What Is Asset Reliability?
An asset is “reliable” when it is functioning as expected within a set of specific operating conditions. To elaborate, we can say that asset reliability means meeting stakeholder requirements, business requirements, and regulatory requirements. Therefore, the success of an asset reliability program can be defined as the ability to meet all of these requirements.
Requirements for a Successful Reliability Team
To achieve asset reliability, you’ll need an effective reliability team. When it comes to your reliability team, it is key to understand the process of reliability and clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each person in that process. It is also important that the team consist of more than just those who traditionally fulfill maintenance/reliability functions.
A successful reliability team will include a solid cross-section of the organization; touching on every process or function within the organization. For example, it should include individuals from supply chain management, engineering, accounting, and other departments, because all of them have influence over the reliability of that business and the stakeholder’s requirements.
Regulations, Codes, and Standards
There’s no way around it – certain regulations must be complied with. For example, in oil and gas and chemical processing industries, we deal with Process Safety Management (PSM) and Risk Management Plan (RMP) in terms of compliance.
On the other hand, there are industry standards that describe “good” asset management practices, which can help keep facilities safe and meet business objectives.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 55000 family of standards, for example, is an asset management standard that describes requirements for a comprehensive asset management system which aligns business objectives to asset performance. Consulting the ISO 55000 family of standards (ISO 55000, ISO 55001, and ISO 55002), can be helpful when establishing your reliability program.
To learn more about the ISO 55000 family of standards, download our white paper: ISO 55000:2014 – Asset Management Family of Standards – An Overview.
Establishing an Effective Reliability Program
When setting up your reliability program, the most important thing to do is to define what you want to achieve. In fact, the first element of the ISO 55001 standard involves determining the context of the organization. This includes aspects such as internal / external environment; business goals, objectives, and needs; stakeholder requirements; and the scope of the asset management system.
Organizations need to clearly define organizational objectives and stakeholder requirements so that all activities are aligned to meet the business goals and/or objectives. Once organizations know what they are working to achieve, they can then strategize how to achieve these goals (i.e. determine which activities will be beneficial).
Organizations can develop appropriate strategies by assessing current performance and comparing it to desired performance. This practice will identify specific gaps that need to be closed in order to meet your objectives.
To learn more about assessing performance and identifying gaps, check out our article, How to Justify Reliability Improvement Initiatives.