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Routine Things Risk Becoming Routine

Routine Things Risk Becoming Routine

One of my more unfortunate memories of my early military career is the death of a soldier on a training exercise. I was posted to a place very close to the equator … along with the heat and humidity that came with it. The soldier who died suffered from heat stroke, brought on by dehydration. And when we looked back on what went wrong, a key issue was that the training exercise risk assessment was ‘word for word’ identical to previous risk assessments when it came to managing heat related illnesses.

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The Role of Statistics in Reliability Engineering

This Isn’t Your High School Statistics Course

What does the word statistics bring to mind when you hear it?  Horrible high school classes that you sat through wondering why do I need this stuff?  Complex math problems what were almost impossible to figure out?  Or is it nonsense that is only used in political polls?

Statistics are used in every aspect of Reliability Engineering.  So if you don’t have a good relationship with statistics, I highly recommend that you are starting investing time in building your knowledge in statistics. [Read more…]

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Uptime Insights – 6 – KPIs and Performance Management

Uptime Insights – 6 – KPIs and Performance Management

Most of us wouldn’t argue that if you can measure it, you can improve it. Performance measures do indeed drive results, both good and bad. Knowing where you are now and what you want to achieve by some point in the future do help you to outline your path towards your objective. Once you know your path, you then need a way to make sure you are still on it. And once you’ve past way-points, you also need to know that what you’ve achieved so far, continues to be sustained. 

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Quality 4.0: What Does This Mean for the Quality Profession?

Quality 4.0: What Does This Mean for the Quality Profession?

Guest Post by James Kline (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

In several pieces for Insights, I have discussed the decline of ISO 9001 certifications, the internal and financial problems ASQ is experiencing and the implications for the quality profession.  Recently I was on the ASQ website. There are several references to Quality 4.0.  This article will look at Quality 4.0 and its implications for the Quality Profession. It will also provide an update on ASQ’s financial problems and the possibility it will declare bankruptcy. 

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Analyzing the Experiment (Part I) – Main & Interaction Effects

Analyzing the Experiment (Part I) – Main & Interaction Effects

We are ready to learn how to analyze the data collected during the experiment.  This is the most exciting part of DOE!  We will cover the analysis in this article as well as the next several articles.

The following are the main steps to perform during the analysis:

  • Calculate the Main Effects and Interaction Effects
  • Test the Effects for Statistical Significance
  • Interpret the Significant Effects (Often with Plots)
  • Develop Predictive Model(s)
  • Perform Model Validation (Residual Analysis)
  • Find Solutions and Perform Optimization to find Best Solution(s)
  • Validate the Solutions
  • Determine if Follow-up Experimentation is Necessary

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When people do right – does the right thing happen?

When people do right – does the right thing happen?

Organizations are all about ‘success.’ Being ‘successful.’ Which can many different things to many different people. ‘Success’ is not simply the ‘antithesis of failure.’ One could argue that ‘mediocrity’ in many cases is accepted as the antithesis of ‘failure.’ ‘Mediocrity’ is hardly the same as ‘success.’

Organizational success means that a lot of different people need to be doing lots of very different, but very important things. And this often means things that can go unnoticed. The ‘one percenters.’ Getting things done right the first time. 

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Uptime Insights – 5 – Materials Management for Maintenance

Uptime Insights – 5 – Materials Management for Maintenance

Materials management for maintenance purposes is often a big mess. When I visit operations (doesn’t matter what industry) I often hear complaints from maintainers that they cannot get the parts they need, when they need them. Sometimes, their supply chain (warehouse, inventory, and purchasing management) are indeed a mess, but more often than not maintenance planning is also a mess, and there is usually (almost always) a lack of integration between planning and supply chain.

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Quality’s Journey to Create ‘Sustained Success’

Quality’s Journey to Create ‘Sustained Success’

Guest Post by Robert Pojasek (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

The initial journey to create “sustained success” got off to a difficult start in 1987 when the intent was for quality managers to implement ISO 9004 followed by ISO 9001 for certification purposes. ISO 9004 was viewed as being associated with TQM.  The extra work that was needed to fulfill TQM led organizations to use ISO 9001:1987 alone to certify their processes.

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Right to Repair

Right to Repair

“Everything’s computerized now. The backyard mechanic is a thing of the past!”, I recall my father declaring more than 20 years ago while leaning over the open hood of my mother’s Ford Windstar. He was referring to the relative simplicity of repairing the largely mechanical systems in automobiles from the 1950’s and 60’s versus those of the early 2000’s that were equipped with digital sensors and a central processor. Of course, today’s plug-in EV’s, advanced driver assist systems, 360-degree cameras, and “guardians” like General Motors’ OnStar make my mom’s old minivan look like an Anglia in comparison.

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How can an OC Curve be Used to Manage the Risk of Undetected Special Causes?

How can an OC Curve be Used to Manage the Risk of Undetected Special Causes?

When applied properly, SPC provides manufacturers a proven method to increase profitability and achieve a deeper understanding of their processes..  Additionally, SPC can prevent problems—saving companies money that would have been lost in scrap, rework, warranty, litigation, and market share decline.  A key factor in obtaining these SPC benefits is the proper deployment of control charts.  Correctly designed control charts identify significant changes to a process.  These can be changes that are still within specification, but are statistically different than where the process was previously running.  By identifying the changes, personnel can determine what caused the change and potentially improve the process or prevent the production of inferior products.   [Read more…]

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User Manual for Credible Reliability Prediction

User Manual for Credible Reliability Prediction

The ASQ Reliability Division (RD), copyrighted the 2003 monograph “Credible Reliability Prediction” (CRP) but lost all copies circa 2014. I pestered the RD to let me republish CRP, because people asked “How do I make credible reliability predictions?” Copyright reversion to authors is accepted practice when a publisher no longer supports a document. 

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