BRT TECHNOLOGIES

Maintenance Philosophy

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Maintenance Philosophy

ã BRT TechnologiesDubai • United Arab Emirates

Phone 971.50.481.7718

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Table of Contents

C H A P T E R 1

Introduction 1

Purpose 1

Scope 1

Assumptions 1

C H A P T E R 2

Preventative Maintenance 5

C H A P T E R 3

Reactive Maintenance 6

C H A P T E R 4

Reliability Centered Maintenance 7

C H A P T E R 5

Corrective Maintenance 8

C H A P T E R 6

Predictive Maintenance 9

Purpose 9

C H A P T E R 7

Online Maintenance 11

Overview 11

C H A P T E R 8

Off-Line Maintenance 12

Objectives 12

C H A P T E R 9

Operator & Maintenance Personnel Training 13

O&M Training 13

Objectives 13

Rotation of Personnel 13

C H A P T E R 1 0

Test Execution 15

Test Data Management 15

Security 15

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D E S I G N C U S T O M I Z A T I O N

IntroductionWhat is maintenance and why is it performed? Past and current maintenance practices on equipment would imply that maintenance is the actions associated with equipment repair after it is broken. However, experienced personnel will tell you that the design life of most equipment requires periodic maintenance. Over the last 30 years, different approaches to how maintenance can be performed to ensure equipment reaches or exceeds its design life have been developed. In this document, we will utilize reactive maintenance, preventive maintenance, reliability centered maintenance, corrective maintenance, and predictive maintenance.

PurposeThe purpose of this document is to describe the basic philosophies of operating and maintaining the Test Control and Monitor System (TCMS) equipment. TCMS is a complex and sophisticated checkout system. Operations and maintenance processes developed to support it will be based upon current experience, but will be focused on the specific needs of TCMS. This document will act as an overview of the operations and maintenance goals and philosophies.

ScopeThis document describes the assumptions, roles and responsibilities, concepts and interfaces for operation, on-line maintenance, off-line support, and Operations and Maintenance (O&M) personnel training on all TCMS equipment

AssumptionsOFF-LINE SUPPORT SET. The offline- support set will be located in close proximity to the on-line system and will be available for the following functions:

a. Troubleshooting of TCMS Line Replaceable Units (LRUs)/anomalies in an off-line mode.

b. Source of “hot spares” to get on-line systems up and running as quickly as possible.

c. Verification of repaired LRUs, etc. prior to stocking them as functional assemblies ready for installation in the on-line system.

d. Pre-configuration of TCMS Sub Systems.

e. Training of operators and maintenance personnel.

LEARNING CURVE. O&M, Sustaining Engineering and the user organizations will hire and train additional personnel prior to TCMS set availability. Preparing personnel to perform their roles in activation, validation and ongoing operations will require extensive training even for experienced personnel.

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL MAINTENANCE FACILITY (ILMF). Plans are being developed to repair common Core items. The off-line facility will be available for fault isolation, verification, and sustaining engineering of TCMS unique items.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES. The term “user” refers to personnel who direct, perform, and control the maintenance system. Typical user responsibilities will include the following:

a. Define individual user functional responsibilities, interface, and other required tasks.

b. Develop applications programs that are combined with operations and maintenance applications to provide a TCMS systems configuration.

c. Monitor systems during testing.

d. Troubleshoot application programs and hardware anomalies.

e. Define/concur with TCMS configuration changes during testing.

f. Perform testing of hardware.

g. Recommend system modifications to enhance system performance, operability, and maintainability.

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OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE. Operations and Maintenance (O&M) involves managing and controlling TCMS hardware as well as using system diagnostics and troubleshooting techniques to diagnose system problems. The term “operator” refers to personnel who manage and control the overall operation of TCMS. This includes preparing TCMS sets for testing; configuring the TCMS hardware and operating software; and providing hardware and operational software maintenance.

Typical O&M responsibilities will include the following:

a. Operation and operational maintenance of TCMS.

b. Provide configuration accounting for and serve as custodian of, TCMS hardware, software, and firmware.

c. Configure TCMS hardware and software to support test requirements and schedules.

d. Develop TCMS operational and operational maintenance concepts and procedures recognizing functional interfaces, resource allocations, software, hardware and system capabilities, spare parts, test equipment, documentation, support services availability, and requirements.

e. Provide and manage TCMS system security including control of passwords and access privileges.

f. Perform operations, maintenance and administration of the SPF and Database Subsystem (DBS).

