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Why everyone should have an Asset Management Plan

If you ask anyone on site to show you their asset management plan (AMP) for a piece of equipment you are typically referred to the maintenance department and shown the scheduled maintenance tasks in the CMMS. While this is an important part of the strategy, it is not the whole picture.

A well-constructed asset management plan spans beyond maintenance, and should not be a ‘set and forget’ document that sits on the shelf in a maintenance manager’s office. It is the core document that enables cross functional alignment and agreement on how the machine or area of the plant will be maintain and how it will be shutdown in a scheduled manner. There are a number of key elements which we believe form the basis of a well-balanced Asset Management Plan. These include:

It is important from the outset to lay out the targeted productive life and the drivers that contribute to it. This should have input from mine planning, production and maintenance as the anticipated life can influence the maintenance strategy to ensure the machines meet the needs without over or under cutting maintenance. It is essential that this aspect is reviewed as part of the life of asset and 5 year planning process.

It is essential to understand these aspects in order to build an appropriate asset plan. Additionally, operational limits of the machine should be documented here to allow the condition monitoring strategy to monitor any adverse operating conditions and report to operations in a manner that enables them to take concrete action.

Details the times the machine will be stopped for scheduled maintenance. It should also include opportune maintenance such as operator pre-starts. A scheduled downtime availability can then be calculated to show the potential of the machine. Depending on the piece of equipment and current site work quality execution practices unscheduled downtime should be an additional 2 to 5%. For mobile equipment we have identified that 60% or more of the downtime should be scheduled for the machine performance to be acceptable. See an example of a scheduled downtime strategy for a mobile machine below.

It is important to clearly articulate all the condition monitoring tasks that are expected to be completed on the machine and at what frequency. It is important document what is achievable and practical to your application.

This should document every component to be changed on a scheduled or expected frequency. Consider this list as a major source of items to be loaded into the maintenance planning system.

A zero base cost model be built up containing all the items covered in strategy just developed with allowances for general and unscheduled repair.

This is the most important part of the document because it is considered a working agreement signed off by all parties involved. These should include the Mine Planning Manager, Production Manager, Maintenance Manager and ideally the OEM Representative as an agreement on how the machine will be operated and maintained throughout its life.

The asset management plan should be a live document that is reviewed at least annually and align with the budget generation. This will ensure any changes in strategy from operations to maintenance can be captured and reflected in site operation. When new people or new leadership arrives on site they should be able to read the document and understand how it should be maintained in order to deliver reliable low cost outcomes.

The AMP forms the core knowledge base for each machine and is the mechanism to enable continual and sustainable improvement. It is also important to keep them simple, less is more, just include the essential elements that control the majority of the reliability and durability aspects of the machine.

Our Specialist Asset team are experts in both AMP and SAMP development and with the support of Deloitte's Asset team offer the most comprehensive Asset Management Solution for any organisation.