IX. Maintenance Facilities, Tools and Equipment
A. INTRODUCTION
Facilities, equipment, and tools must effectively support maintenance and maintenance training. Maintenance facilities directly affect the ability of personnel to maintain plant equipment in an optimum state of readiness. Facilities include storage for equipment, tools, supplies, and parts.
An adequate and readily available supply of tools and measurement and test equipment directly affects the ability of the maintenance department to maintain station equipment in a safe and reliable operating condition.
Adequate facilities, tools, and equipment support successful accomplishment of maintenance activities. Industrial safety, location, accessibility, communication, environmental controls, power sources, and the type of activity to be performed are examples of items to be considered in providing maintenance support facilities. Maintenance training facilities, shops, satellite work areas, laydown and staging areas, storage facilities, mockups, temporary facilities, decontamination facilities, shower and toilet facilities, lunch areas, conference areas, and offices are examples of maintenance support facilities. Office equipment is provided that supports efficient and effective work. The objective is to create and maintain a safe, professional, and productive workplace where high-quality work is performed.
Review maintenance facilities, tools, and equipment use periodically, and make appropriate adjustments to support effective, high-quality maintenance. Staff size, special equipment needs because of station modifications, planned outage workload, and the increased sophistication of maintenance activities can change the needs for existing maintenance facilities. Managers recognize that inadequate facilities, tools, and equipment may be masked by worker compensatory actions such as increased pace of work or tacit acceptance of conditions. Managers are responsible for optimizing the use of existing maintenance facilities, tools, and equipment and for recognizing areas where performance could be enhanced.
The process of providing tools and test equipment for the station includes proper storage and issuance controls. Workers have ready access to the tools and equipment needed to perform maintenance and then return them as soon as practical after the work. Tools and test equipment are kept in a high state of readiness, some by inclusion in the preventive maintenance program.
B. GUIDELINE
1. Facilities
The layout of shop and satellite work areas should be designed to support worker safety and efficiency. As shops are modified and satellite work areas are changed throughout the life of the station, these remain foremost considerations.
Location and type of work performed should be considered in determining the types and level of environmental controls and services to be included in each maintenance shop and satellite work area.
Environmental conditions often have a significant impact on personnel performance. Managers need to maintain workplace environmental controls conducive to maintenance quality and work efficiency.
Shop and satellite work area storage facilities should be convenient and facilitate workers keeping the area neat and clean. Shelves, cabinets, lockers, and toolboxes are examples of storage facilities that could be provided for items such as tools, parts, reference materials, and personal items.
When maintenance laydown and staging areas are established, clearly communicate responsibility for area upkeep and control. Include items such as the following:
· authorization for access, with provisions for security and fire protection
· maintaining operating access to equipment
· labeling of facilities to designate responsibility and entry authorization
· temporary storage of parts with controls commensurate with each part's requirements
· contingency plans for changes (such as weather) that could reduce a facility's usability
· plan outages with assigned staging and laydown areas for equipment, special tools, rigs, and parts
Temporary facilities may be needed for during outages. When planning temporary facilities coordinate with other groups, such as construction or specialty contractors, results in more efficient use of space. Provide necessary services such as communications, electrical power, compressed air, water, environmental controls, and lighting at temporary support facilities Major temporary facilities should be controlled through the plant's configuration control programs to ensure consideration for code compliance, fire protection, etc.
2. Tool Control
Responsibility should be assigned for the proper storage and issuance of both stationary and portable tools and equipment.
Permanent issuance of tools to individuals or groups of workers who routinely use them and who are responsible for maintaining them contributes to worker efficiency. Other tools and equipment are readily available as needed. For these items, proper storage facilities are centrally located to shops and normal work areas and should be readily accessible to the workers to promote efficiency. Consider controls, such as sign-out sheets and tool room attendants, for these storage areas to provide accountability and availability of tools. Several stations have found bar-coding technologies useful in tool control programs.
A policy for the storage, issue, decontamination, and reuse of contaminated tools and equipment should be developed and implemented
Special tools and equipment sometimes are obtained on a temporary basis from sources such as vendors or contractors. Establish a method to identify the availability and sources for these special tools and equipment so they can be obtained and made ready for use when needed. When these special tools and equipment are at the station, they are controlled in the same manner as in-house tools and equipment.
Selected maintenance tools and other support equipment should be in the preventive maintenance program. Inclusion in the preventive maintenance program enhances the availability and reliability of equipment such as cranes, portable lifting and rigging equipment, welding machines, weld rod ovens, shop machinery, and measurement and test equipment.
Segregate worn, defective, or otherwise unusable tools so that only safe, usable tools are available for use. Dispose of unrepairable tools in a timely manner.
A readily accessible supply of personal protective equipment, such as various types of work gloves, eye and hearing protection, and fall protection devices, such as harnesses, is provided. Issuance of protective equipment with tools promotes worker safety and reinforces concepts of safe work practices.
Ensure that special tools, test rigs, lifting and rigging equipment, and mockups are suitable for their intended use and are properly identified. Provide instructions for their use, where appropriate, to improve tool and equipment use and enhance job performance, personnel safety, and efficiency.
