Vattenfall AB is a large producer of electric energy where approximately half of the energy comes from hydropower. Vattenfall Hydropower has got almost a 100-year old history and the company has developed a lot since 1909. After that the number of power plants increased and the competition got more intense, there were higher demands on the reliability. One way to secure the reliability with a good satisfaction at the power plants is to implement a maintenance method named Reliability-Centred Maintenance. RCM is a result of the introduction of the complex aeroplane Boeing 747 in the 1960’s. The theory has mostly been used in military industry, but lately it has been a tool in civil industry as well.
In 1999 a pilot project started at Vattenfall. The results were good and in February 2002 a large scale implementation of RCM was introduced at the both organizations Vattenfall Hydropower and Vattenfall Service. It is a large project with many factors that can affect the outcome. According to the project specification an independent evaluation will be made. This evaluation resulted in a thesis which started in October 2002. The objective of the thesis is to present the current status of the process in the areas commitment and communication and present an evaluation where possible gaps and the expectations of future results can be cleared out. Two students at Luleå University of Technology have made the thesis during 20 weeks. 40 interviews have been made, which have been analyzed. The result of the interviews shows that the project “has yielded good feeling” in general, but some lacking in the communication area has been observed. Some suggestions of improvement have been drawn up. First of all the objectives of the introduction of RCM should be presented to all to create awareness amongst all employees. A review of the information flow is recommended. One suggestion is to have regular workplace meetings where the status of the project is presented.
Author: Edelman, Martin; Johansson, Daniel
Source: Luleå University of Technology
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