Maintenance Planning, Scheduling and Monitoring

The effective maintenance management within both Upstream off-Shore platforms and Downstream chemical plants is a critical feature of plant operation, both in establishing the conditions for safe ongoing operation of the plant after commissioning, and in supporting the commercial success of the business. Many companies focus on the cost of the maintenance, rather than on the benefits that they can provide, and in doing so the real potential for maintenance to make significant contributions to business success are often lost. Ultimately, and assuming that the commercial department is able to sell the product that is produced, the contribution of maintenance can most effectively be measured in terms of its ability to generate sustained improvements with time in the total (fixed and variable) cost per unit volume of production in the organization. There are a number of drivers which tend to increase the cost of production; certain types of equipment become unreliable with time, obsolescence is often an issue, environmental and safety standards are continuing to tighten, and so on.

Of course, there are many tools and techniques that are available to help. Techniques such as Risk Based Inspection, Reliability Centred Maintenance, and Total Productive Maintenance can all add value if they are used appropriately, but it is important to remember that the long term aim of plant maintenance is to deliver sustained and continuous reduction in the cost per unit of production, a point often lost in the mounds of paperwork that can be generated by some of the tools that are provided to help the maintenance engineer in his decision making. It is worth remembering that any debate or decision within the maintenance subject which does not concern the selection or delivery of maintenance task is unlikely to contribute to improving the overall performance of the business.