Maintenance managers should review proposed special tool and equipment designs to determine effectiveness, safety considerations, cost justification, and the need for reviews by other departments. Store and control these tools in accordance with the guidance provided above.
Provide specific instructions to control the use of lifting and rigging equipment. The following are some of the controls that should be in the instructions:
· Identify all rigging equipment with a unique tag to assist in providing positive verification of preventive maintenance and inspections.
· Implement methods to effectively determine currency of inspection and approval for use. Several stations use color-coded tags to track current maintenance and inspections.
· Set allowable lifting configurations and limits for different types of loads.
· For major lifts, establish safe load paths and floor loading patterns.
· Establish training and qualification requirements for workers using lifting and rigging equipment.
3. Measurement and Test Equipment
Each piece of measurement and test equipment should be assigned a unique identification number that is permanently marked on or attached to the equipment. (This may be the manufacturer's serial number.) These numbers assist in identifying, tracking, and positively controlling measurement and test equipment. Maintain a master list of all controlled measurement and test equipment. If separate organizations control their own measurement and test equipment, each organization maintains or has access to a list of its own equipment. Lists and master lists should include the following, as a minimum:
· generic description of equipment, trade or marketing name, manufacturer, model, and serial number
· equipment range(s) and accuracy
· unique identification number
· calibration procedure
· calibration frequency
· responsible department
· any unique considerations, such as storage requirements and training and qualification requirements
Only calibration standards set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology or other nationally recognized standards should be used to calibrate measurement and test equipment. If repair or calibration of a standard is necessary, the recalibration should be traceable to the National Institute of Standards and Technology or to the standard of record for the measurement and test equipment. Keep calibration standards at the station in appropriately designed and maintained calibration facilities and label them appropriately. If calibration standards are issued for field use, the manager responsible for the standard should authorize and minimize the period of issue. Discourage issuance of laboratory standards for field use. Calibrate standards on a frequency consistent with vendor recommendations and utility experience. Calibration records for standards should be consistent with those of all other measurement and test equipment. Use approved procedures with appropriate acceptance criteria and tolerances for the calibration of measurement and test equipment.
Determine measure and test equipment calibration frequency based on the manufacturer recommendations, usage, historical reliability, and consequences of being out of calibration. Consider the amount and type of measurement and test equipment available for use compared to the measurement and test equipment needed to support peak activity periods such as outages. This information can help determine calibration frequency and schedule requirements that result in measurement and test equipment support for station needs.
When operational tests, functional checks, or battery checks of measurement and test equipment are performed, clearly specify the desired response or acceptance criteria, or indicate it on the equipment. These types of checks are intended to detect measurement and test equipment problems before and after an instrument is used in the field. These checks are not substitutes for calibration checks.
1. Un-calibrated Measurement and Test Equipment
Calibrate new measurement and test equipment before use to verify it meets acceptance criteria, is functional, and is safe to use. Clearly mark uncalibrated test equipment used only for troubleshooting so that it is not used as measurement and test equipment for taking data. Test equipment used only for troubleshooting and not for taking readings and measurements does not need to be fully calibrated, but it should be checked periodically for operability and safety. For example, a volt-ohm meter might be operability checked every six months.
2. Measurement and Test Equipment with Limited Use
Clearly label measurement and test equipment that has special uses, limitations, or restrictions to describe its applications or limitations. Also, segregate such equipment, where possible, to avoid inadvertent use or possible misapplication. The following are examples of information that should be reflected on the measurement and test equipment tag or label:
· scales or ranges that are inaccurate or inoperable, including some indication of the amount of inaccuracy
· calibrations that do not include the full indicating range
· internal radioactive contamination
· limited or restricted use such as on oil, oxygen, saltwater, or demineralized water systems
Provide traceabiIity of measurement and test equipment to support a timely evaluation of instruments, systems, and other equipment associated with measurement and test equipment found to be deficient. This can be accomplished by recording the measurement and test equipment user, when the equipment was used, what instrument or equipment it was used on, for what purpose (typically by referencing the maintenance request or procedure number), and what ranges were used or values read with the measurement and test equipment. Maintenance history that can be readily sorted by specific measurement and test equipment used to perform maintenance is an alternative method of providing traceability. Several stations have found bar-coding technologies useful in providing traceability of measurement and test equipment.
Implement a recall system to ensure measurement and test equipment is removed from service before or at the expiration of its calibration. This recall system can be enhanced by the use of calibration stickers on each item of measurement and test equipment. If used, attach such a sticker to the measurement and test equipment, designating, as a minimum, the date recalibration is required. This information normally is needed for work documentation; therefore, calibration stickers provide a convenient method for the user to obtain this information and to ensure the measurement and test equipment currently is calibrated. Stagger calibration due dates to meet measurement and test equipment needs for peak use periods such as outages and routine use.
4. Control of Software Used in Process Control Applications
The configuration control process should control the configuration
of software and firmware used in process control instrumentation. The specific software revision level should be identified as part of the plant equipment configuration control program. Changes made to software used in process control equipment are controlled to prevent unauthorized changes.
A replacement process for control equipment that includes software should be purchased to specifications to ensure the installed software is compatible with and replicates the software under the plant's configuration control program.
(END OF APPENDIX C)
