Activity based budgeting, the path to cost effective risk optimisation

Written by: Wilson Bernardo

Generating budgets and integrating them seamlessly into a maintenance strategy can be challenging for asset-intensive organisations. In many cases, a single tool doesn’t hold the necessary information to easily develop these two processes in tandem. Spreadsheets or specific software are often used for each of these processes individually, which presents a challenge when a comprehensive analysis of scenarios, risks and costs is required to prepare a zero-based budget that meets the defined maintenance strategy.

Integrating these two processes can bring many benefits including the optimisation of time and resources which aids in the efficient development of advanced, technical methodologies, such as Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) and Zero-Based Budget (ZBB).

When developing a maintenance strategy using the RCM methodology, much of the information entered can be shared and used for the development of other methodologies or analyses. For example, all the resources collected (labor, material, special equipment, etc.) in the creation of the RCM can serve as a basis for the construction of the ZBB.

The sharing of information between the two methodologies makes asset lifecycle management more dynamic and flexible. The ability to make immediate revisions as a result of different scenarios that arise during analysis enables greater asset reliability at the lowest possible operating cost.

Orien offers a solution to unify methodologies and provide users with greater information and integration possibilities, in addition to offering a faster and more agile way to develop and conduct processes. Orien allows users to develop RCM and ZBB at the same time, sharing all the information that is common to both methodologies and facilitating processes such as reviews and continuous improvement.

In addition to integrating different methodologies or processes, Orien can interface with other ERP and Finance systems, such as SAP, allowing data to be updated in an automated way, without the need for manual completion that can lead to standardization errors during the data entry process.

In action: integrating ZBB and RCM

A leading global mining client has been using Orien at their iron ore site in Brazil since 2019 and, together with their strategy, reliability and maintenance teams, have been able to build a robust foundation of maintenance strategies for their 362 assets, ready for zero-based budgeting.

The reports generated for the ZBB in Orien provide the client with a short, medium and long-term view of the costs related to the defined maintenance strategy, including the replacement of components according to their estimated useful life. It is possible to intuitively customize these ZBB reports by changing evaluation periods, frequency, units (days, hours, tons, etc.) and production plans, enabling the client to carry out different types of analysis.

Conclusion

Storing data in a way that is useful across different teams within an organisation or to be shared with 3rd party applications is a challenge. Using Orien, our clients save time and money by seamlessly integrating ZBB and RCM data to optimise asset maintenance strategies.

Orien bio

Orien is a cloud-based, asset management solution built in collaboration with leading industry experts and used by the largest asset-intensive industries across the globe. With Orien, it’s easy to consolidate, collaborate on, and control maintenance strategies and budgets across your organization to keep assets working for you. Our clients manage lifecycle costs and reduce uncertainty by understanding the critical activities that keep their operation running. With teams located worldwide and 24/7 support, Orien is quick to deploy and easy to learn.

Our team of experts are ready to help, reach out to Wilson Bernardo to learn more.