quant plus magazine issue december/2015

8/19/2019 Quant Plus Magazine Issue December/2015

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Quant plus 4 15

Realizing the full potentialof maintenance

10 Quant sign a joint venture with Themaar Investments in UAE21 How Quant is making a difference in the community23 Quant achieve 19 years of safety with Shell and counting

www.quantservice.com

A Quant industrial maintenance magazine


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Editorial

Quant plus 04 15

Mikael NorinChairman and acting CEO, Quant

As most of you begin to winddown for the festive season andlook forward to spending timewith your family and friends,

we have been busy securingnew contracts and ensuringour customers are receiving thehighest level of service.

Since the last issue, we havesigned a joint venture agreementwith Themaar Investmentsto introduce “world class”maintenance in the United ArabEmirates (UAE). As the UAE isa fast emerging economy with

its prestigious infrastructuredevelopments and strongbusiness fundamentals, providesthis JV with an opportunity tointroduce globally proven assetmanagement processes andsystems that will benefit localcompanies regardless of their size.

With the federal government’spolicies to diversify away fromoil and rely more on non-oil,the manufacturing sector willcontribute 8-10% to UAE’s GDP,depending on the type of industryapproximately 2.5 – 4.5% of thisamount will go towards total

“Achieving 19 years of safety with Shell andcounting, represents how committed weare to making sure we act responsibly and

professionally at all times.”

production asset maintenance

spend. As a reference, Quantis already instituting ‘bestmaintenance’ practice at areputable aluminum extrusioncompany in Abu Dhabi to ensurethe long term safety and reliabilityof the plant and at the same timeleaving time for the business tofocus on expansion and other coreproject opportunities.

As we are committed tomaintaining the safety at ourcustomer’s sites and for ouremployees, we celebrate aspecial milestone. By applyingour expertise and always strivingfor continuous improvement inprocesses, we have achieved 19years of safety at Shell in Brazil.

This was achieved not onlybecause we have systems andprocesses in place that areconstantly assessed, but because

the people at Quant are passionateabout this core value and live andbreathe this, not just at work, butalso at home with their families. Iwould like to acknowledge theirefforts in taking Quant to the nextlevel. As maintenance is a peoplebusiness, to me, this representshow committed we are to makingsure we act responsibly andprofessionally at all times. Wehave produced a video around

this project, which you can viewthe link in this issue.

Apart from securing newcontracts and working with our

existing customer’s to improve

their processes and safetystandards, we have also been busyat events around the world.

Sharing knowledge with peopleat these events about industrialmaintenance is what we do, andwe have demonstrated this atthe 21st Annual MaintenanceManagement forum in Dubai.

With the topic around StrategicPartnerships in Maintenance,Driving Asset Performance, gaveus the opportunity to networkwith key industry customer’sand unlock how we could helpthem improve their maintenancefunctions. Additionally in thisissue, we share our knowledgeabout Root Cause Analysis andhow it is an essential methodologyfor industrial maintenance.

Furthermore, we have a lot

more to share about industrialmaintenance in our white paperlibrary, located on our websitewww.quantservice.com.

I would like to wish you all a MerryChristmas and a Happy New Year.Let’s recharge our batteries andlook at 2016 as a new opportunityto expand on what we haveachieved in 2015.

Enjoy this issue of Quant plus.


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Contents

Quant plus 04 15. Issue 2. December 2015 • Customer magazine from Quant • Copyright 2015 • Visit : www.quantservice.com •Email : [email protected] • Any use of text or photos requires the written consent of the publisher

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Feature

Highlights

Pertti Weissenfelt, Pulp and PaperIndustry Segment Manager at Quantdiscusses how to unlock the fullpotential of maintenance

04

Around the world with Quant

08 Spain: Implementation of collaborative production management system for Papelera Brandia SA

09 South Africa: Sustainable solution to improve general productivity and overall equipmenteffectiveness at Specval Coatings

18 Sweden: Increasing availability to world class levels, while lowering maintenance costs for ABB

Achieving milestones in theUAE10

How Quant are helping thecommunity21

19 years of safety with Shelland counting23


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How can you realize the full potential

of maintenance for your business?

Feature article

Pertti Weissenfelt, Pulp and Paper Industry SegmentManager at Quant discusses how to unlock the fullpotential of maintenance at a paper mill, and how it canbe applied to other industries.


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Feature article

To define the full potential that exists inmaintenance, is maybe easier in pulp and paper

(P&P) industry than in many other industries.This is because paper and board machines andpulp production lines are basically quite similareverywhere. This similarity makes them quitewell comparable and easier to be benchmarkedcompared to many other industries, wherethe processes or machinery is not that much“standardized.”

Usually pulp and paper companies are makingcomparisons between their own productionlines and machines to find the best ones and the

underperformers. Quite often the company targetsare set based on their own best sites. That stilldoesn’t ensure to the company that they are amongthe best ones compared to their competitors.

Quant has been benchmarking pulp and paperindustry already over 10 years and has a wide globaldatabase of efficiencies and maintenance costs ofproduction lines divided by production grades andgeographical regions. Benchmarking with the bestin the Pulp and paper industry is a strong tool whendefining the full potential in maintenance.

I met recently one paper industry senior managerresponsible for operations and asked him about hisexpectations for maintenance. He told me that hisexpectation for maintenance is to provide solutions,

not proposals to buy new equipment to replacethe existing ones. As an example, he told me that if

there is something wrong with the paper machinesshower water system, he doesn’t want a maintenanceprovider to offer him a new shower pipe or a wholenew system. He wants to have best practices in use,the most efficient procedures and processes in placeto maintain and improve the reliability of the existingequipment.

To make better and more detailed reasoningfor replacement investment proposals, needsmaintenance expertise but we wouldn’t call it“realizing the full potential of maintenance.”

Most of the OEM’s are targeting to have a bigger partof their revenues coming from service. Most of thesecompanies are calculating spare part sales as service.The more spare parts they are able to sell, the bettertheir service business operating.

