23 Mar 2015
A batch reactor is widely used in the chemical and process industry to perform several operations such as providing an environment of chemical reactions, crystallization, product mixing, dissolution of solids, polymerization, liquid to liquid extraction as well as batch distillation. The equipment comprises of tank that has an integrated heating and cooling system as well as an agitator. The main advantages of using a batch unit is it ability to perform various function without the need to change or break containment. Toxic and highly potent compounds can be processed in the batch unit.
a) Explain why you would regard this batch chemical reactor as a plant unit.
According to the definition of a chemical plant, a plant is comprised of several units that are interconnected by piping. Materials move in and out of these units. These materials or raw materials are converted into different products. In this example, the batch reactor is a separate unit of the plant which processes the raw materials introduced before feeding them to the centrifuge system. This batch reactor is also the principle chemical converter in this plant.
b) Explain your reasons for concluding that this unit is critical for production
This unit is critical for the production in this process because
b) Extract any user requirements for this designated unit from the plant description. Are there any production ‘windows'?
The main user information is;
d) Extract any corporate requirements for this unit from the plant description
Some of the corporate requirements for this unit obtained from the text are:
e) Extract any legislative requirements for this unit from the plant description.
The legal requirements include;
f) Table 1 shows the existing life plan for this unit. Comment on whether you think that some of the tasks designated for the scheduled shutdown could be completed during production windows or when the plant is on-line. Could any of the tasks designated for completion during production windows be completed on-line?
From the company maintenance guidelines, it can be seen that the company stipulates a 16 hour shutdown for the batch reactor during it 40th week of operation each year. Various test and maintenance activities are carried out to ensure that the batch reactor archives 25 years life and the gear boxes give a 15 year working life. In addition to the maintenance activities, the industry should be kept clean and painted to ensure that it passes the pharmaceutical inspectors test and prevent unnecessary shutdown.
The maintenance activities should however be scheduled in such a manner that they don't interfere or affect the operation of the plant thereby maximizing the profits obtained from the production line. This calls for the scheduling of light maintenance operation to be done when the plant is still operating. Based on this classification, three maintenance operation are carried out for this batch reactor these are
these are maintenance activities that run concurrent with the production line. The maintenance activities are performed when the machine is still in use. Proper scheduling must be done to ensure that these activities are well planned for. The online and offline maintenance windows should also not coincide.
These are maintenance activities that are performed when batch reactor is switched off or some interruption has to occur the machine is shut off and a part in the system is removed or repaired. Back up systems are used.
 this is a user defined period of time in which automatic maintenance activities are carried out. During the maintenance window, the need for maintenance activity is first evaluated, and if the system does not meet the required parameters a maintenance activity is carried out. If the required conditions are met the maintenance activity is not carried out (IBM, 2009).
The activity for this batch reactor can be scheduled as follows
Activity | Comments |
CV1, replacing trim | Currently the machine is shutdown before this maintenance activity is performed, based on the time taken to perform this activity and the frequency, it is best that it is done during the production window. |
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Agitator coupling | Can be done when the production is progressing (online) as the process takes a short time and is performed often. |
SV1, pressure test and inspection | This is a rigorous activity and can only be performed when the reactor is shutoff. |
Agitator visual check | Does not require to be performed during shut off, it can be done as the machine operates (online) and can also be scheduled during the production window. It can also be performed when the agitator coupling is being checked |
Internal inspection Pressure test | Should be done when the equipment is shutoff as it is a rigorous activity and takes a long time |
Pressure test and inspection | It can be done during the production window. |
Visual checks for leaks Leak test Vibration monitoring of the motor and pump bearing | Should be done on daily basis. The pump motor should also be checked as the leak tests are done. This will help monitor the pump. The checks are done by the plant operator. |
g) Analyze the recorded jobs from the computer maintenance management system
(CMMS) for this unit. (These jobs are shown in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet called Worklist.xls.) Is there any evidence which confirms that the life plan is being carried out? Is there any evidence to say if the life plan is effective or not?
