Reducing Total Cost of Ownership: Proven Strategies for Operating and Asset Care

Total cost of ownership (TCO) encompasses every expense a company incurs from an asset’s inception to its end of life. While design and procurement shape many of these costs, this article zeroes in on practical actions that trim operating and maintenance expenditures.

Assuming a robust design and proper installation, reducing TCO boils down to disciplined adherence to best practices. Below we outline the key operational and care guidelines that deliver measurable savings.

Operating Best Practices

1. Operate Within the Designed Envelope – Every asset is engineered for a specific range of work and environmental conditions. Deviation from the prescribed start‑up, speed changes, or shutdown procedures is responsible for 27% of all reliability issues, can spike energy use by up to 15%, and erode useful life by 20‑30%. Implementing standard operating procedures, coupled with routine operator training, restores compliance and slashes unnecessary costs.

2. Empower Operators with Care Responsibilities – Operators are more than on‑board operators; they perform critical inspections, cleaning, adjustments, and calibrations. Well‑maintained equipment consumes less power, maintains target speeds, and delivers superior product quality, whereas neglect drives up costs and diminishes reliability.

Asset Care Best Practices

Effective asset care, aligned with sound operations, directly reduces TCO. Core practices include:

• Sustaining Maintenance – Routine lubrication, alignment, and wear‑part replacement keep assets running at designed performance. Skipping these tasks leads to higher energy draw, slower speeds, and quality loss.
• Periodic Rebuilds – All dynamic and static assets require scheduled reconditioning to preserve safety and reliability. Following systematic rebuild guidelines ensures proper disassembly, replacement, and reassembly of critical components.
• Scheduled Replacements – Finite‑life components such as solenoids, belts, and elastomeric seals must be swapped on a predictable schedule to maintain reliability.

Even modest deviations—often less than one percent—compound over a 20‑plus‑year life cycle, turning small inefficiencies into significant TCO increases. Consistent application of best practices safeguards margins and boosts operating profit.

About the author

Keith Mobley, Principal Consultant at Life Cycle Engineering, is internationally recognized for his expertise in plant performance optimization, reliability engineering, predictive maintenance, and effective asset management. With over 35 years of corporate experience spanning process design and troubleshooting, Keith has guided hundreds of global clients to world‑class performance for the past 16 years. He serves on the technical advisory boards of ANSI, ISO, ASME, and other professional societies, and is a Distinguished Lecturer for ASME International. Contact: kmobley@LCE.com