Responsible Asset Management in Dubai

BY MATAR S. AL-MEHAIRI, DUBAI ELECTRICITY & WATER AUTHORITY (DEWA)

assetmanagement.iirme.com ■ +971 4 407 2526 ■ register@iirme.com

Burj Khalifa in Dubai (Source: www.burjkhalifa.ae)

Responsible Asset Management in Dubai BY MATAR S. AL-MEHAIRI, DUBAI ELECTRICITY & WATER AUTHORITY (DEWA)

Should there be a greater sense of responsibility in asset management? This is one challenging question that should be proposed more

often in the field of asset management. Thanks to the diligent work and inquisitive minds of world leaders and scientists in previous

decades, preventative steps were eventually taken against the global phenomenon of ozone layer depletion. Whether the global

community can come together to curb global warming remains to be seen. These global threats to the planet are the result of ignoring

our sense of responsibility to humanity and the effect of mass human errors in industrial development processes. We know that the

phasing out of the production and usage of Ozone Depleting Chemicals (ODCs) worldwide has retarded the steep increase in

stratospheric chlorine that had appeared in the past two decades. Furthermore, it has been confirmed by scientists that the ozone

depletion rate has also reduced correspondingly. The lack of awareness of ODCs and ignoring the sense of responsibility in adhering

to the safety requirements of using ODCs were the human errors that lead to the global threat of ozone layer depletion.

Human error, even of a very minor nature, could be the critical factor that results in major asset failures and catastrophic events in

day-to-day life. One day, while driving on a Dubai highway, I noticed a driver of a luxury car asking for help on the side of the road.

When I stopped to offer my assistance I found smoke coming out of the engine. The driver had failed to replace oil and coolant as

scheduled in the hot summer season. It was unfortunate that such a valuable asset was damaged due to improper asset management

practices. This is a simple example of ignoring the sense of responsibility, leading to a minor human error in day-to-day life. I have

also seen in Dubai, an old classic Rang Rover in excellent condition. I stopped the driver to ask him how he managed to keep his

vehicle in such excellent condition. On an individual level, this owner was demonstrating a strong sense of responsibility for his asset

and the environment. The figure below illustrates the contribution of human errors to asset failures which shows that human error is

the most frequent cause of asset failures.

Figure1: Distribution of typical failure causes due to human error compared to other factors (Manufacturing excellence through TPM implementation: a practical analysis Paper)

I. MANAGING DUBAI’S ELECTRICITY & WATER

Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA), being one of the most renowned Dubai Government bodies, is in charge of Dubai

Emirate’s needs for both electricity and water. It is dedicated to serving the Dubai citizens, residents, investors, and property

developers, and handles a population of 600,000 customers. DEWA owns assets that value US $30 billion, with the running project

value exceeding US $9 billion. These assets are divided among several divisions under Transmission, Distribution, Generation, Water

& Civil, and Business Support.

The Asset Management – Distribution Division has a significant responsibility as it handles the key section of DEWA assets that

maintain system reliability, consisting of 10 percent of DEWA’s total assets. This includes transformers, circuit breakers, ring main

units, LVDBs, pole mounted transformers and substation buildings, totaling 104,000 units of equipment of various voltage levels

ranging from 6.6kV to 33kV. In addition, DEWA’s Distribution Division safeguards a 26000KM stretch of underground cables.

CHALLENGES OF ASSET MANAGEMENT IN DUBAI

All available standards in asset management do not pay enough attention to human factors and how the attitude and culture of humans

play vital roles in the success of Asset Management Systems, especially in a multicultural environment like Dubai, where over 25

nationalities work side-by-side. In January 2009 DEWA established an Asset Management Department in its Distribution Division to

optimize asset life cycle management and improve performance and reliability of its distribution network at optimal cost. The

following challenges were identified at the initial stage of the asset management program:

Variation in the sense of responsibility level among the staff;

Greatest number of asset failures resulting from human error;

Non-availability of worldwide indices and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for asset management;

Absence of effective Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM) in asset management policy;

Unforeseen quality deviations during a steep growth of Distribution Network assets; and,

Hurdles in the adoption of smart grid technologies and integration with the existing grid.

