A performance-centred maintenance strategy for industrial DSM projects

Underperformance of industrial DSM projects is often caused by a lack of proper maintenance practices. This results in wasted electricity cost-savings opportunities and an increased demand for electricity on the national grid. A solution to the problem of underperforming industrial DSM projects is to apply a performance-centered maintenance (PCM) strategy. The various aspects of the PCM strategy are presented in this paper. It is based on the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle for continuous improvement, which also forms part of the ISO 50001 energy management standard. Results show that the application of the PCM strategy could result in a performance increase of up to 70% when applied to underperforming industrial DSM projects. This proves the value of the PCM strategy to maximise and sustain the performance of industrial DSM projects.