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Inspired By Art to Learn a Trade – Lieutenant John Grieco RFD

Inspired By Art to Learn a Trade – Lieutenant John Grieco RFD

Nearly 10 years ago, on an early morning trip to Rochester, New York’s Public Market, my wife and I walked by an old quonset hut where I could see an artist was using a cutting torch to heat and shape a piece of metal. With his back to the street, the light emanating from the torch outlined his body in a flashing smoke-filled halo. While I focused on this image, my wife Leslie was eyeing up the Artists’ work that was proudly displayed outside his shop.

“He does nice work, we should stop on our way out of the market and look around.”

That day would be the first of many trips we would make to the Lasting Art shop.

John Grieco is a Firefighter, Business Owner and Artist from Rochester, NY. If you live in the Rochester area or for that matter, anywhere in Western, New York, you have seen some of John’s amazing metal work. [Read more…]

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Linking Failure Codes To A Proactive Maintenance Strategy

Using Failure Data to Drive Sustainable Improvements

If you are lucky enough to have good failure data history in your CMMS, you are one of the few.  But even if you have the data, can you use it to make a difference to your organization?  Obviously, the data can be used to perform certain reliability engineering analyses, but what can those without reliability engineering experience do with the data?

[Read more…]

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SCRM VUCA

SCRM VUCA

Just think of all the changes occurring in your organization. New regulations. Changing customers with new product preferences. New competitive product offerings. New technologies. New branding. New business platforms. New business models. Compressed lifecycles. Change is no longer gradual. Change is rapid and abrupt.

Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM) is being able to adapt to disruptive changes occurring in supply chains, management, and even all professions (quality, engineering, supply management, etc.). As well, we believe general management is evolving into risk management.

A few years ago, we believed competitiveness was the supply chain paradigm buster.  We even wrote in Supply Management Strategies: 

“Capitalism, competitiveness, dot.com profitability, and innovation are today’s paradigm busters. They are what drive today’s New Economy. Capitalism is triumphant in almost every activity in every corner of the world. National boundaries are disappearing as goods and services move freely. Competitiveness and innovation are continually destroying the current business paradigm. Just as a business feels it has found its niche and understands what is going on, supply management and sourcing rules change again.” [Read more…]

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The Importance of a Reliability Engineering Community

The Importance of a Reliability Engineering Community

Years ago I was a part of a reliability engineering community and I had not met more than two or three members. This was before the internet and was using a new-fangled system called an email list.

At the time, it filled the role of helping me understand the many facets of reliability engineering. It helped me answer questions and allowed me to help others as well.

My desire is to help create more such communities that can help you and your organization improve the discussion concerning reliability. Let’s explore exactly how to make this work. [Read more…]

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The Antidote to VUCA is OODA

The Antidote to VUCA is OODA

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

The date is September 15, 2008.  The crisis in subprime mortgages had been going on for a little over a year.  It was triggered in the last half of 2006 when house prices began to fall as the housing bubble in the United States burst.  This caused those who had taken NINJA (No Income, No Job, or Assets) loans to buy their home, with the expectation that prices were going to increase five per-cent year on year forever, to default.  This accelerated the decline in home prices which, in turn, accelerated the number of defaults – a financial and economic death spiral had formed.

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Calculating the Probability of a Sample Containing Bad Parts

Calculating the Probability of a Sample Containing Bad Parts

Received a question from a reader this morning that will make a nice tutorial.

A box contains 27 black and 3 red balls.  A random sample of 5 balls is drawn without replacement.  What is the probability that the sample contains one red ball?

So here’s my thinking and two ways to solve this problem. Instead of red and black balls in an urn type problem, which is pretty abstract, let’s say we know 3 bad parts are in a bin of 30 total parts.

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From Millwright To World-Class Manufacturing – Kirk Wolfinger

From Millwright To World-Class Manufacturing – Kirk Wolfinger

I’ve always been proud to say that the first customer I provided RCM training and consulting for was Whirlpool in Findlay, Ohio.

Having just presented at SMRP’s annual conference in Denver, Colorado, I received an e-mail from Kirk Wolfinger who at the time was Whirlpools’ Maintenance Manager. Kirk wanted to know if I could come to Findlay and help his team get started in Reliability Centered Maintenance.
I was that one phone call that gave me the courage to leave Eastman Kodak and start my own company. [Read more…]

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Status of ERM in the U.S. Federal Government

Status of ERM in the U.S. Federal Government

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

In 2015 the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued Circular A-123.  It requires all federal agencies to implement Enterprise Risk Management (ERM). ERM is a methodology which allows an organization to, in a systematic manner, identify, prioritize and reduce the adverse impact of risks events, such as fraud, cyber-attacks, mismanagement, and natural disasters, that could prevent the organization from accomplishing its mission and objectives.

For the past several years federal agencies have been surveyed to determine the extent of the ERM implementation. This article reviews the results of the past four years. [Read more…]

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An Introduction to the Cause and Effect Diagram

An Introduction to the Cause and Effect Diagram

Also called the Ishikawa or fishbone diagram, the cause and effect diagram is a graphical tool that enables a team to identify, categorize, and examine possible causes related to an issue. The intent is to expose the most likely root causes for further investigation.

This diagram is part of a complex failure analysis process when there are many potential causes for the problem or condition. Similar to a brainstorm session about the problem, this graphical tool provides a bit of structure and may prompt additional potential causes.

The Ishikawa diagram is one of the seven basic tools of quality control. [Read more…]

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Parameter Diagram and FMEA

Parameter Diagram and FMEA

When creating a robust design, there is probably no more important consideration than identifying the correct parameters and associated values. A robust design is insensitive to anticipated variation and P-Diagram visually shows the relationship between what the system is designed to do, the anticipated noises the system will encounter and the correct parameters to achieve the desired outcome. P-Diagram  can be an essential input to FMEA.

“Concern for man and his fate must always form the chief interest of all technical endeavors. Never forget this in the midst of your diagrams and equations.” Albert Einstein

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If this thing Breaks We are Going to Freeze to Death!!!

If this thing Breaks We are Going to Freeze to Death!!!

In February I did a hit and run trip to Fairbanks Alaska with my daughter, age 11, to try and see the Northern Lights.  It was a long shot but I’ve done nuttier expeditions and she was game.  It was actually her idea, and she knew who the right person was to ask for such a trip.  She turned 11 in January.  I asked her what she wanted for her birthday.  I was ready for the “this or that electronic” request.  Instead she said “I want to see the Northern Lights.”  First thought was “Geez that’s a bit extravagant”  but then my second thought was she’s 11 and this could have a great impact on her and what an interesting/cool thing to ask for.  It might energize an interest in physics or natural photography, or cold weather clothing design. I also thought about how in a few years she may not want to do anything with me because I’ll be an “idiot who doesn’t get it.”

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