Better by design: Toolholder extends life

Online Extra for March cover story

Pile on the Savings
Integrated controls and maintenance allow hands-off monitoring

Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering

Cover story for Control Engineering March 2004 edition includes the following Online Extras.

• Intel’s predictive maintenance strategy boosts equipment reliability and minimizes downtime;
• Partnerships, information software extend controls and maintenance efforts;
• Maintenance software caters to calibration;
• How much? Here’s a sampling of numbers related to preventive maintenance;
• Acronyms and terms for maintenance and controls; and
• Additional reading, including “Software, hardware, and information can lower maintenance costs.”

Intel’s predictive maintenance strategy boosts equipment reliability, minimizes downtime
Intel Corp. has stepped up its predictive maintenance strategy to boost equipment reliability and minimize downtime. Information sharing across multiple facilities leads to further cost-savings advantages. Benefits include identification of several hundred major vibration problems, helping the company avoid estimated lost-production costs of more than $1.4 million in a recent calendar year. Maintenance has shifted to as-needed, instead of “whether it needs it or not.”

Moore’s Law – coined by Intel cofounder Gordon Moore – holds that microprocessors will double in power and halve in price approximately every 18 months. For more than three decades, Intel has adhered to this axiom as it pioneered key technologies that have helped propel the computer and Internet revolution. Intel’s success over its history – and particularly in the last 10 years – can be attributed in part to aggressive product development. Economic conditions today require the ability to produce more powerful microprocessors at lower prices, while maintaining a high level of profitability. Beginning in the late 1990s, Intel implemented aggressive programs aimed at reducing costs and increasing output through investments in new manufacturing and assembly technology and processes. In semiconductor manufacturing, a few hours of downtime can result in millions of dollars in losses, so success is measured by uptime across the company’s 24 manufacturing, testing and assembly sites. Unlike most manufacturers, the cost of equipment repair or replacement compared to the cost of lost production is minimal for Intel. As a result, maintaining production is a top priority for all — from engineering and assembly to facility maintenance.

Since 1998, Intel’s maintenance department has gradually embraced predictive maintenance as a key component of its uptime strategy. Using integrated condition monitoring tools from Rockwell Automation, Intel has designed and implemented a comprehensive program that allows it to effectively monitor, analyze and track equipment performance – observing operating conditions locally as well as remotely, across multiple production sites. If any part of manufacturing fails, such as power supply, HVAC or water and chemical treatment systems, production could come to a rapid – and costly – standstill.

“The reality is that replacing a fan or pump motor is a fraction of the cost of having a fabrication line down for any amount of time,” said Mick Flanigan, a predictive maintenance program manager and project leader at Intel’s Northwest Regional Operations facility. “If production is down for even one or two hours, the lost revenue would far exceed the cost of a replacement motor, or any other ancillary component.”

Historically, Intel’s facility maintenance department has minimized downtime using a sophisticated preventive strategy that incorporates redundant machines to protect critical facility systems. For example, on its water and chemical treatment systems, Intel may use three pumps on a single skid. The first operates the equipment, the second sits in hot standby mode and the third backs up the second. If the primary pump fails, the second will go online immediately. Although functional and fairly reliable, this “uncontrolled” switchover approach is not ideal, because even a minor disruption or “hiccup” in the switchover can enough of a pressure or temperature fluctuation to cause lost production and product waste. With a preventive strategy, equipment repair and replacement is carefully planned and timed to avoid process interruptions or unwelcomed deviations in process parameters.

“Our primary goal is to make our preventive maintenance work invisible to engineering,” Flanigan said. “If engineering doesn’t have to worry about reliability issues and can focus on improving the manufacturing process, we have done our jobs.”

As part of the predictive maintenance program, technicians use infrared scanning, vibration, temperature and oil-composition analysis tools to monitor machine conditions and gather information necessary to identify when a controlled switchover is warranted. According to Flanigan, the majority of Intel’s maintenance activities will always be preventive-based, but they are now using predictive maintenance tools to flag conditions in the field well in advance of a failure.