To check and analyze the data recorded on the computer maintenance management systems for this unit. The different maintenance activity was evaluated and the frequency of these activities, as well as the time taken to complete this activity was evaluated. The excel data was first sorted into the various groups of maintenance activities. The obtained data was as follows
For the agitator coupling the Visual check - annual ticket for weekly task were as follows
8/8/1996 | 4.33 | 5.2 | Planned |
8/8/1997 | 4.33 | 5.2 | Planned |
8/8/1998 | 4.33 | 5.2 | Planned |
8/8/1999 | 4.33 | 5.2 | Planned |
8/8/2000 | 4.33 | 5.2 | Planned |
8/8/2001 | 4.33 | 5.2 | Planned |
8/8/2002 | 4.33 | 5.2 | Planned |
8/8/2003 | 4.33 | 5.2 | Planned |
From the table the maintenance activities were carried out as per the schedule and the activities took a longer time than was actually planned for. were as planned for.
For the agitator visual check, the table is as shown in the figure below
3/3/1996 | 2 | 4 | Planned |
3/4/2002 | 2 | 4 | Planned |
The activity interval time was 6 years between subsequent maintenance activities and this was carried out as per the life plan specifications. They however took more time than was specified.
For the oil seals, the maintenance information was as shown in the table below;
Check oil seals and for leaks - annual ticket for weekly task | 7/7/1996 | 8.67 | 10.4 | Planned |
Check oil seals and for leaks - annual ticket for weekly task | 7/7/1997 | 8.67 | 10.4 | Planned |
Check oil seals and for leaks - annual ticket for weekly task | 7/7/1998 | 8.67 | 10.4 | Planned |
Check oil seals and for leaks - annual ticket for weekly task | 7/7/1999 | 8.67 | 10.4 | Planned |
Check oil seals and for leaks - annual ticket for weekly task | 7/7/2000 | 8.67 | 10.4 | Planned |
Check oil seals and for leaks - annual ticket for weekly task | 7/7/2001 | 8.67 | 10.4 | Planned |
Check oil seals and for leaks - annual ticket for weekly task | 7/7/2002 | 8.67 | 10.4 | Planned |
Again the time taken was longer, however the maintenance was according to the life plan.
For the vibration monitor gearbox and checking of the motor bearing, the data for year 1996 and 2002 is as shown in the table below;
Vibration monitor gearbox & motor bearings | 2/10/1996 | 1 | 2 | Planned |
Vibration monitor gearbox & motor bearings | 3/10/1996 | 1 | 2 | Planned |
Vibration monitor gearbox & motor bearings | 4/10/1996 | 1 | 2 | Planned |
Vibration monitor gearbox & motor bearings | 5/10/1996 | 1 | 2 | Planned |
Vibration monitor gearbox & motor bearings | 6/10/1996 | 1 | 2 | Planned |
Vibration monitor gearbox & motor bearings | 7/10/1996 | 1 | 2 | Planned |
Vibration monitor gearbox & motor bearings | 8/10/1996 | 1 | 2 | Planned |
Vibration monitor gearbox & motor bearings | 9/10/1996 | 1 | 2 | Planned |
Vibration monitor gearbox & motor bearings | 10/10/1996 | 1 | 2 | Planned |
Vibration monitor gearbox & motor bearings | 11/10/1996 | 1 | 2 | Planned |
Vibration monitor gearbox & motor bearings | 12/10/1996 | 1 | 2 | Planned |
For the 2002 data
Vibration monitor gearbox & motor bearings | 1/10/2002 | 1 | 2 | Planned |
Vibration monitor gearbox & motor bearings | 2/10/2002 | 1 | 2 | Planned |
Vibration monitor gearbox & motor bearings | 3/10/2002 | 1 | 2 | Planned |
Vibration monitor gearbox & motor bearings | 4/10/2002 | 1 | 2 | Planned |
Vibration monitor gearbox & motor bearings | 5/10/2002 | 1 | 2 | Planned |
Vibration monitor gearbox & motor bearings | 6/10/2002 | 1 | 2 | Planned |
Vibration monitor gearbox & motor bearings | 7/10/2002 | 1 | 2 | Planned |
Vibration monitor gearbox & motor bearings | 8/10/2002 | 1 | 2 | Planned |
Vibration monitor gearbox & motor bearings | 9/10/2002 | 1 | 2 | Planned |
Vibration monitor gearbox & motor bearings | 10/10/2002 | 1 | 2 | Planned |
Vibration monitor gearbox & motor bearings | 11/10/2002 | 1 | 2 | Planned |
Vibration monitor gearbox & motor bearings | 12/10/2002 | 1 | 2 | Planned |
Again the life plan was strictly followed and all maintenance activities planned were carried out every month.