SUSTAINING ENGINEERING. Sustaining Engineering refers to the line organization responsible for providing hardware and software support by performing approved hardware and system software modifications and other sustaining engineering functions, resulting from Change Requests, Engineering Support Requests, Problem Reports, and Software Problem Reports.

Typical sustaining engineering responsibilities will include the following:

a. Sustaining engineering of TCMS in support.

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b. Investigate, develop, and apply advanced system engineering processes and tools (including computer systems, operating systems, computer aided engineering techniques, language processors, test and validation techniques, and troubleshooting tools and techniques) to enhance the accuracy, operability, reliability, and efficiency of TCMS.

c. Develop test and diagnostic software and system and utility programs to facilitate operation and maintenance of TCMS.

d. Provide assistance as required to O&M personnel in troubleshooting difficult problems.

SAFETY, RELIABILITY AND QUALITY ASSURANCE. SR & QA functions will assure the safe and reliable validation and operations and maintenance of TCMS hardware and software.

Typical responsibilities of SR & QA include the following:

a. Monitor during troubleshooting and problem resolution relative to TCMS hardware and system software.

b. Provide a Technical Library to house TCMS data packages, engineering drawings, completed problem reports, etc.

c. Track and audit TCMS software configuration. SR & QA will provide software and hardware assurance support for modifications.

d. Review and concur with test plans for TCMS hardware and software modifications.

e. Review and plan Operations and Maintenance Instruction (OMIs) for TCMS hardware and system software.

f. Provide Safety, Reliability, Maintainability and Quality Assurance (SRM & QA) sustaining engineering.

g. Quality Assurance (QA) shall document and maintain TCMS anomalies via the Nonconformance Problems Reporting and Corrective Action system.

h. Monitor TCMS O&M activities.

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Preventive MaintenancePreventive maintenance can be defined as follow: Actions performed on a time or machine-run-based schedule that detect, preclude or mitigate degradation of a component or system with the aim of sustaining or extending its useful life through controlling degradation to an acceptable level.

The advantages of preventive maintenance include the following:

a. Cost effective in many capital intensive processes.

b. Flexibility allows for the adjustment of maintenance periodicity.

c. Increased component life cycle.

d. Energy savings.

e. Reduced equipment or process failure.

f. Estimated 12% to 18% cost savings over reactive maintenance program.

The disadvantages of preventive maintenance include the following:

a. Catastrophic failures still likely to occur.

b. Labor intensive.

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c. Includes performance of unneeded maintenance.

d. Potential for incidental damage to components in conducting unneeded maintenance.

Preventive maintenance is performed on a scheduled basis. The design of TCMS will be such that routine preventive maintenance will not be intrusive or destructive to system operation, nor will it preclude meeting systems availability requirements. The capability to schedule and document preventive maintenance activity will be provided through the Operations and Maintenance Instructions.

Reactive MaintenanceReactive maintenance is basically the “run it till it breaks” maintenance mode. The advantages to reactive maintenance can be viewed as a double-edged sword. If we are dealing with new equipment, we can expect minimal incidents of failure. If our maintenance program is purely reactive, we will not expend manpower dollars or incur capital costs until something breaks.

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Reliability Centered Maintenance

Preventive maintenance will be planned and accomplished utilizing the Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) concept. RCM is a scheduled maintenance strategy that can ensure cost effectiveness by significantly lowering maintenance costs. RCM is a process used to determine the maintenance requirements of any physical asset in its operating context.

The advantages of RCM include the following:

a. Can be the most efficient maintenance program.

b. Lower costs by eliminating unnecessary maintenance or overhauls.

c. Minimize frequency of overhauls.

d. Reduced probability of sudden equipment failures.

e. Able to focus maintenance activities on critical components.

f. Increased component reliability.

g. Incorporates root cause analysis.

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The disadvantages of RCM include the following:

a. Can have significant startup cost, training, equipment, etc.

b. Savings potential not readily seen by management.

