
Should an aging heat exchanger be replaced? If so when, and with which new design option?
This study was commissioned to ascertain the business case for re-tubing and to evaluate the life cycle cost benefits of alternative materials.
MUTUAL ENERGY (ME) owns and operates the Moyle Interconnector (electricity) and SNIP (gas), as well as Belfast Gas Transmission and Gas to the West. 100% of Northern Irelands’ natural gas supplied through Premier Transmissions assets (15.1TWH).
The Mutual Energy business model focuses on returning value to NI energy customers. The intention, purchase and operation of strategic, high-value assets are managed by a small core team, while supporting major industry partners (Siemens, Nexans & SGN).
ME has a small, growing workforce, with lots of ‘expert knowledge’; Gas business – distributed asset base with cohorts, Electricity business – one very complex asset, with a wide range of documentation, that needs to align with partners. They needed to grow in-house capability and deliver improvements. They employed the consultative services of The Woodhouse Partnership to assist with an improvement program and to provide support. ME recognized the ISO 55001 standard which would provide the level of assurance required, however, their strategy was not just about ‘getting the badge’ so used GFMAM landscape for wider AM maturity assessment.
There were three main objectives to the initial delivery;
We carried out a Gap Analysis of both the gas and electricity businesses, and set about providing additional support services including the development of an improvement programme and training. ME has long term contracts in place with principal contractors, who provide maintenance services to the existing (Moyle) electricity interconnector and gas pipeline assets. The two contractors (Siemens and SGN respectively) participated in the initiative alongside MEL staff.
In addition to the ISO55001 gap analysis, a gap analysis was undertaken against the relevant subjects of the GFMAM landscape (’39 subjects’) and the findings were used to develop an improvement plan that included both putting in place the missing management system elements of ISO 55001, and targeting opportunities identified from an ‘asset management excellence’ model based on the IAM’s maturity guidelines.
The recommended solution built on the existing strengths of the gas business (which had in place a thorough but conventional integrity focused management system) and the electricity business which had more advanced long-term strategic planning thinking in place, including a draft SAMP.
Opportunities were identified to improve efficiency, by putting in place better processes, and for improving asset knowledge capture. The proposals allowed for ME to move forward as a knowledgeable asset owner, and to take greater ownership of long-term strategy and risk management through a clear ‘line of sight’ planning approach. Proposals were scoped (including costs and benefits) and presented as a paper which was approved by the organisation’s executive Risk Committee.
Ongoing support from Woodhouse has included providing training to ME staff and facilitation of targeted workshops to identify and manage significant risks.
The scope of services has been flexible to fit with the needs and priorities of the client on a call-off basis. As additional services, we have so far facilitated an asset health review of the Moyle Interconnector, supporting the development of long-term strategies and plans, and improving risk management.
We have also facilitated a review of strategic spare transformer requirements using Woodhouse DST decision support tools and provided technical guidance and advice in the preparation of asset management core documentation, including the SAMP and management system.
The Woodhouse Academy provided scheduled training and education to enable some staff to qualify to IAM Certificate’ level, and to support internal auditing of asset management.
In addition, we supported;
Mutual Energy successfully implemented a Gap analysis and action plan which was developed for putting in place an asset management system across both electrical and gas assets. Improvement proposals identified in ‘value proposition’ paper were presented at an executive level and agreed upon, which culminated in a principal benefit of business alignment and efficiency to operate a significantly expanded business, with minimal increase to resources, based on an Asset Management system framework. The company intends to grow and retain capability to determine and control future asset management requirements – e.g. capital and maintenance plans.
A £3m purchase of a high-value spare was avoided following the presentation of a robust defence of high-value spares decisions using a combination of Decision Support Tools™ Inventory Optimizer and Project/Change evaluator. In addition, the Moyle asset health review identified specific improvement actions to be added to the risk register and provided input to the detailed development of the SAMP.
Gas and electric businesses’ interconnectors have been inherited as ‘going concerns’, both having robust contracts in place to maintain assets to a high standard and there is a good project management approach adopted for Gas to the West and can be scaled to cover projects of various sizes.
Valuable cooperation is evident between commercial and electricity operation to maximize commercial benefit and the management of competence for front-line staff alongside contractor management is well controlled and good working relationships are evident
Mutual Energy has taken the project to ISO 55001 Certification by implementing a Training Programme, Gap analysis, Improvement plan, submitting a Draft AM Policy for approval and their Draft SAMP for electricity, which is already proving to be a ‘live’ document.
