October 2012
by Caribell Rojas, Asset Management Project Leader, Supermetanol
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In 2008, Supermetanol (along with sister company Super Octanos) launched an asset performance management (APM) project focused on improving availability, reducing cost and managing risk. Early emphasis was placed on the development of a:
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Figure 1: Supermetanol
Asset taxonomy
Asset taxonomy is commonly used to refer to the organization of equipment into a relational group of hierarchies for the sorting and grouping of work history records. Work history describes the completed work request and work orders, and is event data, not location data. Work history event data is what is documented through failure coding during the process of maintaining or repairing an equipment asset. It is the history of work, which is useful in reliability analytics.
Prior to APM project implementation, Supermetanol and Super Octanos had limited asset taxonomy and no taxonomy standardization between the two facilities. This circumstance limited their ability to fully leverage the maintenance-related data managed in their EAM system (Oracle eAM) to measure the organization’s equipment reliability and maintenance performance. Using Meridium Consulting Services, the sister companies successfully developed standardized asset taxonomy for the categorization of their equipment assets (down to the equipment type) for the grouping of work history records. Using Meridium APM Foundation, the company then leveraged this standardized asset taxonomy to understand where their asset failures were occurring.
Six step failure elimination work process
Leveraging Oracle eAM and Meridium APM Foundation and Failure Elimination work processes and corresponding software, Supermetanol and Super Octanos identified assets experiencing the highest failure rates (bad actors) and developed strategies to mitigate future failures. The six step failure elimination work process outlined below has resulted in lower costs and higher margins of safety, environmental responsibility and productivity.
1. Event reporting: Identify and report all events concerning equipment failures and health and environmental events. Event classifications include: accidents, near-misses and equipment failure. (Meridium function)
2. Work order reporting: After reporting equipment failure events in Meridium, a work order is automatically created in Oracle so corrective actions (planned or unplanned) can to be taken and tracked by event, equipment and consequences (costs, actions, failure data, etc.) (Meridium/Oracle function)
3. Lost Production Opportunities:
Part 1: A consequence of events is production losses. The most significant Lost Production Opportunities (LPOs) are identified (Figure 2), so all corrective and preventive actions can be aligned to company business drivers. (The LPO Pareto is used in the selection of the corrective/ preventive actions to mitigate repeat failures.) (Meridium/Oracle function)
Figure 2: Lost production opportunities
Part 2: Bad Actor Identification: The consequence of equipment failures are all costs (maintenance, spare parts, labor, etc.) associated with the failure. Once a work order is created in Oracle and all associated costs entered, they are tracked in Meridium and, via a simple query, equipment representing the highest cost (bad actors) is displayed (Figure 3). (Meridium/Oracle function)
Figure 3: Bad actors
4. Resource allocation: Once the equipment failure events are reported in Meridium, the work process drives management to assign the appropriate personnel to perform the proper failure analysis. This includes a manager and the team leader that will conduct the analysis. (Meridium function)
5. Analysis Execution: The type of analysis performed is dependent on the criticality of the event - elemental failure analysis for low risk events, or root cause analysis for medium-high events. The root cause analysis is performed in Meridium, following the PROACT® methodology. During the analysis, failure modes are determined, hypotheses are validated and causes are found. The analysis is conducted directly in Meridium, so all data is properly collected and saved. (Meridium function)
6. Recommendation Management: After root causes are found, recommendations for each are generated, assigned, managed and tracked. Key performance indicators are developed to track completion of recommendations. (Meridium function)
Innovation in managing cultural change
Education was identified as central to the successful implementation and adoption of the organization’s APM philosophy and work processes. This challenge was addressed on multiple levels. New training facilities were constructed and equipped with classrooms, meeting rooms, computers and work stations in support of the recently developed reliability groups. Multiple individuals received academic preparation as reliability specialists at the Simón Bolívar University, Venezuela, and the two petrochemical plants supported eleven individuals in their efforts to complete the Meridium Asset Performance Management Certification Program. Additionally, a key resource was assigned to act as a facilitator for each new APM methodology to promote and drive company-wide adoption.
The companies broadened their APM educational efforts throughout the organization using several innovative methods including a company-wide logo contest called “We are all reliability,” and the development and disbursement of multiple educational posters throughout the plants (Figures 4 - 6). Both initiatives were highly successful in generating company-wide interest and support.
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| Figure 4: APM project definition |
Figure 5: Asset taxonomy | Figure 6: Incident tracking |
Program results
The Supermetanol and Super Octanos APM project, which ended in December of 2011, has successfully implemented all five Meridium APM Work Processes. In 2010, the facilities conducted a MVAP study, which demonstrated generally higher maturity levels than those of similar plants in the Jose complex for all five APM work processes.
Click to view the video presentation Combining Work History from Oracle eAM with Production Data to Drive Sustainable Improvements in Asset Performance Management, by Caribell Rojas, Supermetanol for detailed:
- program challenges
- program results
- APM work process maturity rankings
Click to learn about other APM work processes used at Supermetanol and Super Octanos.
About the author:
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Caribell Rojas is a Mechanical Engineer with a degree from the Simón Bolívar University in Caracas, and is currently finishing a Specialization in Industrial Reliability Systems, also at the Simón Bolívar University. She works in Supermetanol, a methanol processing plant located in Jose Complex in Venezuela, as an Asset Management Project Leader.
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