For the pressure test (SV2), again the maintenance activities followed the life plan
Pressure test and inspect | 9/6/1996 | 2 | 3 | Planned |
Pressure test and inspect | 9/6/1997 | 2 | 3 | Planned |
Pressure test and inspect | 9/6/1998 | 2 | 3 | Planned |
Pressure test and inspect | 9/6/1999 | 2 | 3 | Planned |
Pressure test and inspect | 9/6/2000 | 2 | 3 | Planned |
Pressure test and inspect | 9/6/2001 | 2 | 3 | Planned |
Pressure test and inspect | 9/6/2002 | 2 | 3 | Planned |
For the pressure test and inspection to determine if reconditioning was required, the maintenance was as scheduled and took place after 6 years as shown in the table below; however the time for the activity was longer than it was expected.
Pressure test and inspect | 3/3/1996 | 2 | 3 | Planned |
Pressure test and inspect | 3/4/2002 | 2 | 3 | Planned |
For the steam jacket, the life plan was followed but again the allocated time was short.
Despite the carefully planned maintenance activities, there were some reactive maintenance activities these resulted from detection of anomalies in the system. Some of these activities are shown in the table below.
Component | Item | Activity | Date | Standard time | Actual time | Type of job |
Reactor | P1 | Replace leaking mechanical seal | 7/2/1996 | 4 | 4 | Reactive |
Centrifuge | P2 | Replace mechanical seal | 1/18/1997 | 2 | 3 | Reactive |
Reactor | T1 | Re-calibrate temperature sensor | 9/1/1998 | 2 | 3 | Reactive |
Raw Material Storage | P3 | Replace seal | 11/16/1998 | 5 | 5 | Reactive |
Centrifuge | P2 | Replace mechanical seal | 3/29/1999 | 2 | 4 | Reactive |
Centrifuge | P2 | Replace mechanical seal | 5/18/1999 | 2 | 2 | Reactive |
Raw Material Storage | P3 | Repair plinth - impact damage | 10/1/1999 | 4 | 4 | Reactive |
Raw Material Storage | P3 | Repair seized pump | 10/3/2000 | 12 | 12 | Reactive |
Reactor | T1 | Re-calibrate temperature sensor | 4/17/2001 | 2 | 2 | Reactive |
Centrifuge | T3 | Replace temperature sensor | 6/25/2002 | 2 | 2 | Reactive |
From this analysis it can be seen that maintenance operations were done as scheduled and planned. However, most of the activities took a longer time than was scheduled. The planned maintenance operations were not wholly effective as reactive maintenance operation were performed.
h) Use your experience in conjunction with Figures 1 & 2, the plant description and the data from the CMMS to analyze the unit into its maintenance causing items
From the diagrams 1 and 2, the main areas that are likely to fail include
The unit comprises of the safety valves, the steam jacket, the steam jacket safety valve, the
Globe control valve etc. these units are bound to fail and cause critical damage to the equipment as well as the manpower manning the plant. Their maintenance is critical.
Comprises of the agitator, the agitator motor, the motor gearbox and coupling. The gearbox and the drive mechanism are bound to fail due continuous use as well as the forces acting on the agitator. Bearing wear are also likely to cause vibration on the shaft.
