Recognition can equal rewards and more!
Effort = Recognition
A great deal of time and effort is spent in becoming an expert at thermography. Now take those efforts and make them “visible”, not just with great thermal images. Take the trend data from the inspections and make it available for everyone in the organization to see. Data such as the type seen in the graph below can provide valuable evidence to support the efforts and further illustrate program effectiveness as it is showing positive business results. There are a number of ways to present the value-add benefits which are not limited to this one graph. The power of this graph, is that it shows, not only how many problems were found at each plant, but also how the continued improvement in the thermography program contributed to fewer problems found each subsequent year the thermography program continued.
Working From the TOP, Where You Want to Be
When approaching the corporate decision-makers in the organization, they view what a thermographer does and what is accomplished from a much different view point. Their view of these efforts is rooted from an economic standpoint. Again, not typically what might be expected. As a thermographer, you are accustomed to dealing with the replacement value or economic impact of the problem, but how does that contribute to the corporate “bottom line”? The corporate level is more interested in Return on Asset (ROA), Return on Investment (ROI), maximum equipment availability, regulatory compliance, minimum maintenance spend, reduced maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) inventory, risk mitigation, alignment to corporate goals and objectives and alignment to maintenance objectives with ALL key plant functions. Learning to speak in financial benefits language will help allow corporate leaders to buy into thermography and apply that technology to drive Reliability throughout the organization.
Typically, corporate managers will be interested in the potential ROI of a program. The benchmarking data points below provide some interesting opportunities for analyzing this ROI. For instance, the illustrations below highlight maintenance savings for the paper industry. While the paper industry as a whole, credits thermography with only an 8% credit for ROI, imagine the improved results if management was aware of the entire value of a thermography program throughout the organization. It is the technicians’ job to make them aware and “sell it”. What the CEO and managers are truly interested in,
of course, is what are the potential savings.
Here is one more example to look at from the steel industry. Note the increase in technology credit for thermography.
Top performers maintain asset Reliability based on statistical criticality, usage and network analysis. Benchmarking shows the large difference between top quartile performers and the rest of competitive organizations. For example, top quartile steel manufactures will utilize thermography on approximately 80% of their mechanical equipment and 100% of their electrical equipment; fourth quartile performers utilize thermography on 0% mechanical equipment and 55% (or less) electrical equipment. This is typical across the market vertical. Some quick calculations can easily provide a business case for taking steps to move from one level to another. This benchmarking also proves how important a coordinated approach to improving enterprise asset Reliability is to achieving the results top performers have achieved. Maintaining equilibrium in all asset management practices is critical to success.
The illustration below is presented to show why managers of the organization look at Reliability and PdM programs the way they do, including thermography, from a financial viewpoint. This is an example of how even a small change in the reliable operation of a facility can have a dramatic impact on the overall financial performance of the organization. It is from a financial standpoint that corporate decision-makers review and evaluate every aspect of the thermography and PdM programs.
In conclusion, the visibility of a thermography program effort is paramount to each and every effort in the Reliability initiative. However, it is not just the thermal images from an infrared camera that tell the entire story. It is the visibility of the thermography program throughout the entire process and how it is ultimately sold throughout the organization and presented to the corporate decision-makers that will drive the overall success of Reliability initiatives. As thermographers, it is important not to get caught up in the quality and message of the thermal image because the thermal image is only part of the visibility of the thermography program.
Building standardized foundational data, starting with a master equipment list (MEL) and incorporating this MEL into an enterprise asset management configuration for use within the Planning and Scheduling efforts is the linkage to successful Reliability initiatives. Once these systems and tools are implemented, they bring together all of the thermal images, report data and inspection information to build and create a complete Reliability program. Finally increased awareness, program value, and organizational buy-in is encouraged and achievable by communicating across all levels of the organization. This includes communicating to management and understanding how corporate managers equate efforts in financial language. Thermography can assist in driving successful Reliability programs from the plant floor to the corporate suite when properly leveraged.
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