R and D investment strategies for condition-based maintenance: An economic model to assist process, plant, and management in the decision making process

In today`s manufacturing environment, systems and equipment are being asked to perform at levels not thought possible a decade ago. The intent is to push process operations, product quality, and equipment reliability, availability, and maintainability to unprecedented levels while maintaining budgetary structures consistent with cost reduction initiatives. In light of this, there is a demand to reduce operational and support costs and eliminate or minimize any new capital investments in plant equipment while increasing process efficiency and revenues. In short, manufacturers are trying to invoke new measures to ensure plant performance while minimizing costs and extending operational life of new and/or aging equipment. The only way this can be accomplished is by developing new and innovating approaches in condition-based maintenance. To achieve this while adhering to strict economic constraints requires the development of new sensors, systems, and methods for interrogating, diagnosing, and controlling systems. The old adage, business as usual, will not suffice in this new way of thinking. What will be required is an investment strategy that mitigates R and D risks by developing economic indicators (operational and costs) that qualify the ability of a proposed technology to meet the functional and operational needs of a process. The strategy must, therefore, internalize a methodology and approach that provides control points in the development and implementation cycle. An integral part of this is an economic model that provides a break-even analysis and sensor and system performance assessment based on the concentration of losses and the ability of a proposed sensor to meet systematic needs. This model then becomes a tool for strategizing continued research and development (R and D) for any proposed technology.