Articles

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

Fixing the ISO9001 Quality Problem

Turn ISO 9001 Clauses into Your Business Quality System Specifications.

In 1987 the ISO9000 quality management series was launched; superseding the earlier BS5750 document. It has progressed from its initial product quality focus to its now customer satisfaction focus. During all its life the question of the usefulness of ISO9001 to business growth and performance has dogged it. The greatest fault of ISO9001 is its lack in setting quality performance. It mistakenly asks companies to select their own quality standards to work to. That is its single greatest problem—the lack of quality benchmarks and is the reason why it is common to hear managers call ISO 9001 a waste of time. But if you address ‘quality’ correctly in your ISO 9001 quality management system you can turn your company into a world-class performer within three years.

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by Greg Hutchins Leave a Comment

What to do in the Event of a Crash

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

The Focus of driver safety is on preventing accidents and implementing the necessary protocols to control risk across commercial fleets, but crashes do happen, so, the question I ask is are fleets doing enough to help drivers when they are involved in a collision?

The size of the problem

Globally an estimated that 1.3 million people die every year due to a road traffic collision, in addition there are between 20-50 million more suffering non-fatal injuries. These often result in life-changing injuries, which have far-reaching consequences for both family and friends. Research has shown that up to 40% of people will be trapped in their vehicles following a collision. [Read more…]

by Nancy Regan Leave a Comment

Staying True to RCM: Avoiding Costly Mistakes

Frank Lloyd Wright was a master architect, known for designing structures that harmonized with their environment. Just as he had a clear vision for his designs, the original architects of Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) had a specific intent for how the process should be carried out. Unfortunately, RCM is often implemented in ways that stray from these foundational principles. In this video, recorded at the Frank Lloyd Wright House in Florence, Alabama, I explore the parallels between Wright’s architectural genius and the importance of adhering to the true principles of RCM. Learn how SAE JA1011 can guide you in evaluating and ensuring that your RCM process is done as its creators intended—leading to more effective, transformative results. Join me as we bridge the worlds of architecture and reliability.

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by Hemant Urdhwareshe Leave a Comment

Acceptance Sampling plan (Part-2)

Dear friends, we are happy to release this video on Acceptance Sampling plans for Attributes. In the video, Hemant Urdhwareshe explains how to select appropriate sample size using Sampling Plans such as MIL-STd-105E, ANSI/ASQ Z1.4, IS 2500 Part-1 (or ISO2959 -1). The video also explains interpretation of Operating Characteristics from the standards and in Microsoft Excel. Additionally, Hemant also illustrates how to generate a Sampling Plan in Minitab software.

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by Miguel Pengel Leave a Comment

Weibull Analysis Summary PDF and Case Study

A Weibull analysis is one of the most versatile tools in a Reliability Engineer’s toolbox. I have received many requests to start summarizing some of my articles and case studies into quick and easy PDF references for distribution.

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by JD Solomon 1 Comment

Three Reasons Reliability Professionals Should Not Care about the Decision

Reliability professionals are trusted advisors. Being a trusted advisor to a person making the biggest career decision is an enormous job—as is making a good, big decision. Where most advisors lose the “trust” in “trusted advisor” is when they mix the roles of “advisor” with “decision maker.” Advisors and analysts must first be true to their data and information. How that information is used is not something you control. These are three reasons a reliability professional should not care about the decision.

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by Semion Gengrinovich Leave a Comment

Test to Catch Supplier Defects

Using highly accelerated stress screening to identify supplier defects before the product is shipped saves time and money.

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by Steven Wachs Leave a Comment

Why Simple Experimentation Typically Fails

**(and Why Design of Experiments is so Superior)**

In my 30-year career as an Industrial Statistics consultant, I have frequently been told by clients that they have performed Design of Experiments (DOEs), to try and resolve design or manufacturing issues. What has become clear is that many engineers and scientists apply a rather liberal definition to DOE and include any type of experimentation in what they deem to be “DOE”.

