Maintenance Reliability in Maritime Industry
Maritime Industry is very competitive, and sustainability (ESG) requires owners and vessel operators to capitalise on every possible advantage. As a result, owners and vessel operators often pursue lean management to gain a competitive advantage.
Similarly,
owners and vessel operators drive initiatives to attain excellence in
maintenance and reliability.
Unfortunately,
owners and vessel operators do not address the significant synergies of lean
and maintenance excellence that power the combination of lean management and
lean maintenance.
The concepts
presented here are proven through more than 20 years of experience in the
maritime industry and the creation and execution of maintenance systems on more
than 20 vessels from delivery to handover to new owners.
The most
common tanker vessel asset performance metrics include financial and technical
management metrics. These metrics are used to evaluate the performance and
profitability of tanker vessels. The most common metrics are:
·
Time
Charter Equivalent (TCE) - measures the revenue the tanker vessel earns per day
of operation after deducting all voyage-related expenses.
·
Vessel
Utilisation - measures how much time a tanker vessel is used for transporting
cargo.
·
Operational
Efficiency - measures how well a tanker vessel is performing in terms of
operational costs and fuel consumption.
·
Planned
maintenance - measures how well the tanker vessel is maintained according to
its planned maintenance schedule.
·
Class
Inspection Performance - measures how well the tanker vessel performs during
mandatory inspections by a classification society.
·
Overall
Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) - measures how effectively the tanker vessel's equipment
is utilised.
·
These
metrics are used by shipowners, operators, and charterers to assess the
performance of tanker vessels and to make informed decisions about investments,
maintenance, and chartering.
The best approach for owners and vessel operators is
implementing lean principles while improving maintenance and reliability. This
involves stabilising purchasing processes through proper maintenance of equipment
and, in consequence, improving reliability while challenging organisational
work processes. Furthermore,
by applying lean tools to maintenance, we can enhance the synergies achieved by
integrating lean principles.
Every owner and operator wants their vessels to
operate reliably, efficiently, and safely. Profitability maximises when vessels
operate as they should, with minimal downtime and optimal performance. No
organisation wants its vessels to break down, provide poor-quality service, or
operate inefficiently. Unfortunately, physical assets like vessels cannot
operate flawlessly forever. Breakdowns, maintenance-related corrective actions,
and other equipment-related problems are common. Maintenance is often blamed
for all problems plaguing most companies, but all functional groups
(departments) share the reasons for these problems.
The organisation and management of the maintenance
function for owners and vessel operators contain several vital steps:
Establishing Maintenance Policies and Procedures:
Maintenance policies and procedures should be
established to ensure consistency in maintenance activities across the fleet.
These policies should outline the goals and objectives of the maintenance
function, the types of maintenance activities that will be performed, and the
responsibilities of different personnel.
Developing a Maintenance Management System:
A maintenance management system should help manage
maintenance activities, including scheduling, work orders, and inventory
management. The system should include both preventive maintenance and
corrective maintenance activities.
Building a Maintenance Team:
A maintenance team should be established with qualified
personnel experienced in maintenance activities. The team should include shore-based
and onboard personnel and be responsible for implementing the maintenance
policies and procedures.
Establishing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
KPIs should be established to measure the
effectiveness of the maintenance function; these should include metrics such as
maintenance costs, vessel availability, and downtime.
Developing a Training Program:
Establishing a training program is essential to ensure
that they are trained and familiar with maintenance policies and procedures and
using PMS. In addition, training should keep the crew updated with policy,
procedure, and technology changes.
Implementing Continuous Improvement Processes:
Plate 1.1 Primary Elements of Performance.
To address these challenges, owners
and vessel operators must focus on implementing lean principles and
improving maintenance and reliability; this involves developing a maintenance
management system that prioritises preventive maintenance, implementing key
performance indicators to measure maintenance effectiveness, and building a
highly trained maintenance team. Additionally, continuous improvement processes
must be implemented to identify areas for improvement in the maintenance
function. By taking a comprehensive approach to maintenance and reliability,
owners and vessel operators can ensure safe and efficient operations, maximise
profitability, and meet the needs of their customers.
