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8 New Topics in the ASQ CRE Body of Knowledge

8 New Topics in the ASQ CRE Body of Knowledge

Last week we reviewed the 10+ topics removed from the CRE body of knowledge (BoK). This week, let’s look at the additions.

Three of the additions are new categories or groups of topics that in part contain new topics. There are five new topics, that in most cases included bits and pieces of concepts buried in the previous BoK.

Let’s take a look at each additions in a bit more detail. Some I agree with, some I wonder what the motivation is behind the addition, and some I question why it is included. [Read more…]

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Analog Specs Just Test Them!

Analog Specs Just Test Them!

In the beginning– just test the specs.

Analog circuits have been around a long time. Consider a simple LRC circuit– the inputs and outputs are continuous wave forms.

This remains a key differentiator from digital circuits which operate on 1’s and 0’s.

Continuous waveforms require different test equipment and test techniques. Analog circuits have properties of impedance, 3Db points in the frequency domain, transform functions. They can be treated like a lumped circuit or a distributed circuit in which signal integrity and transmission line theory apply.

So testing is easy- you just test the specs. [Read more…]

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Red Flags and Autonomous System Safety

Red Flags and Autonomous System Safety

and the importance of looking back before looking forward

Have we gone through the introduction of autonomous vehicles before? In other words, have we gone through the introduction of a new, potentially hazardous but wonderfully promising technology?

Of course we have. Many times. And we make many of the same mistakes each time.

When the first automobiles were introduced in the 1800s, mild legislative hysteria ensued. A flurry of ‘red flag’ traffic acts were passed in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Many of these acts required self-propelled locomotives to have at least three people operating them, travel no greater than four miles per hour, and have someone (on foot) carry a red flag around 60 yards in front. [Read more…]

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Guarantee Your Performance with Basic Care

When you hear the term basic care, what comes to mind?

I remember hearing a story of a brand new packaging line that was installed.  It operated at high OEE, delivering significant improvements over the old line.  Within 6 weeks, the line was running worse than the original one.   Finger pointing ensued, the OEM saying it was how it was maintained.  With the manufacturer saying it was a poor design.

A few weeks later, a prominent government official was scheduled to visit the site to officially open the new line.   The site was shut down and all the equipment was thoroughly cleaned.  The line started up and ran just as well as it did when it was first installed.  This story highlights the importance of having clean equipment, and the impact it can have on an operation.  This is where Basic Care comes in. [Read more…]

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Old Requirements Making a Come Back in Future Endevours

Old Requirements Making a Come Back in Future Endevours

The original windmills of Europe are feats of engineering.  I was able to get inside of a few in Holland and see all the mechanisms that have been operating for hundreds of years.  I was lucky that the wind was strong and the windmills had their sails out the days I was visiting.  A few were grinding flax seed and others designed to pump water from a low basin toIMG_5885 a high basin to control basin water levels. Being inside of the windmill was like being an insect inside of a grandfather clock.  It was so interesting seeing how they engineered the mechanisms to optimize the balance of the system needs in such a different manner than we do with many of our currently engineered products. [Read more…]

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10+ Dropped Items from the ASQ CRE Body of Knowledge

10+ Dropped Items from the ASQ CRE Body of Knowledge

A Review of the 2018 ASQ CRE Body of Knowledge

I just noticed the new 2018 ASQ CRE Body of Knowledge had been posted on the ASQ site. The new BoK will be in effect for CRE exams as of January 2018. Thus, we have six months to adjust to the new body of knowledge.

This is part 1 of a multipart review of the new BoK. Here we’ll look at the parts that those preparing for the exam will not have to master or review. There are 10+ topics dropped completely or in part from the BoK.

In future articles, we’ll review what has been added, what has been changed (a review), and how to best prepare for exams based on the new BoK. Plus, we can look over past BoK’s to understand where reliability engineering practice is today.

In part, the logic is these sets of tools (topics) that are not widely used by working reliability engineers. In some cases, I agree, and in others, I don’t. Let’s look at the eight topics not found in the upcoming CRE BoK. [Read more…]

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What Makes Memory Test Hard

What Makes Memory Test Hard

Just One More Thing

Memory circuits store 1’s and 0’s for you so that you can retrieve them later. The 1/0’s can represent data or instructions.

Today, no computing device operates without some memory. Memory devices store pictures, music, documents. How many USB (Unified Serial Bus) memory sticks do you have scattered on your desk?

Semiconductor memory comes in many flavors: Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Erasable Programmable Memory (EPROM), NAND/NOR Memory (a.k.a. Flash), Solid State Drive (SSD). Without power volatile memories like SRAM and DRAM lose their stored values. Non-Volatile memories retain their stored value when power is absence. [Read more…]

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Listening Skills for Reliability Engineers

Listening Skills for Reliability Engineers

Listening Skills to Improve Your Ability to Communicate with Influence

Did you hear what they said? Or, were you busy loading for your next verbal barrage?

As my mother would remind me, one should listen twice of often as speaking. Something about the ratio of ears to mouths in the population. I have to agree with her, that one can learn a lot by listening.

Listening may not seem to be a skill that one needs to master. Yet, how often have you walked away from a meeting where one or more participants obviously were not listening? How often are points repeated in an effort to be heard?

Being able to listen, listen well, can be honed and improved. A focus on being a better listener will improve your ability to communicate and influence as a reliability engineer. It has benefits beyond our reliability work, too. [Read more…]

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Why Do You Need Reliability Centered Maintenance?

Why Do You Need Reliability Centered Maintenance?

I had a conference call this morning with some potential clients in regard to rolling out a RCM Blitz™ effort. The sad thing about Reliability Centered Maintenance is the reputation the tool has acquired over the last 40 years has one of two faces.

The sad, tragic and more popular face is that if the Resource Consuming Monster. The reputation that RCM is too detailed, that it takes too long, and that by the time you finish your analysis there are no recourses and there is no money left for implementation. According to a survey conducted on ReliabilityWeb.com nearly 70% of all RCM implementations fail, with statistics like this, it is a wonder the tool still exists. [Read more…]

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Unlock the Efficiency of Your Planner with a Single Step: BOMs

How Bill of Materials (BOMs) Can Exponentially Increase the Efficiency of Your Maintenance Planner

BOMs - Siemens PLM
Image by Siemens PLM Software

Imagine a world where the Maintenance Planner can quickly and easier find all the material information for each job. Even those that do not yet have a job plan. Dreams or reality? Reality. This reality is found within operations all over the world and you can have it too. How can you achieve a level of efficiency with your Planner and have all materials information readily available? With Bills of Material.

A Bill of Material or BOM as it is commonly referred to, is a list of material needed to support the operations and maintenance of an asset or component. It includes a part description, part number and how many are required on a specific component or assembly. It may also include a reference number that refers to a sub assembly drawing. [Read more…]