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Auditing Safety Management Systems

Auditing Safety Management Systems

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

In any given PSM audit, the auditors will usually face one or more situations that represent a dilemma because the situation has not happened before, or no thought has been given on how to resolve it. These dilemmas usually require the individual auditor and/or the audit team leader resolve the situation in the field. These “on the fly” resolutions require both astute judgment and practical solutions that fit not only the governing regulations or company/facility standards for PSM, but also how those mandatory requirements should be interpreted and applied to the specific design, operations, and PSM program of the facility being audited.

The PSM audit dilemmas described in this paper are based on the experiences of seasoned auditors during actual PSM audits. Several of them are PSM adaptations of those published by Safety Projects International Inc., et al in 5 Star Health & Safety Management System™ Health and Safety Audits. In general, there are no absolute right or wrong answers to solving these dilemmas, although in some cases a resolution might seem obvious.

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DOE-6: Case Study in Creating Full Factorial Design in Minitab: Optimization of Fatigue Strength

DOE-6: Case Study in Creating Full Factorial Design in Minitab: Optimization of Fatigue Strength

Hello friends, We are happy to release this sixth video on Design of Experiments (DOE)! In this video, Hemant Urdhwareshe has illustrated step by step, how to create a full factorial design in Minitab software. In the next video, Hemant will illustrate complete analysis of the design in Minitab! We are sure, you will find this video extremely useful for Quality Practitioners, Design and Process Engineers, Six Sigma Professionals, Design for Six Sigma practitioners.

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Opportunities for Maintenance and Operations: No Part Replaced

Opportunities for Maintenance and Operations: No Part Replaced

This informative video provides valuable insights into how we respond to operations and help them improve their processes. By pulling data out of the CMMS, we can identify areas of opportunity and provide recommendations for improvement.

For example, by analyzing the data, we can see where operators may need training, or where improvements can be made in the incoming raw material process. Our goal is to provide practical, actionable advice that can help you maximize your resources and achieve success in your manufacturing facility.

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How to not Suck at Probability and Statistics

How to not Suck at Probability and Statistics

A simple way of looking at our brain is by dividing it into the conscious, subconscious and unconscious minds. The conscious mind is all about what we are actively thinking about in the here and now. We might be navigating as we drive through the countryside. We might decide to take an exit from the main road because our conscious mind has worked out that the map we are looking at is showing us that’s what we need to do to get to where we want to go. 

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Building a PF Curve Using Life Analysis Concepts

Building a PF Curve Using Life Analysis Concepts

Definition of a PF Curve

A PF curve is a graphical tool used in the field of maintenance and reliability. It essentially illustrates a component’s health degradation over its lifetime. As well as a visual guide on when to conduct appropriate action to minimizes operational risks related to unplanned failures. It is essentially a planning tool.

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What is Wrong With Success Testing?

What is Wrong With Success Testing?

Three prototypes survive the gauntlet of stresses and none fail. That is great news, or is it? No failure testing is what I call success testing.

We often want to create a design that is successful, therefore enjoying successful testing results, I.e. No failures means we are successful, right?

Another aspect of success testing is in pass/fail type testing we can minimize the sample size by planning for all prototypes passing the test. If we plan on running the test till we have a failure or two, we need more samples. While it improves the statistics of the results, we have to spend more to achieve the results. We nearly always have limited resources for testing.

Let’s take a closer look at success testing and some of the issues you should consider before planning your next success test. [Read more…]

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How to Create a Positive Risk Culture

How to Create a Positive Risk Culture

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

As the world begins to unevenly emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, people’s re-evaluation of their lives and work means employee engagement has been replaced by employee experience.

Employee experience is about the critical need for organisations to help people do and be their best. It is shaped by:

  • The work we do.
  • The teams we work in.
  • Our direct managers and how they coach and support us.
  • Our health and wellbeing.
  • The digital, physical, and cultural workplace.
  • How we grow and develop.
  • How much do we trust the organisation.

Even before the pandemic, the work environment was already challenging. Many studies have shown that people felt overwhelmed. They had little time to concentrate, to spend with their families, and there was no time to learn something new.

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Why do Machines and Equipment Continue to Fail? 

Why do Machines and Equipment Continue to Fail? 

 This white paper will teach you how to solve your plant and equipment reliability problems and improve your current plant and equipment reliability up to magnificent performance. 

Since the mid-1980’s we have known exactly how to guarantee incredible equipment reliability. Failure-free machinery and equipment is totally achievable (in fact it is remarkably straightforward to do). We have all the answer—we know all the science; we know all the engineering; all the necessary information is readily available. The research has long been completed. The correct solutions for magnificent reliability are practical and quite doable. The problem that remains, is that though we know exactly what needs to be done to get magnificently reliable machines, we cannot get companies to do it right. The limitation to achieving magnificent reliability is not technical. The limitation now seems to be organisational, cultural, and human factors related.

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Accelerated Life Testing Part-3 (Case Study in Minitab Software)

Accelerated Life Testing Part-3 (Case Study in Minitab Software)

Dear viewers, I am happy to release this third video on Accelerated Life Testing. In this video of part-3, we have explained how to use Minitab software to analyse data of accelerated life test. The illustration uses Arrhenius Model, but the technique can be applied to other models as well.

The video will be useful to all those who want to learn and apply technique of Accelerated Life Testing. It would be of help to those who wish to take ASQ CRE certification exam. It would also be useful to DFSS practitioners.

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FINESSE Fishbone: The First S Stands for Structure

FINESSE Fishbone: The First S Stands for Structure

Reliability engineers and other technical professionals are challenged when communicating their work to senior management. The FINESSE fishbone diagram provides a system-thinking, cause-and-effect approach for communicating in the face of complexity and uncertainty. The first S in the FINESSE fishbone diagram stands for Structure. These three tips and a three-minute video will help you improve the structure of your presentations and reports.

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Always Looking for Someone to ‘Sign Off on That? … Your Organization is Probably Struggling

Always Looking for Someone to ‘Sign Off on That? … Your Organization is Probably Struggling

When I was a bright eyed, motivated (younger) officer in the Australian Army, one my many tasks when deployed overseas was to raise paperwork to formally request ‘battlefield material’ to be sent back home from whatever country we were in. ‘Battlefield material’ was items that included a range of mementos, keepsakes, and things you would typically see in a museum to add to the historical collections of my battalions and regiments back home.

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