REDUCTION
OF MANAGEMENT COST PER VESSEL, I.E., REDUCTION OF MAINTENANCE COST OF VARIOUS
EQUIPMENT ON BOARD
Vessel
operating costs are a critical factor affecting the profitability of a vessel
operator/owner. These costs include various expenses related to the operation
and maintenance of the vessel, such as labour, fuel, repairs, and maintenance.
Improved asset reliability can significantly impact vessel operating costs in
two ways - by reducing maintenance and repair costs and increasing vessel
uptime.
Efficient
utilisation of resources, such as fuel, labour, and maintenance materials, can
help minimise expenses and reduce the vessel's operating costs. Furthermore, by
increasing vessel uptime, vessel operators/owners can also increase the
availability time and reduce the vessel OPEX cost; this is because, even though
the labour cost remains constant, the incremental cost for fuel and maintenance
materials reduces as the vessel's availability increases.
Eliminating losses, such as those caused by equipment breakdowns or delays, can help maximise vessel availability, thereby reducing operating costs. In addition, even if the additional availability is not needed, eliminating losses can enable vessel operators/owners to reduce the vessel's operating schedule or asset base, reducing fixed costs and overall operating expenses.
REDUCED
MAINTENANCE COSTS OF THE EQUIPMENT
Improved
reliability of the maintenance process results in lower maintenance costs. If
the vessel's machinery is not breaking down, a more significant percentage of
maintenance work can be performed planned and scheduled, in service enabling
the crew to be efficient. Reducing these results in
·
Less
spare parts kept on board
·
Less
or no overtime for corrective/unscheduled maintenance
·
No
outsourcing to contractors
All of these
result in maintenance expense reductions.
BETTER
MAINTENANCE STABILITY
Equipment
breakdowns equal to the vessel not being available to make earnings. Stable
vessel availability is difficult when the equipment constantly fails; this
inevitably results in problems providing the best customer service. However, when
reliability is improved, vessel availability variability is reduced, and
service to the customer is stable.
EXTENDED
EQUIPMENT LIFE
Many vessel
operators and owners spend large chunks of their maintenance budgets on
replacing equipment that failed far earlier than it should have. For example,
suppose routine maintenance is continually postponed due to delays in
delivering spare parts or not having a natural opportunity to execute
maintenance. In that case, vessel operators and owners are mortgaging the machinery's future
value—taking the capital value from the future and spending it today. The
result is a piece of wasted machinery that must be replaced. The financial
result is excessive write-off expenses and a requirement for a constant
infusion of new capital.
Vessel
operators and owners prioritising reliability recognise that newer is not
necessarily better and that a small amount of investment in routine care can
result in expense savings due to extended equipment life.
By using
this approach vessel operator or owner frees up capital for more productive
purposes, such as expansion or implementing new technology.
REDUCED
MAINTENANCE SPARE PARTS INVENTORY
All vessels
require spare parts inventory to ensure the correct parts are available.
Usually, these are divided into categories such as Critical Spare Parts,
Optimum Spare Parts, Consumable Spare Parts, and essential Spare parts. Vessel
operators and owners following reactive maintenance typically carry a large inventory
because they cannot predict when the parts will be needed. This ties up working
capital and results in high carrying costs.
Vessel
operators and owners that take a proactive approach to reliability place a high
value on knowing the condition of their assets. As a result, the need for parts
is much more predictable. There are fewer "surprises"; more parts can
be purchased on a just-in-time basis. Since the volume of inventory required is
based to a large degree on usage, the fewer parts we use, the fewer we need to
keep on hand.
OTHER
BENEFITS
In addition
to the reduced cost and increased vessel availability periods, capacity and
reliability excellence provides other benefits that improve the vessel's
overall performance.
Improved
Sense of Employee Ownership
In most
reactive organisations, employees do not feel pride in the workplace. The high
frequency of equipment failures demands more attention to making repairs and
managing the consequences of equipment failures than to routine preventive
maintenance and housekeeping. Dirt and contamination are widespread; little
attention is paid to cleanliness.
In proactive
organisations, however, it is realised that primary equipment care is one of
the most critical elements affecting equipment reliability. Therefore, emphasis
is placed on routine cleaning, inspection for deteriorating conditions, and
essential lubrication.
