‘Asset Management’ is an evolving philosophy which has become one of the major business tools available to users of capital equipment. These tools help manage the increasing pressure from legislation, ensure safety and environmental targets are met and optimise asset performance. The advantage of Asset Management over other approaches is that it recognises the asset as part of a larger system and treats the interaction between assets and systems as important considerations. In addition, decisions taken almost daily are cumulative in effect and the overall performance of the asset throughout its life is influenced by this 'decision continuum'. This simply means that a decision regarding an asset taken today is influenced by the assets history and will influence the assets future.
Using this philosophy the asset is managed over its life as part of a set of complex interactions rather than simply as a discreet item at a point in time. The operating context within which each asset and/or system operates includes business, safety, environmental and technical considerations that impact directly on asset performance and cost effectiveness and heavily influence the decision process over the life of the asset.
The Life Cycle of an asset presents many opportunities to optimise its performance while at the same time minimizing the risk/s associated with that asset - including the cost of ownership. The optimum operational and maintenance condition for the asset is achieved when the ‘Maximum Sustainable Capacity’ is reached and sustained at the lowest practicable cost. The sooner this desirable state is reached, during or after commissioning and the longer it is maintained, the lower the whole of life cost of the asset. In addition, this desirable state is also likely to result in fewer safety related incidents and lower environmental impact over the life of the asset.
The general trend of increasing competition in the marketplace for most products and services requires that all assets forming part of the production cycle are selected and managed to optimise the manufacturing or process system as a whole. Asset Management methodologies help to achieve these aims. The primary aims of Asset Management are to achieve maximum sustainable performance from the available assets while minimising risks and costs.
JAHCon has the skills and experience to assist organisations find the optimum balance between these sometimes competing aims. JAHCon will work closely with in-house personnel to identify ways to minimize operating and maintenance costs and minimise safety and environmental risks while achieving business targets in a sustained way.
Modern manufacturing and process plants operate best when the optimum balance is achieved between asset reliability and process reliability. Asset reliability is fairly easy to appreciate in that it relates directly to how well the installed equipment meets its design targets. In practice this is often measured in terms of Reliability and Availability.
Process reliability on the other hand can be difficult to measure except in coarse financial terms and careful study is required to identify opportunities for improvement. The link between asset and process reliabilities adds a complex interaction that requires understanding and effective management in a modern plant. Only when both asset reliability and process reliability are matched and optimised does the plant operate sustainably at peak performance.
