Risk management is a big part of any business today more so in an industrial setting where there’s more than financial assets at risk. You have to worry about your employees’ safety at work and the wellbeing of all the machinery that probably cost you an arm and a leg.
It is impossible to run a factory without some industrial asset management solutions in place.
Why Asset And Risk Management Are Important
Repair Parts Management
Part of asset management is keeping track of the state of your assets, in this case all your equipment and machinery. In depth analysis is done to understand why some part failed if that’s the case and the reliability of every component can be improved from then on.
Proper management of your storeroom can also ensure you have the right part at the right time and in the right place.
Avoid Having Ghost Assets in Your Inventory
There are instances where some equipment has been out of service for a while and it’s still in your inventory. In other instances, assets have been lost or stolen. With industrial asset management solutions, you are made aware of these ghost assets and you can get rid of them from then on.
Industrial Asset Management Solutions
There are lots of solutions to managing your assets, a good example being lockout tagout software which also doubles as a safety measure in the workplace.
Lockout tagout software entails a set of procedures that ensure equipment and machinery is shutdown properly before any repairs or regular maintenance is done. The procedures follow a set algorithm although the specifics may differ with each specific equipment.
Everyone in an industry falls under one of two categories in lockout tagout procedures;
Affected Person
These are persons who are not directly involved in the work requiring hazardous energy control but may be in and around the work area.
Authorized Person
An authorized person is usually in the thick of it, being qualified to engage in hazardous energy control. They usually have knowledge of the matter having gone through training and gained experience before being assigned such important roles.
Lockout Tagout Procedure
Prepare for Shutdown
The authorized person will identify the machine that requires lockout, the sources of energy that are present and need controlling, and the lockout devices that will be used. This stage also involves gathering all the necessary equipment.
Notify All Affected Personnel
This stage involves notifying all the affected personnel with information like what is going to be locked/tagged out, why and how long for.
Equipment Shutdown
This stage follows in accordance with the shutdown procedures that are established by management or the machine’s manufacturer. Equipment shutdown involves ensuring controls are all in the off position and that all moving parts have stopped completely.
De-energization
This stage is also called isolation of the system and involves isolation practices – all different for different hazardous energy types.
For instance, for electrical energy, switch electrical disconnect to the off position. Ensure that the breaker connections are in the off positions. Lock the disconnects into the off position.
Remember to only operate disconnect switches and breakers you are trained to or authorized to especially at high voltages.
Dissipation of Residue Energy
This ensures there is no stored energy in the system perhaps by finding a way to discharge the capacitor in an electrical system.
Lockout/Tagout
After the system is locked out and fully discharged, make sure the lock cannot be removed and the system cannot be inadvertently operated.
Performance
After verifying isolation and lockout was successful, perform the maintenance or service activity that was needed.
Remove lockout/tagout devices
Once a system is ready to come back into operation, remove all the locks and tags. Ensure the work area has no tools lying around while at it.
