The role of the criticality matrix in maintenance management

To obtain an well structured PPMC (Planning, Programming and Maintenance Control) in the factory floor, it is necessary to have the answer to the folloqing question:

Which asse or assets in the plant will cause the greatest production loss if it comes to fail?

IIn this text, learn more about one of the asset criticality matrix models and the relevance of its use in maintenance management for your industry. 

What is Criticality Matrix?

In a plant, it is necessary to identify which asset or assets are the ones we need to pay attention the most due to uts relevance for the process as a whole, also which asset will not negatively impact the production if it presents any functional failure.

For this, the tool that helps identify the relevance of these levels is the criticality matrix. In it, it is possible to define the classification of these assets in alphabetical order, the main ones being: A, B and C. 

The main function of this criticality matrix is to aid in the definition of the evaluation level of negative impacts to the production processes, in case an asset presents functional failure and requires maintenance, having as evaluation base, criteria and parameters such as production losses, impact on safety, environment, and other aspects, where each criterion has the weight that will direct the criticality of the asset.  

Once the crticality of each asset has been determined, we can define maintenance strategies, and, evaluate the ideal functioning of machines and equipment, aiming at the production system being as close as possible to its nominal capacity.

Interpreting the Criticality Matrix – Asset Classification

Class A Assets: those we need to keep a close look at, which the production impact is too high.

Assets of A criticality demand robust strategies of maintenance which don’t alllow that this type of asset to go into functional failure, as well as a RCM study.

Class B Assets: are those who have medium impact on the producation and, where it’s generally possible to wotk with preventive maintenance, following a previous planning and based in defined time intervals or according to a pre-defined established criterion.

Class C Assets: are those who have low impact in production or don’t have direct impact.

Normally, corretive actions are worked in this type of asset, refering to repairs that are performed in a machine or equipment that has stopped working.

Obviously, these strategies can be altered according to the oprational context that the asset is inserted on and, in this way, its criticality can also change depending on this same context.

It’s the responsibility of the PPMC sector’s manager to be aware of these issues inside the Planning, Programming and Maintenance Control.

A well-designed and efficient maintenance plan should take into account the criticality of each asset.

And, once the criticality analysis is done, we also have the basis to elaborate, define and prioritize the maintenance strategies that will be applied in each machine/equipment. 

Preditive Maintenance through the online remote monitoring

Aiming the asset’s confiability, an interesting strategy is the online monitoring of vibration and temperature to identify potencial failures and adopt assertive measures that eliminate the evolution possibility of that failure to a functional failure.

An effective predictive monitoring system brings the advantage of anticipating failure modes and production losses, using data and prognoses of the asset’s current condition, helping the maintenance team with the planning of timely intervention actions. 

The Dynamox Solution is a robust tool that counts on sensors, gateways, and maintenance software, developed to support teams in these data-driven analysis and decision making processes. 

In case you want to know more, please check another article about the criticality of equipment in the industry and continue browsing.