“In the past, we would tear a machine apart without any data that could help identify the specific nature, extent or cause of the problem,” Flanigan said. “As a result, the job scope was often more extensive and costly than necessary. Now, we’re able to pinpoint the problem much quicker and attack it directly.” Technicians at Intel’s facilities in Hillsboro, OR, use Entek Datapac handheld data collectors from Rockwell Automation to collect equipment data weekly or monthly, depending on the type of equipment. Each technician is responsible for two or three of the 108 routes. A route takes an average of 3 hr to cover. During first-quarter 2003, the Hillsboro facility logged 450 data collection hours.

Prior to the program, technicians would record data on a clipboard, and then manually input the information into a system. Now, after collection, data can be automatically downloaded from the handheld data collectors directly into an analysis system. Rockwell Software Emonitor Enshare Enterprise Asset Health software analyzes the data, measures against preset parameters, and provides advance warning of equipment abnormalities and potential failure points.

When your job is to prevent certain events from happening, going unnoticed is usually a good thing. But, for Intel’s maintenance department, this “invisibility” also presented a unique challenge: justifying and demonstrating the value of its predictive maintenance program. For example, how do you measure the cost savings of a potential event that was ultimately prevented, but never happened? Or, why is it important to monitor or sustain equipment when it’s cheaper to replace it? To illustrate the value of the department’s predictive maintenance program, Flanigan and his team worked to develop a solid business case for the program. They started by using real application examples and carefully documenting uptime performance results.

“To a large degree, we are dealing with an intangible when we’re talking about the potential of downtime events and the value of loss avoidance,” Flanigan said. “In the end, after developing a justification using two separate methods, we were able to develop both hard, tangible results, along with significant ‘soft’ cost- avoidance projections.” Flanigan’s team used much of the same cost projection and performance data to show other Intel production sites the value of a predictive maintenance program. But selling the idea to other facilities was challenging--some “old school” technicians at other facilities felt predictive maintenance would be a waste of time. To convince the skeptics, Flanigan used metrics from the Hillsboro facility to validate the program’s results. At the same time, to build support among potential supporters, his team developed customized training courses based on the program’s vibration-analysis technology and capabilities. The strat-egy worked, and Flanigan and his team ultimately succeeded in persuading other sites to join the program.

“With the work we did in Hillsboro, people across the maintenance organization were able to see the real cost savings, as well as the long-term strategic benefits,” Flanigan said. “Once our technicians used the tools and saw that they really worked, they were able to dramatically cut the time they spent in the field chasing problems. It let them focus their energies on more pressing issues.”

As the predictive maintenance program spread across sites, it led to the selection of a variety of different software for similar and varying purposes. Flanigan co-chaired an internal group called the Vibration Analysis Working Group, which searched for a way to share information across sites. The group also worked to find one software package that could be used universally among Intel facilities. The Vibration Analysis group found Emonitor Enshare capable of supporting most Intel condition-based monitoring data while also sharing information across disparate Intel sites. With database storage capabilities, the Enshare system also served as a central repository for the information gathered from the assembly sites. It was used to examine equipment lifecycle trends and determine if common failures occurred on specific types or models of equipment.

At Intel’s Hillsboro site, where the predictive maintenance program began in 1998, approximately 4,000 pieces of equipment (94% of qualified equipment) are now monitored. Since the program was implemented, Intel has found countless minor vibration issues and identified several hundred major vibration problems, helping the company avoid prolonged production shutdowns. More specifically, Intel Oregon realized a five-to-one return on investment. The program helped the company avoid estimated lost-production costs of more than $1.4 million in 2002 alone. Intel Oregon has not had a catastrophic equipment failure since early 2002. Additionally, the technology has allowed Intel to evolve into a more predictive-based maintenance organization. Instead of reacting to failures, Intel can make informed decisions based on performance data. It can now provide “real need” maintenance instead of calendar-based, “whether it needs it or not” maintenance.

