Cost, control maintenance

It is worth noting that typically personnel and logistics represent 30% to 50% of operating costs while maintenance costs represent 20% to 40% of operating costs. These are particular areas in which cost control and reduction should be focused. This may mean reviewing the operations and maintenance philosophies discussed in Section 11.0, to check whether they are being applied, and whether they need to be updated. 

Operation and Maintenance. Engineering and constmction firms can be contracted to take charge of treatment-plant operation and maintenance and manage other aspects necessary to meet performance goals, such as hiring and cost controls (7). Costs to the municipalities are reported to be competitive with the more traditional approach of management by municipal employees (8). 

In prac tice, the existence of a tight cost-control system tends to spread a cost consciousness among the personnel involved in the project. Such an awareness, even in construction-equipment maintenance and job housekeeping, can lead to efficient cost control throughout. 

The desirable operating characteristics of equipment include simplicity, convenience and low cost of maintenance simplicity, convenience and low cost of assembly and disassembly convenience in replacing worn or damaged components ability to control during operation and test before permanent installation continuous operation and steady-state processing of materials without excessive noise, vibration or upset conditions a minimum of personnel for its operation and, finally, safe operation. Low maintenance often... 

Direct costs are costs for maintenance of materials, operating of supplies labour, control direct costs laboratory etc. 

Since this is a batch system, it might be advisable to use direct digital control. Undoubtedly the throughput could be increased over that with the more traditional analog control system. However, the initial costs and maintenance expenses would also increase. To fully instrument the system would also greatly complicate the equipment required, especially for feeding the reactors (this is discussed later). An economic balance should be run to determine whether this is feasible. I feel it would not be warranted, and have chosen to instrument the plant in the traditional way. 

The facility should be maintained in a way that cost-effectively controls the probability of failure-induced incidents and their likely consequences. A cost-effective maintenance program allocates maintenance resources according to the level of risk. 

Labour, Maintenance and Administrative Costs. As a general rule, labour and maintenance were each charged at the rate 3% of the capital per annum. For labour, this included both direct and indirect labour costs. For maintenance, this included both materials and labour. Over the past decades, many companies have made attempts to reduce the operating labour and maintenance charges. Labour can be reduced by extensive computer control. However, the success or otherwise, in reducing the maintenance charge is difficult to quantify, several operations have suffered major problems claimed to be due to the cutbacks in maintenance costs. Administrative costs are basically insurance and local land taxes. A value of 1.5% of the fixed capital as an annual charge was used. 

Early definition and controlled maintenance of cost-effective working practices — improved working efficiency... 

Plant layout is one area where real cost control can be exercised because of the impact on material and construction costs as well as on operating efficiency. The final layout, usually developed during the basic engineering stage, requires a high degree of experience and the participation of the entire project team as well as the contractor s specialists and Owner s operations and maintenance personnel. 

Control Costs. These include costs for maintenance and repair and for corrosion control (cathodic protection, water treatment, etc.). They are borne by all sectors of the economy. 

Figure 9-17 is a schematic diagram of a typical closed control loop. If the error detection is done by an experienced human operator, then the process is controlled manually. Manual control is used only where the required instrumentation either is not available or is too expensive from either a first cost or maintenance standpoint. Mechanical and electrical error detecting elements or controllerB are almost always used in closed-loop control to give a fully automatic process control system. 

Preventive/predictive maintenance Continuous reliability improvement Reliability-centered maintenance Maintenance parts/materials control Maintenance storeroom operations Work order and work control Maintenance planning/scheduling Maintenance budget and cost control... 

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