Sponsored editorial piece submitted by the University of Wollongong, Supporter Partner of Engineers Australia, Sydney.
2017 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of collaboration between Mass Transit Railway (MTR) Corporation Ltd, Hong Kong and the University of Wollongong (UOW) in the field of engineering asset management.
What began as a trial of a Graduate Diploma in Maintenance Management, followed by UOW’s Master of Engineering Asset Management, has now evolved to include many research projects and ongoing business partnerships.
Associate Professor and Industry Programs’ Director at UOW Richard Dwight MIEAust CPEng NER has coordinated the relationship from the beginning and tracked MTR’s success in becoming arguably the most efficient and reliable rail transport operator in the world.
“Over the years, we have provided advice on MTR’s general asset management system and the significant processes within it,” Associate Professor Dwight said.
“Our technical advice has extended to major system life assurance and replacement, as well as component life determination for specific items.
“All this has guided their future asset strategies, while performing a traceable validation chain on previous asset decisions over the longer term.
“We are currently exploring collaborative opportunities to improve asset management systems even further.”
Managing Director Operations & Mainland Business at MTR Corporation Ltd Jacob Kam, has commended the program.
“Professor Dwight and his colleagues at UOW have been helping us in the improvement of asset management processes, including Reliability-Centred Maintenance (RCM) and condition monitoring,” Dr Kam said.
These include research collaboration in the areas of asset life assurance and replacement decision processes and modelling, recommendations for decision systems audit and process improvement, and the development of a maintenance strategy that incorporates RCM processes.
Dr Kam said that MTR Corporation Ltd has benefited from its staff continuing their professional development through a number of UOW engineering courses.
“UOW was also involved in training some of our staff in the skills of asset management, maintenance management, and RCM and Reliability, Availability and Maintainability (RAMS) techniques through Master programs,” he said.
“We look forward to continuing and expanding our cooperation with UOW in the future.”
Engineering asset management has become a focus for Australian companies and organisations, with rapid take-up of the program by the then State Rail Authority of NSW and its related entities (including Sydney Trains), utility industries, mining and transport companies, and manufacturing plants.
UOW has developed the program further into an online distance course offering a Graduate Certificate and a
Master of Engineering Asset Management.
Professor Dwight said that by equipping their staff with asset management skills, organisations can increase revenue, limit their environmental impact and strengthen workplace health and safety.
“By using machine learning to establish quantified links between asset condition measurements, damage event monitoring, and failure research, we believe there is substantial potential to deliver significant value to a number of industries through both education and research, which will improve both their bottom line and their environmental and safety record,” he said.
Find out more about the Engineering Asset Management courses offered at UOW.
Image: Adrian Tse, Richard Dwight, Raymond Mok and Jonny Yam at the opening of the MTR Academy.