The reactor unit, the reactor safety valve SV2, the safety valve discharge pipe work is also likely to cause plant failure and should be checked regularly.
The centrifuge system is also critical in the operation of this plant and is likely to cause major maintenance problems. Some of the maintenance checks include; testing the motor bearing, checking the vibration on the machine, checking the wear on the seals of the centrifuge, physical check of the centrifuge as well as checking its drive motor and the valves leading to the pump and out of the pump.
The failure of the temperature alarm to detect increase in temperature beyond 125 degrees. This is due to a faulty temperature sensor. This calls for regular temperature sensor control, calibration and testing if the system works according to the set parameters.
Checking of the pipe work for any leakage should also be done. Checks should be done regularly.
Pump delivering materials to the centrifugal unit should be checked. Some checks include the driving motor vibration tests, the motor starter tests as well as the functioning of the motor tests. Tests should be performed every month through physical checking of the motor. The agitator motor should also be checked to determine if it's working at its rated torque and speed.
The steam trap and the heat exchanger should also be regularly checked, this is because it cools the steam efficiently. The condenser should be checked for any leakages, blockages, wear, temperature and heat dissipation as well as its performance and efficiency. Tests involve both the physical checks as well as specialized tests using thermometers and thermocouple sensors to detect if the heat loss in the steam trap is sufficient enough.
The warehouse used to store the raw materials should be regularly inspected to ensure that the materials are not contaminated. Presence of excess water, humidity, temperature and pests may damage the raw materials resulting to inferior products.
The raw material feed mechanism should be checked to ensure delivery of materials to the batch reactor with ease. The motor used to run the feedstock should be checked, the physical leakages should also be checked and other component of the feed mechanism. The test should be done every month.
Involves the Physical inspection of the plant to ensure that all the parts are not rusted or the paint has not been scourged. These tests are obligatory to ensure conformity with the pharmaceutical inspector's rules and regulation. The inspection can be done every year.
i) Develop your own life plan for these maintenance causing items using the task selection logic for Reliability Centered Maintenance
For the implementation of RCM the following main tasks are carried out;
The main equipments to perform analysis on are;
· The batch reactor
· The centrifuge
· The steam jacket
· The centrifuge motor
· The raw materials handling equipment
The potential problems that are likely to occur are
BATCH REACTOR
· The agitator motor failure
· The agitator gearbox failure
· The agitator coupling failure
· Centrifuge discharge pipe failure
· The centrifuge pump may fail
· The pump motor failure
· The piping system may fail
· Failure of the reactor safety valve
· Failure of the safety valve
· The temperature alarm system failure
· The failure of the pressurized steam pipe network.
· Failure of the temperature controller
· The globe control valve failure
· The steam trap
· Failure of the inlet pipe work
· Failure of the motors conveying the raw materials
The table below shows the maintenance strategy developed after conducting a RCM analysis.
