Growing Trees

The Green Planet

There is a lot of conversation today about working towards a green planet environment. Well, it may surprise you to know that asset management fits right into that category as we need to start to grow trees. Perhaps not the green ones that grow in forests and fields but certain components of assets that enable us to build up a tree structure. If it helps you can always paint the components green!!!

Where is the Tree and Where are the Branches?

When planting trees one of the first decisions is to decide where to plant the tree. When identifying assets from an engineering maintenance aspect it is important to identify the location of the asset. A normal starting point would be to identify the facility location, then the building or plant location, and then from there identify the main asset, shown in this image as the parent asset.

From the parent asset, the next level of components can then be identified, shown in the image as the child components, and then to the next level, shown as the grandchild components.

It is important to identify the individual components as this is where a lot of the maintenance activity will be activated and history records of work completed and issues need to be stored at this level for future access and use. There is no limit to the levels required although individual computerized systems each may have their own number of levels permitted. It is also important to differentiate between an asset component that needs to be maintained as opposed to a component that needs to be replaced and is then identified as an inventory spare part. Inventory spare parts should not be shown on the asset structure tree.

This image differentiates between the Asset and Asset Component known as the MMI (Maintenance Managed Item) and the spare part to be replaced.

It shows the MMI as an item at the lowest level of the asset registry, which is the level at which an item is maintained.

We manage the lifecycle of maintainable units, known as maintenance-managed items and not spare parts. A spare part is replaced upon failure. It is generally not repaired. Please note that there will always be certain exceptions, where spare parts may be utilized as repairable parts.

Asset inventory Identification – Components Example

Here we can see a simplified example of how an asset hierarchy could be structured.

Within the facility, there could be numerous plants and this example shows plant1.

Again as an example, plant1 is seen as having one further structure beneath it, identified as Line1.

These three are all identified as locations against which each of them could have maintenance activity planned and then recorded.

The Air Cooler and Pump1 are identified as being on line1 and are identified as the main parent and child assets.

Belonging to Pump1 are a Motor1 and an Electric Harness and both of these are identified as spare parts, in terms of this example hierarchical chart. Neither Motor1 nor the Electric Harness will be shown on the Asset Hierarchy list in the Asset Register as they are maintainable items for replacement and not repair and will be recorded in the spare parts inventory list of the Asset Management Performance System

Asset Inventory Identification – Components

This particular chart identifies up to six levels of components and asks the question at what level does your asset tree stop?

The answer of course is that it stops at the lowest level of components that will need to be maintained.

Tree Growing

Maybe our tree growing project will not help the planet to become greener but it will certainly benefit the maintenance function of our facility and will prove to be of significant help in terms of identifying our assets and building our asset register accurately.

For more information email us at info@strobe-al.co.za or visit www.strobe-al.co.za