Approach to Zero Breakdown – A Challenge of Multi Management Aspects

YP Chawla – Hd. Energy Sector Apollo Tyres

Abstract: Today’s Drivers of the Economy & its parameters have changed drastically. The
Plant Top Management is under pressure to give higher returns, higher growth, higher
productivity, with increased wage bills, fast changing technologies, new competing Plant
Capacities coming up, laced up with slow down in economy etc. Concepts like Zero Wastage,
Zero Defect and Zero Breakdowns with updated technologies, processes have come into play.
Improving the existing plant productivity are the challenges of today. The Maintenance
Manager or an Engineer is no more a person with a Picture of Greased hands but a dynamic,
well educated, well read of latest knowledge, seamlessly knowing all the aspects of the
complete Plant Operation , right from indenting the plant requirements, to design , to operation
and getting the best returns on the Asset. This is, what is expected from an Asset Manager. But
is the Management aligned to this concept and provides Asset Managers all the opportunities
to give their best? Do the Personnel Department help them to have the best team? Does
Finance Man provide them Funds at appropriate time? If all this is available, then what an
Asset Manager can give the organization is attempted here.

Can we really achieve zero breakdowns at our plants or facilities? Is it conceivable-or even desirable-to
have zero breakdowns? Is it not a Political Statement only? It is similar to quality initiatives, the goal is
zero defects. While most companies may never achieve this goal, but do develop strategies or
methodologies approaching to very close to Zero defect - a six sigma quality aspect. Such can be an
aspect of Six sigma reliability – an approach to Zero Breakdown where the cost of equipment or asset
reliability benefits achieved exceed the Cost of six sigma reliability. It is like a ‘F1’ Tyre Replacement
Benchmarking approach. An Attempt has been made through this Paper to project a picture of the ‘Plant
Maintenance’ on a much larger Canvass as “Asset Management” thus elevating the Maintenance
Engineer to an “Asset Manager” to a “Business Leader”

Asset Management–a Business Objective

Asset Management is an Overall Equipment Effectiveness, picturing the equipment or assets
performance, its availability, the performance rate, as well as the quality rate cumulating to the Asset’s
capacity.

The Role of Asset Manager gets enlarged in this competitive world, ensuring that nowhere in this world,
another company having the same assets which produce greater capacity from those similar assets than
his Assets –thus getting the most out of the assets, through application of an holistic approach to the
Plant Performance by blending the availability, Performance rate & the Quality, at least utilization of
Resources in terms of Money and Manpower thus benchmarking the Return on Net Assets (RONA) or
Return on Fixed Assets (ROFA) – the Banker’s requirements.

Focusing on the above Key Result Areas (KRAs)

is to optimize the utilization of the assets by
implementation of such strategies that eliminate all Aligning - maintenance strategies to Breakdown curve
3
2 Corrective maintenance
breakdowns of the Asset. In reality, whether a Predictive maintenance condition- reactive-based strategies
based strategies
function loss or a function reduction breakdown, all Failure
occurs
Repair
schedule
Repair
initiated
breakdowns impact a company financially. Zero Failure d Parts, manuals
eX reporte & tools
breakdown strategies are designed to provide cost c
n
X Vibration Oil
X
d located

a X
effective solutions to equipment problems, allowing m
r 1
Noise
X
o
companies to realize the maximum return on rf
Preventive
e
maintenance time-
and usage-
Heat
P X
investment of their assets. based strategies

Time

Asset Manager’s Role is to get into the shoes of

the other Managers to achieve the above, and
take them along in his journey for Asset Management. In many organizations Role of Asset
Management starts with the first training on the new asset being Installed or intended to be installed and
is out of the loop till this stage, even if an Asset manager attains a leadership role and is a part of the
management committee.
 Networking by the Asset Managers - A Challenge to network , with other department functions
immediately on their leadership transition at the inflation point in their careers, is to force them to rethink
about themselves and their role for an integration with the Organization Goals, to avoid an discomfort
after rising the ranks, which they have achieved by the dint of their strong command on Technical
Aspects of their job role and a nose-to-the-grindstone focus on accomplishing their teams’ objectives.
Asset Manager’s Challenge to graduate from Manager’s role to a leaders role and to face situations
beyond their functional specialties and strategic issues that will involve relational & not analytical tasks –
covering a diverse array of Current and Potential stack holders, not to considered as Distractions from
their real work, but to be at the heart of their challenging role. This requires a real good networking by
the Asset Manager - a recipe for reaching for a leadership position rather than staying at Manager’s
Position or in succeeding in Leadership Position thus reorienting him towards achieving success in all
Management Functions.

Any good Plant Manager is aware of the Reducing Performance as at situation 1 in the graph above and
quite often keeps his figures crossed as the Performance deteriorates and goes in for Predictive
maintenance strategies before the Failure and going in for a Corrective maintenance. A good Plant
Manager is balancing the Asset Performance with that of the Business Optimization meeting the
challenges of the market forces on one hand and the Stake holders at large.

