In manufacturing, transportation, energy, or any asset-intensive field, downtime and shrinking MTBF (mean time between failures) are the enemies, topped only by outright system failure. In equipment-heavy fields, operations traditionally work to prevent machine failures and predict equipment replacement or maintenance to keep costs down. Accurate prediction is the key, but it’s also the toughest part of the job.
Today, replacing reactive maintenance with predictive maintenance (PdM) is a way to reduce the cost and disruption of planned maintenance without increasing the unplanned downtime and the phenomenal cost of operations shutdowns. Although the majority of the data for predictive maintenance originates from operations technology, it can help with predictive maintenance as well by providing predictive analytics and business data.
Most industrial organizations “over maintain” production assets, even though 51% of them say that “operational performance” is the #1 reason they focus on APM.
40.8% of industrial companies say “better visibility of operations” is one of three critical elements to improve asset performance management.
Our research substantiates a controversial viewpoint: “The most reliable plant is not always the most profitable plant.”
Today, 51% of industrial organizations say “better operational performance” is the #1 strategic objective for improving asset management.
The fact is, asset-intensive organizations with an intensive drive toward Operational Excellence must develop a systemic attitude toward asset performance management (APM) instead of a purely maintenance-centric posture.
This perception is usually the result of a purely maintenance-centric view of asset performance management (APM) instead of a systemic view. The HIKAR APM 4.0 framework is based on the premise that to maintain a smart factory, city or other infrastructure, you need smart maintenance systems. HIKAR APM 4.0 is a holistic approach to asset operations that balances maintenance performance with overall economic performance. It uses a combination of technologies that allow plant operations professionals to evaluate prescriptive options to decide how to best operate and maintain assets. Understanding the opportunities that HIKAR APM 4.0 provides, the technology that enables an APM 4.0 approach, and the steps to take to move towards an APM 4.0 based strategy will equip businesses to make a dramatic step-change improvement in the returns they see from APM investments
Never Underestimate Operational Risk
Are you familiar with McKinsey’s philosophy on operational risk? That management consulting firm’s philosophy is that operational risk carries hidden costs that too many businesses ignore. In our experience, any asset failure that adversely impacts a company’s reputation (like an environmental disaster, safety failure or business disruption) has two costs: the direct cost, plus the impact on shareholder value. By not using reasonably available technology to protect shareholder value means the board fails in its obligations to corporate and social stakeholders. Recall for a moment the impact of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident on BP. That event is an extreme example of the impact of failing to properly address operational risk. While other examples might not be quite so dramatic or public, they consistently show that today’s complex systems require a comparably robust management approach that, fortunately, technology makes possible and practical.
