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In our previous blog posts, we looked at the five steps of the Asset Management Excellence Journey.

The five step process is the method by which we move our clients from a situation where unplanned breakdowns and process heating systems failures are commonplace with all the associated unpleasant consequences, to a position where their process heating system is continually improved and optimised, positively contributing to the success of their business.

The process draws from four industry best practice principles:

1. Measurement – all key system statistics are recorded and tracked
2. Monitoring – regular reviews of all performance measures
3. Predicting – potential failures are identified in advanced
4. Operating below failure point – maintenance interventions are scheduled to prevent failures

Through the five steps we introduce 3 key enhancements, defined by BS-EN 13306 (2010):

1. Condition-Based Monitoring (CBM) – preventative maintenance, including a combination of condition monitoring, inspection, testing and analysis
2. Predictive Maintenance (PM) – maintenance carried out on the basis of forecast degradation of the item.  The forecast is derived from repeated analysis from CBM
3. Condition-Based Monitoring – monitoring of specific conditions enables prediction of the optimum maintenance timing

For some businesses, adopting these principles and committing to the Asset Management Excellence Journey may require a shift in focus.  A traditional manufacturing focus on output would need to be balanced with the efficiency and longevity of the process heating system.

If your process heating system suffers unexpected failures, unplanned breakdowns and increasing downtime costs, the Fairburn Asset Management Excellence Journey will help you transition to a more planned and proactive approach, giving you back control of your systems and ensuring they work for you and your business.  We can guide you through each step of the process, using our proven methodology and deliver a class-leading, high performance organisation.

To  read more about, please download our White Paper with the full Asset Management Excellence Journey or call us on 01886 358025 to discuss how we can help.

In our previous blog posts, we looked at the first step in the Asset Management Excellence Journey and the second and third steps. By step 3, companies have made a significant switch in their maintenance philosophy to proactive replacement or refurbishment of items before they break, utilising Asset Management Plans, Condition Monitoring and a Critical Spares List.

In step 4, we move from “planned” maintenance to “Proactive” maintenance. Again, this involves a shift in mindset.  The business definition and understanding of maintenance moves from “fixing and repairing” to “improving”.  The information from Condition Monitoring can be used to feed KPIs.  Reliability Centred Maintenance can be introduced and focus is on value.  This typically results in increased uptime, reduction or even elimination of defects and real competitive advantage.

The final step is to optimise the process heating system.  In step 5, companies can achieve BS-EN-55001 and “Best in Class” status.  This can create opportunities for strategic partnerships and alliances with key customers and builds an internal culture of a Hight Reliability Organisation.

Please download our White Paper with the full Asset Management Excellence Journey or call us on 01886 358025 to discuss how we could help your business.

In our last blog post, we looked at the first step in the Asset Management Excellence Journey, often described as the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach. This is a very common approach, but often leads to unexpected failures, poor reliability, safety issues, and unpredictable output availability.

We now move to consider steps 2 and 3.  Step 2 is what we refer to as a break-fix model.  Companies adopting this approach hold replacement parts in stock so they can carry out repairs when items break.  This usually reduces the amount of downtime, but still results in unexpected breakdowns and typically incurs high costs associated with buying and storing spare parts.

Step 3 sees a significant shift with a move to a new maintenance philosophy of fixing items before they break.  This dramatically reduces the number of unexpected failures and all the associated tangible and intangible costs.  In this phase we typically see the introduction of Condition Monitoring , Asset Management Plans and the identification of the critical spares that do need to be kept on-site.  The prediction of required maintenance, planning for its execution and ensuring the work is done properly is usually centrally controlled.  As with any major change, this can be a challenging shift for many businesses, but the impact on costs and output and is usually significant.

In our next blogs, we will cover the two remaining steps, but if you can’t wait, you can read more and download our White Paper or call us on 01886 358025.

For many businesses, process heating systems are characterised by unexpected failures, unplanned breakdowns, unpredictable and uncontrolled repair time all combining to create spiralling downtime costs and disruption.

To make matters worse, an increasing number of customers are seeking to reduce inventory costs and asking their key suppliers to commit to continuity of supply with substantial penalties and even loss of business for failures.

