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ISO 9001:2015 Certifications and the American Society for Quality

ISO 9001:2015 Certifications and the American Society for Quality

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

I am a Senior member of ASQ, a quality professional association. I have two ASQ certifications. One, the Manager of Quality and Organizational Excellence (MQ/OE), is the highest general certification ASQ offers.  The other is a Six Sigma Green Belt (SSGB).  Over the past year or so, I have become concerned about the viability of ASQ.  Some friends now liken ASQ to a Moose Lodges.  While some lodges are still around, they are pretty much relics of earlier generations. 

With the publication of the ISO 9001:2015 certification figures for 2017, the concern increased.  This article looks at this issue and what the ISO 9001:2015 figures say about the disruptive environment ASQ faces. [Read more…]

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Tracking Belts on Bucket Elevators and Short Belt Conveyors

Tracking Belts on Bucket Elevators and Short Belt Conveyors

Tracking belts on bucket elevators and short belt conveyors. Flexible, flat belts are used on bucket elevators and belt conveyors to carry loose, bulk product. The belt is stretched tight from head drum to tail drum and the friction generated on the turning head drum is used to drive the belt and carry the product. The belt must run true on the end pulleys (drums) and stay within the sides of the equipment structure. If the belt runs off the drums, buckets will be destroyed and belt edges frayed. In the worst cases the belt runs off the pulleys resulting in a breakdown repair. Proper and long- lived tracking of belts is critical for trouble-free operation. [Read more…]

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Benefits of Comparing Lean/Kaizen with Agile/Scrum

Benefits of Comparing Lean/Kaizen with Agile/Scrum

Our previous article covered the benefits of comparing the DMAIC problem solving thought process with project management.  The key takeaway was DMAIC can be more effectively executed using “measure & plan” phase.

Now let’s compare and contrast agile/scrum with lean/kaizen.  While agile is primarily used in software development, there are many valid comparisons.  By making this comparison, those familiar with kaizen will improve their understanding of agile and vice-versa.  Also we’ll cover key success factors that are applicable to both.

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Dust Bag Selection for Bag-Houses

Dust Bag Selection for Bag-Houses

Bag house dust bag selection. The dust bags within a bag house must handle the process conditions they experience. The choice of bag materials is usually based on the cheapest fabric that will handle the conditions for a minimum of 3 to 5 years’ operation. The selection of the bag materials requires a good understanding of the process temperature, moisture content, chemical reactions with the bag fibre, dust loading effects and behaviour of the dust bags in operation. [Read more…]

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Benefits of Comparing DMAIC with Project Management

Benefits of Comparing DMAIC with Project Management

Our previous article covered the benefits of comparing waterfall with agile, emphasizing the benefit of planning the agile process and product backlog content.  In this article we’ll compare the Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control (DMAIC) thought process, with a project management thought process.

DMAIC is a problem-solving thought process applies critical thinking to ensure robust problem solving.  (See our previous article on the subject here.)  DMAIC is not necessarily a process by which projects are managed, however.  Recall the high-level project management process as follows:

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The Rover Says Good Bye! :(

The Rover Says Good Bye! :(

The Mars Rover is an incredible reliability story.  And as you may know they have decided to permanently shut it off. A friend recently sent me this email when he saw an article on it.

Hey Adam,

The Opportunity rover was supposed to last 90 days, and instead lasted 15 years.

Is that due to remarkable engineering, or was the machine really supposed to last that long and the scientists blew their calculations as to its “lifespan”?

Mark,

My response:

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Benefits of Comparing Agile with Waterfall

Benefits of Comparing Agile with Waterfall

Previous articles have covered a proposed waterfall product development phase/gate process.  This article will compare and contrast waterfall with Agile product development, especially with respect to the front-end of the process.

Let’s start with a proposed waterfall product development phase/gate process.  (The process below implies a hardware product, however, it can be considered any waterfall process for now.)

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Programmatic vs. Project Level of Risk

Programmatic vs. Project Level of Risk

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

Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is a relatively new concept. It is a top down approach to business system management and execution. It is designed to identify potential events and risks that can impact the organization. There are 3 levels to ERM. These are: Enterprise Level; Program/Project Level; and Product level. This paper explains the differences between the program and project level. [Read more…]

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Membrane and Leaf Filtration Overview

Membrane and Leaf Filtration Overview

One method to clean particles from a liquid or gas is to pass it through a filter. The filter is a screen that traps and holds the contaminants on its surface while allowing the fluid to twist its way past the build-up and screen. The screen can be used until the back- pressure from the collected contaminants choke it so severely that the fluid flow falls drastically. At that point the screen must be cleaned. This article explains how membrane and leaf filtration processes work and the critical factors that produce successful filtration results. [Read more…]

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The P-F Curve Revisited

Understanding The Importance of Proper Equipment Installation

There has been much discussion (and often debate) around the P-F curve.  The P-F curve illustrates the relationship between the warning signs that are detectable by various technology or methods and the progression of the failure.   What is often not discussed and overlooked, is what happens before the equipment starts to deteriorate.

If the ultimate goal of an organization is to be proactive and ensure equipment uptime, wouldn’t the organization want to prevent the equipment from failing in the first place and not catch it after it has already started to fail? [Read more…]

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KISS: A Principle for Proper Project Planning

KISS: A Principle for Proper Project Planning

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

KISS, “Keep It Simple, Stupid” is a US Navy principle from the 1960’s advocating that systems function best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated and that unnecessary complexity should be avoided.

In our politically correct world ‘stupid’ is often taken as an insult and ‘keep it short and simple’ or ‘small and simple’ is often substituted.  ‘Stupid’ is not an insult, it’s a warning!  It takes a bright person to keep things simple, particularly when it’s easier to have a complex mess under the guise of sophistication.  Projects inevitably become complicated as they develop which increases the risk of potential failings.

Keeping things simple can improve the chances of success and simplicity is best achieved during the project planning before execution takes place; or after wild enthusiasm has waned. [Read more…]

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Mechanical Level Sensor Types and Use

Mechanical Level Sensor Types and Use

In some process situations, mechanical level sensors are the best choice for the environment or are stipulated by law (as in boilers). To operate these devices requires the physical contact of the process being measured. They provide solid indisputable proof that a process condition has been achieved. Provided the mechanical mechanism is connected and working properly, these devices provide the most believable proof that a level in a vessel, tank or silo is actually what the instrument is saying it is. [Read more…]