Performing scheduled preventive maintenance (PM) and predictive maintenance (PdM) activities on incoming equipment to a centralized repair facility, such as rail transportation equipment, surface transportation vehicles, or assigned fleet vehicles, is one of the most important, if not the most important, set of activities that an organization can apply as part of an overall asset care and reliability program.
The benefits are many, such as:
- Repair/replacement of worn items/parts due to usage, time in service, normal wear and tear and/or abuse. (Typically, these are predetermined patterns and conditions easily corrected by scheduled PM’s.) This could/should also include scheduled cleaning and sanitation activities as well.
- The identity of possible or impending failures not normally found or covered in scheduled time-based or calendar-based PM’s can either be repaired while the unit is already in the repair facility or put on a watch list for further monitoring, in-the-field checks and inspections for addressing at a later time. (Typically, predetermined patterns and conditions can easily be found by performing non-invasive and timely PdMs.)
- Pre-scheduled and pre-planned work allows for faster and more efficient turn-around times to get needed equipment back into service.
- Improved performance and utilization of the units, once put back in service, until the next scheduled repair center visit.
- Increased overall safety of operations due to finding and resolving operational or other issues before they occur in service and effect other units, the entire network and/or passengers.
- Pre-scheduled and pre-planned repair center visits provide the opportunity windows for equipment upgrades and modifications (i.e., for technology, safety or longevity).
- A sound asset care and reliability program helps extend the service life of the equipment to further maximize ROI.
To accomplish and fully realize the many benefits noted above requires:
- Attention to detail
- Standardized policies & procedures
- Complete management and supporting staff support and involvement
- Impeccable data and equipment history files
- A fully optimized CMMS/EAM software system
- Optimized, effective and efficient work requirements, tasks and activities (i.e., PMs and PdMs, etc.)
- On-hand MRO parts and supplies and other required materials
- Proper tools and repair equipment
- Training for all personnel involved
The key to efficiency and effectiveness of required checks, inspections, calibrations, repairs, upgrades and modifications is good planning and scheduling. This provides three major advantages:
- Knowing when a unit is due for a scheduled centralized repair facility (CRF) visit so that it can be appropriately routed in the general direction of the destined facility and the provisioning of a replacement unit to provide uninterrupted service while the scheduled unit is offline for due service.
- Maintenance and other needed personnel, along with needed support tooling and equipment, can be appropriately staffed and scheduled.
- MRO spare parts, supplies and materials can be acquired in advance (utilizing the appropriate JIT approach for that given operation) to further ensure that the parts and supplies needed are on hand, in the quantities needed and ready for issue to the appropriate job work order.
A sample scenario of how this could all come about for the best effectiveness and efficiency:
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Columns: Unit Event, Activity, Responsibility, Results
1. Unit Event: In-field checks and inspections Activity: Identifies key conditions or operating characteristics that require attention, investigation or remedy Responsibility: Operations, security, janitorial or other personnel. Results: Possible safety, security or mechanical (operational) issues are found and reported to the CRF well ahead of the next scheduled visit.
2. Unit Event: Pre-determined PM and PdM tasks are pulled from the CMMS/EAM system in advance of the next scheduled visit Activity: The maintenance planning function extracts the next round of PMs/PdMs due for a given unit(s) along with any additional maintenance work requests that have been triggered for resolution in Step No. 1. Responsibility: Maintenance, planning and scheduling personnel, as well as operations, scheduling personnel. Results: All work needed to be done on the incoming unit(s) is verified, pre-planned for time and materials (if not already existent in the computer files) for the required timeframes, personnel requirements and for MRO spare parts and materials. After proper planning of these upcoming tasks, the requirements for personnel, tooling and equipment and MRO spare parts is communicated to the appropriate supervision and/or affected departments.
3. Unit Event: Required maintenance staffing, tooling and equipment are scheduled for the appropriate work week, day and shift. Activity: Maintenance supervision and planning coordinates their efforts to fully prepare for the next round of scheduled work triggered from the above activities. Responsibility: Maintenance planning and scheduling personnel. Results: A published plan is put in place to ensure that all required work tasks are distributed and properly communicated to those who need to know.
4. Unit Event: Material (spare parts) reservations are activated in the CMMS/EAM to trigger the formal requests for parts and supplies. Activity: This sends advance notice to the MRO procurement chain department for the upcoming materials requirements for the next round of scheduled repairs. Typically, pick tickets would be used to schedule the materials needed for the proper time, and eventually convert the CMMS/EAM reservations into actual allocations assigned to specific maintenance work order numbers. This is where good bills of materials files can improve accuracy and save a lot of valuable time. Responsibility: Maintenance planning and scheduling. Very long lead time parts will have to be acknowledged and communicated much earlier in the process. Results: The storeroom and the procurement department can begin verifying the need for parts and materials to ensure that they are available at the time needed and in the correct quantity. This requires timely conversion of purchase orders, appropriate expediting — where needed — and efficient receiving and put-away. Very long lead time parts will have to be acknowledged and communicated much earlier in the process. Or, consideration given to normal stocked status for these hard-to-get, long-lead parts and materials.
5. Unit Event: Material requests for MRO spare parts and supplies are forwarded to the storeroom and/or procurement department for resolution. Activity: This would include the above activity, plus the pre-preparation of needed purchase requisitions for parts not normally stocked or stocked in the current needed quantity. Responsibility: Maintenance planning and scheduling. Very long lead time parts will have to be acknowledged and communicated much earlier in the process. Results: The storeroom and procurement department can begin verifying the need for parts and materials to ensure that they are available at the time needed and in the correct quantity. This requires timely conversion of purchase requisitions to purchase orders, appropriate expediting — where needed — and efficient receiving and put-away. Very long lead time parts will have to be acknowledged and communicated much earlier in the process. Or, consideration given to normal stocked status for these hard-to-get, long-lead parts and materials.
6. Unit Event: The next weekly or bi-weekly schedule for all maintenance work is finalized, released and published the week or two prior to the next scheduled work week. Activity: This then becomes the official schedule for the next work week and thus puts into play all pre-plans and associated schedules for labor and material requirements. Responsibility: Results: At this point the storeroom can begin parts picking, kitting, staging and delivery activities in time with the work efforts to be accomplished.
7. Unit Event: Emergency or last-minute work needs are identified. Activity: Changes to the schedule and all labor and material requirements are adjusted as need be. These last-minute changes are duly noted and eventually addressed by the maintenance and MRO improvement team to mitigate future occurrences as much as possible. Responsibility: Maintenance planning and scheduling. Results: This will probably trigger the need for some emergency expedited orders, additional unit costing and associated freight charges.
8.Unit Event: All informational data is entered into the CMMS/EAM system for future reference. Activity: This may also trigger the opportunity to add/change/delete various work elements or activities, or how they are processed and handled. Responsibility: Maintenance planning and schedulingm, MRO improvement team and management. Results: Hopefully, a better, more efficient and effective process next time around.
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If you can’t get the right parts, at the right time, in the right quantity at the best overall costs, it will result in:
- Excessive downtime
- Lost revenue
- Expedited/excessive purchasing and freight costs
- Overtime
- Rework
It makes sense then, to have documented policies, practices and procedures and standardized methodologies; accurate job descriptions; clearly defined roles and responsibilities; clear accountability; good data; and well-trained and motivated personnel.
