Plant Availability Modelling with RAMP

Do you know what are the most critical items of equipment on your plant? Do you know how often they fail and what the consequences on production are when they do? The answers to these questions can have a dramatic effect on your operations and maintenance strategies and also on bottom line performance.

RAMP is a powerful availability modelling package developed specifically for the analysis of process systems. RAMP models the effects of scheduled and unscheduled downtime on process throughput, establishing relationships between equipment reliability, configuration, maintenance strategy, spares and resources.

RAMP is a simulation programme capable of modelling simple or complex process systems of all types.

RAMP models are used to support critical decision making such as redundant capacity, buffer storage, reduction of through-life costs, equipment procurement specification, criticality and cost-benefit analysis.

RAMP has a user friendly Windows interface. Block diagrams representing the process can be easily built up on the screen, and clicking on any item will open a screen form for the entry of data defining reliability, capacity, repair time, spares required, etc.

RAMP built-in features include:

Time varying delivery and demand / nomination profiles. Finite spares and maintenance resources. Preventive maintenance schedules. Logistic delays. Startup delays for standby items. Equipment wear out (Weibull failure distribution). Bulk and buffer stores. Common mode failures. Active and standby redundancy. Queuing for repairs. Simulation lifetime.

RAMP measures availability in terms of volume of throughput capacity over time. Thus unavailability and unreliability are expressed in the units which really matter to the business - production loss.

Benefits

Identifying critical areas and "bottlenecks" where redesign may increase throughput and profits. Calculating the optimal reserve or buffer stock holding. Assessing demand/throughput profiles and allowing design comparison studies to find the most profitable option. Proving the potential of the design to meet availability and reliability requirements, especially at the tender stage. Quantifying the true benefits of redundancy, thereby avoiding unnecessary capital expenditure. Assessing the impact on availability of increases in production demand, alterations to maintenance strategies, etc. Demonstrating the effects of changes in spares holdings, lead times, maintenance resources, etc.

The output facilities are equally flexible, features includes:

Availability of full capacity or nominated through-put, both as overall lifetime values and as rolling average plots through the life. True criticality list. Reliability and criticality at element and group level. Colour coding of block diagram to show results of interest. Histograms of repair times and resource utilisation. Spares usage. Results may be pasted into Windows applications directly from RAMP.

User friendly interactive building of model on screen

Entry of equipment reliability, repair and maintenance data through dialogue boxes

Flexible control of the simulation to provide the required information

Comprehensive facilities for graphical presentation of results

Clear on-screen identification of critical items