Conceptual Design Review

New Dimension Solutions has been working with the Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) since 2002. Based on the success of our reliability projects, Orange County requested us to apply the RCM process to their design process. NDS performed a pilot project on the Bitter Point Pump Station Project. The proof of concept work was so successful that OCSD incorporated our methodology into their into their design criteria for future projects — beginning with the Rocky Point Pump Station.

In applying our Conceptual Design Review process for the Las Vegas Valley Water District, we had an accelerated time-line and incorporated a fifth element (Equipment Failure Analysis) to more quickly identify key opportunity areas in the proposed design by analyzing the maintenance history of similar equipment in the organization. The five elements of our Conceptual Design Review Process are:

	Risk Management
	Equipment Failure Analysis
	Reliability Centered Maintenance
	Reliability Centered Spares
	Enhanced Strategic Planning through Computer Simulation

When any new project is planned, this process can be implemented on the front end to provide a very robust user specification based on actual functional requirements and not on designer preferences. By starting our analysis from a zero-baseline we can develop a unique Operating Context for the proposed plant so that the actual risks from failure consequences can be made transparent early enough to impact the proposed design. The traditional “rule of thumb” approach to managing risk in design can lead to over-design and excessive redundancy through using conventions like N + 1. Installing spare pumps on the floor is an expensive, reactive and all too often, ineffective strategy for coping with risks from failure that have not been adequately defined and quantified.

NDS is already creating a quiet revolution in the water utility industry applying our Life Cycle Costing methodology to the design process. The financial benefits are greatest when applied in the conceptual design / Request for Proposal development phase. We act as an advocate for the municipality in the RFP development process and later, if necessary, in the design review process. We ensure that the functional criteria and values identified by the customer in the Life-Cycle Costing process are fully integrated into the design. The system or plant design is optimized for both reliability and cost over its entire useful life, not just through the commissioning and warranty period. Designing to a function-based, reliability-centered RFP will produce more integrated, maintainable, elegant systems and plants with integrated operational, maintenance and spares policies. Here are some of the benefits our Conceptual Design Review clients can expect:

	Cost savings from right sized equipment and infrastructure based on current requirements and future needs.
	Cost savings from optimization of MRO spare part requirements (not only based on equipment supplier recommendations).
	Cost savings from extended plant life and lower costs.
	Increased organizational integration and productivity by developing a fully functional maintenance program before startup and commissioning of replacement equipment.
	Strategic Leverage for Process Improvement by developing a robust baseline for periodic review and optimization of maintenance strategy.
	Increased capability to measure and manage risk within the context of business objectives and early enough in the process to optimize design along rational, auditable principles.
	Cost savings through eliminating unnecessary redundancy and over-design of plant systems by evaluating and managing the consequences of equipment failure through RCM principles.
	Cost savings through right-sizing the infrastructure by adhering to a rigorous process that focuses on required functionality for this operating context rather than personal preferences or dependence on prior designs.
	Cost savings through verifying the design, maintenance and stocking policies prior to implementation by using computer simulation software.
	Cost savings through increasing the transparency of resource requirements and through life cost of major capital expenditures early enough to make the maximum impact to the bottom line.

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Conceptual Design Review

Risk Management

Equipment Failure Analysis

Reliability Centered Maintenance

Reliability Centered Spares

Enhanced Strategic Planning through Computer Simulation

Cost savings from right sized equipment and infrastructure based on current requirements and future needs.

Cost savings from optimization of MRO spare part requirements (not only based on equipment supplier recommendations).

Cost savings from extended plant life and lower costs.

Increased organizational integration and productivity by developing a fully functional maintenance program before startup and commissioning of replacement equipment.

Strategic Leverage for Process Improvement by developing a robust baseline for periodic review and optimization of maintenance strategy.

Increased capability to measure and manage risk within the context of business objectives and early enough in the process to optimize design along rational, auditable principles.

Cost savings through eliminating unnecessary redundancy and over-design of plant systems by evaluating and managing the consequences of equipment failure through RCM principles.

Cost savings through right-sizing the infrastructure by adhering to a rigorous process that focuses on required functionality for this operating context rather than personal preferences or dependence on prior designs.

Cost savings through verifying the design, maintenance and stocking policies prior to implementation by using computer simulation software.

Cost savings through increasing the transparency of resource requirements and through life cost of major capital expenditures early enough to make the maximum impact to the bottom line.