Chemical Engineering May 2016 - 59

Feature Report
performance trends of
top performers in the Cpi
Focusing on a 'reliability culture,' mechanical availability and optimum costs
leads to top performance
Jeff Dudley
hsb solomon
associates
In BrIef
CultuRe Continuum
CultuRal pRaCtiCes
at the top
meChaniCal
availability
maintenanCe Costs
ReduCed human &
business Risk
t
hree factors drive manufacturing
performance
in the chemical process
industries (Cpi). these
factors establish an operational
culture that creates maximum
availability of assets (mechanical
availability) at an optimum
cost. Results from the " international
study of plant Reliability
and maintenance effectiveness "
(Ram study), conducted by the
author's employer [1], show that
top performers focus on all three
of the following factors:
* a reliability culture
* mechanical availability
* optimum cost
the Ram study uses an over%
people actively
engaged in the culture
Chaos
Resilient
LeadeReliability
Active
Proactive
Reactive time
Managers thrive
Leaders develop
Leadership transition
* The RAM Effectiveness Index is
a measure of the dollar value lost
because of unreliability and inefficiency.
A RAM EI of 5 says that
you are losing 5% of your plant
replacement value (PRV) due to
lack of plant availability and are
either under- or over-spending to
provide that availability.
58
all metric that incorporates the
impact of all three factors and is
known as the Ram effectiveness
index (Ram ei).* organizations with topquartile
(Q1) Ram eis (referred to here as top
performers) have many common traits, no
matter what product they are producing and
regardless of the scale of their production operations
or the age of their facilities. industry
trends show that top performers come from
all sectors of the Cpi: they include users of
continuous and batch processes, manufacturers
of commodity and specialty products,
and organizations both large and small. the
same is true for second-, third-, and fourthquartile
Ram ei organizations (called " other
performers " here, or Q2, Q3 and Q4) -
these also exhibit a mix of processes, products
and sizes.
the study clearly shows that neither process,
nor product, nor age correlates with top
performance. so what does? the answer is
the three attributes mentioned earlier - a reliability
culture, mechanical availability, and optimum
cost. of these three attributes, one is
by far the least understood - and most rarely
Figure 1. This graph of the " culture continuum " shows that, as managers
shift to a leadership style, freedom to act and reliability are positively
impacted
achieved - but in reality has the most dramatic
and lasting impact: a reliability culture.
Culture continuum
it is interesting to examine the dynamic between
freedom to act and reliability as an organization
moves from left to right along the
culture continuum (Figure 1). the Ram study
has shown that, as top-performing organizations
move to the right on this continuum,
they increase their profitability as they become
more reliable. Creating a " leadeReliability "
culture (the culture farthest to the right)
has the greatest impact on performance and
can ultimately drive top performance in the
other two areas.
Culture, in this context, is defined as the
behaviors and processes an organization
practices and the extent to which they are
prevalent throughout the organization as a
whole. based on my personal observation,
the types of cultures in the industry today
span a wide continuum. inside each different
facet of the continuum are prevalent
ChemiCal engineering www.Chemengonline.Com may 2016
Most cultures stop here
Leaders thrive
Freedom to act
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Chemical Engineering May 2016

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