The business model put into practiceIn Quant’s business model, the more we are able toact before something gets broken, the less we areconsuming spare parts and the better our businessis functioning. In addition, our customers are savingmoney. Our business is to have solutions to avoid oroptimize the usage of spare parts.

How do we realize the full potential of maintenance ata paper mill?

“If you ask anybody at a mill what should be done to improve the reliability or overall the maintenance of the mill, the answer is to change maintenance from reactiveto proactive.”

Pertti Weissenfelt, Pulp and Paper Industry Segment Manager forQuant.


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had all together more than 30 total maintenanceagreements in the pulp and paper industry. Duringthis time, we have learned that on top of the commonindustrial maintenance improvements, there arealso pulp and paper industry specific maintenance

issues, which usually represents a lot of developmentpotential.

How do shut downs relate to Formula One pit stops?One of these as an example, is “shut downmanagement.” Paper machines need to shut downregularly for fabric changes and maintenanceprovider should be able to perform all maintenancework that requires shut during the time thatproduction is using for changing fabrics andwashing the machine. The fabrics used in papermachines are getting better all the time and theirlifetime is getting longer. For a maintenance

organization, it means less planned shutdown thanearlier. It is maybe a bit worn in comparison, buta very good one, that a paper machine shut downshould be as effective as a Formula One pit stop(today 2,2 sec for changing tires. Would you havebelieved that couple years back?). All well planned,prepared, safely executed and improve it constantly.Saving one or two hours for each planned shut is noteasy, but it can be done and it always should be thetarget for shut planning and preparations.

In pulp mills, the annual shut is a major priority

of the year and as the name already suggests, it’susually an annual event, if the aim for most mills is toexpand the interval from 12 to 18 months. Pulp millshut downs usually get a lot more attention becauseof their length and size. The annual shut can easily

Feature article

If you ask anybody at a mill what should be doneto improve the reliability or overall maintenanceof the mill, the answer is to change maintenancefrom reactive to proactive and do more preventivemaintenance.

To do this, most mills have just recently started adevelopment program including the basic things like:

– Updating CMMS equipment data and makecriticality classifications

– Update the preventive maintenance program– Decide and standardize new maintenance KPI’s– Improve work planning and scheduling– Start doing Root Cause Analyses– Implement 5S– Map the skills of maintenance people and update

training plans– Update condition monitoring tools and routes– Make a plan for operator maintenance

These are the basic things that all maintenancepeople know and they have done (often several timesalready) or are now doing. There is nothing new in it.We at Quant are often asked the question – “sinceeveryone knows this, how is Quant able to provide

better maintenance?”

When we start a new maintenance outsourcingagreement, we check if these basics are properlyimplemented. If not, we will include them with ourown procedures. This is the easy part, however, onlya small part of the improvement potential.

The majority of the improvement potential is inmaintenance processes, people and their workingculture. Quant is able to realize the full potential ofthis part of maintenance by:– Having the full support from company’s top

management. This is often missing from atraditional in-house maintenance when company’stop managers are concentrating on production andcustomers

– Proven change management processes, weensure that the maintenance people at our

customer’s site quickly adapt new Quant cultureto achieve measurable results and that the benefitsalways outweigh the costs

– Having an external view on recognizing the fullpotential of maintenance

– Knowing that empowering our people to continuousdevelopment is the lifeline to succeed inmaintenance business. Traditional in-housemaintenance organizations are used to havingdevelopment projects. Once the project is overand everything is back to “business as usual,” it’s stillthe same company, same friends working together,old comfort zone attracts. Sooner or later

everything is back as it was.

Quant has been in maintenance outsourcing businessalready 25 years and during that time we have

The majority of the improvement potential is in maintenanceprocesses, people and their working culture.


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Feature article

present one third of a mill’s annual maintenancecosts. For us at Quant, the implementation of ourown shut down management procedure is usuallyone among the biggest potentials in paper and pulpmill maintenance when we start a new agreement.

Our shut down management procedure is a greatexample of the maintenance processes that Quanthas developed during the years in pulp and papermill maintenance, taking in the best practices fromother industries where Quant is working (e.g. steelindustry). Another example of Quant’s pulp and paper industryspecific maintenance benefits to customers isthe capability to find, share and implement bestpractices. There are basically no new equipmentfailures in pulp and paper industry. If you get amachine failure or problem that you haven’t seen

before, it most certainly has happened somewhereelse earlier and there may be a solution for it already.

Quant being a global maintenance company andworked in Pulp and paper industry over 25 years haswide network in Pulp and paper industry and also inother industries which guarantees the access to bestpractices and specialists.

These kind of solutions and processes are what thecustomers are expecting from us and how we canguarantee of doing it better than anyone else.

A performance based fixed price maintenanceagreement is the best motivator for maintenanceprovider to keep up the passion for constantly

looking for new ways and best practices for doingthings better and better. Maintenance in that senseis the same as sports, the world records are beatenfrom year to year – even if we seem to think that nowthe best results have been reached. If or when we

get satisfied on the level of reached reliability of apaper machine, we don’t improve our performanceanymore – and soon someone else is doing it betterthan us. We at Quant have been developing ourmaintenance processes already 25 years – and still wewant to better every day – and we have to keep thecustomers satisfied.

What is our difference?Unlike many other outsourcing companies, we don’tfocus on shedding jobs to reduce costs. Rather weimplement effective planning and working methods,training our people to use our best practice processes

and tools, while empowering them to create valueand reduce waste. We ensure they understand howthey can contribute to realizing the full potentialof maintenance for our customers linking theirperformance targets directly to those agreed with thecustomer.

For more information about Quant’s maintenanceservice solutions, please visit:www.quantservice.com or [email protected]

Pulp mill shut downs usually get a lot more attention because of their length and size. The annual shut can easily present one third of amill’s annual maintenance costs.

