO2 would also result to the release of
these substances into the atmosphere which is undesirable because of their pollution effect.

Maintenance and repair practice which help reduce the occurrence of such leakages would therefore
lead to a reduction in energy losses. For example, if during a walk through audit it is noted that there is
a leak from a flanged connection of a steam supply to a heat exchanger. If the steam pressure at that
point is 689 kpa and the size of the leak is 6.35 mm diameter. Steam loss through such orifice is 95.5
kg/h and if the leak is not repaired for one year (6000 hrs), then Some 574.2 tonnes of steam would be
lost. The enthalpy of such steam is 2,762 KJ/Kg and thus the amount of heat energy lost into the
atmosphere per year is 1,586,000 KJ. This requires that extra 59,000 kg of coal per year (assume a
calorific value of 29,000 KJ/Kg) must be consumed in order to cover for the losses. On the other hand
this extra coal consumption would lead to release of more air pollutants such as SO 2, NOx, CO2 and
ash into the atmosphere. For coal which contains 3 % Nitrogen, 4 % Sulphur and 15 % inorganic by
weight, 4400 Kg SO2, 3520 Kg NO and 8,250 kg ash more would be released into the atmosphere
annually.

3.2.2. Energy losses from damaged Insulation

Insulation may be defined as those materials or combination of materials which retard the flow of heat
energy into the surrounding. Insulation is an important aspect of most industrial processes in which the
31
transportation of the heat carrying medium as well as the storage of such are concerned. Insulation is
thus normally applied in steam, hot and cold water systems, thermal storage tanks and vessels, heat
exchanger, furnaces etc. The efficiency and service life of insulation materials is directly dependent on
its protection from moisture entry and mechanical, thermal or chemical shocks.

Maintenance walk through audit should normally include looking for missing or damaged insulation,
deteriorating insulating coveting, gaps in insulation expansion/contraction joints, insufficient insulation
thickness. In an industry with a complex pipe network and various heat exchangers and thermal storage
vessels, it is possible that without a careful investigation and auditing several small lengths/surfaces
may remain un-insulated for a long time, unnoticed. Such parts surprisingly may sum up to several
lengths.

For example, consider a pipe system carrying a fluid at 121 C against ambient conditions of 18C for
a pipe of diameter of 100mm; the heat loss would be 0.53 Wh/m. If the effective length of the damaged
part is 50 m and it remains unnoticed for a year (8760 h) then a total heat losses of 45,795 KWh would
be registered which is equivalent of 25,831 MJ and this require 5,460 kg of equivalent coal per year to
offset this loss. The impact on the environment would be the same as that discussed above.

3.2.3. Energy losses due to reduced rate of heat transfer rate

The factors which may influence the rate of heat transfer include; condensate film, air film and fouling
and scaling. The condensate film is normally 60 to 70 times more resistant to heat transfer than the
equivalent thickness of iron or steel. Normally the water film is due to excessive amount of moisture
carry-over from the boilers with steam and to a lesser extent due to condensation of steam in the pipe.
The steam generators should therefore be operated and maintained such that carry-over is minimised.
This can be achieved through effective feed water treatment, dearation, and control of the operation
parameters. One way out is that measuring gauges should continuously be checked and calibrated to
ensure correct recording of the operation parameters. Air and non condensable gases carried from the
boiler form air film which is a worse conductor of heat than the water film. This should be reduced if
not eliminated.

A major factor affecting the rate of heat transfer is the formation of scaling, fouling and soot on the
surface of steam, water or air-heat exchangers. Scaling is due to the presence of inorganic substances in
the feed water/condensate which accumulate on the steam/water side of the pipe with time. This is
eliminated through chemical or mechanical means. Fouling is formed from the organic and inorganic
substance in the raw water whereas soot is due to incomplete combustion of fossil fuel and it
accumulates on the gas side of boilers, economisers, air pre-heater and waste heat recovery boilers etc.

In all cases, reduced efficient heat transfer rates would lead not only to higher fuel consumption but
also high temperatures of exhaust heat carrying medium.

7.3.3. Other factors of energy losses

3.3.1. Energy losses due improper mechanical state of the equipment
Significant loss of energy may be expected from different equipment if phenomena like excess
vibration, noise or heat release is not attended to immediately. These problems are typical of motors,
compressors, turbine, pump etc. For example, heat, noise or vibration of a compressor could be caused
by worn out component such as piston rings, valves, linkages or impellents, bad bearing and bushings,
inadequate lubrication and cooling as well as dirty components. These are usually associated with
irreversibility which lead to a reduction in efficiency and thus high consumption of fuel for a given
power output.