Table 1: RCM analysis
Item | Causes of failure | Maintenance activity | Frequency of maintenance | Time for maintenance | |
The agitator | The motor | (1)Brush wear (2)Winding may overheat (3)The motor starters may fail | Checking the motor | 3 months | 2 hours |
The gearbox (oil gearbox ) | (1)The viscosity of oil may reduce lubricity | Testing the oil viscosity | 3 months | 30 minutes | |
The gearbox (oil seals ) | (1)Leaking oil (2)Hardened oil seals lead to leaks | Checking the seals | Weekly | 30 minutes | |
Vibration monitor on gearbox | Vibration due to imbalanced rotating shafts | Vibration analysis | After two weeks | 1 hour | |
The agitator coupling | (i)Coupling may wear out. (ii)Friction may lead to the coupling cracking | Checking | Weekly | 10 minutes | |
Reactor | Checking the physical condition of the reactor | Checks for leaks and paint wear | Visual inspect on | Every month | 10 minutes |
Reactor piping | Check for leaks | Visual inspection | After 6 months | 2 hours | |
Reactor safety valve | Perform pressure tests | Test if it opens when a given pressure is exceeded | After 3 years | 3 hours | |
Steam jacket | Jacket safety valve SV2 | Leakage | Pressure test | Yearly | 6 hours |
Globe control valve | leakage | Visual check | Yearly | 3 hours | |
Steam trap | Leakages | Inspection | 6 months | 2 hours | |
Piping | Leakages and painting wear | Inspection | 6 months | 30 minutes | |
Temperature controls | Thermocouple Calibration | Malfunction | Testing and calibration | 3 months | 2 hours |
Temperature alarm | Malfunction | Testing it response | 3 months | 2 hours | |
Temperature controller | Malfunction | Testing | 6 months | 2 hours | |
Centrifuge system | Discharge pump | Leakages and vibrations on pump bearings | Vibration testing and leakages | Monthly | 2 hours |
Piping | Leakages | Visual inspection | Monthly | 30 minutes | |
Centrifuge motor | Vibration and the wear on bearings | Inspection and vibration analysis | Monthly | 1 hour | |
Raw materials storage | Warehouse | temperature, humidity and other condition | Testing of temperature, humidity and other parameters | Monthly | 1 hour |
Piping or conveyor belts | Motor failure and leakages | Vibration testing and visual inspection | 3 months | 2 hours |
Table 2: continuation of table 1
Item | Maintenance person | Methods of performing the activity | Action taken | |||
The agitator | Online | Window | Shutdown | |||
The motor | Fitter | Y | Tighten any loose couplings | |||
The gearbox (oil gearbox ) | Operator | Y | Replace oil | |||
The gearbox (oil seals ) | Operator | Y | Replace if worn out | |||
Vibration monitor on gearbox | Fitter | Y | Swap and repair the broken unit | |||
The agitator coupling | Fitter | Y | Tighten | |||
Reactor | Checking the physical condition of the reactor | Operator | Y | Paint/ repair leaking area | ||
Reactor piping | Operator | Y | repair leaking pipes | |||
Reactor safety valve | Plant Inspector | Y | Repair if required | |||
Steam jacket | Jacket safety valve SV2 | Plant inspector | Y | Replace if worn out or malfunctioning | ||
Globe control valve | Plant/boiler inspector | Y | Replace if worn out | |||
Steam trap | Plant/boiler inspector | Y | Repair any malfunctioning parts | |||
Piping | Operator | Y | Repair leakages | |||
Temperature controls | Thermocouple Calibration | Fitter | Y | Adjust the sensors | ||
Temperature alarm | fitter | Y | Repair if not working | |||
Temperature controller | Fitter | Y | Replace if malfunctioning | |||
Centrifuge system | Discharge pump | Operator | Y | Swap and repair | ||
Piping | Operator | Y | Repair leaking pipes | |||
Centrifuge motor | Fitter | Y | Swap and repair broken unit | |||
Raw materials storage | Warehouse | Fitter | Y | Repair when the batch reactor is processing for 10 hours | ||
Piping or conveyor belts | Y | Repair when the batch reactor is processing for 10 hours |
Compare and contrast your life plan with the one you described in f). Comment on any similarities and differences.
When compared to the strategy in table 1, the reliability centered maintenance developed is more detailed and identifies all the functional areas of the plant as well as stipulates method of solving the main maintenance problems. By conducting a reliability analysis using RCM, it is possible to identify the major areas of machine failure as well develop methods to curtail the effects caused by these breakdowns.
a) Describe the philosophy of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM).
Definition:total productive maintenance is a type of maintenance activity that is productive and is implemented by all the employees working within a given organization. TPM utilizes all the workers within a given organization raging from the machine operators to those in senor management levels. All the companies workforce participate in the process of improving the equipment. The main goal of TPM is to maximize on equipment productivity, availability, reliability, maximize on the manufactured product quality by minimizing defects, wastes and loses, engaging knowledge, skills and abilities of the people to the production process (Sondalini, 2009). Some of the department that are mostly concerned with TPM are maintenance, design engineering, project engineering, facilities, operations, construction engineering , finance and accounting, plant and site management, purchasing as well as inventory and stores.
