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IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 33, No. 1, February 1986 COPTUZED PLANr MAINTEACE MAA PRESilTE AT THE INSTIIUTE OF ERECTRICAL AND ELONICS ENGINEERS 1985 IEEE SYMPOSIUM ON 0 UCLEAR POWER SYSTEMS NUXCEAR SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM by Albert M. Kozusko QUADREX ENERGY SERVICES CORPORATION 1005 Beaver Grade Road Coraopolis, Pennsylvania 15108 (412) 262-9200 Startup of a Computerized Maintenance Management System Abstract The evolution of the computer has and continues to have a great impact on industry. We are in an adjustment cycle with the current computer evolution, and will need to adapt to make the changes for the coming decade. Hardware and software are continually being enhanced. Computers are becoming more powerful and will eventually provide an effective man-machine interface. This paper shares experiences encountered during implementations of computerized maintenance systems. Early Experiences During initial learning phases in the area of computerized maintenance, it's necessary to become familiar with languages other than English and Cobol -- the language of maintenance. Absorb as much maintenance information as possible about the "other world", and at the same time, keep in mind that the "TV screen" belongs in the livingroom. That attitude helps in further appreciating the multitude of problems with which maintenance has to cope. It's hard enough for maintenance personnel to meet the prime objective of keeping the equipment running without having to worry about computers. Through careful observation and analysis, a list of functional items of what a computer system should do in the area of maintenance was developed. (Note, maintenance computer system will be referred to as "system".) Here are some suggestions: Provide information for: o Every type of fixed or moving equipment in the plant, as well as the building and other similar structures. o Corrective maintenance. O Preventive maintenance. Information required should be listed by: o Plant, unit, component, and component name. O Corrective and/or preventive tasks. O Time charges. O Component cross-references. O Job progress. O Hours worked per craft on each work order. O Hours remaining. O Labor charges on each work order. O Accounting data. O Work order planning and scheduling. 0018-9499/86/0200-0962$01 .00©1986 IEEE 962

Computerized Plant Maintenance Management Presented at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1985 IEEE Symposium on Nuclear Power Systems Nuclear Science Symposium

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IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 33, No. 1, February 1986

COPTUZED PLANr MAINTEACE MAA

PRESilTE AT THE

INSTIIUTE OF ERECTRICAL AND ELONICS ENGINEERS

1985 IEEE SYMPOSIUM ON0 UCLEAR POWER SYSTEMS

NUXCEAR SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM

by

Albert M. Kozusko

QUADREX ENERGY SERVICES CORPORATION

1005 Beaver Grade Road

Coraopolis, Pennsylvania 15108

(412) 262-9200

Startup of a Computerized Maintenance Management SystemAbstract

The evolution of the computer has and continues to havea great impact on industry. We are in an adjustmentcycle with the current computer evolution, and willneed to adapt to make the changes for the comingdecade. Hardware and software are continually beingenhanced. Computers are becoming more powerful andwill eventually provide an effective man-machineinterface. This paper shares experiences encounteredduring implementations of computerized maintenancesystems.

Early Experiences

During initial learning phases in the area ofcomputerized maintenance, it's necessary to becomefamiliar with languages other than English and Cobol --the language of maintenance. Absorb as muchmaintenance information as possible about the "otherworld", and at the same time, keep in mind that the "TVscreen" belongs in the livingroom. That attitude helpsin further appreciating the multitude of problems withwhich maintenance has to cope. It's hard enough formaintenance personnel to meet the prime objective ofkeeping the equipment running without having to worryabout computers.

Through careful observation and analysis, a list offunctional items of what a computer system should do inthe area of maintenance was developed. (Note,maintenance computer system will be referred to as"system".) Here are some suggestions:

Provide information for:

o Every type of fixed or moving equipment inthe plant, as well as the building and othersimilar structures.

o Corrective maintenance.O Preventive maintenance.

Information required should be listed by:

o Plant, unit, component, and component name.O Corrective and/or preventive tasks.O Time charges.O Component cross-references.O Job progress.O Hours worked per craft on each work order.O Hours remaining.O Labor charges on each work order.O Accounting data.O Work order planning and scheduling.