Corrective MaintenanceThe TCMS will be designed with self-test features, using modular architecture, for ease of maintenance. Corrective operational maintenance will primarily be accomplished by removal and replacement of LRUs.

Corrective maintenance will be performed in the most effective manner to repair/replace/restore the failed unit to an operationally ready state. Life Cycle Cost is defined as the total cost of acquiring, operating, and supporting a system over its lifetime. LSA is a systematic and comprehensive analysis performed during the design, development and operational phase of a system.

Predictive MaintenancePredictive maintenance can be defined as follows: Measurements that detect the onset of a degradation mechanism, thereby allowing causal stressors to be eliminated or controlled prior to any significant deterioration in the component physical state.

The advantages of predictive maintenance include the following:

a. Increased component operational life/availability.

b. Allows for preemptive corrective actions.

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c. Decrease in equipment or process downtime.

d. Decrease in costs for parts and labor.

e. Better product quality.

f. Improved worker and environmental safety.

g. Improved worker moral.

h. Energy savings.

i. Estimated 8% to 12% cost savings over preventive maintenance program.

The disadvantages of predictive maintenance include the following:

a. Increased investment in diagnostic equipment.

b. Increased investment in staff training.

c. Savings potential not readily seen by management.

ProceduresThe focal point for operational and maintenance procedures will be the TCMS system. It will have the visibility into the internal operations and health & status of the system using the following available fault detection and isolation tools:

a. Operational Readiness Test (ORT).

b. Health and Status Displays.

c. Fault detection, isolation and recovery.

Maintenance personnel will be on-station during test operations to remove/replace identified failed units. Maintenance personnel will be assigned to support on-line testing or off-line support.

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On-Line Maintenance

OverviewThe TCMS will be designed and supported based on the three-level maintenance concept defined in the program. The three levels of maintenance are:

a. Operational Maintenance – maintenance in direct support of TCMS operations and performed on-line. This includes scheduled and corrective maintenance. Organizational and on-line maintenance are used interchangeably herein. Only this type of maintenance is addressed in this section.

b. Intermediate Maintenance – maintenance that is performed off-line in direct support of intermediate level maintenance and requires equipment facilities.

c. Depot Maintenance – maintenance that is performed off-line in direct support of intermediate level maintenance and requires equipment facilities.

On-line maintenance refers to operational maintenance only. The goal of on-line maintenance is to provide a preventive maintenance and corrective maintenance service in order to keep TCMS at full operational status as much as possible and minimize system downtime.

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Off-Line Maintenance

ObjectivesHot Spares for on-line repairs.

Subsystem Level Testing/Verification.

Verification of proposed Changes.

Operator and Maintenance Personnel TrainingO&M TrainingAdequate training will be crucial to developing a skilled O&M team. As often as practicable, O&M will staff with personnel who already possess basic skills for the jobs they will fill. But, due to the unique design and function of TCMS, all personnel will require specialized training to effectively carry out their responsibilities.

ObjectivesThe training goals for O&M are:

a. Hire the best people.

b. Train all personnel to a standard level.

c. Provide job specific training.

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d. Provide on the job training (OJT).

e. Provide advanced and refresher training as needed.

f. Cross train personnel to support critical functions.

Rotation of PersonnelO&M personnel will be cross trained and rotated among assignment. This will:

a. Eliminate single point failures.

b. Improved everyone’s understanding of TCMS and the O&M process.

c. Provide growth opportunities for personnel.

d. Allow personnel to move to different shifts.

e. Provide depth of capability.

Test ExecutionTest ExecutionTest execution and control will be the responsibility of the TCMS user staff and will be controlled as specified in the OMI. O&M will be responsibility for monitoring text execution, and configuration of TCMS resources to support testing.

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Test Data ManagementTest data will be recorded, archived and cataloged for later retrieval.

SecurityTCMS System Security Administration will be the responsibility of the TCMS Operations and Maintenance community. A combination of physical security, where sensitive components are locked in a secured area, and software security using passwords, logon ID privileges for access controls, and audit trail techniques. A TCMS Security Plan and Risk Assessment will be drafted prior to implementation of TCMS Verification.

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