Plan for Improving the Equipment Inspection Management and Maintenance System

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I. Characteristics of the management system for equipment based on inspection and scheduled maintenance The inspection and scheduled maintenance system is a method of equipment management that involves dynamic management of equipment by all employees throughout the entire process; it is suitable for continuous production systems. It is a equipment management method that is compatible with condition-based maintenance and optimized maintenance; it can effectively prevent over-maintenance as well as under-maintenance of equipment, improve its reliability, reduce maintenance costs, and achieve the optimal balance between reliability and cost-effectiveness. Under the inspection and maintenance system, the inspection personnel are responsible both for inspecting the equipment and for managing it; among inspection, operation, and maintenance, inspection holds a central role. He is the person responsible for, organizer of, and manager of equipment maintenance. The inspection personnel are the ones responsible for the equipment under their oversight; they carry out inspections strictly in accordance with established standards and at set intervals. They are also responsible for formulating and modifying maintenance standards, preparing and updating inspection plans, as well as managing maintenance projects, drafting material plans, and preparing budgets for maintenance costs. The ultimate goal is to achieve preventive maintenance of equipment at the lowest cost, ensuring its normal operation and improving equipment utilization. The inspection and maintenance system imposes the requirement for dynamic management of equipment, demanding that operators, maintenance personnel, and managers all participate in the PDCA management cycle related to the equipment. This approach helps to improve various technical standards associated with the equipment, extend its service life, and achieve the goals of zero failures and fully controlled equipment. In summary, the inspection and preventive maintenance system has the following characteristics: Characteristic 1: The system clearly identifies the responsible party for equipment management—the inspector—and stipulates that the inspector is accountable for the entire process of equipment management. Feature 2: The equipment management structure recommended by the inspection system is a streamlined and efficient management framework that achieves a flatter organizational structure by reducing the number of hierarchical levels. Feature 3: The inspection system standardizes the behavior of inspectors and implements standardized operations. Standardization of working hours and standardization of work procedures are required. Feature 4: The inspection system requires coordination among management, operation, and maintenance parties to establish a \"five-prevention\" system. Feature 5: The inspection system requires both management and inspectors to jointly participate in verifying safety and quality on-site, thereby strengthening the management of critical safety and quality-related tasks. Feature 6: The inspection system places high demands on the technical and professional competence of inspectors. II. Operational status of the company’s preventive maintenance system
The preventive maintenance management implemented by the company is overseen by the Equipment Technology Department; its maintenance strategy primarily relies on planned maintenance. Gradually promote scheduled maintenance management. In the process of the company’s growth from a small entity to a larger one, it played a vital role in equipment management. The domestic inspection and maintenance system is continuously being improved. Through the company’s efforts to strive for excellence, by comparing the effectiveness of inspection and maintenance practices with those of leading enterprises, we have identified the following gaps: 1. The inspection and maintenance processes are not carried out in a standardized manner, and their full potential has not been realized. The reason for this is that the configuration of inspection organizations is imperfect; there is a lack of inspection supervisors capable of overseeing the relevant specialties. First, there are few inspectors; on average, there is less than one person per main system for each unit, which is a relatively low number. Third is the institutional flaw: since inspection officers are assigned to the Equipment Technology Department, it is difficult to define clear boundaries for their responsibilities, which prevents them from carrying out their duties effectively. 2. The company is growing rapidly, and the current staffing level cannot meet the quality requirements for inspection personnel in the short term. In some units, managers lack experience in inspection, maintenance, and repair management. 3. Routine inspections and maintenance must rely on information-based management tools, and the inspection system is not fully integrated with the SIS system. Information sharing cannot be achieved between management and inspection. It has restricted the standardized implementation of inspection and maintenance. 4. The standardization of inspection work lags significantly behind; the four major inspection standards are currently being formulated. 5. The role of the inspection staff as the main responsible party for equipment management is not clear; there is no comprehensive equipment management system that integrates professional inspections, routine inspections, and maintenance-related checks. III. Plans for improving the inspection and maintenance system. Currently, the power industry employs three different organizational models for inspections: a system with full-time inspection staff in the Production and Technology department; a system where the Maintenance department assumes the role of full-time inspection staff; and an independent professional inspection team. The full-time inspection staff model used by the company is characterized by clear identification of the person responsible for equipment management. It offers efficiency and maturity, but it also involves a large volume of work with high complexity and many administrative tasks. The model of appointing dedicated inspection officers in the maintenance department: This is a model widely adopted by various power plants. It emphasizes the integration of equipment inspection and maintenance, facilitates the combination of centralized and decentralized production operations, eliminates the issue of overly broad responsibilities within departments, and helps establish and implement a plant-wide performance evaluation system. However, it weakened the hierarchical management relationship between inspection and maintenance of equipment, objectively creating conditions for inadequate equipment maintenance. The independent professional inspection team model emphasizes the collection, accumulation, and processing of on-site data. It features detailed division of labor for inspections, flexible adjustments, comprehensive data collection, high focus during work, strong continuity, and short work cycles. Based on the analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of these three inspection methods, it is important to address the shortcomings in the company’s inspection management system, implement appropriate measures to ensure that inspections play their proper role, and establish an equipment management system that integrates professional inspections, routine inspections, and maintenance-related checks. This is achieved through research conducted among peers, by seeking input from various departments, and by emphasizing the fulfillment of responsibilities related to equipment management. It is proposed to place professional inspections under the management of the Maintenance Department; the former Inspection and Maintenance Department will be renamed the Equipment Maintenance Department. Inspections will function as a directly subordinate unit of the Equipment Maintenance Department, with staff assigned according to the company’s standards for inspection supervisors and inspectors. At the same time, due to changes in management functions, the former Equipment Technology Department was renamed the Production Technology Department. IV. Boundaries of responsibilities after the optimization of the inspection and preventive maintenance system
Equipment Maintenance Department
1. All professional inspection, repair, and maintenance tasks related to equipment are the responsibility of the Equipment Maintenance Department alone, which thus bears the primary responsibility for equipment management. 2. The Equipment Maintenance Department must not weaken, but rather strengthen and emphasize the equipment management based on regular inspections and scheduled repairs. Handle properly and reasonably the inherent contradiction between the inspector and the inspected. 3. As part of the routine inspections specific to boilers, anti-wear and explosion-proof measures are implemented to ensure the boilers are free from such issues. 4. In accordance with the requirements for standardized operation of routine inspections and maintenance, designated personnel shall carry out professional equipment inspections at fixed times and in specific locations. Take the lead in coordinating daily inspections as well as maintenance and inspection activities. Responsible for establishing the five-prevention system for equipment management. 5. Provide a basis for decision-making on equipment maintenance management for the Production Technology Department. At the same time, responsible for preparing plans for equipment, materials, and spare parts, as well as formulating maintenance plans; oversees quality inspection during maintenance activities, and maintains records for the entire life cycle of the equipment. 6. Undergo evaluation and assessment by the Production Technology Department. Production Technology Department: 1. The Production Technology Department is primarily composed of professional supervisors and engineers, who perform plant-level equipment management functions on behalf of the factory. 2. Responsible for reviewing equipment maintenance plans based on their grade, as well as for managing and controlling production costs. 3. Provide technical support for equipment inspection, maintenance, and repair. 4. Responsible for evaluating and assessing the work of the Equipment Maintenance Department and the Power Generation Operations Department. Power Generation Operations Department: 1. Responsible for routine inspections as part of the maintenance work; 2. Responsible for recording equipment defects and conducting operational analyses. 3. Undergo evaluation and assessment by the Production Technology Department