operational challenges in manufacturing
We have been brought in to support a wide range of operations to tackle a variety of issues which have included:
- Consolidation of a number of satellite operations into 'lead' plants
- Absorbing increased demand within tight space constraints
- Help give impetus to 'stalled' improvement programmes
- Improve the transparency of asset performance and focus improvement activity
- Help new and existing operations to meet targeted throughput and cost measures
- Help to define new equipment requirements and develop effective purchasing specifications
- Perceived risk – operation will not meet an anticipated surge in demand
- Help respond to changes in the regulatory environment
Our customers increasingly need robust asset performance, whether to increase revenue or reduce costs, or both.
They need to get more from what they already own before committing to capital expenditure.
When they do need to spend they want to spend effectively; to get assets performing on time and to budget, and meeting business case throughputs.
They want more from their suppliers - output driven contracts that incentivise all parties to commission equipment effectively.
typical asset management issues
Having worked on a significant number of asset improvement projects we have been able to observe and note a number of common characteristics within many of the operations. These include:
- Performance measurement systems that do not reveal 'true' performance, or the real opportunity for improvement e.g. reliance on crude utilisation measures which show how long the assets are used not how effectively. In consequence many companies do not have a good understanding of what improvement is possible and more importantly what pounds benefit could be realised if the improvement was made. In addition, strategic benchmarking between plants is almost impossible to carry out.
- Ineffective asset maintenance strategies - maintenance interventions that are not approached as part of an integrated improvement programme. The common disconnect between the improvement activities pursued by the various stakeholders: operations, engineering and maintenance.
- Unfocused application of asset improvement tools such as RCM (Reliability Centred Maintenance), CBM (Condition Based Monitoring) and OEE, often introduced with insufficient planning and piloting. In addition, a failure to 'hardwire' improvement activity to financial outcomes means that programmes run out of momentum leaving front line staff cynical and management frustrated.
- Failure to anticipate the change management issues associated with introducing an asset performance intervention such as OEE or TPM. Soft issues are vital, and the early identification and planning for potential hi-jacks to the Improvement Programmes is a key factor in subsequent success. An obvious example is the common tendency for operators and their managers to feel threatened by the introduction of new measures and the tendency for these measures to be distorted to 'paint' a good picture.
- The absence of a team based problem solving and continuous improvement structure and culture to identify, prioritise and solve issues as they arise.
