The first lever is reduction of operational risks to people and environment. People Safety is often quoted as number one priority, however in practice many companies fail to improve safety culture and reduce incident rates. A strong proactive culture, driven by leadership commitment, is the basis for improved risk awareness and operational discipline. Process Safety Management (PSM) is required to control process hazards and reduce mechanical integrity risks.
The second lever is reliable operation through Asset Performance Management (APM). Asset Reliability is improved by proactive, risk based strategies for maintaining the assets. The asset health is monitored by predictive maintenance, preferably by making use of real time sensor and process data to predict imminent failures.
The third lever is efficient use of resources and good planning processes. In normal operations the productivity may be drastically increased by measuring Hands-on-Tool-Time (HoTT) and identifying key areas of waste. During Turnaround projects, best practice planning processess and a risk based inspection approach may lead to reduced shutdown duration and increased interval between Turnarounds.
The last lever concerns effective use of capital over the Asset Life Cycle. Modern asset management standards such as ISO55000 offer an excellent framework to implement long term asset planning, including risk management and life time extension analysis. Another working capital driver is MRO spare parts use. Stock level optimization includes reliablity risk reduction and supply chain optimization.
