DALMINE
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
The main objective of the course is to introduce the techniques and methods typical of maintenance engineering in the management of buildings. Specifically, the intention is to give students the tools and skills that can allow them on the one hand to design according to criteria that guarantee maintainability and on the other to manage the life cycle both in residential buildings and the tertiary sector. Through the course, skills can therefore be acquired to plan and to implement effective maintenance strategies, to evaluate risks and, at the same time, to monitor and optimize the operating costs linked to an asset.
Course Prerequisites
There are no special prerequisites, except for basics competences in engineering.
Teaching Methods
The course includes theoretical lectures, numerical exercises, case studies and industrial seminars. These initiatives are aimed to create a more direct participation of students in classroom activities to develop teamwork skills. Guided visits to plants and infrastructures managed by local companies are organized to consolidate the theory covered in the classroom, as well as to create a moment of discussion between students and qualified company managers on the implications of asset management. During the course, industrial events and seminars may be reported, important moments for the personal training of the students. Participation in seminars and events reported outside of class hours is not mandatory.
Finally, through the e-learning portal, the course teaching material is provided as well as official communications of industrial visits organized during class hours.
Assessment Methods
The final exam consists in an oral exam with the presentation of a case study, to be carried out in a group (up to a maximum of three people), which must be developed during the semester and includes the analysis of the management of a building using a track provided by the teacher in the first days of the course (and available on the course page). During the oral exam, questions may also be asked on the theoretical topics presented during the course
Contents
The course shows an introduction to the reference context and the historical evolution of maintenance, followed by 5 main modules, characterized as follows:
- Introduction to the parameters of reliability, maintainability and availability. Methods for their quantitative evaluation and indicators relating to the times of maintenance interventions and the frequency of malfunctions. Evaluation of the reliability of complex systems through RBD (Reliability Block Diagram) schematization, series configurations, parallel in total redundancy and parallel in partial redundancy. Choice of the optimal plant configuration to increase reliability.
- Maintenance policies on failure, preventive cyclical with constant date and age, on condition and predictive. Requirements for signal analysis and processing. Technical and economic pros and cons in adopting different maintenance policies.
- Techniques and methods of failure analysis. Identification of the modes, effects and causes of failures. Criticality analysis to define maintenance plans and/or design of modifications to improve maintainability
- Economic analysis in life cycle management. Evaluation of costs and hidden costs and definition of the optimal mix of maintenance management policies. The evaluation of the Total Cost Of Ownership as a tool for choosing during the design phase or as a tool for monitoring maintenance and economic performance
- Seminars of asset and maintenance management in the following contexts:
- Network services
- Tertiary sector civil structure
- Road infrastructure