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  • 1.  Asset Strategy Development in Capital Projects

    Posted 07-29-2022 08:48 AM
    Good morning all, 

    I am in the process of researching the successfulness of capital projects that developing asset strategies in FEED/DD as opposed to those that do not (and try to catch up after being put in operation).  Is anyone aware of any helpful studies that would be of use?

    Thanks,

    Matt

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    Matthew Jones
    Director of Reliability and Mechanical Integrity
    Hargrove Engineers + Constructors
    Mobile AL
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  • 2.  RE: Asset Strategy Development in Capital Projects

    Posted 08-01-2022 04:47 PM
    Mathew,
    Thank you for the question. It is an opportunity to clarify what has been largely ignored in the world of reliability and maintenance.

    You are asking about integrated logistic support (ILS). From the analysis of owner needs, a production system will be designed to meet the needs. As a system there should be the design of integrated logistics. 

    We can divide logistics in two subcategories. First, there is production logistics to the primary system of equipment. It is the logistics for the movement of materials from acquisition through production to product delivery.

    Second, there is support logistics for returning or making the primary equipment available to perform at specified levels and characteristics. Logistics support has historically been omitted from the traditional capital project process; making the system as a capital investment much less profitable than it could be. 

    Naturally, both categories are to be integrated within. They must also be integrated between. 

    There is a book (Availability Engineering and Management for Manufacturing Plant Performance) that maps the traditional capital project FEED/DD stages, plant commissioning and  startup stage, and the annual business operations cycle. The idea is that in parallel the book maps the activities of logistic support design and management. 

    The book does not attempt to produce a financial analysis of those that do versus those that do not. However, an early chapter offers various analytical models to quantify the difference. Additionally, financial ramifications are broached throughout the chapters as the value of the integrated logistics activities are recognized for the plant.

    Let us know what you find out.





  • 3.  RE: Asset Strategy Development in Capital Projects

    Posted 09-04-2022 07:01 PM
    Hi Matt, I am not aware of any studies, but have spent many years doing Maintenance Readiness as part of an Operations Readiness team on large (multi-billion USD) greenfield projects. Plenty of anecdotal evidence that doing this adds lots of value, or more accurately, protects the value of the project. It does need to include all aspects of readiness and not just asset strategies, but also organisational readiness, competency, etc.

    And from my experience in large greenfield projects, it really needs to start before FEED/DD. Doing a RAM study or RCM early can highlight opportunities to increase value through reduction of maintenance requirements or increased reliability through design changes. Getting those accepted in the Concept phase is hard enough, but trying to do it on a largescale project in FEED/DD becomes exponentially harder.

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    Erik Hupje
    http://www.roadtoreliability.com
    https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikhupje/
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  • 4.  RE: Asset Strategy Development in Capital Projects

    Posted 09-06-2022 11:40 AM
    Edited by Michael Guns 09-06-2022 11:41 AM
    Your design activities and design deliverables would be something to use as a start.  As Erik stated, performing a RAM study or RCM for the overall project will give you a gateway to design improvements that will help save energy, money, and provide a little better insight toward what the assets are truly intended for.  This would give a peek into what sort of Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP) you may want to employ to manage the asset portfolio.  This would be integral for the design aspects and then give you a means of measuring reliability throughout the lifecycle.  Benchmarking the intended results from that design, following up with the commissioning efforts to see if the intent is met, and then monitoring the asset conditions would provide a full scale RCM profile and stay on top of the assets as they mature.

    Hope that helps a bit.

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    Michael Guns, Jr., CRL, CEFP, CMRP
    Senior Maximo/EAM Consultant
    JFC & Associates
    JFC & Associates | Enterprise Asset Management Solutions
    mguns@jfc-associates.com  Cell: 302-358-9381

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