Plan for Improving the Equipment Inspection Management and Maintenance System

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I. Characteristics of the management system for equipment inspection and preventive maintenance
The inspection and preventive maintenance system is a method of dynamically managing equipment by all personnel throughout the entire process; it is suitable for continuous and uninterrupted production systems. It is an equipment management method compatible with condition-based maintenance and optimized maintenance. It can effectively prevent both over-maintenance and under-maintenance of equipment, enhance equipment reliability, reduce maintenance costs, and achieve the optimal balance between equipment reliability and cost-effectiveness. Under the routine 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 position. They are the persons responsible for, organizers of, and managers 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 proper 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 routine inspection and maintenance system has the following characteristics: Characteristic 1: The routine inspection and maintenance system specifies that the person responsible for equipment management is the inspection staff, and it also clarifies that these inspectors are accountable for the overall management of the equipment. 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 management levels. Feature 3: The inspection system standardizes the behavior of inspectors and implements standardized operations. It is required to standardize working hours and work procedures. Feature 4: The inspection system requires coordination and unity among management, operators, and maintenance personnel to establish a “five-prevention” system. Feature 5: The inspection system requires both management and inspectors to be involved in overseeing safety and quality on site, thereby strengthening the management of critical safety and quality matters. Feature 6: The inspection system places high demands on the technical and professional competence of inspectors. II. Operation status of the company’s preventive maintenance system: The company’s preventive maintenance management is carried out by the Equipment Technology Department, with planned maintenance being the primary strategy employed. Gradually promote scheduled maintenance management. In the process of the company’s growth from a small entity to a larger one, it played a crucial role in equipment management. The domestic condition-based maintenance system is continuously being explored and improved. In conjunction with the Company’s initiative to benchmark against best practices, we compared the effectiveness of our condition-based maintenance efforts with those of benchmark enterprises. The gaps we identified are as follows: 1. The operation of condition-based maintenance is not standardized, and its full potential has not been realized. The reason for this is the inadequate configuration of inspection organizations; there is a lack of inspection supervisors capable of overseeing the relevant specialties. First, there are few inspection personnel; 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. Management and inspection cannot share information. It has restricted the standardized implementation of inspection and maintenance. 4. The standardization of inspection work is significantly lagging behind, and the four major standards for inspections are currently in the process of being developed. 5. The role of the inspection staff as the primary 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 falls under the first category. This approach emphasizes the responsibility of those who own the equipment, and it offers advantages such as efficiency, maturity, and fewer employees. However, it also comes with challenges such as a wide range of tasks, high complexity, and numerous administrative duties. The agency full-time inspector system in the maintenance department: This is a model that is widely used in various power plants. It emphasizes the integration of equipment inspection and maintenance, facilitates the combination of centralized and decentralized management in production activities, eliminates the disparity in workload across different departments, and makes it easier to establish and implement an assessment system for the entire plant. However, it weakens the hierarchical management relationship between inspection and maintenance of equipment, objectively creating conditions for equipment to go unrepaired. 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, develop 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. Through research among peers and by seeking input from various departments, efforts should be made to ensure that responsibilities for equipment management are properly fulfilled. It is planned 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. Responsibilities after the optimization of the inspection and maintenance system 0 1 Equipment Maintenance Department: 1. All tasks related to professional equipment inspection, maintenance, and repair are carried out by the Equipment Maintenance Department, which assumes 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. Properly and reasonably handle 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 proper functioning of boilers in terms of anti-wear and explosion protection. 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. They are also responsible for preparing plans for equipment, materials, and spare parts, as well as formulating maintenance plans; during the maintenance process, they oversee quality inspection and maintain records of the entire life cycle of the equipment. 6. Undergo evaluation and assessment by the Production Technology Department. 0 2 Production Technology Department: 1. The Production Technology Department is primarily composed of professional supervisors and engineers, who carry out equipment management functions at the factory level on behalf of the factory management. 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. 0 3 Power Generation Operation 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. V. Work objectives and measures after the optimization of the inspection system: After optimizing the company’s inspection system, it is necessary to implement the basic principles of inspection management, namely the concept of specialized inspections. The equipment management model centered on this inspection system must be followed, in order to ensure proactive and dynamic management of equipment. At the organizational level, this approach should reflect the concepts of modern total equipment management. By applying the inspection management model, equipment management can be made systematic, standardized, and regulated. Ensure the reliable and efficient operation of production equipment, thereby improving the overall economic efficiency of the enterprise.