Connect with Pertti Weissenfelt onLinkedIn here.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=AAkAAA4ZbroBZh3BE_2-V_a9iNZhcUkCar3n4IQ&authType=NAME_SEARCH&authToken=dECv&locale=en_US&trk=tyah&trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Amynetwork%2CclickedEntityId%3A236547770%2CauthType%3ANAME_SEARCH%2Cidx%3A1-1-1%2CtarId%3A1450223661832%2Ctas%3Aperttihttps://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=AAkAAA4ZbroBZh3BE_2-V_a9iNZhcUkCar3n4IQ&authType=NAME_SEARCH&authToken=dECv&locale=en_US&trk=tyah&trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Amynetwork%2CclickedEntityId%3A236547770%2CauthType%3ANAME_SEARCH%2Cidx%3A1-1-1%2CtarId%3A1450223661832%2Ctas%3Apertti


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Pulp and paper industry cases

Implementation of collaborativeproduction management system tosave energy

Papelera Brandia SA produces machine-glazed (MG)

kraft papers ranging from 24 to 140g/m2. Their kraftpapers are ideal for wrapping and packaging. Thebrightness of the glazed side of the paper optimizesprintability.

In 2012, Papelera Brandia started to have problemswith maxi-meters tripping. These are devices usedto automatically block power consumption afterhaving reached a pre-determined limit, in order toavoid penalty payments to the local electrical utilityfor consuming too much energy. The maxi-metersbecame faulty due to old age and lack of servicing.

Quant offered an Energy Audit as the strategicapproach to both reveal their energy consumptionand to identify a follow up including a master planwith the identification of potential opportunities andsavings.

Following an on-site visit by Quant experts,who performed electrical and thermal energymeasurements in the power plant, pulping processand paper machine energy sources, interviews wereconducted with the quality, production, maintenance,purchasing and plant managers to understand howthey manage their operations and their knowledgeabout energy policies.

Information such as invoices from various utilities

and other energy supply companies were collectedand analysed.

As a result, Quant and Papelera Brandia defined amaster plan with prioritization of opportunities,categorization and a feasibility analysis.

One of the crucial needs identified was a monitoringand targeting system. Quant’s solution was to installthe cpmPlus Energy Manager, including meters andmonitoring software, to communicate with qualitycontrol, production and planning systems.

Benefits

Total energy savings: 288.830 €/yearGlobal energy savings 9,25%Electrical savings 9,9%Natural gas savings 7,9%Savings in tons of CO2: 1.467 Ton/yearAverage ROI: 2,1 (92k in less than 18 months)

For more information about Quant’s maintenanceservice solutions for the pulp and paper industry,please visit:www.quantservice.com or [email protected]


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Pulp and paper industry cases

Sustainable solution to improvegeneral productivity and OverallEquipment Effectiveness (OEE)

Specval Coatings (previously known as Sappi CapeKraft paper mill) in South Africa, is a showcase ofa leading global paper company, manufacturing100% Recycled Linerboard and Fluting (corrugatingmedium) from waste paper.

In 2009 the mill was looking for a sustainable solutionto improve the general productivity and OverallEquipment Effectiveness (OEE) through a reputable

outsourced maintenance partnering agreement, andselected Quant as the preferred service provider.

The primary objective for the production team wasagreed, and the target was to be in the Top 3 GlobalEfficiency Improvement position, and aiming tobecome 1st position by 2014.

Engineering teams started focusing on specificproduction department issues that were causingdowntime. Quant maintenance staff also underwentintensive training for skills enhancement. Theprocess department was streamlined and startedcapturing flows, consistencies and trending data ona daily basis. Goal alignment sessions were regularlyheld, including all support departments, when newSpecific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic andwithin agreed Timeframe goals were set to obtainbuy-in from all.

Engineering had to focus efforts on plannedmaintenance shuts, unplanned downtime, andrework, which hampered the availability andequipment reliability on a regular basis. BestOperating Practices (BOP’s) and Best Maintenance

Practices (BMP’s) were revised and new equipmentmaintenance schedules updated on SAP to preventpremature unplanned failures.

Since July 2013, Sappi Cape Kraft has stayed inthe top 5 positions of the Sappi Global EfficiencyRanking, while achieving both the number 1 and 2positions 3 times and is currently in the number 1position, here in 2014.

The focus area remains uptime where opportunitiesstill exist. Quality focus is a given and will continue.

Machine run rates are currently dryer limited, andthis will be worked on during 2015, on our continuousimprovement journey to become world class in allaspects of our recycling paper production operation.

Benefits

Improvements from the production planningside and continued daily focus, has resultedin significant deckle loss improvements tocurrent level of approximately 3%, which iswell below budget.

Sappi Cape Kraft achieved the 2014 numberone position for the Sappi Global EfficiencyRanking with an OEE achievement of 82.47%.

For more information about Quant’s maintenanceservice solutions for the pulp and paper industry,please visit:www.quantservice.com or [email protected]


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Business in UAE

How maintenance productivity measurementidentified significant maintenance cost reductionopportunities

Quant signs a joint venture agreementwith Themaar Investments tointroduce “world class” maintenance

in the UAE

L-R: Khalid bin Kalban and Ziad Yazbeck (Chairman Quant MiddleEast LLC).

The United Arab Emirates is a fast emergingeconomy with its prestigious infrastructuredevelopments and strong business fundamentalsprovides this JV with an opportunity to introduceglobally proven asset management processes andsystems that will benefit local companies regardlessof their size. With the federal government’s policiesto diversify away from oil and rely more on non-oil,

the manufacturing sector will contribute 8-10%to UAE’s GDP, depending on the type of industryapproximately 2.5 – 4.5% of this amount will gotowards total production asset maintenance spend.

The cost of poor maintenance is costing companiesmillions of dollars in capital expenditure, sparesinventory, employing and retaining a multitude ofexpensive high skilled resources. Many companiesstarted to look for better ways of sustaining andexpanding their market share while protecting theirprofitability, hence the idea of outsourcing ‘non-core’functions has become an innovative and a chosen

method for driving efficiency into an organization.