This goal ensures that all the equipment work and performs according to the design specifications. This is the main area of TPM and the major goal. If the equipment does not perform according to the design specification, then all the other goals are valueless. The said equipment must operate according to the design speed, produce at the design rate, produce quality products and all the design parameters of performance must be strictly adhered to.
It reduces the maintenance activities performed by the equipment. Early equipment maintenance reduces the cost of later maintenance activates. The time for maintenance is calculated by engineers through the evaluation of the data that is availed. For example, early cars had maintenance done after 3040,000 miles while the year 2000 cars have their maintenance done after 100,000 hours.
The employees must be trained to impact the necessary skills and knowledge on them. Proper training ensures that the employees maintain the equipment in the most effective manner. After training of the employees, there is need to train the managers to open their ears to employees and plant operator ideas, especially on maintenance strategies. This fosters corporation by the employees and the management in improving the maintenance operations (reliabilityweb.com, 2008).
Plant operators play a pivotal role in maintaining most of the machines. 10% to 40% of the total maintenance operations are carried out by the plant operator in addition to the fact that they can easily identify and correct small faults occurring on the machines.
This goal ensures that maintenance operations are carried out as per the planned maintenance schedule. This enables firms to archive low cost maintenance. This goal also ensures that there are no waste in the maintenance and ensures lean maintenance practices are adopted. The secondary goal is to ensure that maintenance activities have minimal impact on the uptime or unavailability of the equipment. Planning, scheduling and backlog control must be done to avoid downtime.
TPM originated in Japan and was designed to support the total Quality Management Strategy. The development of this strategy was in response to the Japanese realization that their industries would not produce effectively unless their equipments were properly maintained. TPM focused on preventive maintenance and was introduced in 1950. It resulted to the formulation of high quality products and the equipment suffered less breakdowns. In the 1960's TPM focused on productive maintenance and realization of the need for reliability, maintenance and efficiency in the design of the plant. In the 1970, the word “total” was added to the productive maintenance. The principle has also been applied by multinational companies such as Toyota Company.
There are four stages that are mainly followed during the implementation of TPM. These are
Has several stages, these stages include:
All concerned parties are brought together; the suppliers are advocated to supply quality raw materials. Customers of the company products are also invited.
It involves the implementation of the 8 pillars of TPM these pillars are represented in the diagram shown below (Robinson and Ginder, 1995).
At this stage, the TPM activities have reached maturity stage and the TPM organizational structure can be applied. The organizational stage for TPM is as shown in the figure below;
The main advantages of using TPM are
(b) Case Study for Total Productive Maintenance
The MRC bearing, a leading supplier of aerospace industry detected a problem with their orders as their customers were pushing for shorter lead times and a reduction in the costs. 80% of their total maintenance hours were dedicated to pushing for emergency work orders. About 660 hours were spent on unplanned maintenance on one area only. After the application of TPM maintenance strategy, the number of unplanned/ emergency maintenance operation reduced to less than thirty hours.
The MRC started with the identification of the critical areas that required changes. These were maintenance areas that were experiencing chronic problems. This was followed by introducing the TPM to the core management and the employees. At first, the employees were skeptical about TPM, but the core management supported the idea. Customers also supported the idea and also facilitated the initial meetings.
MRC began week long training on TPM principles. They began by cleaning, inspecting, lubricating and performing various corrective works. Machines were cleaned, painted and lubricated. The workers got anxious about the scheduling of the machines for TPM events
One of the workers, an electrician who was involved in the TPM said that after the first stages of implementation, the machines were more reliable and the physical changes were more readily identifiable. Maintenance activity that used to occur like ‘every day activities' now started taking longer, said, Rick Staples, an electrician with the firm. Also, the workers who were skeptical about the TPM maintenance started to accept the strategy and realized its beneficial aspects in curtailing maintenance activities.
