Articles

Find all articles across all article series listed in reverse chronological order.

Delivering Outcomes, Building Trust

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

On July 17, 2020, the American Council for Technology – Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) issued a report entitled “Delivering Outcomes, Building Trust”. The ACT-IAC is a non-profit educational organization established to create a “more effective and innovative government”. The report provides some ideas on how the United States Federal government can become “more resilient, adaptable, and responsive.” This piece will look at the report and its recommendations.

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by Steven Wachs Leave a Comment

Analyzing the Experiment (Part 4) – Finding Solutions

In the last article, we learned how to determine the coefficients of a predictive model for 2-level screening designs. It is more complex to determine model coefficients for multi-level experiments so for those, we rely on statistical methods software.

In this article, we look at using the model to develop solutions. So that we learn the basics, we first use some simple algebra to find a solution. Then, in the next article, we will explore some common tools that are found in DOE software programs to help uncover solutions. [Read more…]

by Robert (Bob) J. Latino Leave a Comment

Part III: The 4 Basic Physical Failure Mechanisms of Component Failure: Overload

Author’s Note: I want to reiterate that this Series about reading the basic fracture surfaces, is for novices who often first come into contact with such failed components. This Series is about the basics (101), and is intended to give readers an appreciation for the value of such ‘broken’ parts to an effective investigation/RCA. While this information will be rudimentary to seasoned materials engineers, I know they will all appreciate heightening awareness to the need to retain such failed parts for analysis, versus throwing them away and just replacing the part. Throwing away failed parts is a recipe for a repeat failure, when one does not understand why the part failed in the first place.

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by James Kovacevic Leave a Comment

Understanding the Importance of Machine Bases

How to ensure your assets are on a solid foundation

Installing an asset is a critical step that can impact reliability short term and long term. Often times assets are installed without much thought. They are thrown on the machine base, anchors drilled and away the operation goes.

But while focusing on the Installation – Potential Failure – Failure curve, it becomes obvious that time and precision during the installation point can greatly extend the life of the asset. By investing in the installation, the asset will experience less premature failures and extend any wear out mechanisms that are present in the asset.
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by James Reyes-Picknell Leave a Comment

Maintenance and Reliability Improvement with Uptime

Maintenance and Reliability improvement are keys to Operational Excellence – without them, you’ll suffer high costs and reduced outputs. This interview by Ryan Chan of UpKeep gives insight into what Uptime is, how it works towards Maintenance and Reliability improvement. The value it can deliver is high, how it does it is straight-forward, and leaders are needed to make it happen.

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by Greg Hutchins Leave a Comment

Electric Car Hidden Risk

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

Fifty years ago, having your own car was a sign of adulthood and your ticket around town. But that is all going to change within the next five to ten years due to rising CO2 levels and a new trend called Transportation as a Service. TaaS sits at the intersection of four technical macro trends. These are:

Autonomous vehicles
Electric vehicles
Connectivity
Sharing economy

[Read more…]

by Steven Wachs Leave a Comment

How do I Control a Process That Trends Naturally Due to Tool Wear?

When processes trend naturally due to tool wear, traditional control charting methods fail. The trend (which is expected) results in inappropriate “out-of-control” signals. Control charts should detect unexpected changes in the process. If the trend is expected, we do not want to be alerted to this trend. If no accommodation is made for this trend, the chart will incorrectly produce “out-of-control” signals. [Read more…]

by Doug Lehr Leave a Comment

FMEA Improves the Bottom Line

Refer to Article 7 for the expansion joint project. This project had progressed – perhaps beyond lab testing – before it was realized that the design could not meet ASME LRFD criteria. LRFD was considered necessary for reliability. The engineering manager had to consider a redesign.

Missing the LRFD may be the result of not conducting a design failure modes and effects analysis (dFMEA). FMEA is a risk discovery process. Discovering design risks early in the project improves reliability and increases profitability by avoiding redesign and schedule delays. [Read more…]

by Robert (Bob) J. Latino Leave a Comment

Part II: The 4 Basic Physical Failure Mechanisms of Component Failure: Fatigue & Overload

Author’s Note: I want to reiterate that this Series about reading the basic fracture surfaces, is for novices who often come into contact with such failed components. This Series is about the basics (101), and is intended to give readers an appreciation for the value of such ‘broken’ parts to an effective investigation/RCA. While this information will be rudimentary to seasoned materials engineers, I know they will all appreciate heightening awareness to the need to retain such failed parts for analysis, versus throwing them away and just replacing the part. Throwing away failed parts is a recipe for a repeat failure, when one does not understand why the part failed in the first place.

[Read more…]

by James Kovacevic 1 Comment

Who Owns Equipment Reliability?

Why maintenance performance alone will not deliver sustainable performance

More than once or twice, I have heard, if we just got the maintenance department sorted out, our OEE would increase. I have heard this coming from not only operations and management, but also maintenance staff. While it is true that how effective and efficient the maintenance department is will have a direct impact on the operation’s performance, it is not maintenance alone that will enable success.
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by Carl S. Carlson Leave a Comment

Facilitation Skill # 1 – Encouraging Participation

“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away.” Henry David Thoreau

One of the most important skills in facilitating team meetings is to be able to encourage balanced participation by all team members.

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by Greg Hutchins Leave a Comment

In Risk Management, It’s the Destination, Not the Journey

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

A while back, I felt that pretty much everything was out of sync and I was highly disorganized. There was a growing list of undone things whether that was around the house, at work, with my family, or at the places where I volunteer.

It was definitely time for a reorganization.

A few weeks later, things were back in order (I even had time to write again), and a big part of my reorganization was refocussing on the systems I use for productivity.

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by James Reyes-Picknell Leave a Comment

Emerging Stronger from Crisis

Emerging stronger from crisis – that’s our current challenge. We know we can do it. What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. Our businesses can emerge stronger too, but that won’t happen without leadership and choice.

Capital asset-intensive industries that have had a chance to pause have been wise if they used the opportunity to catch up on deferred maintenance and review their proactive maintenance programs for effectiveness. They will emerge stronger. Better maintained equipment will run better, longer, and last longer, producing more and doing so with lower levels of risk.

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by Larry George Leave a Comment

Reliability from Current Status Data

A computer company tiger team held a meeting to decide how to fix their laser printer ghosting problem. Bearings seized in the squirrel-cage cooling fan for the fuser bar. The fan bearing was above fuser bar, which baked the bearing. A fix decision was made, voted on, and accepted. Party time. I asked, “How do you verify the fix?” Boo!

This an example of using current status life data. I checked status every laser printer laser-printer fan in company headquarters: operating or failed? Date of manufacture was encoded in the printer serial number, so I estimated the fan’s age-specific failure rate function, before the fix. Premature wearout was evident. Could I observe repaired or new printers at a later time and test the hypothesis that the problem had been fixed? Yes.

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by Steven Wachs Leave a Comment

Analyzing the Experiment (Part 3) – Developing the Model

In the last article, we learned how to determine which effects are statistically significant. This is an important step to develop the predictive model(s) because only the statistically significant factors and interactions belong in the model. If we include insignificant terms in the model, the predictive ability of the model will appear to be better than it really is and we will overstate the ability of our model to predict the response(s). [Read more…]