PURPOSE
The purpose of this procedure is to understand the need and protocols for conducting an Operability and Maintainability (O&M) review. This review is typically performed concurrently with the 50% and 90% design reviews for projects that have significant operations and maintenance aspects.
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RESPONSIBILITIES
Project Manager (PM): The PM is responsible for ensuring that the project schedule provides milestone dates for the O&M reviews and for assigning members to the O&M Review Team. O&M Reviews are typically scheduled at 50% and 90% design and may be conducted concurrently with quality control and constructability reviews. However, the PM should recognize the different skills and backgrounds needed for each type of review.
Project Engineer (PE): It is the PE’s responsibility to schedule and coordinate O&M review activities with the other quality reviews and to monitor the review process. The PE is responsible for reviewing the O&M Review Team comments and ensuring that all review comments are appropriately responded to by the in-house design group and/or design Consultant and that the agreed-upon comments are incorporated into the design documents.
Operability and Maintainability (O&M) Review Team: The Review Team is responsible for conducting the actual O&M review and for reporting results to the Project Engineer. It is the Review Team’s responsibility to thoroughly review the plans, specifications, and any supporting documentation for operability and maintainability, to mark these documents, list all comments on the O&M Review Log sheets, and to submit the completed Log sheets and marked documents to the PE at the time requested. The Review Team is also responsible to review the Designer’s responses and meet with the Designer, when requested.
PROCEDURE
The Issue of Long-Term Ownership
An important measure of project quality is the long-term, life-cycle cost of the facility and its ownership. It is a goal to have the facility be owned, operated, and maintained in a cost-efficient manner. Design documents may be clear and constructible but if the resulting facility cannot be operated and maintained, then the project will not be a success in the long term.
Facilities designed to process wastewater are a rather obvious example of projects that require operability and maintainability (O&M) reviews. Valves, piping, equipment, instrumentation, and electrical panels should be accessible to both operators and maintenance personnel. Each piece of equipment should have a plan for how it will be accessed for maintenance and removed and replaced, as necessary. However, the need for such reviews is not limited to wastewater facilities. Municipal buildings and facilities can be a design challenge with today’s complicated Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC), fire and life safety, and information and communications equipment.
Another example of an O&M issue is the standardization or uniformity of equipment within a Program. For example, the General Services Department (GSD) is responsible for the operation and maintenance of many City facilities. Standardization of HVAC, fire alarm systems, plumbing fixtures, lighting fixtures, and other equipment may be highly desirable to reduce the long-term costs of ownership of the fleet of City facilities. Another example is the Department of Recreation and Parks that maintains all landscaping and irrigation systems. Obviously, some level of standardization may be appropriate in such cases.
As a final example, numerous fire alarm systems were installed at the Hyperion Treatment Plant in separate facilities under separate construction contracts. Unfortunately, the systems did not communicate with each other and the final result was unacceptable. Eventually, another project was required to standardize the equipment and provide an integrated fire system for the plant.
3-D Computer Assisted Design and Drafting (CADD) Imaging
The use of 3-D CADD imaging was discussed in Procedure 9.2 as a general tool to improve the quality and clarity of a design, particularly those involving complex piping, structures, or process tankage. 3-D CADD imaging has also proven effective in resolving O&M related problems. It is often difficult for O&M staff to visualize a project from 2-D drawing sheets. Reviewing a project from 2-D drawings is often tedious, time consuming, and requires some experience. 3-D imaging removes much of the drudgery from the review and greatly improves the quality of responses from O&M staff. They can “see” and “walk” the facility in a virtual sense before anything is constructed. It is highly recommended to use 3-D imaging on any complex project that will require significant O&M over its lifetime.
The O&M Review
The objectives of O&M review are to: (1) reduce change orders during construction; (2) reduce difficulties during start-up and commissioning of the facilities; (3) ensure that the long-term costs of ownership are considered during design; (4) ensure that all equipment can be operated and maintained with reasonable effort; (5) ensure that equipment selections balance the cost and quality of the initial capital purchase with the long-term O&M costs; and (6) ensure that the Client remains satisfied with the facility after the initial period of ownership.
The O&M Review Team should include individuals experienced and knowledgeable with the operation and maintenance of facilities similar to that being reviewed. Procedures for the review should be similar to those discussed in Procedure 9.4 for the construction review. A checklist for the O&M review may be beneficial and should be developed and maintained by the appropriate design division.
The O&M review should consider at least the following general items:
Adequacy of the Proposed Design (based on experience with similar designs or equipment and conformance to design standards)
O&M Costs for Different Design Alternatives
Accessibility of Equipment, Control Panels, Electrical Panels, Valves and Instrumentation
Safety of the Facility
Quantities and Storage Requirements for Expendable Materials (such as lubricants, coolants, process chemicals, fuel, spare parts and special tools)
Need for Annual Operation, Maintenance and Supply Contracts
Staffing, Training and Budget Requirements (necessary to operate and maintain the proposed facility or process)
The O&M review is typically conducted concurrently with the 50% design reviews. The PM assigns members to the O&M Review Team. The Review Team may include Bureau of Engineering staff, as well as representatives from the Client Department. In addition, for public building projects, assignment of GSD representatives to the O&M Review team is often very useful. Their knowledge and experience in dealing with issues of equipment operation and maintenance can greatly benefit the O&M Review process.