At Fairburn Heating Solutions we believe process heating should never cause downtime. We help our customers move from this chaotic situation to a position of excellence where their process heating system is continually improved and optimised, making a positive contribution to business success.  We achieve this by following our 5 step Asset  Management Excellence Journey.

Step 1 is where many clients start, often described as the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach.  Maintenance is ignored until an item breaks, when a fix is then organised.  The consequences of this approach are unexpected failures, poor reliability, safety issues, and unpredictable output availability.  Whilst this may sound (and be) and undesirable state of affairs, many businesses have become accustomed to this as the status quo, and are unaware of the opportunity to move to a better approach.  In our next blogs, we will cover the remaining steps, but if you can’t wait, you can read more and download our White Paper or call us on 01886 358025.

In his 2009 bestselling book “Start with Why”, Simon Sinek introduced the concept of a Golden Circle, which is based on his belief that “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” He suggested that most companies start their communication with the “what” (they do) and then work their way towards the “why” (they do it), sometimes adding information about the “how” they do it, but  very rarely actually share the “why”.  He pointed out that many of the most successful brands communicate in the opposite direction, they start with the “why” and then move on to talk about how they do it and what they do.

He uses Apple as an example.  Customers buy in to Apple’s philosophy, of thinking differently to challenge the status quo, designing user-friendly beautiful products that are easy to use, and their products include computers, phones and watches.

So we sat down to work out what the Fairburn Golden Circle would look like.  What drives us to do what we do?

What we found was a fundamental belief that well designed, installed and maintained Industrial Heating Systems should never cause downtime, and we want to work with customers who share that belief and want to make it happen in their businesses.

How do we make that happen for our customers?  We help them transition from unplanned breakdowns and reactive repairs to a proactive asset management philosophy.

You can read more about our vision, values and how we work with customers here.  If you share our belief and would like to find out how we can help ensure your industrial heating systems are not a cause of downtime, please call us on 01886 358 025

If you would like to find out more about Simon Sinek and the Golden Circle, we recommend the TED talk “How great leaders inspire action“.

When Jaguar Land Rover had a problem with the flame sensing equipment in the paint kitchen at the Castle Bromwich plant, it could have been very costly.

If paints aren’t kept at the right temperature, they may have to be discarded, and a serious delay can cause downtime across the whole paint shop.

The equipment manufacturer quoted a 4-week lead-time for replacement parts, so Jaguar called Fairburn to see if we could help.  Our broad customer base within the automotive sector meant that one of our engineers had a spare part in his van at a different site.  Our Technical Services Co-ordinator promptly set out on a 213 mile round trip to collect the parts and take them to Castle Bromwich.

Within 4 hours, we had delivered parts to the plant and they were installed the same day.  Subsequently, all “golden assets” have been identified, and a process established to ensure sufficient spare parts are always held on site.  A further project to improve the reliability of the air handling units in the paint shop was also agreed.

JLR’s Paint Shop Control Engineer, Dave Wood commented “Fairburn’s quick response, ability to source spares and the same-day fix by James, the engineer helped us avert what could have been a very serious problem in the paint shop.  A great example of a responsive and capable supplier.”

If you would like to talk to a responsive process heating maintenance company that really “does what it says on the tin”, please call us on 01886 358 025.

We measure and track our customer service performance to check we are meeting or exceeding our promises, but it’s always great to get direct feedback from clients.

We encourage every client to give us feedback, what we did well and where we can do even better and whilst that is often verbal or a short email, occasionally we receive a written testimonial and permission to publicise it, so other clients or potential clients can see what we actually deliver, not just what we promise.  We really appreciate clients taking the time to share their experience with us.

Some of the testimonials can be found on our webpage, we are particularly delighted by comments like:

“I was delighted with the service provided by Fairburn Heating Solutions following our breakdown.”

“I was very pleasantly surprised when I called your office to be told that you could have an engineer on-site within 30 minutes.”

“Your experienced engineer proceeded to diagnose and fix the in-depth problem promptly and efficiently.”

“The combination of responsiveness, expertise and experience, coupled with transparent pricing turned our bad day into a very satisfying experience.”

“I’m writing to thank you and your team for the fantastic speed and quality of service provided recently.”

