Most companies, as part of their annual business plan, develop
an outage schedule that is based on anticipated business cycle or perceived
maintenance requirements. This outage schedule contains all shutdown dates for
critical production systems. Unfortunately, most of these plans do not consider
the impact on capacity. An effective outage schedule should be configured to
minimize loss of production capacity, product quality and the potential
increase in overall operating cost that can result from poorly coordinated
outage schedules. Care should be taken to assure minimal, negative impact from
this schedule.
Effective
shutdown management depends on absolute adherence to prescribed standards that
define what type of work will be done during scheduled shutdowns. These
decisions cannot be made by the maintenance planner alone. To aid in the
selection, planning and implementation of outage tasks, a management team is a
fundamental requirement. This team should be composed of:
·
Maintenance manager(s)
·
Maintenance planner(s)
·
Production manager(s)
·
Production planner(s)
·
Operations supervisors
·
Engineering liaison
·
Contract liaison (if needed)
·
Material/storeroom representative
·
Purchasing representative.
When
the nucleus of the project team is assembled, its first order of business is to
clarify the project and arrive at agreement among team members about the
project’s definition and scope, as well as the basic strategy for carrying it
out. An orderly process can guide you through these steps. The following
sequence of activities will get your project smoothly under way:
1.
It is critical for the team to spend adequate time at the beginning to study,
discuss, and analyze the project.
This
establishes a clear understanding of what you are dealing with. It may be necessary
to research how similar projects structured their approach, or what other patterns
of experience can contribute to project planning.
The
purpose of this activity is to be sure you are addressing the right problem or
pursuing the real opportunity.
2.
When you are confident that you have a firm grasp of the situation, work up a
preliminary project definition.
This
preliminary definition will be subject to revision as additional information and
experience is acquired.
3.
Now, using this project definition, state the end-results objective of the
project.
4.
Then, list both the imperatives and desirables to be present in the results. That
is, list the outcomes that must be present for the project to be considered
successful, and list the outcomes that are not essential but that would add to
the project’s success.
5.
Now you are ready to generate alternative strategies that might lead you to your
objective. To generate these alternatives, try brainstorming with your project
team.
6.
Next, evaluate the alternative strategies you have generated. Be sure that your
criteria for evaluation are realistic and reflect the end results objective.
7.
Evaluation allows you to choose a course of action that will meet both your
project definition and end-results objective.
Effective
outage planning and management is dependent on well-defined objectives.
Everyone, beginning with the planner, must have a universal understanding of
the specific objectives that are to be achieved during the outage.
The
fundamental requirements of good objectives include:
Specific: A
good objective says exactly what you want to accomplish. The definition must be
both clear and concise.
Measurable: Being
specific helps make your objective measurable.
Action-oriented: When
writing objectives, use statements that have action-tense verbs and are
complete sentences
Realistic: Good
objectives must be attainable yet should present a challenge.
Time-limited: Set
a specific time by which to achieve the objective.
Outage planning
Effective
planning is the next step in the outage management process. Like all other
maintenance activities, each task included in the outage plan must be fully
planned. However, the finite time frame associated with a fixed duration shutdown
also requires effective scheduling to assure success.
Brainstorming
Brainstorming
is a free-form process that taps into the creative potential of a group through
association of ideas. Association works as a two-way current: when a group member
voices an idea, this stimulates ideas from others, which in turn leads to more
ideas from the one who initiated the idea.
Brainstorming procedures
·
List all ideas offered
by group members.
·
Do not evaluate or judge
ideas at this time.
·
Do not discuss ideas at
this time except to clarify under-standing.
·
Welcome ‘blue sky’
ideas. It’s easier to eliminate ideas later.
·
Repetition is okay.
Don’t waste time sorting out duplication.
·
Encourage quantity. The
more ideas you generate, the greater your chance of finding a useful one.
·
Don’t be too anxious to
close the process. When a plateau is reached, let things rest and then start
again.
The management team will
participate in the following activities:
Initial
shutdown meeting
Ninety days prior to
beginning shutdown, the shutdown management team should meet to determine the
boundary conditions for the upcoming outage. These initial decisions will
provide the basic knowledge required to begin the planning process. The outcome
of this initial meeting should:
Select
shutdown tasks
Careful evaluation of work requests is essential for effective
shutdown performance.
All requested tasks
should not be automatically included in the outage plan. Each request must be
evaluated to determine its real strategic value and real value added.
Question past shutdown
practices. Each of the tasks or projects requested for the outage should be
evaluated to determine whether or not it should be included in the outage.
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