Maximizing Production Efficiency: Methods for Measuring Operational Workloads

Industrial organizations are characterized by a large quantity of operational equipment. Every organization aiming for operational longevity acquires more production equipment than the average required. This is done to achieve a higher service level. The greater the desired service level, the more equipment an organization will procure. As a result, a significant portion of acquired equipment is often idle—available but unused.

No two tools or production machines are identical. Age differences, workloads, various maintenance activities, and each machine’s basic assembly give each tool a unique operational profile. Every tool has its own failure probabilities and operational costs compared to others. Managing workload distribution across tools, in line with demand fluctuations, is crucial for equipment's operational and economic efficiency. During peak demand, an organization would want all available tools ready for work. Operating with tools that incur lower per-unit production costs in low-demand periods is advisable to maximize profits.

The tool's history is the key to decision-making in tool selection for tasks and preventive maintenance. This history includes breakdowns, maintenance activities, and workloads each tool has encountered. Data collection and analysis is the first step in the decision-making process.There are several common mistakes encountered in collecting and analyzing maintenance and operational costs of tools:

1. Calendar-Based Metrics: Collecting the number of breakdowns and their costs quarterly or annually and comparing tools every year often leads to conclusions about a tool being "good" or "bad." However, the "good" tool may have only been in the organization for a few years, while the "bad" one has provided long-term service. Could the "good" tool be deteriorating faster than the older one?

2. Ignoring Usage Extent: If two tools experience identical breakdowns and costs in a year, does this make them equivalent? If one tool operated 50% more than the other in the same period, it's clear that the less frequently used tool incurs a higher daily operating cost.

3. Cost of Unavailability: Typically, recorded costs include the operational and maintenance costs of the tool, including labor and parts. But what about the lost revenue when a needed tool is unavailable? If an organization buys an additional tool to avoid high demand, but the first tool is under maintenance, the organization incurs extra costs for redundancy due to low equipment availability.

4. Ignoring Operational Workload in Forecasting: When planning future budgets, equipment replacements, etc., organizations often assume future costs will mirror past costs, sometimes adding a percentage to cover uncertainty. However, commercial forecasts for the business’s growth or decline usually exist, which should impact operating and maintenance cost projections.

It's often much easier to focus on measuring breakdowns and maintenance costs, while the workload on tools is usually neglected. It is rare to find organizations that measure the relationship between workload, failures, and tool age.

Various methods exist for measuring operational workload. Here are some methods to assess the workload on tools. Combining methods can improve accuracy:

Calendar-Based: How many days was the tool in use? This is particularly suitable for rented operational equipment. These records are typically available in accounting departments and sometimes in operations departments.

Engine Hours: Engine hours are a workload unit suitable for all tools, especially stationary ones like escalators, conveyors, compressors, generators, etc. This data is typically available on the machine itself.

Travel Distance: Measuring mileage is effective for buses, trucks, train cars, locomotives, etc. This data is also available on the traveling machine.

Movement Units (MOVE):  An excellent measurement unit for equipment transporting containers. For terminals and ports handling containers, this metric is very effective. This data, available at the tool level, is often found in sites' Terminal Operating Systems (TOS).

Product Weight: In facilities like mines and quarries, the workload on production units can be measured by the product's weight leaving the facility gates. Since this product is priced by weight, this data is always available in site management or at bridge scales at the site entrance and exit.

Since organizations operate on a calendar basis (annual budgets, quarterly forecasts, etc.), historical operational workload units must be converted into time units through data normalization. When data is normalized, and there’s a forecast for the upcoming shift, quarter, or year, it becomes possible to make decisions on optimal tool deployment. Now, tools are accurately measured, allowing precise predictions for each tool's future.