0018-9499/86/0200-0962$01 .00©1986 IEEE

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o Display of work orders by plant, unit,component, multiple priorities, multiplecrafts involved, date, work order status,work order backlog for each craft, estimateof man hours by each craft, and estimate oflabor and material cost.

o Weekly schedule according to availablecapacities of each craft, and match themanpower with the work load.

O Priority requirements of plant status.O Data for planners to determine need and

availability of parts, drawings, specialtools, clearances, engineering, etc., andkeep track of work order status such asawaiting authorization for parts,engineering, crafts, shortage, shutdown, orscheduling.

o Work orders in process.O Work orders completed.

The system should set simple priorities of work (i.e.,emergency, critical, normal, multiple operation stages,outage, or shutdown) and simultaneously handle multiplecrafts, such as electrical, mechanical, instrumentationand calibration, etc. Job standards which detail thework to be done for repetitive jobs should be providedfor both corrective and preventive maintenance, alongwith data to estimate the average duration of variousmaintenance jobs for each craft using time averages.Time averages could be obtained from historicalanalysis of past work orders for each craft. Thesystem should provide data for estimating allowancesthat must be made for average overtime, contract labor,unforseen emergency and critical jobs, and minor workorders. Averages again could be obtained fromhistorical analysis of actual time. Data showing workorder backlog and weeks of work for each craft alsowill be needed to estimate time between receipt andscheduled completion date for regular work orders.Backlog graphs by craft are also an importantmanagement tool for determining whether an imbalanceexists between crafts, whether additional or lesscontract labor is needed, and to evaluate how wellmaintenance management is doing its job. The systemshould issue daily, wekly, and monthly reports.

Reports Generated by the System

Daily

A daily activity report listing work orders andthe amount of time worked on them by the previousshift should be available for maintenance. Thisreport should include the original manhoursestimated, the actual hours worked per craft, theamount of overtime, and the estimated remainingmanhours.

Weekly

A weekly performance report which highlightsvariances is an imrportant document for the weklyscheduling meeting. A weekly list of completedwork orders is also desirable. This report willensure that planners and maintenance managementare aware of variances from the original plan,will ensure upgrading of estimates, and willexplain major variances.

Monthly

A monthly work order will assist the planner byproviding data on total labor and actual materialcosts, highlights the priority distribution, andshows the reason for performing the work.

The system should keep track of daily labor, material,and other costs charged to each work order. The systemshould provide description, location, and technicaldetails for each piece of equipment as follows: sparepart numbers, vendors, substitute parts, criticalmeasurements, work orders, labor hours, and repaircosts, accumulative costs, breakdown causes, and down-time statistics. A maintenance budget control reportis also desirable. The system should provide a catalogshowing spare parts and substitute parts carried instock. It is desirable for inventory inquiries to shownumber on hand, number reserved, number on order, orderpoints, order quantity, vendor name, substitute partnumber, and average or last price paid for each part.This will allow the planners to ascertain whether allkey parts are available for a work order and to reservethem, usually several weeks before the work order isreleased to the shop.

Minor and consumable parts are generally handled byspot requisitions when the work order is issued to themaintenance worker. For inventory management, periodicreports which provide costs, type and number of partsused, turnover, and the number of days' supply instock, are desirable. Inventory cost reports andphysical count reconciliations also are desirable.Daily shortage lists showing all parts that have eitherreached the reorder point or are out of stock entirelyare needed for purchasing. Backlog lists identifyingparts for which the number reserved exceeds the numberon hand, plus the number on order, also are desirable.The system should print out the preventive maintenancetasks that need to be performed on each piece ofequipment, including any special items to be checked,and frequency or usage for determining an inspectionperiod. The system should issue preventive maintenancework orders automatically, on a weekly or otherspecified basis, according to equipment operating hoursor other time periods.

The preventive maintenance follow-up system shouldissue weekly reports of overdue preventive maintenanceinspections and corrective work orders generated as aresult of early preventive maintenance inspections.The corrective work orders should be handled by thework order planning and scheduling system and beseparately flagged and followed up with thecomputerized preventive maintenance system.

