Browsing by Author "Vlok, Pieter-Jan"
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- ItemAdapting modern portfolio theory for prioritising asset care planning in industry(Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering, 2014-05) Van den Honert, Andrew Francis; Vlok, Pieter-JanProductivity improvement within any organisation can lead to increased turnover. This study focuses on developing a maintenance productivity improvement model that is based upon an established financial investment portfolio technique known as the Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT). The model can be used as a tool to minimise and diversify the long term risk associated with variances or fluctuations in the increase in productivity in multiple maintenance service centres. This is achieved by optimising the most efficient way of splitting resources, such as time and money, between these multiple service centres, resulting in increased productivity and a more constant maintenance work load. This model is verified through the use of an efficient frontier, resulting in a graphical method to determine the link between the expected increase in productivity and the standard deviation of the increase in productivity. Ultimately this model can be adapted for use in many sectors within an organisation, over and above the application in maintenance prioritisation. This study concludes that the model offers a simple tool to aid decision-making among various combinations of assets within a maintenance context; and this model, adapted from MPT, was successfully validated with the use of an efficient frontier.
- ItemEstimating the continuous risk of accidents occurring in the mining industry in South Africa(SAIIE, 2015) Van den Honert, Andrew Francis; Vlok, Pieter-JanThis study contributes to the on-going efforts to improve occupational safety in the mining industry by creating a model capable of predicting the continuous risk of occupational accidents occurring. Contributing factors were identified and their sensitivity quantified. The approach included using an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to identify patterns between the input attributes and to predict the continuous risk of accidents occurring. The predictive Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model used in this research was created, trained, and validated in the form of a case study with data from a platinum mine near Rustenburg in South Africa. This resulted in meaningful correlation between the predicted continuous risk and actual accidents.
- ItemOptimising investment in asset management using the multivariate asset management assessment topography(Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering, 2014-08) Bam, Wouter Gideon; Vlok, Pieter-JanThe multivariate asset management assessment topography (MAMAT) was developed to quantify, and represent graphically, development, adoption, and performance of a business’ asset management (AM) systems, as described by standards such as PAS 55. The MAMAT provides a way to visualise clearly the strengths and weaknesses of a business’ asset management system. Building on MAMAT, a model describing the relationship between the commitment of resources and the corresponding improvement in the MAMAT assessment outcome is proposed. The goal is to develop an optimisation model that will maximise financial benefits by improving the MAMAT assessment score achieved by a business, while minimising the investment required to attain this improvement. This is achieved by determining the optimal allocation of resources to the different subcategories of the MAMAT assessment framework. The multi-objective cross-entropy method (MOO CEM) is used to find the Pareto set of solutions for this problem. In order to showcase the intended industry application and use of the optimisation model, a hypothetical case study is executed and described in this paper. From this application, it was found that the MOO CEM finds useful solutions that can support the implementation of standards such as PAS 55 by prioritising and assigning resources to implementation activities.
- ItemThe possible influence of risk management, forecasting, and personnel training in physical asset management(Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering, 2014-08) Schoeman, Jacobus Smit; Vlok, Pieter-JanThe work presented in this paper highlights the possible effects of risk management, forecasting, and personnel training in the physical asset management environment. Each section is taken separately, and an argument is formed as to why it is important and what portion of the physical asset management five-year budget each should receive. This paper considers the long-term and short-term benefits in its conclusion that risk management should receive 60 per cent of the budget, personnel training 25 per cent, and forecasting the final 15 per cent.
- ItemPrioritising maintenance improvement opportunities in physical asset management(Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering, 2014-11) Von Petersdorff, Hagen Alexander; Vlok, Pieter-JanPhysical Asset Management (PAM) initiatives suffer many barriers in implementation that can hinder their influence and sustainability. One of these barriers is the lack of buy-in from all levels in the organisation, due to a lack of understanding of the perceived benefits of PAM. Organisational alignment in a PAM project is achieved by aligning employees’ views on the deficient areas in the organisation, and managing their expectations of the perceived benefits of a good application of PAM. Barriers in implementation are created, however, by the lack of a transparent method for conveying the significance of critical areas in the system and by an unclear way of communicating these problems. Typically these initiatives are constrained by available resources. In order for PAM initiatives to be successful, there first needs to be an alignment in the execution through a clear understanding of which assets are critical, so that resources can be allocated effectively. In this study, this problem is thoroughly examined, and a method is sought that seeks to isolate the effects of the maintenance function in an operation and to uncover critical areas. A study is performed on the methods that are typically used to create such understanding. This study highlights the shortcomings of these methods, which limit their applicability. A new methodology is therefore created in order to overcome these problems. The methodology is validated through a case study, where it shown to be highly beneficial in uncovering critical areas and achieving organisational alignment through the communication of results.
- ItemA simplified numerical decision-making methodology for physical asset management decisions(Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering, 2014-05) Burnett, Sulene; Vlok, Pieter-JanThe management of physical assets has become a popular field recently, and is acknowledged in many disciplines worldwide. Physical Asset Management (PAM) is a complex subject that requires the participation of many disciplines. Maintenance management, together with accurate and effective decision–making, is vital for achieving successful PAM. The primary objective of this research project was to identify the possibility of simplifying maintenance-related decision-making. With the focus on numerical decision-making techniques, the secondary objective was to investigate the practicality and useability of combining appropriate techniques to create an easily useable and understandable methodology to support maintenance-related decisions. The results confirm the practicality and useability of a simplified numerical decision-making methodology. By concentrating on the core operational questions related to maintenance, and by combining the most appropriate techniques, a simplified numerical decision-making methodology can ease the decision-making process on an operational level. This can accomplish successful PAM in a proactive, preventive and simplified manner.
- ItemSupply chain management : a framework of understanding(Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering, 2014-11) Du Toit, Deirdre; Vlok, Pieter-JanThe topic of supply chain management (SCM) is complex to understand because it encompasses many different flows of activities, components, functions, and role-players. The literature is scattered across multiple functions, varies in scope, and is often confined to certain elements within SCM. This article aims to provide a literature overview of SCM. It is explained with the aid of a newly-developed framework of understanding that offers a graphical representation of the term. It unifies and condenses different components within SCM and shows the relationship between them. The framework was developed by identifying the main themes in the definitions for SCM, examining existing categorisations and frameworks in SCM, and analysing frameworks in other disciplines. The outcome of this article can be used as a guide to explain and orientate researchers and practitioners in the field.