II. ADDRESSING ASSET MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES

Grading the competency level of staff and then developing competency to promote the sense of responsibility is the key factor for the

success of asset management systems. Development programs at DEWA were designed to include an internal training center, to

transfer the knowledge of experts to other staff, and a general awareness program that captures the tacit knowledge of DEWA’s skilled

personnel in asset management.

The challenge of there being such a high rate of asset defects/failures due to human error was tackled by modifying life-cycle

management to minimize the deviations of quality, safety and environment requirements throughout each stage of life-cycle

management. Figure 2 shows DEWA’s original version of life-cycle management of Assets having the gaps to tackle the voice of end

users as applicable to various processes.

Figure 2: Asset Life Cycle (Red circles refer to identified gaps)

The asset management life-cycle was revised as shown in Figure 3 to incorporate the end user’s feedback (in this case the

Operation/Maintenance Departments of DEWA) applicable to various processes until taking over. Other enhancements to the asset

management system were studied to allow for the management of different types of assets such as Work Force, Equipment,

Information and Knowledge. Ultimately, competency of the work force with adequate information acts as the steering wheel for an

asset management system. Therefore, workforce and information competency was given the highest priority in DEWA’s asset

management reform process.

Figure 3: Revised Life Cycle (Addressing missing gaps)

Plan

Acquire (Inspection, FAT)

commission Operate & Maintain

Retire/Dispose

Plan

Design Tech. specifications

Acquire (Inspection, FAT)

Commission

Taking- over

Operate & Maintain

Retire/Dispose

Vo

ice

of

use

rs t

o s

pec

ific

atio

ns/

des

ign

imp

rove

men

t

III. DESIGNING A BETTER ASSET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

RISK MANAGEMENT PROCESS

The objective of Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) as an effective maintenance strategy is to maximize the effectiveness of an

asset while minimizing the effects and/or the likelihood of its failure. This RCM strategy shares the same core principle of the risk

management process of identifying and controlling risks of asset failures. From an asset management point of view, RCM can be seen

as a risk management process where functional risks get more attention from asset managers, which improves the overall effectiveness

of the asset management system. For example, a pilot’s control stick in an airplane has a low cost but a high functional risk, while an

entertainment system has a high cost but a low functional risk. The overall function of an airplane will be affected based on the

functional risk of its subsystems.

CENTRALIZED INFORMATION THROUGH AN ERP SYSTEM

The centralization of asset information in inventory management, maintenance management and workforce management systems

through an ERP system, such as SAP, provides asset managers with a clearer picture and better decision support tools. It also helps to

establish efficient condition and performance assessment programs in order to optimize the performance of assets at minimum

operating/maintenance costs.

ADVANCED CONDITION MONITORING TECHNIQUES

Many of the existing defects with equipment and cables, due to quality deviations and human error, were identified and brought under

control by introducing advanced condition monitoring programs. A link was established with worldwide manufacturers of Condition

Monitoring Equipment to explore the introduction of updated condition monitoring techniques for enhancing the effectiveness of

condition monitoring.

V. CONCLUSION

Repairing the damages caused by asset failures can be very expensive, and in some cases the damages are even beyond repair. Hence,

prevention of human error and deviations from quality safety and environment requirements is of utmost importance in Asset

Management Programs. Moreover, now is the time to give greater adherence to green earth directives in order to prevent the mass

human error of global warming. DEWA is committed to promoting Green Earth programs in asset management, especially through

strategies related to green energy, green homes, green environment and green fuel. In order to make asset management greener and

more efficient on a global scale, universally standardized Asset Management Practices for power distribution utilities are needed,

especially practices that include indices & KPIs. Utility companies under developing stages would particularly benefit from these

international asset management standards.