Mikael Norin, Chairman and acting CEO of Quantcommented on why this partnership is so important

for operations in the Middle East. “I am very pleasedto have signed a joint venture agreement with astrategic partner that will enforce our growth inthe Middle East. Having a partnership like thiswill solidify our ability to deliver value addedmaintenance solutions for the Middle East, throughimplementing the right maintenance culture

and knowledge, superior safety practices whileoptimizing maintenance cost and improving plantperformance. The current global market environmentis extremely demanding and more and morecompanies need to implement these concepts toachieve fast and sustainable excellence, which is nodifferent in the Middle East.”

“A world-class economy needs an infrastructure andassociated services to match, albeit to do that it has tocontinuously enhance competitiveness and improveproductivity in a sustainable way. This alliance withQuant will enable us to tap on this knowhow to help

manufacturing companies in the UAE improve theiroverall plant performance” said a spokespersonrepresenting Themaar.

As a reference, Quant is already instituting ‘bestmaintenance’ practice at a reputable aluminumextrusion company in Abu Dhabi to ensure the longterm safety and reliability of the plant and at thesame time leaving time for the business to focus onexpansion and other core project opportunities.

About Themaar

Themaar investment LLC is located in Dubai,Emirates. The company is working in procurementand trading business activities, and own severalmanufacturing sites in the region.

For more information about Quant business in theUAE, please contact:Silvester-Basil FrancisEmail: [email protected] visit www.quantservice.com


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Business in UAE

Learn more about the joint venture agreement:An interview with Silvester-Basil Francis

Statistics show that the non-oil sector is growingrapidly in Dubai, hence there is a lot of opportunityfor growth in industries such as, food and beverage.Silvester-Basil Francis, Vice President of Sales atQuant for Mediterranean and Middle East, outlineswhy the recent joint venture signing will presentopportunities that will benefit Dubai, includingother areas of United Arab Emirates (UAE).

1. Why a JV with Themaar Investment when there isalready a presence in UAE?Quant has identified United Arab Emirates (UAE) asan important growth market for total maintenance

outsourcing business and is pleased to establishthis joint venture with a reputable organization likeThemaar Investment in the UAE. Leveraging on thelocal market “knowhow” of Themaar Investmentwill provide Quant the opportunity to accelerate thegrowth of the Total Maintenance Outsourcing (TMO)business in this region. Correspondingly, Quantwe will ensure that our clients manufacturing sitebecome a showcase reference that will generate salesfor the JV.

2. Why select Dubai as a base?

With the onset of Dubai expo 2020, prestigiousinfrastructure developments and diversificationinto non-oil based industrial projects, we envisage ahuge demand for building material and various otherproducts.

Many customers start to realize that maintenancealthough extremely important and was onceconsidered an integral part of their business, is notwhy their customers buy their product. Hence,management resource and time is better utilized tofocus on operations, marketing, expansions and newproduct and development, leaving maintenanceto professional like Quant who can do it better andcheaper than themselves.

Silvester-Basil Francis, Vice President of Sales at QuantMediterranean and Middle East Region.

3. What is the relevance for UAE of Quant enteringthe market?The lowering of international trade barriers is puttingimmense pressure on manufacturers across the

region to remain profitable in an ever increasingcompetitive market environment. Coupled with ascarcity of skilled resources, many companies are alsofaced with the difficulty of finding skilled resources,training and retaining them, hence, sustaining theeffectiveness of their production assets has becomeof vital concern.

Cost of poor maintenance is costing companiesmillions of dollars in capital expenditure, employingand retaining a multitude of expensive high skilledresources, acquiring sophisticated maintenancetools etc. As manufacturing companies seek toreduce costs and improve their Overall EquipmentEffectiveness (OEE), the idea of outsourcing themaintenance function to leverage on the corecompetencies of an external service provider has


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Business in UAE

become an acceptable approach of driving efficiencyinto an organization.

4. What are the key opportunities for this jointventure?Typically, we are looking to establish maintenancepartnerships with process industries in the metals,paper, food and beverage, discrete manufacturing,port and harbor, petrochemical and minerals sector.Maintenance is our core business and companies

stand to benefit that by having an experiencedmaintenance company like Quant take care of theirmaintenance they further stand to benefit addedvalue services such as;– Improved health, safety and environment culture

that will enhance operational excellences at thesites. Convinced by our passion to drive safety,Quant was recently entrusted to take responsibilityfor the overall safety management of amanufacturing facility located at the KhalifaIndustrial Zone in Abu Dhabi, Kizad.

– Being is part of a community of professional

maintenance practitioners enables our people toshare best maintenance practices across differentindustries. For instance, enhanced safety practicesin a petrochemical industry or stringent 5S practicein a food and beverage industry, efficient shutdownplanning and scheduling in the pulp and paperindustry are some of the specific experiences indifferent industries that our people share and learnof each other.

– Introducing on-line real time measurementssystems to help management monitor andmake informed decisions to manage the effectiveperformance of their production assets aretechnologies available today, leveraging on thedigital era.

– Reducing maintenance spare parts stock levelsusing mathematical and empirical models positively

impacts the balance sheet while guaranteeing theplant availability would certainly please businesscontrollers.

– Improving the reliability of production equipmentby instituting predictive maintenance philosophywill effectively reduce breakdown which cost isfour times that of preventive maintenance.

5. What business do Quant have in UAE already?We have been entrusted with the completemaintenance responsibility for a reputable aluminumextrusion company in Abu Dhabi equipped with thelatest “state of the art” production lines. We havea full time maintenance crew at this site who areresponsible for the design, management, planningand execution of all the maintenance activities 24 x 7.

We have received interest from several companies inthe Middle East region about our Total MaintenanceOutsourcing solution and we evaluate each of thesepotential prospects selectively before we commit to

any long term maintenance partnership.