The PE then coordinates distribution of the O&M review packages to the Review Team, addresses any issues requiring clarification, and monitors progress to ensure compliance with the established milestones.
O&M Review Checklist
Attachment 9.2-1 includes a large number of checklist items related to O&M review. In addition, the Review Team may use the following sample O&M Review Checklist to aid in their review:
Layout of facilities and buildings
Drain types, locations, and sizes
Hose bib types, locations, and sizes
Access to all equipment and fixtures for operation and maintenance
The need for standardization or uniformity of equipment
Space for maintenance equipment lay-down and work area
Equipment hoist and crane locations, capacities and clearances
Equipment access hatch locations and sizes
Equipment clearances and removal provisions
Emergency shower and eyewash sink locations and types
Restroom, shower, and locker facility types and locations
Valve and vault locations, sizes, and type
Water, gas, telephone and other utility service locations
Safety devices and platform and guardrail types and locations
Sampling station details and locations
Tank and reservoir drain pump sizes and locations
Pig launcher and recovery station sizes and locations
Instrumentation sensor field locations
Electrical power outlet types and locations
Warehouse and storage area locations and sizes
Hazardous material storage facility types, sizes, and locations
Special safety requirements (such as for sandblast and paint booths, color, and collection facilities for sawdust and other explosive or hazardous dusts and fumes)
Lighting fixture standard types, sizes, and locations
Emergency lighting fixture types and locations
Fire extinguisher and safety equipment sizes, types, and locations
Backflow preventer sizes, types, and locations
Splice and pull box sizes, types, and locations (for power, telephone, and instrumentation lines)
Handicap facilities and ramps
Vehicle maneuvering area
Process instrumentation and control device types and locations
Special finish material selections (for walls, floors, ceilings and covers for ease of cleaning and maintenance)
The Review Team should also check the specifications to verify inclusion of the following information, as required:
Material Selections (for valves, pipes, fittings, and other equipment subject to corrosion and erosion due to the surrounding environment and process fluids)
Valve Type Selections (for ease of operation, maintenance, durability, and function for each application)
Pump Type Best Suited for a Particular Process Application
Shop Drawing Type and Quantity Requirements
Spare Parts, Special and Regular Tools, and Safety Equipment Type and Quantity Requirements
Lubricant and Chemical Type and Quantity Requirements
Maintenance Manual Requirements (for submittals, quantities, material type, and format)
Training Requirements (for types, formats, amounts and syllabuses to be provided by equipment manufacturers and others under contract)
Labeling and Tagging Format (for spare parts and equipment to be delivered to the project and incorporated into the City of Los Angeles Maintenance Management System [CLAMMS])
Emergency Shower and Eyewash Sink Type and Quantity
Locker Type and Quantity for Locker and Shower Rooms
Paint and Sandblast Booth Types, Sizes and Quantities
Collector and Hood Types, Sizes and Quantities (for sawdust and other hazardous dusts and fumes)
Crane and Hoist Types and Capacities
Special Finish Material Selections (for ceilings, floors and walls for ease of wash-down, cleaning and maintenance)
Protective Coatings, Linings and Insulation Materials
Color-Coding of Pipelines
Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Soundproofing Requirements
Lighting Types and Intensities
Power Outlet Types and Quantities
Closet and Cabinet Requirements for Hazardous Materials Storage
Submittal of Safety Data Sheets and Literature (pertaining to special clothing, materials, and training for handling hazardous materials)
Vault Types, Sizes and Materials (for underground power and telephone splices)
Pull Facilities (for valves and meters)
Floor Drain, Cleanout and Drainpipe Types, Sizes and Materials
Hose Bib Types, Sizes, and Materials
Moisture Trap and Drain Types, Sizes, and Materials (for air, steam, gas and other compressible fluid transmission lines)
Instrumentation and Control System Device Types (for controlling and metering flow, tank, and reservoir fluid levels, pressure, temperature, and other process parameters)
Support Equipment Types, Sizes, and Capacities (such as mobile cranes and other vehicles)
An O&M Review Log (including comments and responses) should be used by the O&M Review Team to document each review comment. Upon completion of the review, the review team forwards the design documents and Log sheets to the Project Engineer. The PE compiles the Log sheets, reviews the comments, and when necessary, discusses them with the reviewers to ensure their validity.
The Project Engineer must respond to each comment on the Comment / Response Log. It is important to document whether a comment is accepted and incorporated, accepted and incorporated with changes, or rejected. The PE then forwards the Comment / Response Log, along with the design document review set, to the Designers for action. The Designers incorporate the accepted comments into the project documents. The PE then prepares the final response to each review comment and forwards the O&M review Comment / Response Log to the project file.
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