Browsing by Author "Saunders, Compton Colin"

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    Development of an ISO 55000 compliant central management framework for asset care plans within a multi-technology portfolio of renewable energy power plants in the South African energy sector
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-12) Saunders, Compton Colin; Jooste, J. L.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Industrial Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The conventional philosophies adopted to develop Asset Care Plans (ACPs) (tactical and non-tactical maintenance plans) for Renewable Energy Power Plants (REPPs) are often not sophisticated and therefore adequate to optimise asset performance. There is a need to utilise more sophisticated methods to develop ACPs using philosophies such as Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM) combined with economic evaluation methods such as Asset Life-Cycle Analysis (ALCA) or other considerations such as obsolescence. Specialised skills are often required to assist in developing ACPs. The Renewable Energy (RE) industry in South Africa (SA) is in its infancy and thus offers a shortage of competency within the RE sector. The competency challenges combined with limited information sharing by Original Equipment Manufaturers (OEMs) creates a potential void in the capability of SA Asset Managers to develop ACPs for RE assets. Once ACPs have been developed they need to be continuously managed in terms of development, planning, execution and optimisation. The work planning and control, continuous improvement and competency management functions play a key role within the overall management function but need a business process to underpin the function and identify support tools. The SA RE projects often have complex management or ownership structures. A management team could consist of an Asset Owner or shareholders, an Asset Manager managing the asset overall and the OEM performing the maintenance for an extended period as part of a service agreement. Having a clear Asset Management (AM) framework can create an operating environment where all stakeholders can work towards common goals and a Line-of-Sight can be established between the Organisational Strategic Plan (OSP), AM objectives, AM strategies, asset planning and the daily AM activities. Cases exist where a single Asset Manager or management organisation is responsible for managing a portfolio of RE projects constituting different technologies such as wind and solar Photovoltaic (PV). This provides an opportunity to centralise AM and other organisational functions. Exploiting central management platforms and resources are furthermore becoming increasingly important for AM service providers and project developers to remain competitive in the RE market where costs and tariffs are continuously declining. The problem is that there is no framework aligned to an AM framework such as ISO 55000, that can guide Asset Managers to develop and manage ACPs for a multi-technology portfolio of REPPs. The study addresses the problem by developing a framework and business processes which can be used to establish the core strategic and planning requirements of the ISO 55000 series of standards; to use sophisticated maintenance philosophies to develop, execute, manage and optimise adequate ACPs; to facilitate continuous improvement with an emphasis on competency management to address scarce skills and optimise ACPs; and to understand the possibilities regarding centralisation, while remaining aligned with the ISO 55000 series AM framework. The study developed a Central Management Framework (CMF) which was validated using face and user validation. The CMF was found to be substantially suitable and able to address many of the existing challenges within the SA RE sector.