Your Reliability Engineering Professional Development Site
A listing in reverse chronological order of these article series:
If you had to give a grade to your current Root Cause Analysis (RCA) initiative, what would it be? How would you come to that conclusion (grade)? The paradox many face with such initiatives is drawing the distinction between compliance and actual effectiveness. What would our RCA grade be based on? In this article we will focus on the key elements to quantifiably measure your RCA initiative, so the organization can focus on the elements of the initiative that are lacking.
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A friend I have been mentoring for quite some time now asked me recently if I had a set of personal expectations I hold myself to. As part of our conversation, I quickly came up with 4 or 5 things and then later on sat down to list out the expectations I try to live by.
I think my parents set the groundwork for what I would consider my list of personal expectations. My Mom and Dad had sound values and I think it’s those values that influence our expectations. With that said, here is my list;
As an Enterprise Maintenance Planner, you manage the backlog, provide a maintenance schedule, liaise with Maintenance and Operations, maintain excellent knowledge of the facility and its equipment, and find ways to optimize productivity. Phew! That’s no small to-do list.
Every day, you’re working hard to:
Pay $3k now to keep out of trouble or more to get out of jail later. Your plant asset performance is down and you know it. It’s only a matter of time before there is an accident. You need to improve but funds are limited.
The expert consultants will want to begin with some sort of an assessment. They will identify problems and offer solutions, for a price (likely $50k or more). You can’t afford it. Some consultants might even be former employees. Ask yourself, “if they worked here before, then why didn’t she/he fix what was wrong when they were here?” Consider getting a different consultant but you will still struggle with a big inconvenient truth! [Read more…]
Interview with Terrence O’Hanlon and Maura Abad from Reliabilityweb. Discussion includes the changing landscape of reliability, digitilization, and how Reliabilityweb is adapting to serve their customers.
Reliability engineers are responsible for keeping equipment or facilities operational, extending their useful lives, and managing maintenance costs by formulating relevant maintenance management policies and programs. They offer guidance to maintenance teams, analyze existing maintenance programs to identify opportunities for improvement. Unlike maintenance supervisors, these professionals rarely engage in the daily execution of maintenance tasks. The roles of reliability engineers span the entire lifecycle of an asset beginning from the design phase, operational stage to disposal. How do reliability engineers influence the gradual improvement of maintenance management in different organizations? [Read more…]
In this original post, A Mechanic’s Story: Basic Component Fatigue, we took a detailed journey through the physical side of a shaft failure RCA. We stopped at the physical side of that failure, parallel misalignment. However, stopping at the component level of failure does not constitute a credible and thorough RCA. Actually stopping at this level is more along the lines of a Shallow Cause Analysis (SCA). So let’s explore what makes the difference between a Shallow Cause Analysis and a Root Cause Analysis (RCA).
In the previous post we stopped at parallel misalignment. We will continue drilling from that point down. We ask ‘How could we have had parallel misalignment?’ Our team of subject matter experts (SME) hypothesizes 1) it was either misalignment at installation or 2) it became misaligned during operations.
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When you hear the work assessment or audit, does it send shivers down your spine? Do you envision a week or two of some “expert” digging through your data, processes, and performance, looking to get you in trouble for something you did or didn’t do?
While some audits may be to find issues or wrongdoing, most assessments should be viewed as a key activity to improving your current programs or systems. These assessments, are used to compare your current program to industry best practices, identifying areas which could be improved. The assessment typically includes a Recommended Course of Action (RCOA) which highlights what gaps should be focused on first. So, whether the assessment is driven by corporate, internally or externally, how can you get the most out of a Maintenance assessment? [Read more…]
Here’s a case where they didn’t know how to keep the boss out of jail! In Jan 2019, a mine tailing dam (the structure used to contain waste from mining operations) collapsed. The video below shows the event. 259 people were confirmed dead and 11 declared missing. Cause – liquefaction – a commonly occurring phenomenon, and one that this particular mine had been warned about. Outcome – fatalities and associated human cost, suspended operations (for a brief period), company reputation, criminal charges (executives and engineering consultants). Risk management is an often neglected part of our job. [Read more…]
At its core, maintenance software is a tool that allows you to generate and schedule work orders and get the right people to do each job. Maintenance software automates paper processes by enabling people to create requests for maintenance work. Maintenance workers then enter the requests into the computerized maintenance management system software (CMMS), which generates the work orders. However, when it comes to the functions of a CMMS, work order generation is only the tip of the iceberg.
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If you have attended any Maintenance and Reliability conference in the last several years, chances are you have seen a presentation on the struggles of RCM implementation. Most present that over 70% of companies who attempt to get started with Reliability Centered Maintenance fail to implement the recommended mitigating tasks identified in their analysis.
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As many of you know, I have been encouraging my LI contacts for years to take me up on my offer to review any pictures they have of failed parts, and we would try and provide them some preliminary feedback. Well, someone finally took us op on the offer and we wanted to share what was learned (we obtained permission to do so providing the company name was not used).
Here was the original inquiry via LI instant messenger along with the pictures:
“Dear Sir, As per your advise, I’m sending you a photo of failed flange bolts. I belief they were failed due to fatigue. Could you please review them and identify/ label their failure mode. After your comments on this photo, I’ll put up a recommendation on my RCA. Looking forward to hear from you. Regards.”
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An assessment was performed and many opportunities identified, but it has been three months, and nothing has changed. Does this sound familiar? As discussed in a previous post, the goal of an assessment is to identify gap to best practices and provide the basis to develop a plan to move forward. However, many times an assessment is performed, the results put into a binder and put on the shelf (does this sound like your RCM initiative?).
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Our business case estimator insights show you both savings and earnings potential for improvements in maintenance and reliability. If you are reading this, you probably think there is some opportunity to improve your operational reliability and maintenance performance. You might want to create a business case for change that you can use to get senior management approval and funding. You are in the right place. We’ve created the tools for you to do that, they are readily accessible and inexpensive (the first step is even free). After a period of isolation and/or skeleton staffing, you can probably see problems that may be more hidden when operating with a full staff. Now is a good time to address those to bring performance up as a part of your “new normal”. [Read more…]
