When operations personnel perform area checks, they're engaged in NSM. Area checks require operator rounds, to check the condition of equipment installed in the plant. This was the original intent of the hourly round.

In fossil generation, an operator's complete round can take two hours or more, even at a brisk pace. And "brisk" is not the point-you must slow down to read instruments. Often, lighting and cleanliness can make equipment monitoring additionally time consuming (especially when gauges are dusted in coal or oil mist.) When I identify hourly rounds sheets (except for the control room), I'm immediately skeptical of their effectiveness and applicability.

Yet, rounds are important. In complex plants, many failures are random, and actual system functional failures are rare. Because of this, it's essential that the operator on a round identifies failing (and failed) equipment. A log entry or CMMS trouble report are techniques to identify failures. After a complete ARCM review at a nuclear plant (reviewing approximately 100,000 components), we found that the overwhelming default PM activity, numerically, was "NSM." This plant had exceptional operating rounds. Plant operators are uniquely positioned to identify failed equipment.

This functional role was what was intended by the hourly rounds in the U. S. Navy. It's the same for commercial operators: Monitoring is the operator's principle role except during startups, shutdowns, and preparation for maintenance.

Random failure identification is an operator "value-adder." To be effective, operators must perform an adequate, failure-based round that is, a round that meets...