The reality is, simplistic or haphazard “experiments” rarely are effective in solving problems, especially complex ones. Statistically based DOE provides several advantages over more simplistic approaches such “trial and error” or “one-factor-at-a-time” experimentation. These advantages include:

The use of statistical methodology (hypothesis testing) to determine which factors have a statistically significant effect on the response(s)
Balanced experimental designs to allow stronger conclusions with respect to cause-and-effect relationships (as opposed to just finding correlations)
The ability to understand and estimate interactions between factors
The development of predictive models that are used to find optimal solutions for one or more responses

Each of these advantages are discussed in a bit more detail below.

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by Greg Hutchins Leave a Comment

Tale of Project Reporting: Feast or Famine

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

This is a story about project reporting, and its importance to project management. No matter how many or how few reports there are, it’s the report that provides the information that managers need to make decisions. It’s also not about the glut or the dearth though, it’s about the quality of the content and timing of delivery that can make all the difference between right or wrong decisions, and a project’s overall outcome.

So, if you are sitting comfortably then I’ll begin.

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by Mike Sondalini Leave a Comment

The Maintenance 10 Commandments behind All Maintenance Success

Remember, in Maintenance…

THE BUSINESS PAYS FOR EVERY WRONG
PREVENTION IS FAR CHEAPER THAN CURE
DON’T DO WHAT YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND
PREPARE THOROUGHLY BEFORE YOU START
FIX THE CAUSE NOT THE SYMPTOM
MACHINE HEALTH REFLECTS USER MENTALITY
FIRST CHECK IT’S RIGHT
RELIABILITY GROWS FROM QUALITY
PERFORMANCE FOLLOWS CAPABILITY
PROVE IT’S AN IMPROVEMENT FIRST
EVERYTHING HAS LIMITS—KEEP WELL WITHIN

[Read more…]

by Hemant Urdhwareshe Leave a Comment

Acceptance Sampling Plans for Quality Control (Part-1)

Dear friends, I am happy to share our first video on Quality Control Acceptance Sampling Plans! In this video, I have explained some basic concepts and terminology of sampling plans. I have also illustrated use of Microsoft Excel to construct Operating Characteristic Curve and AOQ Curve of a sampling plan It is not possible to inspect 100% parts received from suppliers. Obviously, processes need to be capable to produce consistently good quality parts that conform to the specifications. However, there are quite a few processes where the capabilities are either marginal or low. Also, controls at suppliers may not be adequate due to many reasons. Therefore there is still a need for statistical Acceptance Sampling Plans.

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by Ray Harkins Leave a Comment

SPC Q&A Part 3

Favorite Questions and Answers from my Course “Statistical Process Control (SPC) Using Microsoft Excel”, Pt 3

In this third and final installment in this series, I continue my review of questions I’ve received from students of my online course titled, “Statistical Process Control (SPC) Using Microsoft Excel.

The length of the course is just under 11 hours, and covers a wide range of topics under four major chapters: Pareto Analysis, Control Charting, Process Capability Analysis, and Linear Regression. In it, I draw numerous case studies and examples from my career in quality management and manufacturing engineering. These real-life examples, I believe, are what spark the most questions. As the statistical approaches are placed in the context of plausible scenarios – scenarios the students routinely see themselves – the content takes a better grip and leads the student toward a greater desire to learn.

So please enjoy this last set of questions. Maybe they will inspire you as well.

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by George Williams Leave a Comment

3 Tips for Taking Control of a Reactive Situation

In this session, we will delve into essential strategies for gaining clarity in the midst of reactive maintenance challenges.

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by Nancy Regan Leave a Comment

RCM Today: More Important Than Ever

Hi everyone, I’m Nancy Regan, and today we’re tackling the big question: “Is Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) obsolete?” With principles that are over 50 years old, some may wonder if RCM is still relevant. The answer is a resounding YES. In fact, RCM is more crucial now than ever.

Join me as I take you from my hotel room in Cartagena to a beautiful outdoor setting to explore how RCM principles still apply today, even with all our advanced technology. Whether you’re dealing with high-tech monitoring systems or simply relying on human senses, the core principles of RCM remain essential to achieving the reliability you need.

Discover why RCM’s focus on understanding equipment Functions, identifying Failure Modes, and assessing Failure Effects is more important than ever in today’s fast-paced, tech-driven world. Let’s dive in and see why Reliability Centered Maintenance is far from obsolete!

[Read more…]

by Carl S. Carlson Leave a Comment