Applying Advanced Asset Management Tools – MSD's Journey in Leveraging the People to Improve Results

For the past six years, the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (MSD) Wastewater Treatment Division (WWT) has implemented a risk-based asset management (AM) program that has generated positive results and identified areas for continuous improvement. This paper presents an advanced asset management implementation case study based on MSD's Mill Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant Dewatering Process Area, which includes a discussion of:Risk-based Preventive Maintenance Definition using Criticality,Reliability Centered Maintenance (and results), andContinuous improvement techniques to identify implementation issues.Asset management-based practices are delivering positive change, of which one particularly important aspect (highlighted in this paper) is feedback on implementation results to continue improving the program. MSD gets this feedback by measuring and communicating the results of implementation efforts. Focusing on the results spotlights implementation gaps, which are opportunities to re-focus resources for continued improvement. The case study in this paper demonstrates that continuously building the skills and knowledge of every level of staff in the organization, and especially the skilled trades, is the key to realizing and sustaining the full benefit of optimized costs and higher equipment availability. Continuously engaging the people gains the best results and avoids a “flavor of the day” outcome.