6. What are you as a leader bringing?Maintenance has evolved from just lubrication andwrench turning, albeit necessary, to a science thatinvolves state of the art maintenance methodologies,best maintenance practices, on line real timeperformance measurement and energy efficiencysolutions.

With over 25 years’ experience and knowledgeon maintenance process support tools such as

Computer-Based Decision Support Systems,Reliability Centered Maintenance & PreventiveMaintenance Task Development/Optimization,Reliability Data Analysis and Modeling, SparesOptimization System, Industry-specific MaintenanceBenchmarks etc. makes Quant one of the leadingcompanies in the world having this unique solutionof turning our client’s maintenance from a cost intoan investment.

For more information about Quant’s maintenancesolution services, please visit:

www.quantservice.com or [email protected]

Statistics show that the non-oil sector is growing rapidly in Dubai,

hence there is a lot of opportunity for growth.

Connect with Silvester-Basil Francis onLinkedIn here.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=AB4AAAMQ8-4BXvwNtwI5CIDPtzr7t0wsFKYwZUc&authType=name&authToken=KO7-&trk=wonton-desktophttps://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=AB4AAAMQ8-4BXvwNtwI5CIDPtzr7t0wsFKYwZUc&authType=name&authToken=KO7-&trk=wonton-desktop


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White paper: Root Cause Analysis

Improving equipment reliability

through the implementation of RootCause Analysis (RCA)

Jose Baptista, Development Manager for Reliability atQuant, identifies how RCA can be defined as a

structured process that uncovers the underlyingphysical, human, and organizationalcauses of any undesirable event.


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The root cause analysis or simply RCA, the acronymby which it is commonly known, is anindispensable methodology for the industrialmaintenance to get out of the damaging reactivemode.

To better understand what the reactive mode is;consider the situation where the maintenance

crew is occupied full-time to repair equipment thatrandomly breaks.

In this way, the maintenance team is alwaysoverloaded; working under the constant pressure ofhaving to repair equipment to put the plant back inoperation, another term commonly used to describethis situation is “only work to put out fires.” In thiswork model the maintenance costs are high,fairly unpredictable. There is constant tensionbetween operations and maintenance because themaintenance is always seen as the great villainthat prevents the operation to meet its production

program and, moreover, accounts for a significantportion of operating costs.

What prevents the successful implementation ofRCA, despite the fact that companies are becomingincreasingly aware of benefits of RCA? We have toask, “Why doesn’t RCA work?”

RCA methodologyThe RCA process adopted worldwide by Quant in theindustrial maintenance customer sites consists of thefollowing steps:

– Define the problem– If necessary, perform the Failure Analysis– Identify possible causes– Check real cause(s)– Propose solution to the problem– Implement the solution– Monitor the results

Step 1: Define the problemAlbert Einstein has said that if he had only one hourto save the world, he would spend fifty five minutesto define the problem and five minutes to solve it.

The quote illustrates how important it is to define theproblem in finding its solution. First, it is important tounderstand that any problem or undesired event canbe defined as the difference between the currentsituation and the goal (Eckert, 2005). A commonpractice in defining the problem, which ultimatelyhinder their subsequent analysis and solution, isthat some people write a real novel describing theproblem and, in most cases, end up defining notonly a problem, but various problems in the samedescription.

We need to understand that different people or

groups will have different views on the sameproblem (Eckert, 2005). One way to circumvent thisdifficulty and arrive at a consensus definition is tomake the following simple questions:

– What is the problem?– When did this happen?– Where did it happen?– What goal has been impacted by the problem?

These questions must be answered in shortsentences; one object and one defect.

Step 2: Failure Analysis (if necessary)The failure analysis is a detailed inspection of thedamaged components to determine what wasthe mechanism or failure mode responsible for thefailure. The information “how” the component failedis an important data for determining the root cause.Figure 1 illustrates an example of analysis. There arefive mechanisms that lead to a component failure:– Overload: The application of a single load

(mechanical or electrical) leads the component to deform or fracture as the load is applied– Fatigue: Floating load over a relatively long period

of time causes this type of failure and, in

most cases, leaves clues– Corrosion-influenced failure: Corrosion

substantially reduces the design strength of metals– Corrosion: The failure results is the wearing away of

metals due to a chemical reaction– Wear: Several mechanisms result in the loss of

material by mechanical removal

Step 3: Identify the possible causesOne of the methods used to identify possible causesof the problem is the causal tree. The causal treestarts by determining the so-called main event,

which is the problem or undesired event beinganalyzed. This block is extremely important becauseit determines the rest of the sequence analysis. Insequence, it is necessary to determine what factorsmay contribute to the occurrence of the main eventand the possible interrelations between them.

The relationship between the main event and itsfactors is the immediate cause-effect relationship.The second level is the possible immediate causesof it. Thereafter, for each possible cause it shouldimmediately be related to its possible causes, each

immediate cause becomes an effect.

And the diagram will be expanded to as many levelsas needed, as shown below.

In a causal tree, the main event is the accident itselfand it is placed at the top or at left hand side as inthe below example. The next step is to provide thecauses for the top event, followed by the causes forthose secondary causes, and continuing on untilthe endpoints are reached. These endpoints are thepossible root causes.

In determining the roots, to facilitate understandingof the event, the roots can be divided into thefollowing categories (Latino & Latino, 2006): physical,human and organizational (or latent) roots


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Figure 1: Example of Causal tree.

The physical roots are the immediate consequencesof the event; roots are tangible or damagedcomponents, for example. The human roots are thehuman actions that caused the physicalroots or damage to components / materials, andfinally the latent or organizational roots are themotivation for the action has been taken.

