Operator Driven Reliability Background In many industrial facilities the role of operations has traditionally been to maximize productivity, at whatever cost or consequences to machine assets. Often operators’ compensation is based on production output and operators may feel that keeping the machines running is solely the job of the maintenance department. In many organizations, maintenance and operations function virtually independent of each other, with separate objectives and limited communications. An SKF Operator Driven Reliability (ODR) programme can help change that paradigm. Empowering operators and creating a teamwork environment creates a cultural change that has benefits for operations, maintenance and the company as a whole. The SKF Operator Driven Reliability programme uses convenient hand-held technology to turn early detection of developing problems into prompt corrective actions. By organizing the activities of operators in concert with a company’s reliability strategy and practices in a systematic, planned and predictable process, ODR enables operators to share responsibility for the plant’s machine assets and life cycle costs. Most importantly, it allows operations and maintenance to work together as a team, shifting the plant’s culture from one of individual objectives to mutual goals. By fostering operator ownership of the asset and providing a plant-wide platform for teamwork, an SKF Operator Driven Reliability programme can deliver multiple benefits. - Improved processes and equipment reliability means maximum productivity.
- Rapid, efficient and accurate data collection allows immediate corrective action.
- Standardization of data type and collection frequency aids accurate reporting of regulatory and safety compliance requirements.
- Maintenance staff can focus on more complicated asset trouble-shooting.
- Production losses due to unplanned downtime are virtually eliminated.
- Machine, human and plant resources are used efficiently.
- Team atmosphere fosters communication and shared goals among operations, maintenance and reliability staff.
One example of ODR success! Petrochemical refiner decreases maintenance spending by 10% using ODR. A major petrochemical refiner adopted the process of Operator Driven Reliability to improve overall equipment reliability, enhance the timeliness and quality of feedback to operators, and foster cross-functional teamwork and communications. Additionally, they wanted to inspire a culture of ownership and accountability among operators for the equipment they use. This program resulted in increased revenue, reduced costs, elimination of paper rounds and redundant reporting, quicker access to data for faster business decisions, and a work force mutually focused on reliability based activities, without failures. Within the first year after implementation, mean time between failures of process pumps improved 15%, while the cost to maintain these pumps decreased 12%. Within the same time period, total maintenance spending decreased 10% and accumulative specific operator finds exceeded $350,000 in cost avoidance. Based on these results, this refiner is expanding their ODR programme to their other refineries and chemical facilities. Click here for further information on Operator Driven Reliability. |