The MRC formed teams called Equipment Improvement Teams (EIT) to work towards resolving issues related to maintenance. This was critical in the adoption of TPM. Equipment with chronic problems started to improve. Some equipment which used to breakdown on monthly basis and took like four days to fix and were very frustrating to see them break down after repairs now took long to break down. On application of TPM on aforementioned machine, the technician realized that the manufacturer of the machine had put a sub standard coupling and by upgrading this coupling, the machine efficiency increased by sixteen percent. After some years, the problem was completely eliminated. The success of reducing maintenance operation on this machine showed that TPM is an effective tool for reducing maintenance operations, said Forts.
Eight TPM activities followed, the MRC expanded their TPM efforts to the second facility. The company also created a TPM steering committee at the second facility and created a policy group to coordinate the efforts of both facilities. The company president was also involved in driving the TPM agenda forward (Maintenance Resources, 1999).
The success of TPM was greatly associated to the support from the management team and the personnel working at the firm. MRP trained ten TPM coordinators who were dedicated to check TPM activities one week of every month. The TPM strategy was very successful in correcting long standing maintenance problems. This helped in the reduction of scrap and realization of machine full utilization capabilities, improvement of quality of products developed, higher profits as well as reduction of maintenance costs (Maintenance Resources, 1999).
The main aspects that made this project successful was
· Ensuring that the predictive maintenance operations are put in place these include vibrations analysis
· Creating standards to aid in equipment cleaning, lubrication, daily inspection and checks.
· Cleaning the machines as well as continuous and timely inspections
· Collecting data for all downtimes
· Creating of equipment improvement teams
· Creating TPM area coordinators
(d) Describe how Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) is applied to a section of a plant.
Reliability Centered Maintenance is a step by step instructional tool that aids in the analysis of a system into all its failure modes and this helps in the definition of the methods of preventing the failures before the occur(IDCON, 2009). Reliability Centered Maintenance provides a framework for analyzing the functions of various machines and the determination of potential failures that are likely to occur. The main aim of RCM is conservation of system functions rather than preservation of the equipment. RCM aids in the development of scheduled maintenance activities that aids in providing acceptable levels of operation and in maintaining acceptable levels of risk. Maintenance activities are performed efficiently and in a cost effective manner. Reliability Centered Maintenance can also be defined as the process used to establish the maintenance requirement of any physical asset in its operating conditions (Plant Maintenance Resource Center, 2009).
SAE JA1011 standards define seven areas that are necessary for the implementation of Reliability Centered Maintenance. These are;
The first practical application of RCM was used by, Matteson, Stanley Nowlan and Howard Heap (Nowlan, 1978). They used the process to describe the optimum maintenance requirement for aircrafts. After the publication of this paper, the RCM concept became popular. The studies done on basis of RCM helped to prove that specific components of an aircraft had a specific lifetime and reliable service. After this life service, the component should be removed and replaced. The main paradigm shifts defined and inspired by RCM are;
As the utilization of RCM developed, standards were defined; the most common standards used today include the SAE JA1011 used in the evaluation criteria for Reliable Centered Maintenance process. This software is currently used by organization to ensure that the software and services used to support RCM conform to those stipulated by RCM standards thereby ensuring the possibility of archiving major benefits from this program (SAE JA1011, 1999).
The basic procedure followed during the implementation of RCM is as stipulated below
This involves the preparation for analysis, preparation of appropriate cross functional team; definition of failure, and definition of the scope of analysis. (Weibull.com, 2000).
Time and resources are spent at this stage to determine the equipment on which RCM is going to be applied. The selection of the equipment is based on the safety requirement, legal and economic importance, usage and other parameters that may help in this critical evaluation. Two methods have been adopted for this selection; these are the use of selection questions where a set of YES/NO questions are designed to help in the identification of the equipment that requires RCM. The other method is the use of critical factors which involves the evaluation of equipments in terms of safety, operation, impact on the environment, quality control as well as its maintenance requirement.