Following the project their tangible wins include,
Mutual Energy understands the importance of clarifying expectations and getting the scope right while getting the top team on board – winning hearts and minds and getting the visible endorsement. Improvements were evident in communication – sharing potential benefits, resources, and timescales – ‘what is it about!’, while building on existing good practice – not reinventing or duplicating. ME also undertook a comprehensive training and education program – building confidence and transferring skills.
All of this was achieved within realistic timescales – recognizing pressures and priorities- getting it right for the long term while demonstrating practical ‘quick wins’
Delighted to have played my part as Project Manager for our certification efforts. A big tick in the box, recognizing a lot of existing good practice, and giving us some useful pointers for the future. And thanks of course to our colleagues at The Woodhouse Partnership Ltd for supporting us on the journey!
This study was commissioned to ascertain the business case for re-tubing and to evaluate the life cycle cost benefits of alternative materials.
David Curtis, Director, Engineering Talent Management at Hydro One talks us through their experience with the Woodhouse Partnership and benefits of refining their asset management practices.
With asset management systems, including risk management, relating to assets with a replacement value of over GBP 40 billion, Scottish Water used SALVO & Decision Support Tools (DST) to make significant savings.
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Over his 28 plus year span in the industrial sectors with working technical backgrounds in Project & Construction Management, Asset Operations and Maintenance Reliability Management, and being certified in various courses of study; Damien has gained the knowledge and experience and has had proven successes throughout his tenure in the Oil, Gas, Petro-Chemical and Construction sectors. Establishing his-self in the various sectors, Damien’s first experience and success started in the Construction Sector in estimating engineering. This was the stepping stone for Damien and has paved the way for his passion and continued success in supporting People, Process, and Systems in an organization.
Damien has held positions in local, international and multi-national corporations and comes from a working background in the fields of environmental, operations, project and construction management, operations maintenance and reliability management, planning, supervisory management, and has proven his abilities to succeed in each field.
Rich was an Engineer and Project Manager professional at the New York Power Authority for over 30-years. In addition to being the first Project Manager for the Niagara Project Upgrade, Rich rose to be the Vice President of Engineering having started in Operations Engineering decades earlier. Rich went on to be Vice President, Transmission and Substation at AECOM responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in design and construction. Rich joined Woodhouse Partnership, North America and participates in aligning organization towards ISO 55000 and many reliability studies supporting DST.
with
Our Asset Management Academy is pleased to announce 2023 dates for our Masterclass – the benchmark for personal development and competency recognition for Asset Management Professionals
Executive in Operational Excellence, Asset Management and Best Practices in Projects, Operations and Maintenance in the Energy and Industrial Sector.
Consultant, Instructor and International Lecturer on issues related to project management (risk management), operational reliability, strategic management of operations, maintenance, Asset Management in the energy sector (ISO 55001) and Applied Data Analytics.
PMP, CMRP, IAM and CAMA certifications, being recognized by the SMRP in 2019 as CMRP of the Year https://smrp.org/2019-CMRP-Winners.
George has over twenty-five years of experience as a consulting engineer providing design, planning, program and project management, and strategic asset management services for asset-intensive organizations in the Americas, Africa, and the Middle East. His primary focus has been in the public infrastructure sector; as a result, he has intimate knowledge of the assets, processes, and resources necessary to deliver and sustain safe, reliable services to the customers of public asset-owning organizations.
George has assisted organizations with the development of PAS 55, ISO 55000, and GFMAM AM Landscape aligned asset management systems (AMS), has performed gap analyses of their AMS against industry standards and best practices, and has guided them through the creation of strategic asset management plans (SAMPs), asset management plans (AMPs), AM policy and supporting documents. He has undertaken asset risk modelling to ascertain organizations’ capability to sustain their desired levels of service. George has performed asset health-informed lifecycle cost modelling and forecasting capital and operational expenditures over near and long-term planning horizons.
With 30 years’ experience in utilities, oil & gas, transport and other sectors, John is one of the most widely known experts in integrated asset management projects for some of the largest companies in the world.
John is a Founder and Life Fellow of the IAM; he has written 4 books, chaired the development of BSI PAS55 and represents the UK on the ISO55000 committee.
He also led the international MACRO and SALVO collaboration projects in optimised asset management decision-making.