“I was delighted you could visit the next day.”

“The agreed work programme is on track, with much of the work already completed to a high standard.”

“The professional, responsive and high-quality service that Fairburn Heating Solutions provide has given me peace of mind, allowing me to focus on other aspects of my role.”

If a responsive process heating maintenance company that really “does what it says on the tin” is of interest, please call us on 01886 358 025.

Our firm belief is that process heating should never cause downtime.  We work closely with our clients to achieve this goal and we rely heavily on data to measure the performance of their systems and components.

But we don’t just measure the performance of our clients’ process heating systems: we also measure ourselves and share that data openly.

At the top of our home page you’ll find the three primary measures we track to check we are meeting our clients’ requirements.

Firstly, we track our client retention.  In our experience, how companies choose to spend their money speaks volumes.  We’re incredibly proud that we have retained every single major client we have worked for in the last 16 years.

We have Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with all our clients which include a commitment to attend a call-out within a fixed period of time, usually 4 hours.  Our call monitoring and engineer reporting systems allow us to measure the actual performance against this commitment.  In 2020 we delivered on our commitment in 100% of call-outs.

Our aim though is to over-deliver wherever possible, so we also measure the actual response time to every call-out.  In 2020 our average response time was 3 hours and 12 minutes, meaning we usually get to work earlier than expected; something our clients really appreciate.

If a responsive process heating maintenance company that really “does what it says on the tin” is of interest, please call us on 01886 358 025.

We’re delighted to confirm that after much hard work, our ISO 9001:2015 accreditation has been renewed to August 2021.  The ISO 9001 international standard helps companies like Fairburn Heating Solutions ensure that customers consistently receive high quality products and services that meet regulatory requirements.

Craig Carr, Managing Director of Fairburn Heating Solutions said “It is very gratifying to see the hard work of the whole team rewarded by the renewal of our ISO 9001 accreditation.  It’s a great way to demonstrate to our customers, our team and other stakeholders the high importance we place on quality here at Fairburn.”

To secure the renewal of our accreditation, the team had to regularly carry out a large variety of activities.  The independent auditor needed to see evidence of these activities and our documented results.  These activities include:

• Monitoring every customer issue and recording non-conformances if and when they arise
• Carrying out internal investigations of non-conformance to understand why any problems have occurred and to ensure actions are agreed and implemented to prevent a recurrence
• Completed monthly reports to monitor various aspects of the business that directly affect customers, such as stock levels and delivery performance
• Annual senior management review meetings to review the quality performance of the business and discuss and agree where further improvements can be made

In addition, we have an annual full day assessment from QMS International.  During this assessment, the QMS representative checks the Fairburn processes and procedures to make sure that we are fully compliant with the ISO 9001:2015 standard and that we are doing everything possible to ensure that we achieve the very best standards of product and services for our customers.  The assessor also looks for continuous improvement – this is a central theme of the ISO 9001 system and is in its own way proof that the system is being used properly and delivering positive results for Fairburn and our customers.

“Maintaining the ISO 9001 processes and procedures helps us reassure customers that we have full visibility of our performance and the tools to quickly implement corrective action when required” commented Niki Ashdown, Operations Director.

If you would like to find out more about our approach to quality and how it could benefit your business, please  use the contact form on this website  or give us a call on 01886 358 025.

2020 has been a particularly challenging year for many of our clients, and we’ve done our best to help them, taking extreme care to operate in a COVID-secure manner whilst still delivering our customary fast reaction and excellent work.

We’ve had some testing situations to deal with, but knowing that our clients appreciate our efforts has been very rewarding.  Here are a sample of comments we have received during the pandemic:

“The guys are a credit to your company.  We have very strict safety requirements which seem excessive to some contractors, but your team did everything we expected of them and were a pleasure to work with.”

“We are very impressed with the service you have given us to date and now wish to put in place a service every 6 months.”

“Sean is an absolute gem! He was onsite all day on Saturday, working hard to overcome installation challenges and on Sunday he chased up the remaining items needed.  I can’t imagine how we would ever have got up and running without his efforts.”

If you would like to be making comments like these about your process heating maintenance provider,  use the contact form on this website  or give us a call on 01886 358 025 to discuss how we could deliver a better experience.