The main goal of RCM is the preserving the functionality of the equipment. It is important to identify these functions so as to identify the functional failures that can occur around the stated functions. For example, if an equipment provides a given chemical at a given pressure. Then, if it does deliver less quantity at a lower or higher pressure, this will be a likely indication of a fault.
The evaluation of the effects of failure helps in the choosing and prioritization of the appropriate maintenance strategy to be applied. Logic diagram can be used for this evaluation. The structure helps in the differentiating between the hidden and evident effects and the consequences of these effects on the environment, operation, economic as well as safety issues.
By determining the failure mode of given equipment, it is possible to determine the best maintenance strategy to use to curtail the failure. The SAE JA1011 guide provides details that help in this evaluation (Anthony, 2003).
This involves stipulating the maintenance strategy to follow to reduce the equipment failure. The strategy to employ is mainly determined by predefined logic diagrams, experience, costs, individual judgment or a combination of these and many more factors.
After scheduling the maintenance operations, the solution sets are usually packaged into a workable plan. Time intervals for the maintenance operation are stipulated so that these operations proceed efficiently and effectively.
Pudget sound power and light company started to develop new ways to maintain their equipment after large budget cuts were introduced by the management. The company started RCM in 1991 and was applied to transformers, voltage regulators, circuit breakers, transmission and distribution lines maintenance as well as the substation equipments. After 4 years of using RCM, the company reported that planned maintenance on the equipment had reduced significantly. The drivers of the company transformers had changed from time to operation, loading and condition monitoring. The intervals for performing maintenance activities had reduced drastically after the implementation of RCM. More emphasis was placed on the operating mechanisms.
According to the company sources, liability due to equipment failure dropped significantly due to the application of RCM. The insurance company that viewed this as a risk management approach and were satisfied with the new maintenance plan (Michael, 2000)
Compare and contrast the TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) and RCM (Reliability Centered Maintenance)
Machine maintenance issue revolve round four major groups, these are
· Both Reliability Centered Maintenance and Total Productive Maintenance offer a long term continuous improvement rather than quick fix solutions.
· Both TPM and RCM are offer strategies that reduce the down time experienced by firms as well as improve maintenance operation of a given firm.
TPM is concerned on improving maintenance through changing the people as well as the organization structure while RCM is mainly concerned with identifying the machine functions and engineering property in order to bring the change.
TPM advocates for managerial changes as well as training the people on maintenance aspects while RCM mainly concentrates on the machine aspects.
RCM mainly focuses on the determining the maintenance requirement of the physical asserts within their operating conditions while TPM mainly focuses on meeting the maintenance requirements more cheaply and effectively.
RCM advocates for preventive maintenance strategies, that is, identifying factors, condition and effects of machine failure while TPM focuses on developing a strong maintenance management system.
RCM mainly concentrates on physical and engineering aspects of a machine and methods of improving such while TPM focuses on the people as in important tool in piloting the changes in machine maintenance.
TPM mainly concerns with the employees strengths and continuous improvement of the firm while RCM is mainly concerned with the machine aspects. RCM does not advocate for peoples strengths as a method of improving the maintenance operations
RCM is mainly used to identify maintenance resources, time of repair, spares, skills level and the reliability level. This is done by reliability study. TPM identifies the strengths of people as a means of piloting changes to the maintenance department.
TPM advocates for the rebuilding of the machines, through cleaning and repairing while RCM mainly identify the functional aspects of a machine parts and look for the possible solutions to minimize these effects.
TPM focuses on the preventive maintenance, periodic maintenance and rebuilding machinery, creating high certainty, enabling the machine run without failure till the next rebuilding. RCM presumes scheduled downtime and periodic maintenance outages are okay.
RCM is a maintenance improvement strategy while TPM recognizes that maintenance function cannot improve reliability and employees and the management staff must be employed to archive the maintenance objective in full.
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