Criticality is a tool that allows the objective evaluation of the potential consequences of equipment breakdown on a plant as a result of functional failures. It helps determine the characteristics that make one piece of equipment more critical to overall plant performance than another.

1. Deploying Criticality Analysis in
Multi-Plant Reliability
Improvement Programs
Michel Cote & Serge Mathieu
Prosygma
Reliability and Maintenance
Professional Services
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2. What is Criticality ?
A tool used to evaluate how equipment
failures impact organizational
performance in order to systematically
rank plant assets for the purpose of :
PM /PdM
Development
To prioritize
activities dedicated
to PM / PdM
development or
optimization
Material
Classification
To better
prioritize work
out of the
maintenance
backlog
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Reliability
Improvement
Initiatives
To support MRO
initiatives to
identify critical
spares
Work
Prioritization
To ensure that
reliability
improvements are
made based on risk
rather than
perception

3. The Process
Cross-functional analysis and input from
Operations and Maintenance, and as
required, input from Engineering,
Material Management, Environment and
Health and Safety representatives
Weigh the impact of a failure on each
asset across all 4 criteria
Impact on
safety
(0 to 4)
x
Impact on
environment
(0 to 4)
x
Impact on
quality
(0 to 4)
3
x
Impact on cost
or production
(0 to 4)
=
0 to 256

4. Impact on Safety
0
Potential to cause death or permanent injuries
1
Potential to cause non-permanent bodily injuries
2
Potential to cause significant inconvenience to personnel
3
Potential to cause minor inconvenience to personnel
4
Will have no significant impact on personnel
4

5. Deploying Criticality Analysis in
a Multi-Plant Reliability Program
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6. One of the Major Tissue Producers
in North America
• Quebec (4)
• Ontario (2)
• Wisconsin (1)
• Pennsylvania (2)
• North Carolina (1)
• New York (2)
• Oregon (1)
• Arizona (1)
• Tennessee (1)
Mills located in the United States
Mills located in Canada
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7. The Objective
• For all of the 15 mills, associate a criticality ranking to each
asset in the CMMS.
The Challenge
• Have the criticality ranking done for all of the 15 mills within
a schedule of 8 to 12 weeks.
• A total of 45,000 assets, ranging from 600 to 16,000 per mill.
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8. Criticality Ranking
The criticality ranking is calculated by multiplying each of the scores (from 0 to 4) obtained
for each of the 4 criteria.
The total is then converted into one of the following 4 criticality rankings, namely A,B,C or D.
Equipment
Number
PE-002
PE-005
VE-100
AG-201
CL-403
Description
Pump xyz
Pump ABC
Blower YYZ
Agitator DBC
Air Conditionning
Criticality Evaluation
Environment
Quality
Economical
4
4
1
4
4
2
4
4
3
1
4
4
4
4
4
Safety
4
4
4
0
4
Evaluation Score
Criticality Ranking
0 ≤ Criticality ≤ 96
Extreme
97 ≤ Criticality ≤ 145
High
146 ≤ Criticality ≤ 193
Moderate
194 ≤ Criticality ≤ 256
Low
=A
=B
=C
=D
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Total =
64
128
192
0
256
Criticality
Ranking
A
B
C
A
D

9. Lessons Learned
• Prevent mill personnel from taking shortcuts –this is an
objective and quantitative process
• Avoid entering rankings one by one - work with IT to import
the criticality rankings in the CMMS
• Take the time to explain the advantages of a criticality
ranking system
• Make sure equipment hierarchy is adequate before you start
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10. Keys to Success
• There is a wide variety of criticality tools and methods out there,
Keep it simple!
• Make sure to adapt the matrix with the operational context of each
facility
• It is OK to use the copy/paste method for identical or very similar
equipment in a facility
• Make sure you arrive prepared and organized
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11. Questions ?
Michel Cote: mcote@prosygma.ca
Serge Mathieu: smathieu@prosygma.ca
WWW.PROSYGMA.CA
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