What is Performance based maintenance, and why is it important to understand?

How do you ensure your approach to building maintenance is not putting your business at risk? Your facility – and your business – rely on complex equipment. These assets are expensive to own and can pose a real risk to your success if they stop working properly. Imagine an approach to maintenance that doesn’t put your business at risk.

Performance based maintenance is a method of contracting where a building operator or facility manager defines the results they are seeking, rather than the process by which those results are to be attained. Also, included are the standards against which contractor performance will be measured, and positive and/or negative incentives.

We talk about bringing KPI based digitalization, herewith what you will get:

1. Central Monitoring Station:  A data driven portfolio view extended up to individual equipment view; Wherein Siemens shall also keep monitoring the performance at our ASC (Advance Service Center), Singapore; – 3^rdeye of experts keep monitoring your system and keep sharing Insights with individual malls operations team.

2. Chiller plants optimization: Expect at least 15% of energy reductions at the portfolio level

3. Performance based maintenance: Siemens maintain your chiller plant equipment along with consistent performance guarantee verified by 3rd party

What are some benefits?

1. The building operator/ customer released from being a coordinator between multiple vendors
2. They are released from having to develop detailed specifications and defining the process
3. Better prices and performance
4. The contractor has more flexibility on how he achieves the desired results
5. Less day-to-day surveillance required
6. Contractor motivated to be innovative and to save money (Cost vs. benefit!)
7. More value creation for the same amount of cost

But what’s new about this?  

It is the statement of work results vs. process-oriented results and it has a new title: Performance Work Statement(PWS). The ownership is on the contractor to accomplish the results required. The contractor measures his performance by developing and implementing a Quality Assurance (QA) plan, plus performance measured against standards established in the contract. Quantitative performance can be verified by 3rd party.

A newer approach is to develop a Statement Of Objectives (SOO), which provides a basic outline of the current situation, the desired results, and lists any existing constraints (compliance with statutes, security, architecture, etc.). Using this newer approach, the contractor will propose a solution or an approach that then becomes the PWS.

Let’s look at some key elements of performance-based maintenance contracts (PbM):

1. PWS or SOO (what, where, when, how many) – a new data driven checklists
2. Condition based monitoring and retro-commissioning
3. Performance KPIs (kW/RT, kWh) verified by 3rd party
4. Service Level Agreement (Response and resolution time)
5. Data Driven predictive maintenance
6. Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) commensurate with the size of the procurement for this contract.
7. Metrics and incentives, such as share-in-savings, positive performance evaluations, automatic option exercises, extended contract terms, operation and maintenance combined contracts, additional scope of work from lifts to lighting, electrical distribution control with tenants’ billing etc.

Expected outcomes:

• Greater peace of mind
• Consistent plant performance for the contract period with comprehensive or non-comprehensive maintenance
• Automated capturing of faults and diagnosis/ digital records
• Predictions of failures, much before actual breakdown with root causes

Contract administration

(a) After contract award, the contractor takes a lead role in managing the technical elements of the contract. She/he must be technically competent, must maintain complete and accurate digital records (i.e. no paper-based records)

Step 1: Digitalize paper-based checklists: The contractor should have a predefined data driven checklist for Chillers, Pumps, Cooling Towers, HEX, AHU, VAV box wherein data captured in the checklist to be auto via the system (No human errors). Scheduled maintenance can be carried out per minute.

Step 2: Condition based monitoring: Capture all the highs and low via system or Fault Detection & Diagnostics (FDD), Do the preventive maintenance every hour.

Step 3: Data driven: Predict the failures, much ahead of actual occurrence and any possible downtime.

(b) Positive and negative incentives: Building operator needs to reinforce actions/behaviours that result in quality services/products and discourage actions/behaviours that reduce performance levels. Efforts should be made to avoid penalizing the Contractor, but if it must be done, do it. Delay in taking the decision or delivery which impact on performance shall attract negative incentives.

Pay for performance not for process.

Part A Maintenance: Comprehensive or non-comprehensive maintenance of chiller plant equipment or mix as per customer convenience.

Part B Performance: Guaranteed (KW/RT) performance of chiller plant, and can be verified by 3rd party.

Choosing a Contractor: The right combination of people, technology and services

The contractor must be able to connect, collect, communicate and analyse data seamlessly on a single platform and should also have:

• A cloud based remote monitoring facility
• Dedicated central advanced service team is well-equipped with data driven Fault Detection & Diagnostic (FDD) tools
• Dashboards for all assets and pre-defined KPI
• Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly reporting facility with recommendations for improvement
• Data driven site checklist for every equipment with auto range of operations
• Data driven prediction for failures
• Contractor should be an expert of HVAC controls and automation, and should have all time inventory available for all field devices for 70% of transient faults (Sensors, actuators, controllers etc.)
• Experienced and qualified staff at site and at central monitoring station.

Digitalization is transforming maintenance management. Top-performing businesses apply a modern, data-driven approach to maintenance that gets results and ensure customer building is an active contributor to their success.