Reliability Growth – Asset Management to start at the Design Stage itself

Design for Maintainability

Prepare operational specifications and
Maintainability checks RCM Unplanned cost
Evaluate procedures, develop maintenance and
development options inspection strategies, prepare input to asset Transition to Planned Maintenance +
Prepare and Planned cost
reference plan, develop facility data
consolidate plans
and budgets Mapping total cos t – the practical side Total cost
Design & Plan
Development design
construction
Review and update
maintenance
strategies,
Improve performance, Schedule
Decide on
remedy or estimates, reference
improvement (or plan, FEMCA
abandonment) Schedule asset related
work
Abandonment Time/Usage
Analyze
Identify and
Execute
define Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5 Y6 Y7 Y8 Y9 Y10 Y11 Y12
ORDM Analysis
unforeseen
of asset
work
performance and
maintenance
system
effectiveness

Bottom- Line Maintenance Key Result Areas ( KRAs)

Metric Definition Target
The Asset Manager needs to understand how Individual System or
Machines are Designed and the Limits these 100% or
Asset is available for
machines can be taken to Live within the Zero
Producing out put of
unforgiving Nature of Machine Design, Strength Breakdown
required Quality
of Materials) Nature of Machine Design,
During Down Time –
Strength of Materials Limitations and the
% Failure Events that go through
resources the Asset Manager has on his 85-100%
Analysis Analysis of Failure Mode
command & where to transit to Planned
, Effect & Root Cause
Maintenance & Opt for Outsourcing etc.
Corrective Maintenance
% Planned
Work Hours - advanced 85-95%
Work
Scheduled / planned
Design Detection of Failure Sources Planned Maintenance at
% Overtime 5-8%
Overtime rate
Relative % Annual Maintenance
Breakdown / Reliability + Design
Maintenance Spending Vs. Asset 1.5 -2.5%
Reliability Planned cost Replacement
Assessment Reliability Productive Hours vs.
Technician
waiting for Parts , 75-85%
Decision Productivity
Rework
Rework due to Poor
% Rework Installation or incorrect 2.5- 3.5 %
Diagnosis
Improving Reliability by Setting Maintenance KRAs or Key Asset Management
Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Measuring Outcomes Meaningful Business Processes
Maintenance and Reliability Performance Measures Asset Management
Plans
Adopting a Profit Centered Maintenance – A Challenge to Asset Strategic
Manager Initiatives
By Focusing on the Return on Net Assets (RONA) or Return on Fixed Assets
(ROFA) by Moving from Reactive… to Proactive… to Risk Reduction. Each Annual Budgets
Process is Part of a Series of Processes -The Process Chain that
Binds Us with our Asset
Operating Budget Capital Budgets
Thus Maximizing Life Cycle Profit Maintenance for achieving
Business Objectives and Optimizing Stake Holders returns

While Designing a Plant, it is actually Designing a Business, where Operating Costs are
Committed. The Design Process limits Reliability Design and Operating Cost are to be totally
optimized for Risk considering the Life Cycle Implications, Life Cycle Risk Management Strategy.
Why we Need Defect Elimination and Failure Prevention Problems Waste Time, Money and
Resources, Identify Defect and Failure True Costs

Electronics & Instrumentation – A Boon & A Challenge

The Instrumentation has made the Life of Asset Manager easier for various Diagnostics. Manual
tests are prone to human error, and if tests and inspections are not linked directly into the
Computerized Maintenance Management System, then it is difficult to track any missed or
inaccurate manual measurements. The end result is that manually recorded results can very easily
go out of date and eventually you may be relying on old data to interpret the condition of an asset.

Today's information technologies and processes have improved asset management strategies,
advantages and implementation challenges of Maintenance, Repair, and Operations software
(MRO). Not all assets are created equal. Plant Manager needs to prioritize by deciding which
assets contribute most to the operation. Some may run to failure, but others can differ in strategy.
Predictive strategies and analytics might be applied to the most valuable assets to create more lead
time and flexibility.
Sensors can communicate system needs into MRO, a portfolio of assets, providing a solution set
for enterprise, plant equipment, software, fleets of assets and all conditions above.

Next generation MRO tools can help Asset Managers:

• Do more with less, extend the life of current assets, maintain product quality, manage waste
(labor raw materials and energy), and grow the business.
• Overcome operational hurdles, such as globalization over multiple sites, cultural changes,
scheduling pressures, and the need to transform data into information.
• Better manage risk, related to regulations, health, and safety issues.
• Address technological challenges, such as short and long term data flow, removing silo walls,
and justifying focus on MRO tools, to create the most throughputs at the lowest cost.

Increasingly the IT organization is partnering in MRO efforts as a team member, in part to help
"green" become a revenue opportunity. The Asset Manager is required to understand the IT as
much as a Soft ware Engineer to optimize its results.

Wireless technology is a mostly untapped resource in the industry that can have a significant
impact on the way business is done offering a greater degree of connectivity among devices for
enhanced monitoring and asset utilization leading to the development of new applications that
improve productivity, uptime, and overall business performance.