32
3.3 2. Energy losses due to excess pressure drop
Where the transportation of fluid is involved, energy must be used in order to overcome flow friction
in the conveying duct. Significant pressure drop may develop (e.g. unclean filter, presence of
obstruction in the fluid passages etc.) and this would lead to excessive consumption of energy in terms
of fan, compressor and pumps power.

3.3.3. Energy losses due to poor maintenance and repair of measuring equipments
Efficient operation of industrial plants requires that the equipment are operated at or near the design
parameters e.g. temperature, pressure, concentration etc. A slight deviation from this may lead to low
operation efficiencies.

A typical illustration of this may be given by the functioning of the boiler. At very low excess air ratio,
thermal efficiency is low due to incomplete combustion (high CO and C particles in the flue gas),
whereas, high levels of excess air also lead to low thermal efficiency due to significant loss of sensitive
heat with the flue gas and increased fan power. The combustion efficiency may be measured using
CO2, CO and O2 in the flue gas. Good combustion would show higher % of CO 2 and low O2 and CO.
For optimum operating parameters (corresponding to the highest efficiency) to be achieved, measuring
equipments must therefore operate accurately. But in most cases, the measuring equipments may be
available but the tests may not be done correctly and as frequently as they are supposed to be. Larger
plant will usually justify continuous measurement but very often this kind of equipment is out of action
due to some failure.

7.4. Environmental Consideration

It has been seen that poor maintenance and repair of industrial equipment may lead to higher energy
losses and consequences, increased fuel consumption and emissions of SO 2, NOx, CO2, Ash and excess
heat. In order for the maintenance engineer to appreciate the effect of these pollutants, it is important to
understand their global environmental effect such as acid rain, global warming and ozone destruction.

7.4.1. Global warming

On the global scale, the annual average emission of long wave radiation from the earth's surface is
about 390 Wm-2. At the top of the atmosphere the long wave radiation emitted to space from earth-
atmosphere system in about 237 Wm 2. The balance, 153 Wm2, tapped by natural concentration of
gases and clouds is radiated back toward the earth and this keeps the global average temperature at
around 288 K. Without this radiation, the global average temperature would be around 255 K.

As the concentrations of the gases absorbing the long wave radiation (greenhouse gases) increase, the
quantity of the heat absorbed and re-radiated back to the earth also increases. This leads to increase in
temperature of the earth i.e. global warming. Prediction suggests that by 21st century, the earth will be
warmer by 2-4 K. There are 35 trace gases which are potential greenhouse gases with CO2 accounting
for more than 50%. One of the effects of global warming is a rise in the sea levels which is expected to
be 20-140cm by 2030. This is due to the final expansion of sea water and melting of small glaciers.
The consequence of this is that the coastal and reclaimed land will under danger and increased coastal
erosion.

7.4.2. Acid rain

Unpolluted precipitation is commonly slightly acidic (pH = 5-6) due to the presence of CO2 in the
atmosphere forming carbonic acid. The presence of sulphuric acid (from SO2) and nitric acid (from

33
NO2) lead to precipitation with pH values lower than 5 - 6. Such precipitations are termed acid
precipitation or acid rain.

Global anthropogenic SO2 emission is estimated to 75 - 700 million tonnes a year and is about 50% of
the total SO2; the other 50% being from natural source. Global anthropogenic NOx emission is also
around 75 millions tonnes a year with combustion in power plants and transportation being main
contributors.

The effects of acid rain on aquatic ecosystem include increasing the lake acidification due to acid
deposition which leads fish kills and stock depletion. Acid rain causes increasing soil acidity which is
not conducive for the growth of some plants. Acid precipitation also accelerate corrosion of metals and
erosion of store, statues etc.

7.4.3. Ozone destruction

The atmospheric ozone layer is a layer of relatively high concentration of ozone, O3 located in the
stratosphere. Maximum ozone concentration occurs at a height of 16 - 18 mm in polar latitude and at
about 25 km on the equator. Ozone absorbs solar ultraviolet radiation and thus controls the amount
reaching the ground. The ultraviolet radiation is carcinogenic and is linked to skin cancer. Ozone is
destroyed with gases such as OH, CH 4, NO, N20, NO: and CFC some of which are released during fuel
combustion.