Areas of expansion have included acceptance testing for newly purchased equipment before and after installation, prior to warranty start dates, to ensure it meets Intel’s strict manufacturing standards. If new equipment is brought online without meeting Intel’s specifications, process abnormalities can and do occur, causing a “hiccup” in the manufacturing process – a delay or error not caused by wear and tear on older machinery. For example, even the slightest vibration can shift chip-making equipment calibrations. By testing equipment against written specs for vibration and sound, Intel is able to verify that machines meet standards before they are installed. Today, nearly three-fourths of the predictive maintenance program’s condition-monitoring efforts are focused on acceptance testing.

“Now, we’re not tagging equipment as ours until it meets our vibration criteria, our infrared criteria and many other processes as well,” Flanigan said. “When we bring this equipment into our facility, we have better assurance that it’s going to last beyond the warranty. Surprisingly, this is the area of the program where we’ve seen our biggest hard cost savings.” As the program expands across Intel production sites, the team continues to add enhancements and predictive technologies designed to further drive down costs, while increasing Intel’s output and chip performance. Also on the horizon is the gateway from Enshare to MRO’s Maximo and the implementation of a wireless solution to further remove the workload from technicians. And, even as the validity of Moore’s Law continues to be tested and debated by industry pundits, the maxim continues to fuel Intel’s vital progress and investment in fabrication facilities, process technology and employee ingenuity.

Partnerships, information software extend controls, maintenance efforts
Honeywell Process Solutions’ http://www.acs.honeywell.com partnering agreements help relay information from devices into knowledge-based systems, such as Honeywell’s Experion PKS (Process Knowledge System) and Asset Effectiveness Solutions. Partners include Dresser Flow Solutions Masoneilan, Endress+Hauser, Flowserve Flow Control Division-Valtek, Honeywell Industrial Measurement & Control (another division within Honeywell) and Krohne, according to Honeywell's Dick Verville, PKS Advantage program manager.

R.L. (Rick) Gorskie, Global commercial and operations manager for Honeywell @sset.max, told Control Engineering that the business focus is on increasing return on assets, increasing plant productivity, reducing operating assets, and extending the lifecycle of existing assets. Operations and maintenance areas have the greatest potential to save money. In most facilities, Gorskie says, it costs three to five times as much to fix something on an emergency Saturday night shutdown compared to an orderly shutdown. “Open systems are not enough,” Gorskie says, “It’s what you do with the information once you get it.” Verville adds that moving from 95% to 98% availability could add $100,000 to several million dollars per year to the bottom line.

Honeywell Equipment Health Management Solutions suite includes @sset.Max Alert Manager, also part of the Control Performance Solutions suite, and IntelliScout; @sset.MAX Alert Manager, designed to automate decision support, provides a means of identifying and solving asset problems into symptoms and faults. IntelliScout is the first fully automated method of modeling equipment performance using advanced empirical models. It automatically detects and alerts operators or other appropriate personnel about changes in operating conditions, sensor degradation, and performance changes for a variety of equipment types.

Recently introduced Business.Flex PKS 130 is a suite of software solutions that deliver significant and sustainable production performance improvements for process industries. Release 130 of Business.Flex PKS unifies business goals and production automation to improve decision-making and execution, help-ing users achieve more reliable operations, and increased manufacturing flexibility and business optimization. With Business.Flex PKS, companies typically increase production by 3-6%, while decreasing costs 1-2%. The software integrates with Honeywell systems, such as the Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS), next-generation automation system, as well as TPS, and third-party systems. Honeywell says the solution drives business targets to optimum levels, allowing operators to more effectively make use of whatever platform they have, and execute plans and schedules in line with business objectives. Release 130 also works with Uniformance PHD, Honeywell's advanced process historian system for plant information.

Maintenance software caters to calibration
MRO Software’s Maximo 5 Pharmaceuticals solution--an extension of the MRO’s Strategic Asset Management software, provides capabilities including enhanced calibration, full support for electronic records and signatures (U.S. FDA 21 CFR Part 11) and validation capabilities for companies regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Maximo 5 Pharmaceuticals is part of MRO Software’s Industry Solutions program, which delivers solutions to address industry specific requirements for key vertical markets.