Industrial automation is one segment of the global economy that, to date, has failed to take full
advantage of wireless technology. Major industries such as Rubber, Oil and Gas, Chemical, Power,
Steel, and water and wastewater treatment continue to operate their plants mostly with older, hard-
wired control systems.
A Caveat The Computer Connected Machines are now being challenged by Computer Virus sent
for various Soft Ware installed in Machines to score a point over Competitors of Similar asset
manufacturers, owners, and the Software suppliers.

Organizational Structure is sometimes, an overlooked area for organizations attempting to adopt Zero
Breakdown Strategies. How a company decides to organize the maintenance function can enable or
disable their ability to properly care for the assets/equipment. Organizational design for maintenance
includes, Defining Maintenance, Objectives of Maintenance. Organization and Staffing and most
important Roles and Responsibilities while considering the Maintenance Man as an Asset Manager.

Companies’ Policies trying to improve maintenance policies and practices realize, in most cases,
that it is an evolutionary process not a revolutionary process. In reactive organizations, the production
or operations group is usually not satisfied with the level of service it receives from the maintenance
organization. There is constant conflict between the two groups and, in most cases, the maintenance
organization loses. This conflict often leads to restructuring, downsizing, changing reporting lines, and
excessive contracting out.

Human Asset Development for Plant Assets Management is important to all levels of the Asset
Management organization. Unfortunately, in today’s volatile financial environment, Asset
Maintenance Programs are the first to receive a cut back. This is especially true of programs that
are perceived by management as nonessential, which includes (in many organizations) updating the
knowledge. This short-sighted philosophy (if it exists in any organization) must change if
maintenance is to be able to fully contribute in a zero breakdown initiative.

Outsourcing of Asset Maintenance enables budget flexibility, for one. It lets organizations pay for only
the services they need and when they need them. Combining asset management and maintenance
outsourcing reduces MRO costs, increases ROA. It reduces the need to hire and train a specialized staff,
brings in engineering expertise from the outside, and reduces capital expense, yielding better control of
operating costs. When the maintenance needs change, so can be the outsourcing arrangement.
However, it needs a good team of Dynamic Asset Managers at Organization in choosing the best,
integrate it effectively and not play into the hands of the Outsourced team. The Asset Manager need to
have an overall view of all aspects of the complete plant and is able to success fully navigate through the
complex waters of a large integrated Organization structure. This may be seen as a change in the role of
the Asset Manager of today .

Concluding Remarks Successful Zero Breakdown Maintenance is thus built on the following
Hall mark fundamentals:
The zero breakdown equipment needs quality design, low-stress and less fatigued parts kept in
good health.

Zero breakdown maintenance is to stop human error from causing plant and equipment failures
needs a team of Talented Top Persons who can get involved right from Indenting, Procurement,
Selection & the Design Stage, Know the Financials, returns on Asset Capital Cost and can
undertake work in pressure conditions with a good team work with appropriate updating in
knowledge for the Vital Equipment, processes, Processes, economics of outsourcing
Maintenance, IT’s role, Removing operational risks of the Asset & Plant for benchmarking the
Performance with integrated operational risk management across the equipment life cycle , and
the Best Practices in Maintenance and Reliability.

A Parting suggestion Organizations need to redefine what businesses they're in and want to
be in, re-evaluate processes, rationalize systems, benchmark and measure, and create new
sources of revenue out of its Operations.

A Dynamic role of an Asset Manager can help connect silos, help standardize and analyze
what's going on, and build-in agility in the Organization. It is a time full of opportunities &
Challenges for An Asset Manager. The Asset Manager has to be more innovative

Navigating Personnel issues and Continuous knowledge updating comes down to effectively in
managing & getting the best returns from the critical assets – by Zero Breakdown Strategies of
World-Class Maintenance Management Benchmarked Practices.
 *****

About the Author: BE Tech. & MBA (Fin), PGDPM & PGDMM from Delhi University. Export
Mgmt. from Oxford. Over 4 decades of Experience in diversified sectors covering Energy
including Solar & other Renewable Energy, (Ex. BHEL), Water Sector, Agriculture,
Infrastructure. Widely travelled abroad & in India including some Foreign Postings.
National Jt. Secretary of IIPE Contact: ypchawla@gmail.com ; yp.chawla@apollotyres.com
98107-08707
Written Papers on diversified subjects-
Energy Sector – Conventional, Renewable, opportunities in Climate Control, India’s
Sustainability thru Renewable Energy Growth in Rural & Urban
Zero Breakdown Maintenance in Steel Sector. Waste Management in Steel Plants
Iron Ore Beneficiation; Waste Management; Irrigation Sector; Water Sector
Maintenance Practices in Global Economic Meltdown
Coal Quality – a New Paradigm
etc. etc.
Disclaimer – While every effort has been to taken to ensure that the published information is authentic & reliable; and has been
used or seen by the author successfully, the author or the company undertake no liability for any damage, accidents, financial
loss or expense arising from the contents of this paper or a different behavior of the Asset Management so described, which are
generic and offers Princoples, and as such may be taken up after due diligence, specific to your industry needs.