7.5. CONCLUSION

In this paper, it has been shown that poor maintenance and repair of industrial equipment may lead to
significance loss of energy apart from poor operation, durability and availability of the equipment.
Such energy losses would result to increased fuel consumption and thus production cost. For fossil
fuel, this would mean increased pollution because of the released pollutants, SO 2, NO, and Ash into the
atmosphere.

34
 Maintenance and a Safe Working Environment by Mong'oni J. M. (PS)

8.1. Maintenance
Machinery and equipment must be properly maintained. As far as reasonably practicable, machines
have to be intrinsically safe. Where this is not possible, additional safeguards have to be installed and
this has to be done by experts. Without proper maintenance, safety cannot be guaranteed. It is the right
of workers that a safe working environment is maintained. This is the duty of the employer and the
employees.

8.2. Specific Areas to Consider Safety

8.2.1. Machinery- general

Safety aspects are to be considered right at the design stage (see maintainability and safety). Then in
use, proper maintenance is required. Adequate precautions are necessary for the maintenance staff at
all times, and must be observed.

8.2.2. Lifting machines

The danger arises due to the nature of use of these machines. As a general rule, one should never stand
under suspended loads. The integrity of these machines depends on the weakest link. Examples of
these categories include cranes, electric hoists and lifting tackles.

8.2.3. Lifts and hoists

These are used for vertical transportation of persons and/or goods. The dangers are falls, impact,
crushing and trapping e.g. a lift.

8.2.4. Pressure vessels

The risks posed by these vessels can be great. This is because the potential energy contained therein
can cause great damage if not properly maintained and managed, for example, Steam Boiler.

8.2.5. Electricity
Electricity is so convenient to use. It is often taken for granted as we can neither smell it. Yet it can be
extremely dangerous. Some of the hazards include- shock, electrocution, burns, fires, for example, a
worn out insulation.

8.2.6. Workplace
In general, a workplace has to be safe. The management has a duty to provide a working environment.
The workers must use and maintain what is provided for safety. Remember, an adult spends most of his
awake time at work. Some of these requirements:
Proper means of access,
Proper means of egress,
Proper lighting,
Proper ventilation,
Protective clothing, and
Good housekeeping.

8.3. Industrialisation and the Working Environment

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Industrialisation is important for growth and employment, especially for a developing country. And yet
it is imperative that this takes place in a safe and orderly manner. The aim should be to achieve
economic development and social transformation without human costs through accidents.

8.3.1. Maintenance and Safe Working Environment

The workplace should as far as possible have a safe working place conducive with enjoyment of life.
For this to be achieved, safety, health, welfare and hygiene aspects have to be considered. For the
present's discussion, the following should be put in view:
(a) Routine and periodic inspection,
(b) Proper maintenance,
(c) Training - the best way to change attitude,
(d) Posting of proper instructions,
(e) Permit to work system where necessary, and
(f) Good working practice.

9.9. Maintenance consultancy

Most company are lacking in man-power specialist etc. Some company have fluctuating maintenance
requirement with time. To solve these problems, it was reported that most company in developed
countries are already using the services of specialised maintenance consultancy. With this consultancy,
quality maintenance can be provided without removing the normal maintenance staff from their day to
day activities. This option should be investigated and its advantage taken by local companies.

9.10. Safety for the personnel

It was reported that most accident which takes place was due to poor maintenance of various plants.
Furthermore work personnel are not acquainted with action procedure in case of breakdown and
accident by any equipment. Few companies undertake induction on safety precaution to their new
employees. Those who undertake the same, do it only once and most procedure of action are long
forgotten by the time an accident takes place. Safety precaution for each plant should be written and
clearly placed and accessible. Repetitive induction is desirable.

Poor maintenance may lead to industrial pollution such as air and water pollution. Lack of sufficient
awareness of industrial pollution is a big problem during maintenance and repair exercise. The disposal
of used oil, grease, various fluids like brake, hydraulic and transfer into the effluent wastewater system
may have significant pollution effect to the receiving waters. More maintenance engineers or
technicians are not aware of this. On the other hand energy losses through leakages, poor insulation
etc. does not only increase production cost but also have direct impact on global environmental
pollution such as acid rain, global warming and ozone destruction. These environmental issues may not
be unfamiliar to most engineers; however their practical effect may not be properly understood. If
proper awareness training are undertaken and the engineers are conscious about them, their interest in
undertaking proper maintenance to reduce energy losses would be increased.

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