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Improve Decision Making with Statistics

Improve Decision Making with Statistics

We make decisions all the time. Often our decision making is with little more than a gut feeling.

When faced with a major decision we often look data to help us decide. Is the product reliable enough as designed? Which field returns indicate we should stop production?

Some decision may help us earn or lose thousands if not millions of dollars.

Deciding to delay a product launch by six months means we have no revenue for the duration. The delay may also permit us to address a design flaw that would cause half the products to fail within a few months.

The later may cause loss of market share, erosion of brand loyalty, not to mention the cost of warranty claims. [Read more…]

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If You Want a Proactive Maintenance Program That Really Works, Then Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) Is The Way

If You Want a Proactive Maintenance Program That Really Works, Then Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) Is The Way

This article is Part Two in my three part series about “PM” programs.

Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) is the world’s leading method for identifying maintenance and other activities required to sustain reliable performance of physical assets. If you want a proactive maintenance program that really works, then Reliability Centered Maintenance is the most thorough approach you can take to get there. [Read more…]

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A Brief Introduction to Process Chemical Corrosion

A Brief Introduction to Process Chemical Corrosion

Chemical corrosion can destroy the containment materials in contact with a process.

Means exist to mitigate and even prevent chemical corrosion. This article focuses on several such methods.

Acceptable corrosion

At times chemical corrosion is acceptable and one need only allow for it by using thicker materials. An example is the storage of sulphuric acid in mild steel tanks at ambient conditions and concentrations [Read more…]

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ISO 31000 Principles of Risk Management

ISO 31000 Principles of Risk Management

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

ISO 31000 is organized around 11 risk management principles.   A management principle refers to a fundamental idea, rule, or truth about a subject. ISO 31000 risk principles serve as the guideline, method, logic, design, and implementation for the risk management framework and its process. [Read more…]

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Take Action to Deal with Part Obsolescence

Take Action to Deal with Part Obsolescence

Even products with relatively quick design cycles and short stays in the market deal with part obsolescence.

Long design periods along with long durations in service or in production simply increases the chance that one or more parts will become obsolete.

Designing systems with part obsolescence in mind helps. Working with suppliers to select parts with many sources, with long-term plans to produce, and with long term commitments, all may help. Even then, companies change priorities, go out of business, or simply discontinue the part you need. [Read more…]

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Quantify the Improvements (or Gaps) In Your Reliability

Quantify the Improvements (or Gaps) In Your Reliability

Using a Crow-AMSAA [Reliability Growth Analysis (RGA)] to Quantify Your Reliability Improvements (or Losses)

Part 3 of 7

67 rga graphImagine being able to predict the next time a failure will occur for a piece of equipment without a huge amount of work.  Wouldn’t it be nice to know the approximate point in time that a failure will occur on a critical piece of equipment?  It is possible, but I am not talking about using MTBF, as it is not a good measure (if you need to understand why, please visit http://www.NoMTBF.com).   What I am talking about is a Crow-AMSAA analysis. [Read more…]

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Understanding Reliability Across an Industry

Understanding Reliability Across an Industry

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy conducted an Energy Storage Reliability Workshop this week provide a unique glimpse at how the stakeholders across an industry view reliability.

The representatives from government and private sector, including national labs, large and small companies, insurers and consultants gather to talk about the reliability of large-scale stationary energy storage systems.

Specifically, the focus of the workshop was on helping the DOE identify the specific activities and focus for their involvement in this relatively new industry segment.
[Read more…]

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Preventive Maintenance “PM” Programs – Part 1 – The Basics

Preventive Maintenance “PM” Programs – Part 1 – The Basics

Do you replace your car headlights at regular intervals of six months? Do you wait to replace your tires until they wear through? Do you check your car engine oil with some sort of oil analysis before replacing it? Each component and system in your car has a function that is prone to failure. Each of those has consequences – some with little importance and others with great importance. [Read more…]

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When to Incorporate a Risk into the Baseline Schedule or Risk Register

When to Incorporate a Risk into the Baseline Schedule or Risk Register

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

Introduction

Risk management involves the identification of risks, prioritization of the risks based on probability of occurrence and impact of occurrence, and mitigation plans to control the risks.  Once identified and prioritized the question then becomes which risks should be incorporated into the schedule and which ones should be included in the risk register?

The general rule of thumb I have used requires risks with a 50% or greater probability of occurrence to be incorporated into the schedule. The other risks are entered into the risk register. [Read more…]

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The “What” & “Why” of Weibull Analysis

The “What” & “Why” of Weibull Analysis

How to conduct a Weibull analysis and the questions the analysis will generate.

Part 2 of 7

Every failure is part of a puzzle. The equipment we are maintaining is trying to communicate with the use of each and every failure.

Often the message is not obvious.

There is the immediate failure. And, if we’re paying attention we can sort out the root cause of the failure along with replacing or repairing the damaged parts. Sometimes though the damage is caused by another issue with the system. [Read more…]

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Identifying Parts Obsolescence Early

Identifying Parts Obsolescence Early

One aspect of creating a new product or system is the sourcing of parts, components, and materials.

Gone are the days of your organization providing every element of the final product. Henry Ford’s supply chain for early Ford automobiles includes their own forests, rubber plantations, and iron ore mines. [Gelderman, 1981]

We increasingly rely on the supply chain to create the necessary parts for the design’s functionality. Then to continue to supply those same parts for decades, in some cases. [Read more…]

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How Do You Select Reliability Tasks to Accomplish?

How Do You Select Reliability Tasks to Accomplish?

As reliability engineers, we have a large number of tools available.

From project planning, system modeling, data analysis, test planning, to risk identification and defect discovery, we have techniques, procedures, algorithms to help us identify and solve reliability problems.

We also may ways to apply an individual reliability task.

We could do an exploratory drop test to see what happens if anything. Or, we could conduct a full characterization study of the force signature of drops onto different surfaces and faces from a range of heights. Or something in-between.

We have options and thus need to make choices. [Read more…]