Maintenance and Reliability Assessment helps to optimise performance and reduce risks across processing plants

Client challenge

A copolymer processing company in France sought to perform comprehensive Maintenance and Reliability (M&R) assessments across its manufacturing network to evaluate the effectiveness of its current practices. They requested a detailed, quantified evaluation of M&R implementation and the value delivered in key areas. Additionally, they needed a prioritised list of improvement opportunities based on safety, productivity, cost, and quality goals, along with a clear path forward to enhance the highest-priority practices.

How We Helped

We developed a strategic M&R assessment plan, aligning best practices with industry-accepted standards. Each practice was evaluated based on its level of implementation and the value it delivered, using clearly defined criteria. Our approach was delivered in five key phases:

1. Preparation: Collected M&R performance metrics ahead of the site visit to provide context for the assessment

2. Leadership interviews: Conducted pre-visit interviews with the leadership team to understand strategic goals and site-specific challenges.

3. On-site visit: Spent five days at the facility, focusing on client-selected topic areas. The visit included interviews, meeting participation, site tours, day-in-the-life studies, CMMS evaluations, and on-the-ground observations of daily operations.

4. Reporting: Delivered a preliminary presentation and a final report, which included a comprehensive evaluation, a prioritised improvement plan, and all collected data.

5. Ongoing support: Provided a roadmap for continuous improvement, offering guidance on how to sustain and enhance the prioritised M&R practices long-term.

Powerful results

Our assessment focused on eliminating critical equipment failures to boost uptime. The key recommendations for the client included:

• Redesigning the maintenance work process to enhance efficiency and reduce repair times.

• Breaking down communication silos to foster better cross-department engagement.

• Implementing performance metrics to improve transparency and accountability in work processes.

• Driving operational excellence by identifying training gaps and enhancing competency levels.

Using a conservative approach, we projected that recovering 25% of downtime days caused by equipment failures would result in significant financial savings. Specifically, eliminating these failures would save approximately 1.5 million euros over a two-to-three-year improvement schedule. These savings could be reinvested in resources to further guide the facility along the improvement path.