Enhanced workflow and e-signature capabilities support the FDA’s 21 CFR Part 11 requirements; help keep all maintenance activities on time, on plan and on budget; and provide an audit trail for compliance requirements. Features include a set of templates to help reduce the time and cost it takes to validate Maximo and a wireless calibration module to provide mobile employees with the ability to record compliance activities in real-time, with handheld computers. MRO says flexibility provided by a Web-based platform delivers significant cost savings over older, capital-intensive, client-sever systems and provides security and scalability. Flexible architecture allows the software to interface with other enterprise applications providing a comprehensive view of as-set management.

MRO Software says it currently provides asset management solutions for most of the worlds’ top pharmaceutical companies, six of which deploy Maximo as their global standard. MRO Software, based in Bedford, MA, says it’s “the leading provider of strategic asset management solutions.” For more, click here.

How much? Here’s a sampling of numbers on preventive maintenance
For any machine-tool or plant-floor application, maintenance should be considered as part of the lifecycle cost. Here are some numbers related to maintenance.

• A CMMS [computerized maintenance management systems] Best Practices Benchmarking survey, topic of Feb. 24, 2004, paper at National Manufacturing Week, showed that more than 60% of 650 companies showed lack of return on investment in their CMMS implementation. Cmmscity.com helped do the study
• ARC Advisory Group says the worldwide market for CMMS was $1.2 billion in 2001 and should reach $1.8 billion in 2006, for a compound annual growth rate of 5.3%. The worldwide market for Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) including IT assets is currently at $1.6 billion and is estimated to grow at the Cumulative Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 3.1%, reaching $1.9 billion in 2007, according to a June 2003 study by ARC Advisory Group entitled EAM/CMMS Solutions Worldwide Outlook.
• Preventive maintenance can save 8-12% in energy costs, according to Electric Power Research Institute.
• Venture Development Corp. suggests that “standardization in the network infrastructure will limit the cost of support programs and maintenance expenditures.”

Acronyms, terms for maintenance and controls
Knowing acronyms and terms related to maintenance and controls aids understanding. Here are some.

CBM condition-based maintenance
CM&D condition monitoring and diagnostics of machines
CMMS computerized maintenance management systems (or software)
DT downtime
EAI enterprise application integration
EAM enterprise asset management
FFT fast fourier transform algorithm helps identify repeating signals by analyzing frequency spectrum of an input signal.
IAM industrial asset management
Maintenance costs include parts, labor, and can also incorporate costs of down time.
MIMOSA machinery information management open systems alliance: a not-for-profit trade as-sociation dedicated to developing and encouraging the adoption of open information standards for operations and maintenance.
MRO maintenance, repair, and operations; or maintenance, repair, and overhaul
MTBF mean time between failures
MTTF mean time to failure
O&M operations and maintenance—often separate areas need to talk more; spending a little in one could save a lot in the other.
ODHS operational data historian systems
Overtime labor costs that can be associated with unplanned repairs
PAM plant asset management systems
PLC programmable logic controller
PM or PDM predictive maintenance
PMO plant maintenance optimization
Predictive anticipate before it breaks; parts can be ordered as needed; uptime is preserved.
Reactive fix it after it breaks; downtime, capital and personnel costs are high.
RCM reliability centered maintenance
ROA return on assets
ROI return on investments
RT real time, in maintenance terms, it can mean diagnostics that pinpoint what needs attention, notify and even schedule resources.
Scheduled, calendar-based maintenance, based on past or manufacturer-anticipated wear. Less disruptive than reactive, but because it’s based on historical, rather than actual wear, it may include unneeded work.
SPC/SQC statistical process control/ statistical quality control
TCO total cost of ownership (lifecycle cost, beyond initial capital investment)
TPM total production maintenance
XML extensible markup language

Additional reading…
“Software, hardware, and information can lower maintenance costs”

“Feeling flexible? Bend over backwards”

“Steel maker uses automation to extend asset lifecycle”

Searching on “predictive maintenance” returns 26 articles at www.controleng.com.