Facility life management method
First Claim
1. A method of employing a computer in optimizing the timing of a number of maintenance activities that relate to a number of elements of a facility, the method comprising:
- for each maintenance activity, employing the computer in;
determining a number of failure probabilities of an element based upon an assumption of performance of the maintenance activity at a given time,employing at least some of the number of failure probabilities in determining a number of changes in probability of failure of the element based upon the assumption of performance of the maintenance activity at the given time, andemploying at least some of the number of changes in probability of failure in calculating a number of expected net savings based upon the assumption of performance of the maintenance activity at the given time;
employing the computer in performing said determining, employing, and calculating for each of a number of assumed given times of performance of the maintenance activity;
for each of at least some of the maintenance activities, employing the computer in determining the given time at which the corresponding expected net savings result in a substantially maximum net present value; and
outputting from the computer a plan for the proactive performance of a number of the maintenance activities that is based at least in part upon said determining the given time.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An improved method of selecting and planning the performance of various maintenance activities on a facility such as a nuclear power plant includes determining the net present value of a number of future net savings that are expected to result from performance of the maintenance activity at a given time, and selecting and planning the maintenance activities in a fashion that maximizes net present value. The method includes, for each of a number of components and a number of time periods, determining a change in the probability that a component will fail within a time period, with the change resulting from an assumption that a maintenance activity is performed. The change in probability is multiplied with the losses associated with a failure in order to determine a gross savings from which costs are subtracted to determine net savings. The probabilities of failure may be determined from a probability failure model that has been derived from multiple sets of failure data that are characterized by Weibull distributions and are mathematically combined according to Bayes'"'"' Theorem. The maintenance activities may also be optimized according to a number of budget figures. An apparatus for performing the method is also disclosed.
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Citations
42 Claims
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1. A method of employing a computer in optimizing the timing of a number of maintenance activities that relate to a number of elements of a facility, the method comprising:
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for each maintenance activity, employing the computer in; determining a number of failure probabilities of an element based upon an assumption of performance of the maintenance activity at a given time, employing at least some of the number of failure probabilities in determining a number of changes in probability of failure of the element based upon the assumption of performance of the maintenance activity at the given time, and employing at least some of the number of changes in probability of failure in calculating a number of expected net savings based upon the assumption of performance of the maintenance activity at the given time; employing the computer in performing said determining, employing, and calculating for each of a number of assumed given times of performance of the maintenance activity; for each of at least some of the maintenance activities, employing the computer in determining the given time at which the corresponding expected net savings result in a substantially maximum net present value; and outputting from the computer a plan for the proactive performance of a number of the maintenance activities that is based at least in part upon said determining the given time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of employing a computer in determining whether or not to plan the performance a maintenance activity that relates to an element of a facility, the method comprising:
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employing the computer in; determining a number of failure probabilities of the element based upon an assumption of performance of the maintenance activity at a given time, employing at least some of the number of failure probabilities in determining a number of changes in probability of failure of the element based upon the assumption of performance of the maintenance activity at the given time, and employing at least some of the number of changes in probability of failure in calculating a number of expected net savings based upon the assumption of performance of the maintenance activity at the given time; employing the computer in performing said determining, employing, and calculating for each of a number of assumed given times of performance of the maintenance activity; for each given time, employing the computer in calculating a net present value of the expected net savings; employing the computer in identifying the maximum amount among the net present values; employing the computer in determining whether the maximum amount is a positive amount or a negative amount; and outputting from the computer a plan for the proactive performance of the maintenance activity that is based at least in part upon said determining whether the maximum amount is a positive amount of a negative amount. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A method of employing a computer in maintaining a facility, the facility including a number of elements, the method comprising:
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selecting a number of the elements according to a number of criteria; identifying a number of failure mechanisms for the selected elements; developing a number of the maintenance activities to correspond with the failure mechanisms; for each maintenance activity, employing the computer in; determining a number of failure probabilities of an element based upon an assumption of performance of the maintenance activity at a given time, employing at least some of the number of failure probabilities in determining a number of changes in probability of failure of the element based upon the assumption of performance of the maintenance activity at the given time, and employing at least some of the number of changes in probability of failure in calculating a number of expected net savings based upon the assumption of performance of the maintenance activity at the given time; employing the computer in performing said determining, employing, and calculating for each of each of a number of assumed given times of performance of the maintenance activity; for each of at least some of the maintenance activities, employing the computer in determining the given time in which the corresponding expected net savings result in a substantially maximum net present value; and outputting from the computer a plan for the proactive performance of a number of the maintenance activities that is based at least in part upon said determining the given time. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. An apparatus for optimizing the timing of a number of maintenance activities that relate to a number of elements of a facility, the apparatus comprising a computer having stored thereon software which, when executed on the computer, causes the computer to perform operations comprising:
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determining a number of failure probabilities of an element based upon an assumption of performance of a maintenance activity at a given time, employing at least some of the number of failure probabilities in determining a number of changes in probability of failure of the element based upon the assumption of performance of the maintenance activity at the given time, and employing at least some of the number of changes in probability of failure in calculating a number of expected net savings based upon the assumption of performance of the maintenance activity at the given time; performing said determining, employing, and calculating for each of a number of assumed given times of performance of the maintenance activity; determining the given time at which the corresponding expected net savings result in a substantially maximum net present value; and outputting a plan for the proactive performance of the maintenance activity that is based at least in part upon said determining the given time.
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Specification