In most
cases, this is done by the personnel operating the equipment and is a
fundamental job expectation. As they take an interest in the condition of
equipment, they tend to develop a sense of ownership—in the appearance of the
equipment and its operating performance.
Improved
Employee Safety
Several
studies have indicated that machinery reliability and crew safety are closely
correlated. When the operations are unstable, as in a breakdown environment,
the crew are often placed in dangerous situations. As a result, they often take
shortcuts to get the machinery back up and running, which increases the
likelihood of an injury. In a culture that values reliability, however, these
situations are minimised.
Additionally,
the same behaviours resulting in improved reliability—the discipline to follow
procedures, attention to detail, and the perseverance needed to find the root
causes of problems— improve vessel and crew safety.
Reduced
Risk of Environmental Issues
Equipment
failures on many vessels, especially oil tankers, can release hazardous
substances into the environment ( sea). If we improve equipment reliability, we
reduce the risk of environmental accidents /incidents.
One of the
key requirements is the IACS Unified Requirements Z17 for "Environmental
Protection - Environmental Control Systems for Machinery". These
requirements guide the design, installation, and operation of environmental
control systems for machinery, including engines, boilers, and auxiliary
systems, to minimise the release of pollutants into the air and water.
Additionally,
IACS has developed requirements for handling, storing, and disposing of
hazardous materials on board ships. For example, the IACS Unified Requirements
Z9 for "Classification of Offshore Units" includes requirements for
storing and handling chemicals and other hazardous materials on offshore
installations.
Overall, the
IACS requirements related to environmentally hazardous machinery aim to promote
the sustainable operation of ships and reduce their impact on the environment.
In all
cases, the same systems and procedures that protect the reliability of
machinery equipment will also protect permitted equipment, significantly
reducing the risk of environmental releases.
CONTINUOUS
IMPROVEMENT
No vessel
operator or owner can afford to accept its current level of performance, or
competitive pressures will eventually drive it out of business. Therefore, an
organisation must continue to improve. One key element of reliability
excellence is an organisational focus on continuous improvement. A significant
degree of emphasis is placed on systems that provide data on current
performance, and the analysis of that data is highly valued. However, the
bottom line is simply this. Maintenance can no longer be reactive; fix it when
it breaks the anchor that prevents vessels from achieving their full potential.
Instead, maintenance must become an active team member focusing on life cycle
vessel management and optimum reliability.
SELF-DIRECTED
WORK TEAMS: A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
On board a
vessel, because the vessel is in the middle of the ocean, the teams are
self-reliant. As a result, these teams are generally empowered to design how
work will be done and take corrective actions to resolve day-to-day problems by
following their internal company safety management system, planned maintenance
systems etc. In addition, nowadays, the onboard team members have direct
access to information that allows them to plan, control, and improve their
operations. In short, vessels; teams manage themselves.
For example,
an engine department team would consist of a Chief Engineer, a Second Engineer,
a Third/Fourth engineer, an Electrician, a Fitter, a Motorman, an Oiler and a Wiper.
Each team
member has duties and responsibilities and maintains and operates the machinery
and equipment. The engine team not only does the work but also takes
responsibility for managing that work.
The
effective use of self-directed work teams and proper following of provided
management systems has resulted in improved quality, productivity, and service
•
Greater
flexibility
•
Reduced
operating costs
•
Faster
response to technological change
•
Fewer,
more straightforward job classifications
•
Better
response to workers' values
•
Increased
employee commitment to the organisation
Shore
management also has a vital role to play in the implementation of self-directed
work teams. First, TSI-s must vigorously champion and sponsor the teams and the
process. This commitment must constantly be visible and ongoing. It also should
be reinforced with sufficient resources, including time. Last, management must
exhibit patience and tolerance because the vessel is sometimes not in the same
time zone, the crew change happens in the middle of maintenance, and delays and
mistakes will occur. The self-directed work team concept is not for everyone.
Some vessel operators and owners cannot lose the traditional micro-managing
mentality from the office that restricts the ability to utilise existing
resources properly.
Try
empowering your onboard teams. I think you will like the results.
Aleksandar Pudar
Technical Superintendent
and Planned Maintenance Supervisor Reederei Nord BV
Co-founder of "Out of Box
Maritime Thinker Blog"
