Reliability and Business Risk Assessment Helps Aluminum Supplier Reduce Downtime

Reliability and Business Risk Assessment Helps Aluminum Supplier Reduce Downtime

A premium aluminum supplier experienced a serious failure that shut down their site for an extended period of time, prompting a much-needed review of their maintenance practices. The shutdown soon began affecting their customers’ ability to meet market demand, so they needed assurances that the manufacturer had a plan in place to prevent significant future outages.

Assessing the current state of maintenance and reliability

The plant’s process engineering manager needed to understand the current state of the site’s maintenance and reliability functions so they enlisted reliability engineering consultants, Life Cycle Engineering (LCE), to conduct an assessment on the plant’s critical equipment. LCE performed a maintenance and reliability current-state assessment based on their Reliability Excellence® (Rx) model.

LCE evaluated the plant’s preparedness, including spare/replacement strategy, to prevent significant unplanned outages. They also reviewed the effectiveness of their preventive and predictive maintenance strategy. After the assessment was complete, LCE provided a full report on the health and maturity of five critical work streams: work management, materials management, reliability engineering, operations improvement, and maintenance leadership. The assessment also scored the plant’s current state of maintenance and reliability based on the Rx model.

Developing an action plan to reduce unplanned outages

The assessment was vital to understanding the plant’s current state of maintenance and reliability. LCE made implementable recommendations on critical equipment to reduce the frequency and duration of unplanned outages.

For more information about improving operational and financial performance, please email LCE at info@LCE.com or visit www.LCE.com.

About LCE

Life Cycle Engineering (LCE) (www.LCE.com) provides consulting, engineering, applied technology and education solutions that deliver lasting results for private industry, the Department of Defense and other government organizations. The quality, expertise and dedication of our employees enable Life Cycle Engineering to serve as a trusted resource that helps people and organizations to achieve their full potential. Founded in 1976, LCE is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina with offices across North America and experience around the globe.