Best practice in asset care drives maintenance
September 1st 2008

MCP Consulting outlines how a structured approach to the efficient maintenance of a company's assets can occur within the remit of 'best practice' and PAS55

Industry is gradually realising that a poorly maintained asset, can over its lifetime, cost far more to operate than one which has been included in a structured, asset management programme.

To achieve the highest efficiency in asset management requires the adoption of Best Practice, which is defined as 'the systems, methods and working processes that enable an organisation to cost effectively manage, monitor, measure and control its assets throughout their life cycle'. Many companies are still struggling to achieve this.

Delivering efficiency in maintenance requires a holistic approach which incorporates both maintenance and manufacturing departments working together to drive improvements. A comprehensive programme is required that will increase efficiency and production output. The AMIS (Asset Management Improvement Service) programme provides the tools, techniques and mechanisms for delivering significant production and maintenance improvements. Typical results of such programmes will deliver:

• Reduced cost of goods produced
• Reduced maintenance costs

These results are demonstrated by Overall Equipment Effectiveness levels (OEE) of 80%. Maintenance cost % capital value in the range 3-7% depending on industry sectors.

The main programme elements

• AMIS audit assessment
• Implementation planning
• Implementation guidelines
• Training materials
• Performance monitoring

The first step – how do you assess where you are?

The starting point is to access current status, this is achieved by use of the AMIS audit. Originally sponsored by the DTI, now the DBERR, MCP Consulting and Training developed the AMIS standard assessment and audit tool. AMIS is used to determine the degree of compliance against a Best Practice model. Since its inception, over 4000 sites worldwide have used the model to build effective management of their physical assets.

This is the foundation of the programme. It provides the means to measure, on an objective basis, the approach to maintenance and asset management. It is structured around a Best Practice model and incorporates the requirements for good practice described in PAS 55.

What is PAS 55?

PAS 55 is the British Standards Institution's 'Publicly Available Specification' for the optimised management of physical assets and infrastructure – it provides clear definitions and a 21-point requirements specification for joined-up, optimised and whole-life asset management systems.

AMIS is designed to assess and provide scores for the key aspects of asset management and operation. This will include:

• Work management
• Maintenance effectiveness and productivity
• Equipment reliability
• Manufacturing equipment management
• Spare parts management
• Performance management
• Workplace organisation
• Contractor management

The assessment will identify strengths and weaknesses and provide the basis for developing the improvement plan. It will also provide a series of benchmark scores against industry sector specific results from over 4000 maintenance improvement programmes.

Implementation guidelines:

Answering the question: how do I implement best practice ?

The guidelines provide the key information required for implementation. Its purpose is to identify the roles and responsibilities for each element of the Best Practice; the stages of implementation and the detailed step by step activities. The implementation guideline is a guideline designed to allow individual sites to develop their implementation programme which meets their specific operational requirements and differences while maintaining the framework of Best Practice.

For example, in Plant A all work orders are collected by hand held data collection devices while in Plant B all work orders are paper based. The data collected will be the same only the method is different.

These guidelines answer the question "How do I implement the Best Practice?"

How your staff can implement best practice through training

The programme contains a comprehensive portfolio of training materials designed to provide awareness and understanding of best practice, they include:

• Learning in the topic concepts
• Practical examples
• Exercises

Each module is designed to enable trainees to implement Best Practice and deliver improvements and create ownership of where they have developed.

A Best Practice Reference manual and a Guidelines document (which answers the question "What do I have to do?") are also included.

Performance monitoring

This provides the means to measure performance and drive improvements through performance management and continuous improvement.

The appropriate equipment and maintenance key performance indicators are selected based on the industry sector and business needs and a balanced scorecard developed.

The process for reviewing actual performance and initiating improvement actions is provided which can include and improvement ideas tracking system.

Why you need efficiency in maintenance

The need to demonstrate and deliver high performance increases daily. More and more organisations are coming under the scrutiny of external regulators who require demonstration of Good and Best Practices.

At a company level, boards of directors are required to demonstrate their responsibility for the assets and ensure a safe working environment which generates the required return on investment.

Applications such as the AMIS Best Practice Programme helps meet these requirements by:

• Defining consistent ways of working
• Ensuring a process for effective management providing the basis for driving increased return on investment
• Typical improvement programmes for an average sized site, employing 250-300 people can be in the order of £150-300K……A very worthwhile benefit.

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