Preparation for ComputerizationThe above items are only a single step toward acomputerized maintenance management system. Beforegoing further, let's go back to the beginning and ask,"is the computer the way to go?" Plant and maintenancemanagers must look at their own facilities to determinethe answer to that question. The following areasshould be addressed:

o Do we have the information we need to planmaintenance operations?o Can we get this information when we need it?O Is it in usable form?O Do we know what it costs to maintain each

piece of equipment?O What are the future plans for operations?and for equipment?O Will a computer really help if yourmaintenance information is basically sound

but: (1) it is not easily accessible, (2)more information is needed, (3) informationis needed faster?

To help answer the above questions, the computer shouldbe viewed as just another tool that maintenance can use

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to aid in doing a good job. Rather than clerks or

other personnel consuming time with details, thecomputer can do accounting, filing, compiling, andsequencing. The real benefit of a computer is that itwill help provide control and allow analysis ofoperations and cost. It will also increase efficiencyby handling a greater volume of paperwork, and at a

much faster rate. As a result, the maintenancedepartment can function with fewer workers or take on

new work without additional personnel. If maintenancestores and/or inventory are not properly monitored,more costly outages may result. On the other hand,company capital could be tied up in unnecessary

inventory. To determine how efficient the maintenancedepartment really is, the present work load should bereviewed.

A significant factor observed throughout variousimplementations of computerized maintenance programs isthe assignment of responsibility. If management isconsidering implementing a computerized system, a staffmember should be assigned the responsibility ofinvestigating computerization of maintenanceinformation. The assigned person should first prepare

a report. Report preparation should begin with a

thorough review of all paperwork systems that are

presently required. Determinations should be made ofthe number of work orders processed monthly, the amountof backlogged work and whether it is increasing ordecreasing, the total overtime hours, the number oftimes lack of replacement parts has delayed completionof repairs, the total amount invested in maintenancestores, and any other activities that may be peculiarto maintenance operations.

The following are suggestions of items to include inthe report, and activities to undertake beforecomputerization. The information gatheringresponsibility should be assigned to a taskcoordinator. The coordinator should:

o Set up an advisory board consisting of theplant engineer, the maintenance manager, andrepresentatives from the data processing andaccounting departments.

o Obtain preliminary background informationabout computer capabilities and generalsoftware requirements from the dataprocessing department.

o Audit present maintenance practices andpaperwork requirements, and project futureplans regarding work orders, planning andscheduling, cost data, maintenance stores,preventive maintenance, documentation,communication, and feedback.

O Prepare a detailed report of softwarerequirements pertaining to work order status,inventory control, preventive maintenanceperformance, historical records, and newdata.

o Seek information on software and hardwarefrom users, consultants, computermanufacturers, and software suppliers.

The report should be submitted to the advisory board onall information obtained. Later, if a software

licensing agreement is considered, a lawyer or someonefrom the legal staff should be consulted.

The above approach will help ensure successful stepstowards implementing a computerized maintenance system.The following discussion addresses the majorinformation functions used in a maintenance departmentand how the information can be "packaged" in separateareas.

Functions of a Computerized System

Most plants try to maintain the following types ofinformation:

1. Equipment nameplate information.2. Inventory, storeroom, or spare part

information.3. Work order administration and tracking.

These three informational areas are the building stonesof data at the majority of plants. Other areas, suchas planning and scheduling, preventive maintenance, andhistorical data -- in that order -- were usuallyadditional building stones.

Therefore, six functional areas: (1) master equipmentlist, (2) inventory and spare parts, (3) work orders,(4) planning and scheduling, (5) preventivemaintenance, and (6) history data become the majorfocal points to computerize. The following presentshighlights of the major functions.

With the use of computers, new approaches tomaintenance systems are being taken today. A centralsource of data provides equipment information coupledwith programs to assist with planning and scheduling ofmaintenance tasks. Since the equipment data is storedin the computer, what better source to begin creatingpreventive maintenance tasks. Lubrication, inspection,surveillance, etc., can be scheduled automatically.Cyclic tasks can be produced by the computer, relievingpersonnel of administrative tasks so they couldconcentrate and apply themselves more to plantoperations. A follow through from preventivemaintenance is corrective maintenance. Equipmentfailures (work orders) would be placed in the computerso that planners and schedulers could perform theirfunctions efficiently. Another area of combined andintegrated data is spare parts. This can provideplanners and schedulers the ability to review what isneeded for a task and when it should be scheduled. Thecreation of history data would be a natural follow upafter the completion of preventive and correctivetasks.