Physical roots are the physical reasons why the

parts failed:– Overload i.e. operation error, accident– Fatigue i.e. thermally induced, mechanically

induced, imbalance, misalignment, resonance,material

– Corrosion i.e. wrong material, process chemicals,environment, spills

– Wear i.e. lubrication, contamination,misalignment, excessive loading

Human roots can be understood as human decision-making errors that will cause the roots

of the physical event. They are errors of action oromission, which means, someone didsomething they should not have done or failed to dosomething they should do. Examples:

– Memory i.e. forgetting a task– Selection i.e. ordering wrong component, making

wrong choice– Discrimination i.e. poor information– Test or operation error i.e. ‘knew’ the rest of the

procedure– Situational blindness i.e. acceptance of problems

When the conclusion of an analysis is simply

human error, there is a strong indication that theanalysis was incomplete. Human error just says thatsomething was not done correctly and that therewere people involved. Human error is a general

conclusion that does not allow any specific action toprevent recurrence of the problem. Once the specificcause of the problem was found, organizationschoose disciplinary actions as the only alternativeand keep thus a vicious circle.

Organizations often blame employees for problemsand seem to believe that this will set an example for

all employees and discourage them to commit thesame mistakes. In fact, the underlying message mightbe that: “If you identify a problem or are involved witha problem which is preventing us from achieving ourgoals, it is better not to reveal because you can bepunished.”

Organizational or latent roots can be understood asorganizational systems which people use to makedecisions. When systems are flawed, the decisionsmade from them will result in errors. Some examplesof organizational roots:

– Lack of employee engagement;

– Management complacency;– Failure of communication;– Task perceived as undesired;– Lack of procedures, technical documentation and

formal training;– Missing or incomplete specifications;– Incorrect incentive;– Use of incorrect tools or worn;– Priorities incorrect;– Lack of access to information.

The following illustration describes the hierarchical

order of root levels and implications of correctiveactions:

Step 4: Check real cause(s)In this step the possible causes are evaluated andthe proof is sought through the data collected, asmentioned in the previous step.

The real causes of the event can be achieved by

discarding the hypotheses that cannot beproved. “When you eliminate the impossible,whatever remains, no matter how improbable, mustbe the truth.” (Doyle, 1902)

Figure 2: The three root levels.


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rubber charge along with the additives. The rotorswere driven by a 2000 HP electrical motor / gearbox.In this case, the internal mixer of the tire plant hadits automation system (PLC and software) replaced(upgraded) during a plant planned shutdown(holidays), after five years of continuous operation.As scheduled, it returned to operation on a Mondaymorning and operated continuously during that

whole week until Saturday night, when it wassupposed to stop for the weekend (the mentionedplant always stopped from Saturday night to Sundaynight). At the moment when the equipment wasstopped by the operator, an explosive sound washeard and some smoke comes out from the2000 HP gearbox.

Problem: The internal mixer 2000HP gearboxbearings were damagedResults from investigations that followed the event:– It was the first time failure for the equipment– The gearbox bearings were damaged due to lack of

lubrication. The lubrication pump was stopped andthe main motor continued operating

– The operator used to stop the equipment bystopping the auxiliary equipment (hydraulic pump,fans, cooling water pump) instead of normal stop(main motor). He claimed that he operated theequipment this way for more than five years.

– The engineer who made the PLC softwareconversion forgot to include the equipment safetyinterlocks.

– The equipment safety interlock wasn’t testedduring the equipment commissioning.

Casual tree:

Root causes:– Physical roots: the damaged bearings– Human roots: the operator didn’t stop the

equipment correctly and the design engineer didn’tinclude the interlock avoiding the motor tocontinue running if the lubrication pump is not

– Organizational roots: missing or inadequatequalification of operators, missing or inadequatecommissioning of new / refurbished equipment,the area operations supervision was deficient

Problem solution:– The problem was solved by the replacement of

damaged bearings and the inclusion of an equipment safety interlock to avoid the main


Step 5: Propose solution to the problemAt this phase, the process identifies possible solutionsfor each individual cause found in the analysismentioned above. It is important to verify that eachsolution prevents recurrence of the problem anddoes not create new problems. The ease of solutionimplementation and the required investment (cost /benefit analysis) should also be assessed.

Steps 6 and 7: Implementation of the solution andfollow upThe whole process developed up to this point will betotally useless if the implementation of thesolution does not take place. It is suggested that:– A complete plan must be prepared with all the

planned actions– This plan must set deadlines, resources and

responsible persons for all actions– Do not plan many actions simultaneously or assign

a single responsible– An action properly implemented is more valuable

than ten actions in the plan– Expand the cause and expand the fix

The process of root cause analysis aims at completeelimination of the problem preventing its recurrence.Recurrence at any time, demonstrates that theprocess was ineffective for one of thepossible causes:– Errors in determining the root cause– Errors in the determination of actions to eliminate

the root cause– Errors in determining the parameters for monitoring

the results

Resistance to the implementation of Root CauseAnalysisTo achieve success through the use of Root CauseAnalysis, you must be prepared to overcome thepossible obstacles. Here is a list of some of thearguments that people often use to justify theirattitude (Latino, 2006):– It is a bureaucratic process that takes a long time– It is an expensive process– It’s just a “flavor of the month”

– It is a way to find and punish the guilty– Only applies to really serious and important events– It is a tool only for reliability engineers– We’ve tried other times and it did not work– We have enough quality programs

These arguments, however, are easily refuted. Forexample, those who think that root cause analysis willtake a lot of time, need to be reminded that if they donot have time for analysis, they will need to get moretime and resources to handle the continual repetitionof undesired events.

Example: RCA methodology applicationCase example one: In a tire manufacturing plantthere is an internal mixer equipped with two counter-rotating rotors in a large housing that shear the


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To keep a failure from reoccurring is good, but the truevalue of RCA is to leverage the overall plant results.

internal mixer motor to continue running if the lubrication pump is not

– The internal mixer operations procedure wasrevised and all operators were trained

Extend the cause and fix:To keep a failure from reoccurring is good, butthe true value of RCA is to leverage the overallplant results. So it was checked where else in theplant similar problem could take place due tounknowledgeable and therefore wrong operation.

