Uncover the hidden factory

Maintenance strategies and plant-wide optimisation programmes can be as good for productivity and profitability as building a new production facility, explains Phil Burge, communication manager for SKF

It is estimated that manufacturers lose about 25% of annual production capacity due to a combination of unplanned engineering downtime and poor production processes. Yet this fact is rarely recognised; indeed, rather than looking at ways of improving the output from existing production facilities, companies often choose to install new production lines or systems.

Depending on the nature of the business, this can be up to 50% more expensive than reviewing ways of releasing hidden capacity.

Buried within many manufacturing operations is a hidden factory; if released, this could improve the productivity and profitability of each organisation by up to 25%. Multiply this figure by the number of production and process companies in the UK and there is huge potential to enhance the competiveness of UK plc.

Hidden opportunities can typically be found in most factories; it is a matter of knowing where to look. One approach that often proves fruitful is to look at maintenance procedures. Factory maintenance has historically been carried out on a reactive basis; either linked to set time intervals or because a component or machine had failed. This approach gives little control of production assets - people and machines - and means productivity almost always falls far short of optimum levels.

However, by adopting a more holistic and proactive approach to plant maintenance, manufacturers can unlock the potential of hidden savings through better asset control that minimises unexpected downtime and boosts productivity.

This holistic approach is the basis of an Asset Efficiency Optimisation (AEO) plan, a work management process structure that delivers maximum efficiency and effectiveness from activities focused on the overall business aim of the plant. The plan takes account of top-level business planning, system-wide analysis and includes a shift from a largely reactive to a selective mix of planned, proactive, predictive and reactive maintenance. This approach has in-built sustainability and provides rapid results and payback on investment.

An AEO strategy plan comprises four key integrated elements. These are: maintenance strategy, work identification, work control, and work execution.

The maintenance strategy sets out business goals and objectives, assesses plant criticality and risk, and states the most important issues and priorities. This is essential for a suitable and effective maintenance plan to be created, and involves training staff to carry out regular machinery inspection, from which a wealth of inspection data can be gathered.

The second element of the plan deals with the identification of work, where critical plant information is analysed, allowing informed decisions to be made and corrective maintenance operations to be carried out.

The third element, work control, involves planning and scheduling maintenance activity in detail, taking into account timescales, manhours, data feedback, and competence levels.

Effective planning at this stage will fully optimise resources and plant efficiency.

The final element, work execution, sees all this planning and preparation carried out, with feedback collected via postmaintenance testing to ensure continuous improvements are maintained and maximum return on investment is achieved.

Using a strategic tool such as an Asset Efficiency Optimisation programme, a company can manage its assets more effectively, ensuring that the complete plant runs smoothly and with minimum total downtime. This can result in significantly increased profitability, either by producing the same output for less cost or, alternatively, increased output for the same cost. Either way, an AEO programme is a consistent and measurable method of maximising assets via a structure that will enable improvements to be maintained and continued - a far better way to protect profits than to build new facilities while existing plant falls short of its potential efficiency.