Adding DBMS

The maintenance functions discussed flow in a basiclogical pattern to serve as a foundation for acomputerized system. By adding a Data Base ManagementSystem (DBMS) to computerized maintenance softwareapplication opens a new era. The freedom of user querysystems coupled with structured applications, providean ultimate tool for power plant maintenance. DBMSprovides numerous functions but two major functionsare:

o Eliminates data redundancy.o Provides a back-up/recovery system.

The following is a snap-shot picture of DBMS and thetechnique of eliminating repetitive data:

The equipment identification (ID) numbers should residein one segment of a file and should be the major focalpoint of accurately identifying the equipment. Allpaperwork and parts related to the equipment shouldreference and be identifiable with this same number.For example, work orders, which have their own

identifying number, should also contain ID numbers forall equipment that is being worked on and all spareparts should be identified by an equipment ID number.Planners and schedulers should also be -able to acquireinformation about a piece of equipment using theequipment ID number. Preventive maintenance tasks

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should be tied to the number as well. When historicalinformation about a specific piece of equipment isneeded, the computer can easily produce the data. DBMScontains "hook" type features that allow you to tie allof the above information to a single ID number.

System Advantages

An important question to be asked is, "What are some ofthe advantages that can be directly related to assistthe maintenance staff in the use of a computerizedsystem?" For example, once all of the name plate datais stored in the master equipment list, personnel wouldnot have to rewrite the information each time it isneeded. When a work order is created, the equipmentdescription could easily be pulled out of the masterequipment list file in the computer, and printed onto awork order. This would eliminate the rewriting ofinformation and it would also keep the informationconsistent. Descriptions would not vary from person toperson or work order to work order. Work orders couldbe printed easily by using the equipment identificationnumber to select related information needed on the workorder.

Another advantage, which is somewhat unique, is theelimination of duplicate and lost work orders. Forexample, if a work order was issued for maintenance ona piece of equipment during the first shift, and thesecond shift was not aware of it, the computer wouldalert them of its existence if they attempted to createanother work order for that same piece of equipment.The computer would allow maintenance to review the newwork orders on that piece of equipment and eliminateany duplication.

System Disadvantages

It is always nice to see the advantages of a system butwhat about the disadvantages of using a computer?

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The fear of using a computer.The task of using a keyboard.The distrust of poor information in thecomputer.

The management of power stations is aware of theincreasing costs of maintenance of more complexgenerating and control equipment. To assure that thegrowth is absolutely necessary and tightly controlled,new technology is becoming a vital part of the totaloperation. Not only are computers and programsproviding better tools, but more importantly, the toolsare being refined and enhanced to become "userfriendly". More and more people are becoming familiarwith the CRT/,IV and the keyboard.

The user friendly programs are capturing old and newusers. User friendly programs provide menus andprompts that guide the user through the system. Someprograms even provide HELP commands. If a user becomesconfused, he simply types HELP and the system providesdetailed explanations.

Some final notes about computer systems and plantmaintenance:

o Modular systems utilizing a building blockapproach combined with DBMS provide systemand user flexibility.

o Color CRT/TV's add to being a "user friendly"system.

o "A picture is worth a thousand words" -computer graphics will continue to play itsvital role to support this saying.

Three vital ingredients required to create acomputerized maintenance system are:

1. Computers2. Data3. People

The use of computers in our industry will continue toaccelerate. New areas of computer applications will beexplored. Computer scientists comment that we arestill in the "horse and buggy" era of the computer.Our need and demand for computers will increase as ouruse of them continues to expand.

o The computer response time.

There are as many disadvantages as there areadvantages. Because of this significance, it isessential that implementation of a computerized systembe approached with a dedicated commitment. It's easierto slip into a disadvantage when implementing a system.

Summary

The computerization of information functions in themaintenance departments enables personnel to accomplishmany items. Some of the major objectives include thefollowing:

o Improve availability by reducing the numberand severity of outages.

o Improve thermal efficiency.O Optimize stocking levels of spare parts.O Provide historical costs of maintenance to

improve on budgets.O Better management of the need for and the

cost of maintenance personnel.