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Mechanical Technology — May 2016
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Proactive maintenance, lubrication and contamination management
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machinery (vibration, temperature, etc.) in order to identify a
significant change, which may indicate a developing fault. It
is a major component of PdM. CM was not previously defined.
Proactive maintenance
Proactive maintenance is the term used to describe the view
of third generation maintenance, which includes PdM, CM,
computerised maintenance management systems for manag-
ing complex operations and such techniques as failure modes,
criticality and effects analysis and design for reliability. The aim
is not to just repair the asset but also improve it. This mean-
ing is broader than previously defined when only PM and PdM
were considered.
Having clarified these previously undefined maintenance
terms,
‘The Maintenance Framework’
goes on to consider the
bigger picture. Not only is it good to keep abreast of international
developments but it is also always useful to place any activity
in context, so it is worth touching on some of these concepts
here as they point to the future of maintenance.
During the earlier years of industry when equipment was
simple and overdesign was the norm, although maintenance
was considered essential, asset and maintenance management
was not. However, as equipment has grown in complexity
along with increasing demands for safety, reliability, financial
and environmental accountability, especially in high-risk or
high-performance industries, maintenance management has
become crucial to organisational success.
Strategic maintenance
With the advent of the ISO 55000 series of standards it is sug-
gested in
‘The Maintenance Framework’
that we are now enter-
ing the fourth generation of maintenance, which it describes as
‘strategic maintenance’.
ISO 55000 defines asset management as; ‘coordinated
activity of an organisation (3.1.13) to realise value from assets
(3.2.1)”. Realisation of value requires the achievement of an
appropriate balance between costs, risks and performance,
often over different timescales.
Looking to the future, the implication of this is that in order
to contribute to the ‘coordinated activities’ of their organisation,
maintenance managers will need to expand their traditional
technical focus to include areas such as equipment selection
and design and financial skills. They will also need to acquire an
understanding of organisational, systemic and cultural controls.
This will in turn require understanding and appreciation of the
role of human factors, i.e. the ‘soft skills’.
This may be daunting for those who are only now beginning
to come to terms with proactive maintenance in totality, but it
could also be an opportunity to leap frog ahead and get a head
start on the competition.
Asset and maintenance management have come to be seen
as worthy professions in their own right and much has been
and continues to be done to introduce standards, training and
certification so that asset owners can realise the returns from
their investment in physical assets. The release of ISO 55000
and the continuing work of GFMAM bring great value in both
standardisation, the pooling of expertise and hard earned
experience.
The benefits are there for the taking by private and public
organisations alike either for improved profitability and sustain-
ability, or enhanced service delivery at lower cost.
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