Case example two: How RCA positively affected overall planteffectiveness

At an electronics industry in an Eastern Europeancountry, the availability of production lines wasbeing seriously affected by frequent equipmentbreakdowns. Maintenance staff was overwhelmedand totally involved only in corrective maintenance,in other words “just working to put out fires” and theplant operations team was increasingly dissatisfiedbecause they were not able to meet productionschedules. The vicious circle was established;equipment broke, the production schedule was notmet, the plant manager complained, operations team

blamed maintenance and the maintenance workedeven more without obtaining a result of their actions.

The following plan was established to overcomethe situation: first the root cause of failures was tobe discovered to prevent recurrence. Therefore, forevery new failure the question should be:“Why did it failed?” And then there are two options:(1) the cause of failure can be identified(2) the cause of failure cannot be identified: for thissecond option necessarily, it is neededto apply the RCA.

Addressing each equipment breakdown this way, webegin to understand what is actually contributingto the poor production technical availability.However, this is not enough to achieve our goals ofreducing failures because we need to be proactive,in other words, the failures need to be preventedfrom occurring or the impact of occurrence mustbe minimized, and for this we have the preventivemaintenance plans. The below figure 5 shows aprocess flow explaining the plan to minimize theequipment failures, moving maintenance fromreactive to proactive. The plan was put into practice,

after training of the involved teams (maintenance,operations, process engineers, etc.), and after thirtyweeks of dedicated team work, occurred a drasticreduction in the frequency of failures, increasing the

operational availability of the two main productionlines.

The end resultsThe RCA implementation is the first step towards aworld-class reliability environment; it is extremelycost effective and greatly improves the reliability ofthe facilities, by improving standards of operation,maintenance and design, and helping to identifyweaknesses in the organization. Some of the benefitsof its implementation:– A detailed understanding of what issues can be

occurring on the plant– Issues can be separated and clarified so the RCA is

performed on the actual issues instead of perceived

issues– Identification of all root causes to the problem are

exposed, giving a clear understanding of what ishappening

– The root causes can be ranked in order ofcontribution and importance

– Recurring problems can be prevented; increasingavailability, decreasing required maintenancecosts and freeing up personnel to work on proactiveimprovements

– A failure database can be built up over a period oftime

– Objective results are produced based on factsrather than personal opinion

– The analysis is documented for future review

ReferencesDoyle, A.C. (1887), A Study in Scarlet, Ward Lock & Co.Doyle, A.C. (1890), The Sign of Four, Spencer BlackettDoyle, A.C. (1902), The Hound of the Baskervilles, George NewnesDoyle, A.C. (1891), A Scandal in Bohemia, The Strand MagazineDoyle, A.C. (1892), The Adventure of the Copper Beeches, TheStrand MagazineEckert, C. (2005), Apollo Análise de Causa de Raiz (RCA) - UmSumário, article published on March, 2005,Apollo South America Ltda., www.apollorca.comLatino, R. (2006), The top 10 reasons people don’t trust root causeanalysis, Plant Serviceshttp://www.plantservices.com/articles/2006/240.htmlLatino, R. & Latino, K. (2006), Root Cause Analysis, 3rd. Edition,CRC Press, USA, 2006US Department of Energy, (1992), Root Cause Analysis GuidanceDocument, DOE-NE-STD-1004-92

For more information about Quant, please visit:www.quantservice.com or [email protected]


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Total Maintenance Outsourcing cases

Increasing availability to world classlevels, while lowering maintenancecosts

The collaboration between the Quant and ABB inFigeholm has been ongoing for several years, andat the beginning of 2013 it was decided to take it astep further. The previous agreement focused onhaving the highest possible availability in termsof machinery. Maintenance costs are now beingprioritized as well.

ABB in Figeholm manufactures insulation materialsuch as sheet and laminate as well as presspaper

insulation components.

It is no surprise that maintenance is such a highpriority at Figeholm. The big paper machine has torun 24 hours a day, almost every day of the year.

“Maintenance work is all important and the Quantteam have expertise in this area that we don’t. Thismeans that we can now focus more on our corebusiness here at Figeholm. We met our targets foravailability in 2013, and when it came to costs weeven exceeded the target,” says Tobias Hansson, Site

Manager.

A thorough overview was drawn up to survey costs,coordinate purchases and allow for better follow upof activities.

“In doing this we have also taken a number ofmeasures to promote safety, such as implementing anew system for following up on deviations,” says LeifVumritz, Regional Manager.

This has led to a big change in the working processat Figehom: Regular follow-up meetings are now avery important part of making sure everything isgoing smoothly: Daily meetings, where availabilityand safety are reconciled; weekly meetings where

costs are followed up and monthly meetings wherecollaboration is reviewed and the meeting of annualtargets is evaluated.

“Communicating the new procedures has beena challenge, but we’ve worked on it together. Wework in close collaboration with ABB in Figeholmand the employees at Quant. All these people havecontributed to the success of the first year of ouragreement, but we still aim to be better,” concludesLeif Vumritz.

For more information about Quant, please visit:www.quantservice.com or [email protected]


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Quant and ABB reaching new heightstogether!

Earlier this year, Quant in Figeholm received anaward for the “Most impressive, Make it Happentransformation.”

The basis for this award was a decision Quant took,together with ABB, the customer in Figeholm. Theaward related to the maintenance in Figeholm andtaking maintenance to the next level. Both partsagreed on a long-term effort to make maintenancemore efficient, which was as a clear objective in the

maintenance service established. Important agreedareas, the overall maintenance cost, availability ofproduction equipment, project work and costs forexternal partners were other objectives identified.The design has led to several successful initiatives ina close and positive collaboration with ABB, resultingin a positive outcome for the set targets. Jan Peder Wange, Quant’s site manager in Figeholmgives some insight about this achievement.

