Solomon Associates has launched its 2011 International Study of Plant Reliability and Maintenance Effectiveness (RAM Study) for refineries, chemical plants, and other industrial facilities. The study provides comparative analysis and critical insights designed to help plants identify opportunities for improving reliability and reducing maintenance costs.

“If your plant’s mechanical availability is not above 96 percent, chances are you have valuable untapped margin. And if your maintenance cost as a percentage of plant replacement value is not well below 2 percent, you are spending too much,” said Al Poling, project manager for the RAM Study. “Solomon Associates’ proprietary gap analysis reveals where participants can improve their maintenance operations, which can result in millions of dollars in margin gain.”

Over 1,000 plants with more than 8,000 process units have participated in Solomon Associates’ previous RAM Studies. The comparative analysis reveals where companies can increase capacity without costly capital investment and reduce expenses without sacrificing performance. The measures utilized can be incorporated into each plant’s internal metrics to help set realistic improvement targets.

Specific metrics and benchmarks analyzed in the study include:

• Maintenance effectiveness index (margin gain combined with cost reduction) • Mechanical availability (downtime attributable to reliability and maintenance causes) • Downtime (scheduled and unscheduled) • Routine maintenance labor (direct and indirect) • Routine maintenance material • Turnaround maintenance labor (direct and indirect) • Turnaround maintenance material • Turnaround frequency and duration • Staffing ratios • Labor rates • Planning rate • Schedule compliance • Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (SMRP) metrics • European Federation of National Maintenance Societies (EFNMS) indicators

To help operators prepare for participation in the RAM Study, Solomon Associates offers in-person and/or web-based training seminars for data collection and entry, assistance with confidential web-based data input, validation of data to confirm accuracy of input, and the in-person presentation of quantified results to ensure maximization of study benefits.

“The RAM Study provides each plant with a wealth of insights regarding its reliability and maintenance performance and points to likely causal factors for areas of underperformance,” Poling said. “Reliability can be maximized with a corresponding maintenance cost optimization, thereby providing the best return on your investment in physical plant assets.”

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