Maintenance and Reliability Best Practices. Ramesh Gulati
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group. It has been gratifying to support ISO 55000 standards effort as a part of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) – TC251/ASTM/ANSI. I have met many great professionals nationally and globally while working on the development of ISO standards, including TC 56-Sustainability.
Thanks to my friends and staff at my publisher, Industrial Press (IP), who help to ensure that this book is a top-quality product. I am very thankful to John Carleo, who introduced me to the IP family and others, including Robert Weinstein and Janet Romano, and now a new team headed by Judy Bass, copyeditor Judy Duguid, and compositor Patty Wallenburg. As we have challenges at the plant, publishing is no different. I’m thankful to Judy and her staff at IP for accommodating my delays in delivery of promised manuscripts while still meeting the deadlines and continuing to provide me their support.
Finally, I can’t thank my family enough. My wife Prabha, daughter Sona, and her husband Ajay Sharma have given their continued support, without which I wouldn’t be able to finish this valuable work or complete my other commitments.
Lastly, I want to express thanks to you—all who have known or come to know me from over the years for your continued support and blessing. I also firmly believe that my sons, Vikas and Anoop, who are with HIM, have been watching me and us with great happiness and showering us with their blessing. This book is dedicated to them. I’m fortunate to be able to share something of value with my fellow professionals.
Humbly,
Ramesh
I have not failed. I have found 10,000 ways that won’t work.
—THOMAS EDISON
After reading this chapter, you will be able to understand:
• What best practices are and why we care
• What best practices have to do with maintenance and reliability
• Key maintenance and reliability (M&R) and asset management (AM) terms and benchmark examples
Also, you will be able to assess your knowledge about the fundamentals of maintenance, reliability, and asset management best practices by taking a test.
Introduction: What Is a Best Practice?
The notion of a best practice is not new. Frederick Taylor, the father of modern management, said nearly 100 years ago, “Among the various methods and implements used in each element of each trade, there is always one method and one implement which is quicker and better than any of the rest.” In recent times, this viewpoint has come to be known as the “one best way” or “best practice.”
“Best practice” is an idea that asserts there is a technique, method,or process that is more effective at delivering the desired outcome than any other technique, method, or process. With this technique, a project or an activity such as maintenance can be completed with fewer problems and unforeseen complications. Simply, a technique, method, or process may be deemed a best practice when it produces superior results.
A best practice is typically a documented practice used by the most respected, competitive, and profitable organizations. When implemented appropriately, it should improve performance and efficiency in a specific area. We must understand that best practice is a relative term. To some, it may be a routine or a standard practice; to others, it may be a best practice because the current practice or method is not effective in producing the desired results.
History is filled with examples of people who were unwilling to accept or adopt the industry standard as the best way to do anything. The enormous technological changes since the Industrial Revolution bear witness to this fact. For example, at one time horses were considered the best form of transportation, even after “horseless carriages”were invented. Today, most people drive a gasoline (petrol), electric, or hybrid vehicle—all improvements on the original horseless carriage. In turn, concerns over oil costs, supplies, and global warming are driving the next group of transportation improvements.
In the 1968 Summer Olympics, a young athlete named Dick Fosbury revolutionized the high-jumping technique. Using an approach that became known as the Fosbury Flop, he won the gold medal by going over the bar back-first instead of head-first. Had he relied on “standard practice,” as did all his fellow competitors, he probably would not have won the event. Instead, by ignoring standard practice, he raised the performance bar—literally—for everyone. The purpose of any standard is to provide a kind of reference. Therefore, that standard must be “What is possible?” and not “What is somebody else doing?”
In real-world applications, a best practice is a very useful concept. Despite the need to improve processes with changing times, a best practice is considered by some simply to be a business buzzword used to describe the process of developing and following a standard way of doing activities that any organization can use or implement to get better results. Implementing best practices in the area of maintenance, reliability, and asset management can help an organization to:
• Increase output with the same set of assets
• Reduce the need for capital replacements
• Reduce maintenance cost per unit
• Reduce the total cost per unit of output
• Improve performance—cost, productivity, and safety
• Reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO)
• Increase competitiveness
• Increase market share
A best practice tends to spread throughout an industry after success has been demonstrated. However, demonstrated best practices could be slow to implement, even within an organization. According to the American Productivity and Quality Center, the three main barriers to the adoption of a best practice are a lack of:
1. Knowledge about current best practices
2. Motivation to make changes for their adoption
3. Knowledge and skills required to do so
The objective of this book is to provide knowledge of best practices in the areas of maintenance, reliability, and asset management. Cost-effectively implementing and sustaining best practices requires a culture of reliability excellence that is a journey and takes time. In later chapters, we will discuss what we can do to eliminate barriers and create a sustainable reliability culture in an organization.
Asset
A component or device, software, or a system that has potential or actual value to the organization. Value can be tangible or intangible, financial or nonfinancial.
Asset Management
An organizational process that maximizes value from an asset during its life.
Benchmark
A standard measurement or reference that forms the basis for comparison. This performance level is recognized as the standard of excellence for a specific business process.
Best Practice
A technique, method, or process that is more effective at delivering the desired outcome than any other technique, method, or process. It is a documented practice used by the most respected, competitive, and profitable organizations. This practice usually becomes a benchmark.
Maintenance
The act of maintaining or the work of keeping an asset in proper operating condition. Also called capacity assurance.