1. Can you give a brief description of the customer’sbusiness in Figeholm?ABB in Figeholm manufactures cellulose-basedinsulation material for electric power industry.Certain component manufacturing for ABB alsotakes place in Figeholm. Research and development,

production, marketing and sales of insulationmaterials for ABB coordinated from Figeholm, whichis also called Technical Lead Center for insulation.

2. How long have Quant had a contract with ABB inFigeholm?Since 2007 is when the maintenance agreement wasestablished between Quant and ABB, Figeholm. 3. What maintenance services were included in the

agreement?Quant became responsible for the total maintenancewhich created additional challenges. These wherehaving a major focus on economics and availability,which has been evolving over time. While newprocesses were introduced, we invested in newpumps, beam lifting and a new vacuum lifting tomention a few.

4. To achieve these objectives requires strongcommitment from several parties. Who have beenthe key drivers in this process over the years?The maintenance contract we have with ABB inFigeholm is based on partnership. The renewal ofthe contract was based on the decision to focus onadditional availability and overall maintenance costs.That said, to be successful, everyone was involved


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with a focus on the same goal. Today, we work closelywith the customer and the business, so in an unlikelyevent if something is missed or an emergencyhappens, we are available instantly.

5. On what level has there been the biggest change?Focus on Security has always been our mainpriority. In addition, we have introduced a lot ofnew processes. We have regular follow-up meetings

to streamline, daily meetings where accessibilityand safety are discussed, weekly meetings wherecosts are monitored and monthly meetings wherecooperation is reviewed. We evaluate how annualobjectives have been achieved so we can determineif any additional processes need to be put in place toachieve our goals for ABB.

Furthermore, we do a lot of jobs ourselves, withexternal help brought in only in specific cases.We have also focused on coordination in severalareas, while we distributed various tasks amongall employees. To implement new routines takestime and effort. By making everyone involved, itcontributes to both greater commitment, whilecreating personal growth. This in turn, leads toa strong team culture where each individual isimportant in the process. It is the key to positiveresults!

6. What factors do you think have contributed toyour success?Our Quant team above all. Maintenance is a peoplebusiness and it is our people that make the difference.Proud, passionate and professional in what we

deliver. Clear objectives and well-functioningprocesses, how we work with costs, availability andthe project’s tools, as stated clearly in our contracts.

7. What challenges do you need to overcome?The challenge is to have patience, to think long termfor efficient maintenance. Here you have to havebalance when it should be streamlined. For example,to work on improvements and developments, at thesame time in a professional manner.

For more information about Quant’s TMO solutions,

please visit:www.quantservice.com or [email protected]

“The maintenance contract we have with ABB in Figeholm isbased on partnership. The renewal of the contract was basedon the decision to focus on additional availability and overallmaintenance costs.”


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Quant in the community

Quant is passionate about ourcommunity

From China to Finland – Quant helping out in the community.

Quant participated in a traffic safety day at Harjavaltagrammar school in Finland. During the day, all schoolchildren and school staff were introduced to a fullsemi-truck with trailer to learn about the dangers ofinvisibility (dead) angles from the truck cabins.

Quant donated reflectors and one Quant employeebelonging to the parents association donated herworking day to assist in this initiative.

As well as being passionate about maintenance,Quant is also committed to improving theenvironment we live in.

In China, Quant participated in a volunteer programby collecting as much waste in one hour on the beach

in Rizhao as possible. A lot of rubbish was collected,which contributed to a healthier environment.

Want to follow us, so you can see whatwe are doing in the community? FollowQuant on Facebook here.

https://www.facebook.com/Quant-747603528665884/https://www.facebook.com/Quant-747603528665884/https://www.facebook.com/Quant-747603528665884/


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Quant global events

Spain, Sweden and Dubai – taking Quant to the next level.

Around the world in events with Quant

Metallic Mining event in Seville, Spain. “Enterprise Days” event in Karlskrona, Sweden.

Annual Maintenance Management conference in Dubai.

Where will Quant be in 2016?

Come and see Quant at these events in 2016;

Expomin 2016 April 24 to 29, Santiago,Chile

MAPLA MANTENIM 2016 September 7 to 9,Santiago, Chile

UNITI EXPO June 14 to 16, Stuttgary,Germany

Sustainability Circle March 8 to 11,Gothenburg, Sweden

SPCI April 27 to 28,Stockholm, Sweden

Special note: More events will be included for 2016


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Realizing the full potential of maintenance

Quant achieve 19 years of safety andcounting with Shell

Safety is one of Quant’s corevalues. Quant endeavorto have the highest safetystandards for all our

customers and employees.

Watch the video here.

Quant in Brazil has achieved 19 years of safety withShell and counting. Spanning back to February in1996, Quant has had no incidents, resulting in no lossof working time.

Andre Santana, Plant Manager at Shell expressed howQuant has achieved this milestone. “Year by year, weare innovating new programs, to motivate the people,

that the most important thing is safety. The mostimportant value for Quant are three pillars; sustainsafety performance, sustain the people’s safety andcontinuous improvement in safety performance.”

Quant’s Site Manager Andre Ribeiro, furthercommented on the improvement in processes sinceQuant was acquired by Nordic Capital at the end of2014. “Management is more approachable, which hashelped in everyday terms. Communication is flowingbetter and this is reflected in the results.”

Shell has renewed the contract with Quant for afurther five years with a new management andservice management model.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXFOzRJEtU8https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXFOzRJEtU8https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXFOzRJEtU8


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Safety first

www.quantservice.com

Safety is always the first priority in everything we do. We arepassionate about keeping our people, suppliers and customerssafe at all times.

Everybody working for Quant, as an employee or contractor, isrequired to take care of themselves and their colleagues.

We are committed to providing the instructions and trainingrequired to ensure they can do so safely.

Improving and developing our safety systems to world classstandards is always our focus. Feedback is encouraged and seenas an opportunity to improve and evolve our safety proceduresand culture.

Our ultimate safety goal is ZERO accidents. We have only doneour job when everyone goes home each and every day safe andsound.

quant plus magazine issue december/2015

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